Social Procurement
State of Practice
City of Vancouver
Healthy City Scholar
Dustin Lupick | MCRP
December 2017 | Update
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
This report was produced as part of the
Healthy City
Scholars Program
, a partnership between the City of
Vancouver and The University of British Columbia
(UBC). I would like to thank my co-mentors Loralee
Delbrouck, Alexander Ralph, and Wes Regan. Without
their support and insights this would not have been
possible.
The Healthy City Scholar program is created with
the spirit of social procurement in mind. Using the
City’s purchasing power to provide students with an
opportunity to work on meaningful projects gives
young professionals a chance to gain valuable skills and
experience that they will take forward into their careers.
A HEALTHY CITY FOR ALL
HealtHy City Strategy – Four year aCtion Plan
2015 - 2018 | PHASE 2
Acknowledgement
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
By the end of 2018, the City of Vancouver aims to implement a social procurement
framework. Being an organization that spends $200 million dollars annually, the
potential benets of a social procurement framework to the City are substantial.
The rationale for social procurement is deceptively simple: provide social value
with the money spent by a city. Social procurement represents the choice by an
organization to embed the achievement of social values into their procurement
practices. Increasingly, organizations around the globe are changing their
procurement practices in an eort to add social value into contracts.
This report begins with an examination of the current procurement practices in
the City of Vancouver. In particular, looking at the journey the City has taken to
reach this junction. Secondly, an exploration of the social procurement state of
practice globally is conducted by examining the dierent goals that organizations
have identied and the approaches they have taken to achieve them. The report
concludes with an overview of the program elements that help ensure the success
of a social procurement program and recommendations for future action.
Vancouver Context
The City of Vancouver has already taken a number of steps that positions itself to
work towards adopting a social procurement framework. They include:
• Ethical Purchasing Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct (2005)
• City of Vancouver Procurement Policy (2010)
• Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Steering Committee (2011)
• Leadership Questionnaire on sustainable and social practices placed into bids
over $75,000 ($200,000 for construction)
Sustainable and Ethical Procurement (SEP) Program
The Sustainable and Ethical Procurement (SEP) Program, as part of the City’s
procurement policy highlights six priority areas including:
• Supporting ethical labour practices
• Providing opportunities to social enterprises
• Providing opportunities for people with barriers to employment
• Providing opportunities to purchase local and sustainable food
executive SummAry
The rationale for social procurement is deceptively simple:
provide social value with the money spent by a city.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
City Strategies + Plans
The creation of a Social Procurement framework will support the following City
strategies and plans:
• Downtown Eastside Area Plan | 2014
• Healthy City Strategy Action Plan | 2015-2018
• Community Economic Development Strategy | 2016
• New Start Strategy: A Settlement Integration Strategy for Immigrants and
Refugees in Vancouver | 2016
• City of Reconciliation & Truth and Reconciliation
Council Motions
There have been a number of Council motions relating to social procurement
including:
• Fair Trade Town | 2010
• Ten Percent Shift | 2012
• Buy Social Canada | 2015
• Living Wage Certication | 2016
Social Procurement Goals
This research aims to better understand the state of practice globally regarding
social procurement. In particular, the research investigates the social policy goals
that have been identied in other places and the approaches taken to meet them.
The following goals have been identied as priorities within organizations:
• Provide opportunities for people with barriers to employment
• Support social enterprises and social value businesses
• Promote Aboriginal opportunities
• Increase local supplier participation
• Promote diversity in the supply chain
• Support small and medium businesses
• Support social innovation
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
Procurement Approaches
The procurement approaches taken by an organization are determined by a
multitude of factors, ranging from those done in the planning stage, to changes in
the process, and requirements built into contracts.
Identify Opportunities
Social Impact Opportunity Analysis
A Social Impact Opportunity Analysis examines the spend categories within an
organization and identies potential social procurement opportunities. This can
be used to examine contracts up for renewal and see if there are social impact
opportunities in them.
Contract Weighting
Contracts are generally weighted primarily on price and technical ability. If the
weight placed on social value is increased than suppliers are incentivized to focus
their bids on social value objectives.
Revise Approaches to Procurement
Simplifying Procurement Process
The creation of a shorter Request for Proposal (RFP), or a simplied procurement
process, may enable small businesses, including social enterprises and Aboriginal
businesses, to bid on contract proposals where they currently do not have the
capacity.
Certied Supplier Directory
The creation of a certied supplier directory will simplify the process of nding
suppliers that can both fulll the requirements of a contract and provide a social
impact.
Meet the Buyer Events
Meet the Buyer events provide businesses with an opportunity to learn about
working with a city, while also allowing the city to explain how the added social
value works towards achieving larger social outcomes.
Advanced Notication
Providing advanced notice of potential upcoming contracts to suppliers will enable
interested social enterprises and smaller businesses to plan ahead by developing
appropriate programs.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
Contract Unbundling
Contract unbundling involves the division of a larger contract into smaller ones.
The agglomeration of contracts makes it dicult for many businesses to bid on
contracts, and unbundling may allow businesses to enter the procurement process.
Apply Social Impact Criteria
Contracts Set Asides
Set Asides are contracts that are only available to a targeted group of suppliers.
Within Canada, this is often used for Aboriginal procurement, while elsewhere it
enables social enterprises, local businesses, and small and medium businesses to win
contracts.
Direct Awarding
Direct awarding sees the awarding of a contract without a competitive
procurement process. Small value contracts can sometimes be direct awarded to
targeted suppliers, including Aboriginal businesses and social enterprises.
Solicit Bid from Targeted Suppliers
Requirements can be placed in the procurement process that requires bids from
a specic group, in eorts to ensure that a supplier from a targeted group will be
evaluated.
Joint Ventures
Joint Ventures involve two or more businesses bidding on a contract together. They
are often used by Aboriginal businesses that do not have the capacity or resources
to bid on a contract alone.
Targeted Employment
Targeted employment involves stipulations in a contract that requires suppliers
to hire people from a targeted group. Targeted employment can involve direct
employment by a supplier or through a third party organization.
Subcontracting
Subcontracting involves a business being hired by a supplier to complete a portion
of an awarded contract. A contract can recommend, or require, that suppliers
subcontract from specic suppliers that are able to provide a social impact.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
Key Program Elements
Social procurement does not happen overnight. There are a number of key
program elements that together will increase a program’s likelihood of success.
Culture of Social Procurement
Regardless of the processes put in place, a social procurement program will struggle
without an enabling culture. Having the support of council and management
sends a clear message that there is a common vision, and social procurement is an
organizational priority. Time will be needed while introducing social impact into
a contract, and a dedicated social procurement expert will provide vital advice and
assistance. While the eventual goal is that all sta are social procurement experts,
having an internal champion will mitigate some of the fear that a procurement
team may have about the eects of social procurement.
Clear Goals, Objectives and Approaches
Clearly identifying the goals, objectives and approaches of a social procurement
program is imperative for its success. The goals cannot be aspirational, and
a contract should list the deliverables, measurement requirements, and the
consequences if requirements are not met. This clear language is equally important
for suppliers who will have a dicult time understanding what they are trying to
achieve without clear outcomes. It is better to have a small number of achievable
goals than a list that is impossible to achieve or monitor.
Monitoring + Evaluation
Monitoring and the evaluation of contracts are seen by many as the most dicult
aspect of social procurement, but are just as important as the initial social
requirements. Contracts can be monitored on either their outcomes (eg. # of
people hired), or their impacts (eg. % reduction in poverty). Contract monitoring
should not create a resource burden. Generally, organizations will monitor
outcomes as they are less costly and more tangible. The enforcement of social
impact requirements can be dicult. Although nancial repercussions can be used,
creating relationships with suppliers has proved more eective.
