Mott MacDonald has appointed Caron Dunlop as social value technical director in the company’s dedicated social development team. Dunlop will act as UK lead for social value, supporting clients to respond to their responsibilities under the Social Value Act. She will work alongside other dedicated social inclusion colleagues to help to ensure that improving the lives of people and communities remains at the heart of what the company does and embedded into project delivery.   

With over ten years’ experience working in the built environment, Dunlop brings a wealth of expertise in designing and implementing social value and community engagement strategies. Her career to date includes overseeing the development of employment and skills plans, create educational programmes for local school pupils, establish equality and diversity programmes, design digital social value measuring tools, as well as lead on the implementation of social value strategies for a number of major UK developments.  

Dunlop has been instrumental in helping shape the social value landscape in the UK. In 2018, she was part of the working group that set out a social value framework for the UK Green Building Council and was also part of a working group that consulted on the UK government’s Social Value Model, published in 2020. 

Commenting on her appointment, Dunlop said: “There has never been a more exciting time to be working in the field of social value and I’m thrilled to have been appointed as social value technical director at Mott MacDonald. I’ve long admired the company’s work from afar and it’s now fantastic to be a part of it. The ethos of the company chimes strongly with my own - that social value is not just something that can be an afterthought, or a bolt-on. If we want to really affect change in people’s lives, it needs to be embedded into the fabric of each project we work on. It’s clear that this train of thought is central to Mott MacDonald.” 

Kerry Scott, Mott MacDonald’s global practice leader for social outcomes, said: “The concept of social value is becoming a critical issue here in the UK, driven by government and being grappled with by the industry. To have someone onboard with Caron’s knowledge and experience will give our clients access to best-in-class expertise and help fulfil our purpose of delivering long-term social outcomes for the people and communities in which we work.”