Digital Trustees (Third Sector Lab)
Digital Trustees (thirdsectorlab.co.uk/digital-trustees) is helping build a future where every charity board has the confidence, skills and experience to lead well in a digital world, and where the UK becomes a global leader in technology governance across civil society.
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Digital Trustees (thirdsectorlab.co.uk/digital-trustees) is helping build a future where every charity board has the confidence, skills and experience to lead well in a digital world, and where the UK becomes a global leader in technology governance across civil society.
About Digital Trustees.
We connect charities with professionals who have expertise in digital, data, design, technology, cyber and AI, helping boards strengthen their decision-making and giving employees a meaningful way to use their skills for social impact.
For charities, the benefit is access to expertise that can be difficult or expensive to find. The right trustee or board adviser can help leaders ask better questions, understand risk, challenge assumptions and make stronger decisions about everything from cyber security and data to AI and digital services.
For employees, it is a high-impact form of skills-based volunteering. People can contribute expertise that charities genuinely need while developing valuable experience in leadership, governance, strategy and board-level decision-making.
For employers, Digital Trustees offers a practical route to deeper employee volunteering and social value. It helps organisations move beyond one-off volunteering activity and create opportunities where staff can make a lasting contribution, develop strategic skills, their network and bring new perspectives back into the workplace.
Digital Trustees is run by Third Sector Lab, with more than 18 years’ experience helping charities make better use of digital, data and design.
We have worked with organisations including The National Lottery Community Fund, The Robertson Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Scotland Women in Technology, alongside corporate partners looking to strengthen the impact of their employee volunteering.
Our ambition is bigger than individual placements. We want stronger charity boards, more meaningful use of professional skills and a civil society sector that leads, rather than follows, on digital and technology governance.
The Network.
The transformacy Social Value Network is a growing community of organisations — social enterprises, charities, training providers, community groups and purpose-led businesses — each delivering genuine social value in their field and their region.
Think of it as a trusted pool of partners. When organisations make social value commitments — through a Public Sector tender, a Section 106 agreement, or their own strategy — they need credible partners to help deliver them on the ground. The network exists to connect that need with the organisations best placed to meet it.
Every member is chosen for the quality and authenticity of the social value they create, so the network stays something people can genuinely rely on — a shortcut to trusted, capable partners rather than an open directory. Each member has a profile setting out what they do, who they serve and where they operate, and displays the transformacy Social Value Network member badge as a mark of their place in the community.
Why Join?
Being part of the transformacy Social Value Network means:
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Visibility — a profile within a trusted, curated network seen by organisations actively looking for social value partners.
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Opportunity — the chance to be called upon when our clients and contacts need delivery partners for their social value commitments.
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Recognition — the transformacy Social Value Network member badge to display on your own website, signalling your place in a trusted community.
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Connection — a place within a growing community of like-minded, purpose-led organisations.
Join the Network
Register interest in joining today.
Frequently Asked Questions.
About the network
What is the transformacy Social Value Network?
It's a curated community of trusted organisations — social enterprises, charities, training providers, community groups and purpose-led businesses — that deliver practical social value across the UK. It acts as a trusted pool of partners that organisations can call upon to help fulfil their social value commitments.
Who can join the network?
Any organisation that delivers genuine, measurable social value — whether through employment and skills, community investment, environmental action, or support for local and disadvantaged groups. Members range from small community organisations to established social enterprises and purpose-led businesses.
Is there a cost to join?
No — there's no fee to become a member of the network. We simply ask interested organisations to apply, so we can understand the social value they deliver and keep the network trusted and relevant.
How do organisations join?
Membership is by application through our register-your-interest form. Our team reviews each application to make sure the network remains a genuinely trusted pool of partners.
What is the member badge?
Members can display the transformacy Social Value Network badge on their own website — a simple mark that signals their place in a trusted community of social value organisations.
About social value
What is social value?
Social value is the positive social, economic and environmental impact an organisation creates for the communities it serves, beyond the direct product or service it provides. Examples include creating local jobs, offering skills and training, supporting disadvantaged groups, spending with local suppliers and reducing environmental harm.
Why does social value matter in public sector tenders?
Under UK procurement rules, contracting authorities must consider social value when awarding contracts, applying a minimum weighting — typically 10% — to social value in their evaluation. This means the social value a supplier offers can directly influence whether they win public sector work.
What is the Procurement Act 2023?
The Procurement Act 2023, which came into force in February 2025, reforms how public sector contracts are procured in the UK. It reinforces the role of social value in procurement, making it increasingly important for suppliers to demonstrate and deliver measurable social impact.
What is the National TOMs framework?
TOMs — Themes, Outcomes and Measures — is a widely used framework for measuring and reporting social value in a consistent, comparable way. It helps organisations place a credible value on the social impact they create and evidence it to buyers and commissioners.
How is social value delivered in practice?
Social value commitments are delivered through practical activities such as employing local people, offering apprenticeships and work experience, running community projects, supporting charities and cutting carbon. Many organisations draw on delivery partners with local reach or specialist expertise to help meet these commitments.