Having the support of council and management sends a clear
message that there is a common social procurement vision.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
Trade Agreements
Trade agreements can represent a challenge in undertaking social procurement
practices. The City of Vancouver must adhere to the Canadian Free Trade
Agreement (CFTA), and the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA).
Although both trade agreements do have restrictions, there are a number of
exemptions and thresholds that will enable social procurement to occur.
Exemptions include non-prots, philanthropic institutions, prison labour and
people with disabilities. Alongside these trade agreements the Comprehensive
Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), between Canada and the European
Union, may play an increasingly prevalent role. Legal council should still always
be sought to ensure a procurement practices does not risk breaking any trade
agreement.
Summary
In summary, this report provides an overview of how the City of Vancouver arrived
at a decision to explore a social procurement framework, and provides some options
on how to implement the framework in the future. The City has already taken a
number of steps towards embedding social procurement practices, and the creation
of a framework will continue to formalize the work being conducted.
Not every approach and program element will work in Vancouver. As seen in
appendix 1, every organization has a slightly dierent perspective on what social
procurement is, the goals they are trying to accomplish, and the approaches they
will take as an organization.
The goals and objectives that an organization has for social procurement will play
a determining role in the approaches that will be undertaken. However, the aim
remains the same. By actively striving to add social value into the procurement
process an organization, or in this case city, will continually work towards the larger
goal of providing a better life for all its citizens.
By actively striving to add social value into the procurement
process an organization will continually work towards the
larger goal of providing a better life for all its citizens.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
tAble of contentS
Acknowledgement 2
Executive Summary 3
Table of Contents 9
1 | Introduction 11
2 | Background 12
2.1 What is Procurement? 12
2.2 What is Social Procurement? 13
2.3 Social Procurement in the City of Vancouver 14
2.3.1 Commitment to Sustainable and Ethical Procurement 14
2.3.2 Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Program 15
2.3.3 Stated Priorities of Social Procurement Program 15
2.4 City of Vancouver Strategies and Plans 16
2.5 Council Motions 17
2.6 City of Vancouver Social Procurement Examples 18
3 | Goal of the Research 22
3.1 Methodology 22
4 | Social Procurement Goals 23
4.1 Provide Opportunities for People with 24
Barriers to Employment
4.2 Support Social Enterprises 26
4.3 Promote Aboriginal Opportunities 27
4.4 Increase Local Supplier Participation 29
4.5 Promote Diversity within Supply Chain 30
4.6 Increase Small and Medium Enterprise Participation 31
4.7 Promote Innovation within the Supply Chain 32
5 | Procurement Approaches 33
5.1 Identify Opportunities 34
5.1.1 Social Impact Opportunity Assessment 34
5.1.2 Contract Weighting 36
5.2 Revise Approaches to Procurement 37
5.2.1 Simplifying Procurement Process 37
5.2.2 Certied Supplier Directory 39
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.2.3 Meet the Buyer Events 40
5.2.4 Advanced Notication 41
5.2.5 Contract Unbundling 42
5.3 Apply Social Impact Criteria 44
5.3.1 Contract Set Asides | Limited Competition 44
5.3.2 Direct Awarding 46
5.3.3 Solicit Bid from Targeted Suppliers 47
5.3.4 Joint Ventures 48
5.3.5 Targeted Employment 49
5.3.6 Subcontracting from Targeted Suppliers 50
6 | Key Program Elements 51
6.1 Culture of Social Procurement 51
6.1.1 Leadership from Council and Management 51
6.1.2 Resources to Implement the Program 52
6.1.3 Internal Champion 52
6.1.4 Understanding Social Value 53
6.2 Clear Goals, Objectives, and Approaches 54
6.2.1 Contract Requirement Language 55
6.2.2 Challenges from Non-Compulsory Language 55
6.3 Monitoring + Evaluation 56
6.3.1 Enforcement of Social Value 57
6.3.2 Contract Management 57
6.4 Trade Agreements 58
6.4.1 Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) 58
6.4.2 New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) 59
7 | Conclusion 60
8 | Recommendations 60
9 | Work Cited 62
10 | Appendix 68
10.1 Review of Social Procurement 68
10.2 Social Procurement Booklet 88
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
1 | introduction
Every organization spends money to purchase goods and services. Generally, an
approach has been taken that aims to nd the most scally responsible solution
at the possible expense of other criteria. This way of thinking is shifting, as
organizations begin to act more strategically in how money is spent. Social
procurement represents the choice by an organization to purchase goods and
services that are not only scally responsible, but aim to provide a larger social
value.
The City of Vancouver is seeking to develop and adopt a social procurement
framework by the end of 2018. By undertaking social procurement practices the
City aims to meet the following existing and emerging goals:
• Provide opportunities for people with barriers to employment
• Support social enterprises
• Role of procurement in supporting reconciliation
This report examines how other organizations are working towards achieving
social value through procurement. This includes identifying the dierent goals
of organizations, discussing the dierent approaches that have been taken,
and exploring the key program elements that help ensure a successful social
procurement program.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
2.1 What is Procurement?
The City of Vancouver purchases approximately $200 million worth of goods
and services every year. Within the City, procurement is done by a centralised
department called Supply Chain Management (SCM). By having all purchasing
occur within one department, the City has the ability to outline a clear approach
and have visibility on all procurements.
When a good or service needs to be purchased by a City department, a request is
put forward through an online shopping cart system. The department putting in
the request, known as the ‘end user’, will provide the scope of work to SCM, who
will put together a source plan request to be executed according to the procurement
policy.
Purchasing within the City is done through an open and transparent procurement
process. For contracts that are less than $75,000 ($200,000 for construction), three
bids will be obtained through internal price records or requests that are sent out to
known suppliers. For purchases that are over $75,000 ($200,000 for construction), a
public call for bids will occur on the British Columbia Bid website.
1
For SCM’s Annual Procurement Report (2016), 652 awards, or 76.5% of contracts
were under $75,000, representing fewer than 10% of the City’s purchases by
value. During the same period, 47 awards, or 5% of contracts were awarded over
$500,000, representing over 70% of the City’s purchase by value.
The City will evaluate bids on best value criteria that include the total cost of
ownership, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social
sustainability, as determined by the specic criteria for the applicable procurement.
1 http://www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca/open.dll/welcome?language=En
2 | bAckground
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
2.2 What is Social Procurement?
Social procurement represents the clear choice by an organization to support
social goals through their purchasing of goods and services. This can be done by
embedding the delivery of social and sustainable outcomes within tenders and
processes. Historically, providing a social benet through procurement has been
considered a secondary objective, sitting below the primary objective of obtaining
a good or service at the best price.
2
Increasingly, municipalities and organizations
are realizing the added value of social procurement and are working towards
embedding the practices as a priority in its overall strategies.
If the primary procurement goal of an organization is to reward contracts to
the lowest bidder, then this goal is readily and continually achieved. However, if
the goal of procurement is to support city-wide initiatives a city’s purchasing can
be used to support other city goals. Two decades ago procurement was entirely
focused on economic factors and market eciency. Over the past twenty years
environmental sustainability has increasingly become more relevant in procurement
practices.
3
The next step in the evolution of what is valued in procurement is social
impact.
Best value for money will be achieved by evaluating how procurement aects the
overall result and may not always come from the cheapest bid.
4
Contracts awarded
exclusively on price can result in signicant negative externalities.
5
Beyond price,
best value can include supplier t, capacity of supplier, innovation, contribution
to policy objectives, and increased economic, environmental and social value.
6
Procurement itself is not simply a transactional process, but a strategic operation by
a city to leverage its purchasing to support societal goals.
7
2 Halloran Deirdre. The Social Value in Social Clauses: Methods of Measuring and Evaluation in Social Pro-
curement. Global Public Procurement Theories and Practices. Florida: Springer Publishing 39-58 Eds. Khi Thai.
