Tony Gee launched a £10,000 Social Value Fund initiative in 2025, complementing its wider social value programme that includes ambassador activities, charity fundraising and volunteering. The fund provides financial support to colleague-nominated projects and organisations that promote community wellbeing, support local causes, enhance education and training opportunities, protect the environment, and deliver positive social impact.

One of the first applications to the Tony Gee Social Value Fund came from Josh Bullivant, Design Engineer based in Tony Gee’s Birmingham office. Josh’s partner works as a hospice nurse at Acorns Children’s Hospice, which provides expert care and support for babies, children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

Wanting to identify a project that would make a meaningful difference, Josh contacted Acorns’ fundraising team to ask how the Social Value Fund could help. Acorns recommended supporting Makaton training for its staff. Makaton is a communication programme that combines signs, symbols and speech and is particularly valuable for non-verbal children and young people who use the hospice’s services.
The hospice explained that improved communication can have a significant impact on both wellbeing and clinical care, helping staff better understand a child’s needs and symptoms. Funding was sought to enable staff to complete advanced training and become qualified trainers, allowing knowledge and skills to be shared more widely across the organisation.

Sharon, pictured, said: “Makaton is a really good communication tool for non-verbal or neurodiverse children. I remember one child who was signing ‘pain’ and ‘head’ and it became apparent that they had an ear infection. Without them being able to communicate using Makaton, that child would have been suffering, and we may never have known.”

Through Josh’s successful application, the Social Value Fund awarded Acorns Children’s Hospice £400 to support advanced Makaton training for members of its care team. The hospice said: “Sharon and Debbie completed the Level 4 Makaton training. They really enjoyed the course – it was hard work but really rewarding for both of them. They wanted to pass on their thanks to Tony Gee for providing them this opportunity. Sharon has received four certificates and as part of that she continues in her Sign of the Week to pass on the learning and communicate with the children.”
Following the training, Sharon and Debbie have been able to communicate more effectively with the children and young people they support. One particularly memorable example involved a non-verbal teenager who, through Makaton, was able to enjoy meaningful conversations that would previously have been impossible. The improvement in his wellbeing has been noticeable, and his family have been delighted by the positive difference the training has made.”
The impact of the training has extended beyond day-to-day care. Following the death of five-year-old Freddie*, his parents made a special request for Sharon to use Makaton to sign and translate a song played at his funeral. It was important to Freddie’s family that everyone present could understand the words of a song that meant so much to him. Thanks to the training funded through the Social Value Fund, Sharon was able to help make that moment even more meaningful for Freddie’s family and friends.”

This project is a great example of how relatively small Social Value Fund grants can make a lasting difference. By supporting specialised staff training, Josh’s application has helped improve communication, wellbeing and care for children and families at Acorns Children’s Hospice. It demonstrates the positive impact that can be achieved when colleagues use the fund to support causes that matter to them.

*Name changed for anonymity

Tony Gee collaborate with Kent County Council to support the local ICE Kent and East Sussex Branch host the ICE President, David Porter for a productive afternoon of events.

The first event of the afternoon was a panel session on the ‘The value of technicians as leaders: why they are essential to thought leadership, shaping policy and embracing diversity and inclusion for industry and institutions’ held at Mid Kent College. This event brought together two Presidents from different professional engineering organisations, welcoming David Porter, President of ICE, and Jason Clark, President of CIPHE, alongside other technician leaders from local businesses.

The event brought together consultants, clients and contractors from across the industry to explore the important role technicians play beyond traditional delivery, and how their practical experience, technical judgement and thought leadership helps shape the industry’s future. Liam Kimberley led the debate, setting the scope for the discussions, alongside Jason Clark, President of CIPHE, Ingrid Valceschini, Associate Technician at Buro Happold and Tom Price, Chief Executive at Informed Engineering.

