SODEXO

Knowledge library

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Methodology

How Priority-40 works . the two tier systems that keep the portal defensible in front of any reader.

Last refresh . 30 August 2026

The two tier systems

Evidence tier

GovernsWhat can be quoted externally versus what stays internal.
ValuesTier 1 (public, quotable). Tier 2 (internal only).
WhereGovernance page pill legend. Applied to every fact on every page.

Commercial tier

GovernsWhich NHS trusts are actively worked, watched, or excluded.
ValuesPriority-40 (62 or above, worked now). Watchlist (below 62, still in-house). Out of scope (rule failed).
WherePriority-40 register, Radar tab, About page structure.

Both systems share the word Tier for a reason. Both operate on the same principle. Evidence has to earn the higher tier through provenance. A trust has to earn the higher tier through score.

Evidence tier

Tier 1 . public and quotable
SourceNamed public document with a URL that resolves today (annual report, board pack, PLACE score, ERIC dataset, CQC report, Companies House filing).
DatePublication date visible on the source and captured in the citation.
AttributionNamed publisher (NHS trust, DHSC, NAO, King's Fund, competitor plc).
UseCite freely in bid responses, board packs, executive briefings, external roundtables, LinkedIn.
ExampleFY25 turnover £1.5bn, deficit £12m . Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Annual Report 2024/25, page 47.
Tier 2 . internal working intelligence
SourceNon-public working knowledge . mutual contact reports, event conversations, off-the-record notes, competitor sales-team chatter, industry back-channel.
DateCaptured but not published.
AttributionNamed internally so provenance is traceable. Never named externally.
UseGuides internal prioritisation and warmth ratings. Never cited in bids, decks, LinkedIn or client conversations.
ExampleChair known to be dissatisfied with current in-house catering standards, second-hand from a former NED at a July 2026 event.

How Tier 2 becomes Tier 1

  1. 1Tier 2 signal captured with named internal source.
  2. 2Radar scan looks for a matching public signal (board pack mention, tender notice, media report, ERIC data movement).
  3. 3If found, citation is rewritten with the public source. Tier 2 note is retired.
  4. 4If not found within 90 days, Tier 2 signal is reviewed. Either kept as active internal intelligence or archived.
  5. 5Tier 1 promotion is logged. Audit trail shows when internal intuition was later confirmed by public evidence.

Commercial tier

209 NHS trusts in England
Around 100 still run soft-FM in-house
Priority-40 . top 40 by composite score . worked now
Watchlist . below the 62 boundary, still in-house . monitored
Out of scope . rule failed at any score . excluded

40 plus 30 plus 30 is the whole in-house pool of 100. Together with the 109 trusts already outsourcing soft-FM they make up the 209 NHS trusts in England.

Named individuals on the Priority-40 register can withdraw or correct their record at any time. See Ethics . commitment 7.

Priority-40

40 trusts

Composite score 62 or above and still in-house. First-outsourcing candidates worked as active BD opportunities 2026-2028.

Named owner, warmth rating, signals tracked, composite score visible, every action logged.

Watchlist

around 60 trusts

Every in-house trust below the 62 boundary. First-outsourcing candidates worked as monitored opportunities 2028-2029.

Named owner but lighter cadence. Signals tracked, score visible, quarterly review.

Out of scope

around 109 trusts

Fails one of three exclusion rules at any score. Already outsourced, held by competitor or non-acute.

No named owner. Exclusion reason logged and searchable. Reviewed when a public signal changes.

How commercial tiers are earned

  1. 1Priority-40 threshold. Trusts scoring 62 or above on the composite score, subject to the tie-break rule (warmth, then deficit ratio, then turnover).
  2. 2Watchlist. Every in-house trust below the 62 boundary. Around sixty trusts, one score bump from Priority-40.
  3. 3Out of scope. Trusts that fail one of three exclusion rules at any score. Already outsourced, held by competitor or non-acute. Tracked separately by the competitor watch dashboard.

Scores are refreshed quarterly from public signal ingest. A material change (chair change, deficit widening, PLACE score movement, transformation programme publication) triggers a score recalculation and, if the delta is large enough, a band move.

Answers for the reader

For a board meeting

Evidence tier. Tier 1 is what we can say out loud. Tier 2 is what we know but do not quote.

Commercial tier. Priority-40 is where we are working. Watchlist is where we are watching. Out of scope is where a rule has failed.

For a client conversation

Sodexo Priority-40 identifies the 40 NHS trusts most likely to consider first-outsourcing of soft-FM services in the current planning cycle. It sits inside a bigger structure. Around 209 trusts in England. Around 100 still run soft-FM in-house. Priority-40 is the top 40 of those 100 by a five-factor composite score covering finance, estates, governance, warmth and group pressure. Every other in-house trust below the 62 boundary sits on the Watchlist, around sixty trusts. Trusts that fail an exclusion rule sit Out of scope, around one hundred and nine. Everything visible on the portal is either publicly sourced (Tier 1) or internally logged with named provenance (Tier 2). Anything a client sees or a bid quotes is Tier 1.

For a compliance reviewer

The Methodology tab provides the full definition. The Governance page carries the operational rules for Tier 2 to Tier 1 promotion. Every signal on the Priority-40 register carries its source citation. Every trust has a named owner. Every relationship note has a named internal source. Composite scores are recalculated quarterly against public data. Audit trail is retained.

Related pages

Trust-type coverage
40%

2 of 5 trust types covered by at least one LIVE Tier 1 artefact.

Tier balance
5 to 2

71 percent of LIVE artefacts are Tier 1. Aim for at least 60 percent Tier 1.

Trusts with zero cleared artefacts
35

These trusts cannot yet be cited from Sodexo material in outbound work.

Triggers without a how-to
6

Named trigger with no drafting playbook in the library.