2017
3 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
4 Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement Toolkit. 2013 Retrieved from: http://socialprocuremen-
taustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Social-Procurement-Toolkit.pdf
5 Šličiuvienė, Dovilė. Public Procurement in Lithuania: (Dis)balance Between Protability and Environmental
Protection. Global Public Procurement Theories and Practices. Florida: Springer Publishing 17-38 Eds Khi Thai.
2017.
6 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
7 United Nations Environment. 2017 Global Review of Sustainable Public Procurement. 2017. Retrieved from:
http://www.scpclearinghouse.org/sites/default/les/globalreview_web.pdf
Social procurement
represents the
clear choice by
an organization
to support social
goals through their
purchasing of goods
and services.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
As continuously shown, there is no best way to do social procurement.
8
While
organizations will have a wide range of goals, the choice to prioritize social impact
means there is a unifying direction. By making a clear choice to support social
procurement, the socioeconomic goals related to poverty, labor, health and an
increasingly robust economy can be envisioned.
9
Social procurement practices are not new, occurring in most organizations on an ad
hoc basis.
10
For this reason, the formalised promotion ofsocial procurement is still
in its infancy, meaning there is not a clear best approach to applying a framework.
11
This newness speaks to the wide variety of approaches to social procurement, all
with their strengths and weaknesses.
2.3 Social Procurement in the City of Vancouver
2.3.1 Commitment to Sustainable and Ethical Procurement
The City of Vancouver has taken a number of steps towards the creation of a
Social Procurement framework. In 2005, the City adopted an Ethical Purchasing
Policy (EPP) that applied to apparel items and agricultural products.
12
Vendors must
meet the performance standards outlined in its Supplier Code of Conduct (SCC).
13
Its aim is to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for people who make products for
the City.
In April 2010, the
City’s Procurement Policy
(AF-015-01)
14
was implemented by
City Council, providing direction for the purchasing of goods and services for the
City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Park Board, the Vancouver Police Board and
the Vancouver Library Board. The contents of the policy include sustainable and
ethical procurement policies within the procurement process.
8 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
9 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
10 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
11 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
12 http://policy.vancouver.ca/AF01401.pdf
13 http://policy.vancouver.ca/AF01401P1.pdf
14 http://policy.vancouver.ca/AF01501.pdf
The City’s Ethical
Purchasing Policy (EPP)
ensures all suppliers
meet the performance
standards outlined
in its Supplier Code
of Conduct (SCC).
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
2.3.2 Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Program
Steering Committee
In 2011, the City established a
Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Steering
Committee
, in an eort to provide strategic oversight and direction for the most
eective ways to integrate sustainable and ethical procurement. Membership of the
committee included the Deputy City Manager (chair), Director of Sustainability,
Director of Supply Chain Management, representation from Financial Services,
and other departments whose purchase requirements were identied for strategic
sustainable and ethical procurement. In 2012, the committee focused on enhancing
internal processes to progress the program, and provide sta guidance on targeting
opportunities.
Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Priorities
The Sustainable and Ethical Procurement (SEP) Program, as part of the City’s
procurement policy, highlights six priorities areas including:
• Supporting ethical labour practices
• Providing opportunities to social enterprises & people with barriers to
employment
• Providing opportunities to purchase local and sustainable food
Social Procurement Considerations
In 2012, the City incorporated sustainable and ethical considerations into
the procurement process for bids over $75,000 ($200,000 for construction).
Considerations were built into bids in three ways:
• Proponents must meet the requirements set out in the SCC
• Proponents must ll out a
Leadership Questionnaire
that identies suppliers
who embed social and sustainability leadership into their operations
• Proponents are asked to provide rationale for how their goods or services will
address key sustainability issues, including socio-economic sustainability
2.3.3 Stated Priorities of Social Procurement
The current stated priorities for the social procurement are:
• Increase procurement with social enterprises
• Increase employment opportunities for people with barriers
• Pay a living wage for contracted services
• Increase purchase of local and sustainable food
• Continue to be a Fair Trade Town
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
2.4 City of Vancouver Strategies and Plans
The creation of a Social Procurement Framework supports the following:
Downtown Eastside Area (DTES) Plan | 2015
• Local business is supported and barriers to establishing business are reduced;
• Residents are given opportunities to earn a living that at a minimum, pays for their
basic needs;
• Social enterprises are encouraged;
• Local hiring and social purchasing policies are a priority;
• Opportunities for employment in local business, social enterprise, green/ high tech and
micro enterprises are created.
• These DTES local economy principles support the city-wide principle of fostering a
robust, resilient economy.
Healthy City Strategy | 2015-2018
Goal: Making Ends Meet and Working Well
• 5. (a) Encourage the development and/or enhancement of social procurement
frameworks among the Leadership Table members.
• (b) Create a formal Social Procurement Framework to guide the City of Vancouver’s
procurement practices.
• Supply Chain Management and Social Policy identied as co-leads in the creation of a
social procurement framework
Community Economic Development Strategy
• Inclusive employment
• Attract new businesses
•
Buy Social
Canada
and
Community Economic Development Strategic Action
Committee
(
CEDSAC)
as implementation partner
• Practicing an asset based approach to CED
•
CEDSAC
: Develop social procurement directory
•
CEDSAC
/City: Convene a Vancouver social procurement roundtable
City of Reconciliation & Truth and Reconciliation
• Help build the capacity of local Aboriginal organizations to engage in social hiring
and social procurement in partnership with community centres and Aboriginal
organizations
New Start Strategy: A Settlement Integration Strategy for
Immigrants and Refugees in Vancouver | 2016
Goal: Building Welcome and Inclusive Workplaces
• 3.2 Explore alignment with the Healthy City Strategy action on developing a social
procurement framework for the City to encourage the inclusion of culturally diverse
businesses. Work with large businesses to help them adopt this practice.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
2.5 Council Motions
The following Council motions support a social procurement framework:
Fair Trade Town | 2010
City Council endorses an application to become a Fair Trade Town. The
City will continue the existing policy to purchase only Fair Trade coee,
tea and sugar, and other Fair Trade certied products where possible and
practicable, for all meetings, oces and canteens. The City will appoint a City
representative to the Fair Trade Vancouver steering committee for quarterly
meetings.
Ten Per Cent Shift | 2012
City Council endorses Ten Percent Shift Campaign. Ten Percent Shift is a local
campaign to raise awareness about the benets of investing in local businesses,
and making conscious decisions to seek out local business opportunities where
feasible and City sta report back any way it can increase percentage of local
purchasing.
Buy Social Canada Certication | 2015
City Council endorses the work of Buy Social Canada and directs sta to
consider Buy Social Canada certication program during the development of
the City’s social procurement framework. Buy Social Canada aims to promote
the inclusion of social values into existing purchasing. Its focus includes:
certifying social enterprise suppliers and purchasers, directly supporting the
creation of market opportunities for social enterprises, and supporting social
enterprise capacity.
Living Wage | 2016
City Council approved proposed Living Wage Implementation Plan. To be
recognized as a Living Wage Employer, the City must implement measures to
ensure that direct employees and individuals employed by contracted service
providers, including subcontractors, are compensated at or above the Living
Wage rate. Social Enterprises are exempt from the living wage requirement. On
May 1, 2017 the City ocially became a living wage employer.
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
2.6 City of Vancouver Social Procurement Examples
The following are examples of social procurement practices that have either
occurred, or were attempted by the City of Vancouver. While not exhaustive they
provide an overview of what contracts have been identied and the approaches
taken.