The discussion reinforced the importance of recognising technicians as independent professionals working alongside engineers, not only for the quality of the work they deliver, but also for the significant value they bring as leaders, problem-solvers, mentors and contributors to wider industry thinking. The event highlighted the importance of technicians as our industry continues its journey into digital transformation.

In addition to raising the debate amongst the leadership in the industry, there was also an opportunity for students at the college to talk to the Presidents, asking questions about the industry. This conversation ‘You, me and the ICE!’ was led by a panel of professionals including Sue Hawkes, Charlotte Brown, Richard Tourney and David Porter and informed the students about what the ICE could mean to them and how to build a career.

Later in the afternoon, the group visited Bean Tunnel, where Kent County Council, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and Tony Gee’s Justin Ryan delivered a detailed technical briefing on the major civil infrastructure scheme to provide a Fastrack busway and a footway/cycleway linking Whitecliffe and Bluewater. This was followed by an immersive site tour, offering first-hand insight into the engineering challenges and solutions shaping this key infrastructure scheme.

A huge thank you to all involved for hosting a valuable and collaborative day.

Tony Gee has appointed Jill Simpson as Environmental Services Lead, reinforcing their commitment to embedding environmental expertise at the heart of its engineering delivery.

Jill will play a central role in integrating environmental considerations across projects and throughout the supply chain. She will support the seamless incorporation of environmental requirements into design and delivery processes and will facilitate collaboration with specialist partners and suppliers, ensuring coordinated, high-quality environmental solutions are consistently achieved.

Jill’s appointment represents a significant step in advancing Tony Gee’s integrated approach to sustainability, ensuring environmental priorities are embedded across projects, partnerships, and long-term strategic goals.

Tony Gee has been appointed by Arup as a strategic partner to lead the design of the next phase of Coventry City Council’s Very Light Rail (CVLR) programme; the approximately 800m city centre demonstrator scheme.

This appointment marks a significant milestone for the programme, bringing together two industry leading engineering consultancies with a shared commitment to technical excellence, innovation, and sustainable transport solutions. By combining Arup’s global expertise in complex infrastructure with Tony Gee’s renowned capability in specialist design and construction engineering, this collaboration will play a central role in shaping the next chapter of Coventry’s transformative mobility vision.

The project represents a major opportunity to advance a new approach to urban transport, with the design maximising efficiency, minimising disruption, and supporting long term economic and environmental benefits for the region.

This collaboration underscores a shared ambition: to help deliver a cutting edge transport system that enhances connectivity, supports inclusive growth, and sets a new benchmark for sustainable urban mobility in the UK.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, said: “By approving this next and longer demonstrator route for Coventry Very Light Rail, we have taken a decisive step toward transforming how people move around our city. This is a bold investment in cleaner, smarter and more sustainable transport, and it shows our commitment to delivering real change for residents and businesses.

“The route to Coventry University’s Technology Park will allow us to showcase the benefits of CVLR in a live environment, proving how this innovative system can be delivered quickly, affordably and with minimal disruption. It’s an exciting moment for Coventry, and brings us significantly closer to a transport network that reflects the ambition and ingenuity of our city.”

David Lea, Project Director at Tony Gee, said: “We are privileged to be part of a project which represents a major step forward in sustainable urban transport, and we’re proud to support a solution that will bring cleaner, smarter, and more efficient mobility to the city.

“Working collaboratively with our partners Arup and Coventry City Council, we’re committed to helping deliver a system that sets a new benchmark for innovation in the UK transport sector.”

Paul Stephens, Project Director and Associate Director at Arup UKIMEA said: “Arup’s work on the demonstrator route offers a valuable testbed for understanding how innovative transport technology performs within a complex city centre environment.

“Through our collaboration with Tony Gee and Coventry City Council, we are combining multidisciplinary strengths to accomplish an operational system that functions effectively within the city’s existing infrastructure and presents the evidence required for future expansion.”

We look forward to the work ahead and to contributing to a project that is redefining what future ready transport can look like.