Street Cleaning Grant | 1999-present
Multiple Vendors
• The Street Cleaning Grant is to provide supplementary street cleaning services
through job support and life skills training opportunities for youth and adults
with barriers to traditional employment
• Low threshold employment supports network, helping marginalized
individuals to become more self-reliant, thus contributing to the goal of ending
homelessness and providing cleaner streets
• In 2017, the grant was for $970,000 through six organizations, with amounts
ranging from $340,000 to $40,000
• The grants are monitored quarterly by the engineering department (including
hours worked, people employed, blocks cleaned, and amount of litter collected)
Contractor for Renovations of City Shelter Facilities | 2012
Embers Stang Solutions
• City went to market through invitation to tender (ITT) for renovations within
City shelters
• Bid sent to prequalied list of general contractors
• Two social enterprises (
Just Works
,
EMBERS
) were invited for specic bid
• The added suppliers required to meet the City’s insurance, indemnity, health,
and safety requirements
• Embers continued similar work with the City over the coming years
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
Supply and Distribution of Food Scraps
Kitchen Containers | 2012
Plastic Solutions Canada
• Procurement for supplier to provide and deliver compost containers to all
residential units
• Contract for both the supply and delivery of kitchen containers were bundled
together
• RFP states: “utilizing labour from social enterprise organizations that provide
easy-to-access employment opportunities to those with barriers should be
considered for door-to-door distribution activities.”
• Of three proponents: One felt this was not appropriate given the contract and
would prefer to use own sta, second said they will comply without stating how,
and third stated they initiated discussion with two social enterprises to assist with
distribution where possible
• A number of social enterprises were reached out to, but none were considered
a good t
• The cost of working with social enterprise, (training etc.), was deemed too high
at $22.50 vs $17.00 per hour from regular subcontractor
Winter HEAT Shelter Conversion | 2014
Embers Stang Solutions
• City sought quotations to determine if it would issue a construction agreement
for building renovations at site to be used as a winter shelter
• The criteria was price and ability to meet schedule
• In contract approval summary, the use of a social enterprise to complete the
contract was seen as a value added
• Embers won contract with lowest price bid
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
Grati Removal Services | 2014
Goodbye Grati
• City grati removal contract was up for renewal through open bid process
• The scope of work included a requirment for a proposed work plan addressing
whether and, if so, how the Proponent proposes to include the use of a Social
Enterprise and/or Person(s) with Barriers to Employment
• There were two bids, with
Goodbye Grati
having the lowest price, and the
highest technical capability
•
Goodbye Grati
committed to assigning a minimum of 25 hours per week
of work to employees who were graduates of
Coast Mental Health
Transition
Employment Program, gradually increasing this minimum to a maximum of
40 hours per week over the course of the following six months
• Supply Agreement states: The city will work collaboratively with
Goodbye
Grati
and
Coast Mental Health
to allow continuous success of the program,
including meeting periodically to review and evaluate issues and opportunities
• Supplier provides training to hired individuals, similar to training for regular
employees
• In 2017 the contract was extended
• Unbundling of contract was explored with project manager
Parking Landscape, Clean and Litter
Pick Up Maintenance | 2014
Mission Possible
• City sought a supplier to provide routine maintenance for a number of sites
along Fraser Street
• As a limited competition process the bid was targeted to social enterprises that
provide opportunities to people with barriers to employment
• Bid sent out to 6 social enterprises, with 3 responses
• Bid was awarded on lowest price and ability to full work
21
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Construction Services for Repairs to SRO Hotels | 2014
Embers
• The City sought a social enterprise who could provide, from time to time,
construction (handyman) repairs for outstanding SoM violations
• The City aimed to enter into standing-oer (prequalify)
• Embers was the only respondent and was given approval for upcoming projects
Snow and Ice Removal | 2014
Multiple Vendors
• RFA regarding snow and de-icing services of City owned or managed property
during periods of snow
• City sought to prequalify multiple suppliers
• As part of
Social Impact Procurement Pilot Questionnaire
, City emailed
vendor about potential subcontracting opportunities with social enterprises
• Vendors are requested to report, on a monthly basis, the progress they achieve
in engaging social enterprises (unknown whether this occurred)
Supply and Delivery of Oce Supplies | 2016
Staples
• Contract for the delivery of oce supplies to all locations in the City
• City included requirement for social impact workplan
• One proponent’s social impact workplan outlined history of working with
social enterprises, and made a commitment to hire people with barriers
• Sustainability was given a weighted score of 12% overall
• Social impact, within sustainability, was given a weighting of 2% in evaluation
22
Social Procurement | State of Practice
As directed by the
Healthy City Strategy Action Plan (2015-2018)
, the City
of Vancouver is taking steps to create a Social Procurement Framework. This
research aims to better understand the state of practice globally regarding social
procurement. In particular, the research investigates the social policy goals that
have been identied by dierent organizations, and the approaches taken to meet
them.
By studying what others are doing, the City continues to work towards the creation
of its own Social Procurement Framework.
3.1 Methodology
To better understand how a social procurement framework can be created,
implemented, and monitored, a scan of current literature and practices was
undertaken. This scan included municipalities, provincial and federal governments,
private reports, and academic literature. It also included interviews with City sta,
formal roundtable discussions, and conversations with community organizations.
Within government literature there is a clear distinction between guides and
policies. While guides describe ideal social procurement scenarios they are not
legally binding documents. Social procurement policies are more reserved in their
aspirations, but provide examples of clear political direction.
There are a number of guides that outline what social procurement is, and
investigate ways an organization can change to better support social initiatives.
A few jurisdictions have implemented formal social procurement frameworks, or
have rewritten their procurement policy to reect social procurement practices.
The policies clearly outline the requirements put in place to achieve social value.
A number of other jurisdictions state that they support the achievement of social
outcomes through procurement, but do not elaborate on the steps they are taking.
Overall, there is a large amount of literature on the potential that social
procurement holds, but little about how to implement a framework or monitor
its eectiveness in practice. Only a small portion of social procurement literature
is written by government organizations, and therefore the majority comes from
private reports, academia and consultation.
Collectively, the literature provides an overview of the current status of social
procurement. It also highlights the range of denitions and objectives that
organizations have regarding their procurement practices.
3 | goAl of the reSeArch
By studying what
others are doing,
the City continues
to work towards the
creation of their own
Social Procurement
Framework.
23
Social Procurement | State of Practice
As identied by the City of Toronto, social procurement is in itself a core poverty
reduction policy.
15
A social procurement framework does not stand alone, but must
be attached to the goals and policies set forward by a city.
In the City of Vancouver, social procurement represents a piece in a group of
initiatives and strategies intended to help create positive impacts and tackle the
large societal challenges that the City continually faces. This includes working
towards poverty reduction, inclusion, and reconciliation. This direction come from
the City, and it is important to embed these broader principles of the City into the
thought process of the supply chain.
16
Although the rst three goals have been identied by the City of Vancouver, other
jurisdictions have outlined dierent goals that they are trying to accomplish. A
social procurement framework should build o of the current policies in place
and facilitate the integration of social procurement as an extension of the existing
processes.
17
Identied Goals
Provide Opportunities for People with Barriers to Employment
• Barcelona (Spain), City of the Gold Coast (Australia), New South Wales (Australia),
Toronto, Victoria (BC), Regional Municipality of Wood Bualo (Alberta), Wales
Supporting Social Enterprises
• Barcelona (Spain), British Columbia, Cumberland (BC), Cumbria (UK), City of the
Gold Coast (Australia), London (UK), New South Wales (Australia), Scotland, Victoria
(Australia), Victoria (BC), Wales
Promote Aboriginal Opportunities
• Australia, BC Hydro (Crown Corporation), Canada (Federal), Manitoba, New South
Wales (Australia)
Increase Local Supplier Participation
• Cumberland (BC), Cumbria (UK), City of the Gold Coast (Australia), London (UK),
Manchester (UK), New South Wales (Australia), Scotland, Wales
15 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
16 Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement: The Business Case. 2015. Retrieved from: http://so-
cialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Social-Procurement-Business-Case1.pdf
17 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
4 | SociAl Procurement goAlS
A social procurement
framework does not
stand alone, but must
be attached to the
goals and policies set
forward by a City.
24
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Promote Diversity in the Supply Chain
• Cumberland (BC), Cumbria (UK), New South Wales (Australia), Seattle (USA),
Toronto, Victoria (BC)
Support Small and Medium Businesses
• Cumberland (BC), Cumbria (UK), London (UK), Manchester (UK), New South Wales
(Australia), Scotland, Wales
Support Social Innovation
• British Columbia, New South Wales (Australia), Scotland
4.1 Provide Opportunities for People with
Barriers to Employment
Providing opportunities for people with barriers to employment is a key goal
for the City of Vancouver’s Social Procurement Framework. The City aims to
address unemployment amongst its citizens by providing employment to people
who historically have been excluded from the workforce. According to the
Mowat
Foundation
, a number of studies have shown that providing employment for
people that face barriers can have signicant economic benets.
18
If, for example, a
contract requires the employment of people with barriers, the social impact will be
a reduction in unemployment that may also reduce stresses on other cost centers.
19
As seen in
Ernst Young’s
Social Impact report for Atira Property Management the
positive impacts of hiring people with barriers include: increase in employability,
job skills, local spend, and quality of life. At the same time there is a reduction
in social assistance costs, shelter costs, crime rates, reliance on food banks and
healthcare costs.
20
18 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
19 ibid.
20 Ernst & Young. Atira Property Management Inc.: Social Impact of Hiring Target Employee Group Individu-
als. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.atira.bc.ca/sites/default/les/APMI%20Social%20Impact%20Report%20
-%20July%202017.pdf
The positive impacts of hiring people with barriers include:
increase in employability, job skills, local spend,
and quality of life.
25
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Examples
Wales
• Federal procurement policy seeks out areas of expenditure that can provide
work for disadvantaged people.
21
British Columbia
• Province’s
Social Impact Purchasing Guidelines
lists increased independence
and sustainable employment for those in need, and meaningful independence
and community inclusion for people with disabilities as purchasing goals.
22
Village of Cumberland
|
BC
• Village’s social procurement framework lists helping people move out of
poverty, and providing independence and sustainable employment for those in
need as goals.
23
City of the Gold Coast
|
Australia
• Social procurement is seen as a strategic approach to provide employment
opportunities via procurement to disadvantaged communities.
24
Barcelona
|
Spain
• The City’s social procurement guide aims to increase employment for people
with barriers.
25
Victoria
|
BC
• The City’s action plan mandates helping people with barriers to employment
and strengthening capacity for supportive employment. The City will also give
preference to vendors that hire people with barriers.
26
New South Wales
|
Australia
• Social procurement is seen as a potential tool to provide opportunities for
employment and training for people excluded from the work force.
27
Toronto
|
Canada
• The City has implemented a Workforce Development program on large
contracts aimed at providing meaningful employment opportunities to people
with barriers.
28
21 Welsh Government. Wales Procurement Policy Statement. 2015.
22 British Columbia: Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation. Social Impact Purchasing Guide-
lines. 2014
23 Village of Cumberland. Social Procurement Framework. 2016.
24 City of Gold Coast (Australia). Procurement Policy and Contract Manual. 2016. Retrieved from: http://
www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/procurement-policy-guidelines-12293.html
25 Ajuntament de Barcelona. Social Public Procurement Guide. 2017. Retrieved from: http://ajuntament.
barcelona.cat/contractaciopublica/en/
26 City of Victoria. Good Jobs + Good Business = Better Community: The Mayor’s Task Force on Social En-
terprise and Social Procurement Action Plan. 2017.
27 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
28 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016
26
Social Procurement | State of Practice
4.2 Support Social Enterprises
Vancouver has a robust social enterprise sector, with the potential to provide
immense social value in the City’s contracts.
29
Social enterprises are businesses that
seek to provide a social value above and beyond prot.
30
The City has identied
supporting social enterprises as one of its goals. One way to do this is by providing
opportunities for social enterprises to bid on city contracts.
Many cities or regions will create a social enterprise strategy that exists outside of
their social procurement framework. By creating a strategy that is separate from
public procurement, social enterprises are supported in their operations with both
the public sector and general public.
31
Most social enterprises are started by people
who are passionate about a specic goal, but may not have a business background
and would benet from access to skill development opportunities.
32
By supporting social enterprises there is a strong likelihood that other social
procurement goals will be fullled, as social enterprises have been shown to support
people with barriers to employment.
33
Social enterprises will help facilitate the
accomplishment of social, environmental, health, cultural, economic and other
community goals.
34
Examples
Toronto
|
Canada
The City of Toronto identies social enterprises as a diverse supplier if more than
50% of the employees are considered disadvantaged and their mission is to create
social, environmental, or cultural value and impact.
35
London
|
UK
City has committed to supporting and continuing positive engagement with the
social enterprise sector.
36
Victoria
|
Australia
Businesses are encouraged to create relationships with ‘social value businesses.’
37
29 City of Vancouver CED Strategy
30 Lepage, David. Exploring Social Procurement. 2014.
31 Scottish Government. Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.
gov.scot/Resource/0051/00511500.pdf
32 Province of Nova Scotia. Advancing Social Enterprise in Nova Scotia. 2017. Retrieved from: https://novas-
cotia.ca/business/docs/social-enterprise-framework.pdf
33 Canadian Community Economic Development Network & Government of Manitoba. Manitoba Social
Enterprise Strategy. 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.mb.ca/housing/pubs/mb_social_enterprise_strate-
gy_2015.pdf
34 Scottish Government. Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.
gov.scot/Resource/0051/00511500.pdf
35 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016
36 City of London. City of London Procurement Strategy 2015-2018. 2015.
37 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
Most social enterprises
are started by people
who are passionate
about a specic goal but
may not have a business
background and would
benet from access
to skill development
opportunities.
27
Social Procurement | State of Practice
City of the Gold Coast
|
Australia
City’s procurement guide recommends developing and attracting social
enterprises.
38
Barcelona
|
Spain
City identies subcontracting from social enterprises as a value added service.
39
Regional Municipality of Wood Bualo
|
Alberta
Building social enterprise capacity is identied as social procurement priority.
40
4.3 Promote Aboriginal Opportunities
As a Reconciliation City, Vancouver is seeking to increase Aboriginal participation
in procurement. Within Canada, there have been a number of steps taken to
address Aboriginal procurement at the national and provincial level. At the
municipal level, Aboriginal procurement as a mandate has not generally been an
identied priority, although this is changing.
As identied by the F
ederation of Canadian Municipalities
, the City of Saskatoon
is working with the
Oce of Treaty Commissioner
to develop an action plan
that will review policies and programs with an indigenous lens.
41
The goals of
the plan include connecting indigenous people with employment and increasing
procurement opportunities.
42
Based on the
Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business’s 2016 Aboriginal
Business Survey
, more than half of First Nations businesses are located on
reserve.
43
This can represent a barrier for Aboriginal businesses, as they are
unable to use on-reserve land as collateral, and therefore most businesses are self-
nanced.
44
Furthermore, education and job experience continues to be a barrier
for Aboriginal businesses.
45
38 City of Gold Coast (Australia). Procurement Policy and Contract Manual. 2016. Retrieved from: http://
www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/procurement-policy-guidelines-12293.html
39 Ajuntament de Barcelona. Social Public Procurement Guide. 2017. Retrieved from: http://ajuntament.
barcelona.cat/contractaciopublica/en/
40 https://www.rmwb.ca/Municipal-Government/municipal_departments/SCM/Doing-Business/Social-Pro-
curement.htm
41 Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Pathways to Reconciliation: Cities respond to the Truth and Rec-
onciliation Commission Calls to Action. 2015. Retrieved from: https://fcm.ca/Documents/tools/BCMC/Path-
ways_to_reconciliation_EN.pdf
42 ibid.
43 Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. Promise and Prosperity: The 2016 Aboriginal Business Survey.
2016. Retrieved from: https://www.ccab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CCAB-PP-Report-V2-SQ-Pages.
pdf
44 Aboriginal Aairs and Northern Development Canada. Evaluation of the Procurement Strategy for Aborigi-
nal Business. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ-AEV/STAGING/
texte-text/ev_psab_1446467643497_eng.pdf
45 ibid.
The City of
Saskatoon is working
with the Oce of
Treaty Commissioner
to develop an
action plan that will
review policies and
programs with an
indigenous lens.
28
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Public procurement is seen as a tool that Aboriginal businesses can use to gain
experience, develop capacity, and form partnerships with other businesses
competing for procurement opportunities.
46
Aboriginal procurement guidelines
aim to strengthen the relationship between aboriginal businesses and public
procurement organizations.
47
Examples
Canada
The
Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Businesses
(PSAB), started in 1996,
aims to increase federal contracting opportunities and to gain access to the overall
federal procurement process for Aboriginal businesses.
48
British Columbia
The
Aboriginal Procurement and Contract Management Guidelines
provide a
non-mandatory guide for sta to procure culturally appropriate programs and
services to Aboriginal people and communities.
49
Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver has proposed changes to the Procurement Policy for projects that
are located on or in proximity to First Nations land. The changes will be done in
eort to increase aboriginal participation in the procurement process.
50
Manitoba
Manitoba’s
Aboriginal Procurement Initiative
(API) works towards creating
opportunities for aboriginal businesses and the creation of new employment
opportunities.
51
New South Wales
|
Australia
The
Aboriginal Participation in Construction Policy,
ensures purchasers examine
a supplier’s commitment to include aboriginal participation in their projects.
Contract obligations are dependent on a number of factors including cost and the
extent they aect the Aboriginal community.
52
46 Aboriginal Aairs and Northern Development Canada. Evaluation of the Procurement Strategy for Aborigi-
nal Business. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ-AEV/STAGING/
texte-text/ev_psab_1446467643497_eng.pdf
47 British Columbia: Ministry of Finance. Aboriginal Procurement and Contract Management Guidelines.
2015. Retrieved from: http://www.n.gov.bc.ca/ocg/fmb/manuals/CPM/Aboriginal_Procurement_and_Con-
tractMgmt_Guidelines.pdf
48 http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100032802/1100100032803
49 British Columbia: Ministry of Finance. Aboriginal Procurement and Contract Management Guidelines.
2015.Retrieved from: http://www.n.gov.bc.ca/ocg/fmb/manuals/CPM/Aboriginal_Procurement_and_Con-
tractMgmt_Guidelines.pdf
50 Metro Vancouver report
51 Government of Manitoba. Aboriginal Procurement Manual. 2015
52 New South Wales Government. NSW Government Policy on Aboriginal Participation in Construction. 2016.
Retrieved from: https://www.procurepoint.nsw.gov.au/system/les/documents/apic_policy_1_august_2016.pdf
29
Social Procurement | State of Practice
4.4 Increase Local Supplier Participation
While the City of Vancouver provides support for local businesses and supports
purchasing local food, increasing local supplier participation, possibly due to the
limits of trade agreements, is not a current priority.
The positive impacts generated by local businesses include the increased hiring of
local labour, higher distribution of prots from operations locally, and the strong
likelihood they will then reinvest locally through purchasing of goods and services.
53
A large portion of social procurement frameworks are done on a regional scale,
and include communities that are facing economic and social deprivation. The use
of local suppliers in procurement will have a positive social benet by increasing
employment opportunities in local neighbourhoods, and keeping money within a
local community.
54
Examples
Australia
In Australia, two guides at the provincial level, in New South Wales and Victoria,
seek to promote local businesses to ensure nancial stability.
London
|
UK
City procurement policy commits to supporting local business by creating a local
procurement strategy for businesses in the City.
55
Village of Cumberland
|
BC
Social Procurement framework lists increasing local jobs as a goal.
56
City of the Gold Coast
|
Australia
The support of local businesses is a key focus area for the City of the Gold Coast’s
overall procurement policy, and a number of factors will privilege local businesses
in the procurement process.
57
53 Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business. The Power
of Purchasing: The Economic Impacts of Local Procurement. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/
Faculty/Research_Centres/Centre_for_Social_Innovation_and_Impact_Investing/Core_Themes/Social_Innova-
tion/The_Power_of_Purchasing
54 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
55 City of London. City of London Procurement Strategy 2015-2018. 2015.
56 Village of Cumberland. Social Procurement Framework. 2016.
57 City of Gold Coast (Australia). Procurement Policy and Contract Manual. 2016. Retrieved from: http://
www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/procurement-policy-guidelines-12293.html
Positive impacts
generated by local
businesses include the
increased hiring of
local labour, higher
distribution of prots
from operations
locally, and the strong
likelihood they will
then reinvest locally
through purchasing of
goods and services.
30
Social Procurement | State of Practice
4.5 Promote Diversity within Supply Chain
While Vancouver has not identied supply chain diversity as a current goal, other
cities and regions see it as a key tenet. Diverse suppliers are not well represented
within the supply chain; therefore the goal of diversifying the supply chain includes
having procurement represent the diversity of a city while ensuring the supply
chain is equitable for diverse suppliers.
58
In Toronto, the inclusion of diverse
suppliers including aboriginal people, racialized groups, persons with disabilities,
newcomers, women, and LGBTQ+ is prioritized in the procurement process.
59
The business case for increasing supplier diversity includes building a more
qualied supplier pool, engaging multiple capable suppliers, and the building of
relationships and economic capacity in the community.
60
The promotion of diverse
suppliers is not anti-competitive, as enabling an increasingly dynamic supplier
market will increase competition over the long term.
61
Examples
Seattle
|
USA
All city departments are required to annually provide their goals for procurement
from women and minority owned businesses. Every year a report is produced
that measures the actual spend with women and minority owned businesses in
comparison to the stated goals. Over time there has been a steady increase in
reported participation.
62
Toronto
|
Canada
In Toronto, at least one quote should come from a diverse supplier for small
contracts.
63
New South Wales
|
Australia
Providing a diverse and equitable supply chain that represents the diversity of the
community is a recommendation by the New South Wales social procurement
guide.
64
58 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
59 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
60 University of Ottawa:Telfer School of Management. Canadian Federal Procurement as a Policy Lever
to Support Innovation and SME Growth. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/assets/docu-
ments/2017/Federal-Procurement-and-SMEs-report-Telfer_web.pdf
61 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
62 City of Seattle. 2017 Annual Citywide WMBE Goals. 2017. Retrieved from: www.seattle.gov/Documents/
Departments/FAS/.../WMBE/WMBE_plans_2017.pdf
63 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016
64 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
The promotion of
diverse suppliers is not
an anti-competitive
approach, as enabling
an increasingly dynamic
supplier market will
increase competition
over the long term.
31
Social Procurement | State of Practice
4.6 Increase Small and Medium Enterprise Participation
As identied by
Clean Energy Canada’s Power of Procurement
report, small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent 98% of businesses in Canada, and are
generally better situated to work in a local market.
65
A Canadian Government
report by the
Telfer School of Management
found that the continued growth
of SMEs represents a disproportionate share of job creation, innovation, and
overall economic prosperity in Canada.
66
They also play a large role in generating
employment, sales, revenue and trade in Metro Vancouver.
67
SMEs often will be
located in disadvantaged communities and are more likely to provide opportunities
for local and diverse people.
68
In support of SMEs, New South Wales has implemented a ‘30 Days to Pay’
policy that requires the payment to small businesses within 30 days.
69
For smaller
businesses this is vital, as many will not have the economic capacity to continually
wait on payments.
Examples
Scotland
In Scotland’s
Procurement Reform Act (2014)
the contracting authority must
consider how the procurement process can facilitate the involvement of small and
medium enterprises.
70
Victoria
|
Australia
In Victoria’s social procurement guide the support of SMEs is seen as a
contributing factor to the diversication of the supply chain as well as a sign of a
healthy economy. The aim is for SMEs to be well positioned to prosper in a local
economy through procurement.
71
United Kingdom
By 2015, as mandated by procurement policy, 25% of government spend will go to
SMEs. This goal was met during the 2013-2014 nancial year.
72
65 Clean Energy Canada. The Power of Procurement. 2017. Retrieved from: http://cleanenergycanada.org/
wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Power-of-Procurement_FINAL.pdf
66 University of Ottawa: Telfer School of Management. Canadian Federal Procurement as a Policy Lever
to Support Innovation and SME Growth. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/assets/docu-
ments/2017/Federal-Procurement-and-SMEs-report-Telfer_web.pdf
67 Barnes, Trevor and Hutton, Tom, Prepared for Metro Vancouver. Dynamics of Economic Change in Metro
Vancouver. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.mvprosperity.org/Documents/DynamicsofEconomicChangein-
MetroVancouver.pdf
68 City of London. City Procurement: Responsible Procurement Strategy 2016-2019. 2016
69 https://www.nance.nsw.gov.au/doing-business-dfsi/30days
70 Scotland. Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. 2014
71 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
72 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-government-bu-
ying/2010-to-2015-government-policy-government-buying#appendix-1-making-sure-government-gets-full-value-
from-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises
SMEs often will
be located in
disadvantaged
communities and are
more likely to provide
opportunities for local
and diverse people.
32
Social Procurement | State of Practice
4.7 Promote Innovation within the Supply Chain
Although not normally identied, promoting innovation within the supply chain
is sometimes seen as an objective of social procurement. Often, SMEs or social
enterprises will have innovative approaches to projects, but many governments do
not have processes that encourage this innovation.
73
Supporting social innovation
through procurement increases the likelihood that other goals identied by social
procurement will be fullled in the process. For some procurement teams, the act
of being innovate is seen within itself as a social value and its contributions may be
merited based on its innovative qualities. By being innovative there is the potential
to open new markets that previously were not considered.
74
Examples
Scotland
Scotland’s
Procurement Reform Act (2014)
encourages and promotes innovation
within the supply chain.
75
British Columbia
The Provincial Government’s
Social Impact Purchasing Guidelines
identies
supporting a culture of social innovation as one of its goals. The province states
that supporting innovation will help the growth and sustainability of the social
enterprise sector. It can also encourage suppliers to look for new ways to increase
their social value within government contracts.
76
New South Wales
|
Australia
In New South Wales, social innovation is identied as a social value objective
that aims to enable entities to test, develop and scale innovations in a market
environment.
77
73 British Columbia: Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. Small Business: Doing Business with
Government Project. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/business-management/
business-and-government/doingbusinesswithgovtproject_v04.pdf
74 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
75 Scotland. Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. 2014
76 British Columbia: Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation. Social Impact Purchasing Guide-
lines. 2014
77 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
Supporting social innovation through procurement increases
the likelihood that other goals identied by social procurement
will be fullled in the process.
33
Social Procurement | State of Practice
The following section highlights dierent social procurement approaches that
organizations take to accomplish their social goals. The approaches range from
actions taken in the planning stage, changes in the procurement process, and the
actual requirements that purchasers can place in contracts.
Social procurement requirements can be fullled by either direct or indirect means.
Direct purchasing is when a good or service is directly procured from a social value
business while indirect purchasing is when social impact requirements exist that
businesses have to fulll.
78
The approaches dierent organizations take are determined by a number of factors
including the political landscape, size, scope, and their identied social procurement
goals.
5.1 Identify Opportunities
•
Social Impact Opportunity Analysis
•
Contract Weighting
5.2 Revise Approaches To
Procurement
•
Simplify RFP Process
•
Certied Supplier Directory
•
Meet the Buyer Events
•
Advanced Notication
•
Contract Unbundling
5.3 Apply Social Impact Criteria
•
Set Aside program
•
Direct Awarding
•
Solicit Bid from Target Group
•
Joint Venture
•
Targeted Employment
•
Subconctracting from Targeted Suppliers
78 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
5 | Procurement APProAcheS
34
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.1 Identify Opportunities
5.1.1 Social Impact Opportunity Assessment
A social impact opportunity analysis examines the spend categories within an
organization, and identies potential social procurement opportunities. At the
earliest stage, a spend analysis can be conducted to see if current contracts are
providing social value and align with the city’s strategic goals.
79
In particular,
contracts that are up for renewal may provide opportunities to apply a social
procurement lens.
80
The City of the Gold Coast (Australia), as part of their
City
Contracting Plan 2017-2018
, identied a recycling contract up for renewal as a
potential opportunity to work with a social benet supplier.
81
Completing a social impact opportunity analysis early in the procurement process
will help ensure that the proper contracts are chosen to insert social value.
82
This early stage is also the time when organizational priorities and outcomes are
discussed.
83
Organizations can identify a societal outcome they want to achieve and
then identify how it can be achieved in upcoming contracts.
84
Complimenting a social impact opportunity analysis is the completion of a supplier
market analysis. When the time comes to add social impacts into contracts, an
assurance that suppliers can meet the requirements must rst be done. For example,
if a contract requires four hundred hours of work, then a supplier has to be able
to full those four hundred hours.
85
Although a particular contract may appear to
provide opportunity to insert social impact, without a supplier readily available it
will not be successful. Completing these steps sets a team up for success in achieving
social value in their procurement activities.
79 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
80 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
81 City of Gold Coast. City Contracting Plan 2017-2018. 2017 (Recycling and Waste Facilities) Retrieved from:
http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/city-contracting-plan-31907.html
82 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
83 Social Traders. Measuring the Impact of Social Procurement: A New Approach. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Burkett-McNeill_Social-Traders_fram-
ing-the-value-question-in-social-procurement-Part-1.pdf
84 Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement: The Business Case. 2015. Retrieved from: http://so-
cialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Social-Procurement-Business-Case1.pdf
85 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
Completing a social
impact opportunity
analysis early in the
procurement process
will help ensure that
the proper contracts
are chosen to insert
social value.
35
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Uses and Examples
• New South Wales (Australia) recommends using a ‘supplier social value
positioning model.’ Contracts are broken down into categories along a matrix
based on complexity and value. The model will identify a social value rating in
comparison to the risk of the contract.
86
• In Halton U.K, every contract above £1,000 will undergo a social value
‘opportunity assessment’ that helps determine outcomes to include in the
procurement process. Where appropriate, they aim to include at least one
social value outcome in each of their procurements.
87
• British Columbia’s
Report on Small Business
recommended contract managers
create a small business lens checklist to provide small business perspective in
the tender process.
88
• In Scotland, for all contracts over £4 million, purchasers are required to
evaluate what social value can be gained in the contract.
89
• Toronto utilizes a social procurement team to conduct social impact
opportunity analysis on large contracts. The team consists of their Social
Procurement Coordinator, a lead from Social Policy, and a Workplace
Development Coordinator who works with employment organizations. City
divisions propose their capital procurement strategies annually and the social
procurement team identies projects that t the requirements for workplace
development programs. The departments must outline a description of the
projects, as well as the trades that will be involved.
90
86 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
87 Halton (UK). Halton’s Social Value Procurement Framework. Retrieved from: https://www3.halton.gov.uk/
Pages/councildemocracy/pdfs/SocialValueProcFramework.pdf
88 British Columbia: Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. Small Business: Doing Business with
Government Project. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/business-management/
business-and-government/doingbusinesswithgovtproject_v04.pdf
89 Scotland. Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. 2014
90 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
Recommendation
|
1
Conduct a social
impact opportunity
analysis to examine
contracts that are
up for renewal,
and identify
opportunities for
social procurement
pilots.
36
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.1.2 Contract Weighting
Contract proposals will be objectively evaluated and weighted on a number of
criteria in a bid. Price, and the technical capability of a supplier, generally represent
the majority of this weighting. Environmental and social impacts are increasingly
being weighted in the evaluation process, as they gain inuence in procurement.
Social aspects of a proposal are generally given a small number of points;
approximately 5%. By introducing, and increasing the weight placed on social
value, suppliers are incentivized to focus their bids on social impact objectives.
It is critical that what is being weighted is identied during the bidding process,
so suppliers are aware of how much signicance is being placed on social
value.
91
Currently, it is not likely that the points awarded for social value will be the
determining factor in a contract.
92
However, as social value increasingly becomes a
priority this weighted value may increase.
Uses and Examples
• In Toronto, suppliers are required to create a workplace development proposal
on certain large contracts. The workplace development proposal will be
weighted within the evaluation phase.
93
• In 2015, Manchester (UK) Council increased the weighting for social value
from 10% to 20% in all contracts. This was done to ensure companies
prioritise the insertion of social value in their tenders.
94
• The Regional Municipality of Wood Bualo (RMWB), Alberta, as part
of their social procurement pilot project equally (33%) weighted price,
capability, and social value within their snow removal contract. The RFQ
specically stated that as part of their social value they aimed to provide work
opportunities for recently housed, formally homeless people.
95
• Supporting local businesses is the primary mandate of City of the Gold Coast
procurement. Up to 15% will be awarded to a business if they are a City of the
Gold Coast business with their head oce located in the city.
96
91 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
92 Based on RFP weighting examples
93 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016. And conversation with City Sta
94 Manchester City Council. Social Value Toolkit for Suppliers 2017. 2017. Retrieved from: www.manchester.
gov.uk/download/downloads/id/24934/social_value_toolkit.pdf
95 https://www.rmwb.ca/Municipal-Government/municipal_departments/SCM/Doing-Business/Social-Pro-
curement.htm
96 City of Gold Coast (Australia). Procurement Policy and Contract Manual. 2016. Retrieved from: http://
www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/procurement-policy-guidelines-12293.html
The Regional
Municipality of Wood
Bualo, Alberta,
equally weighted price,
capability, and social
value within their snow
removal contract.
Recommendation
|
2
Increase the
weighting of social
value in contracts
that can clearly
provide a social
impact.
37
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.2 Revise Approches To Procurement
5.2.1 Simplifying Procurement Process
The process of submitting a request for proposal (RFP) can be quite onerous.
97
Social enterprises, SMEs, and social value suppliers have identied that bidding
on municipal contracts can be overly time consuming, costly, and complex.
98
99
Governments generally have long RFP processes, and long turn around on
payments, resulting in advanteges for larger companies.
100
This results in smaller
suppliers not having the procurement resources to bid on government RFPs.
101
Even though a service or good may t the capacity and skillset of a supplier, they
may not apply.
102
In British Columbia’s
Doing Business with the Government
report,
recommendations included having a short form RFP for low-risk and low-dollar
contracts.
103
For small businesses, generally including social enterprises, simplifying
the RFP process would allow them to bid on more contracts without a drain on
resources.
104
The
Department of Aboriginal Aairs and Northern Development
Canada
found that a lack of practical knowledge and capacity represented
a signicant barrier for Aboriginal businesses trying to bid on government
contracts.
105
Unless a supplier has a dedicated person who replies to RFPs, which
privileges large businesses, the complicated nature of city RFPs may prove too
demanding to put together.
106
97 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
98 ibid.
99 British Columbia: Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. Small Business: Doing Business with
Government Project. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/business-management/
business-and-government/doingbusinesswithgovtproject_v04.pdf
100 Hebb, Tessa, and Hachigian, Heather. Social Value Procurement Measurement and Evaluation. Carleton
Centre for Community Innovation 2017. Retrieved from: https://carleton.ca/3ci/wpcontent/uploads/SVP-Eval-
uation_Final_April_13_2017.pdf
101 Strandberg, Coro. 2014. Social Value Business Guide.
102 Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business. Buying Local:
Tools for Forward-Thinking Institutions. 2013. Retrieved from: www.civicgovernance.ca/wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/2014/01/FINAL-Buying-Local.pdf
103 British Columbia: Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. Small Business: Doing Business with
Government Project. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/business-management/
business-and-government/doingbusinesswithgovtproject_v04.pdf
104 Lepage, David. Exploring Social Procurement. 2014.
105 Aboriginal Aairs and Northern Development Canada. Evaluation of the Procurement Strategy for Aborig-
inal Business. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ-AEV/STAGING/
texte-text/ev_psab_1446467643497_eng.pdf
106 British Columbia: Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. Small Business: Doing Business with
Government Project. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/business-management/
business-and-government/doingbusinesswithgovtproject_v04.pdf
For small businesses, simplifying the RFP process would allow
them to bid on more contracts without a drain on resources.
38
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Uses and Examples
• British Columbia has a Short-Form RFP (SFRPF) that can be used on
contracts that are less than $250,000 a year. The SFRFP was created in
consultation with vendors and is used when it is determined that price is not
the only selection criteria. The goal of the SFRFP is to foster a progressive
business culture and help generate business for small businesses.
107
• In Manchester UK, Council has attempted to increase the participation of
SMEs and local businesses by streamlining the bidding process. This is done
by decreasing the amount of questioning and making the process less time
consuming and more straightforward.
108
• In Wales, policy is in place to have “common systems that appropriately
minimise complexity, cost, timescales and requirements for suppliers.”
109
107 http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/bc-bid-resources/templates-
and-tools/solicitation-templates/short-form-request-for-proposal
108 Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The Power of Procurement II The Policy and Practice of Manches-
ter City Council 10 Years On. 2017 Retrieved from: https://cles.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Pow-
er-of-Procurement-II-the-policy-and-practice-of-Manchester-City-Council-10-years-on_web-version.pdf
109 Welsh Government. Wales Procurement Policy Statement. 2015.
Recommendation
|
3
Explore the
introduction of a
simplied RFP for
low risk contracts
that businesses with
limited capacity can
full.
39
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.2.2 Certied Supplier Directory
As organizations make eorts to work with specic groups, having a database
of suppliers who meet the criteria (i.e. social enterprises, Aboriginal, diverse,
SMEs) will provide purchasers with a reliable list to contact. Creating a certied
database simplies the process of nding a supplier who can both meet social
impact requirements and deliver the goods or service procured.
110
As part of their
Community Economic Development (CED) Strategy (2016)
, the City of Vancouver
recommended the creation of a social procurement directory.
111
In many cases, a database will be created by a third party or intermediary, and
will ensure that the standards of companies are consistent.
112
A concern brought
forward by purchasers is that they do not have the expertise to know if a social
enterprise is capable of completing a contract.
113
The creation of a database will
take the onus o buyers to try and nd a supplier, and enables a risk free process to
identify potential suppliers.
114
Uses and Examples
• In Manitoba, the
Aboriginal Procurement Initiative
(API) created an
Aboriginal business directory, which includes businesses that have formally
registered under the API. The list aims to help buyers identify Aboriginal
businesses as bidders and provides a network of opportunities for suppliers.
115
• The City of Toronto is a corporate member of six third-party certication
organizations.
116
The organizations work directly with businesses through
the certication process. The City requires the certication of businesses to
be eligible for their ‘Supply Chain Diversity’ program. The use of third-part
certication means the City does not certify any suppliers themselves.
117
• The Village of Cumberland and the Regional Municipality of Wood Bualo
are
Buy Social Canada
certied communities. They are therefore certied as a
community themselves, demonstrating their commitment to support businesses
that enhance social value in the community.
118 119
110 Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business. Buying Local:
Tools for Forward-Thinking Institutions. 2013. Retrieved from: www.civicgovernance.ca/wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/2014/01/FINAL-Buying-Local.pdf
111 http://council.vancouver.ca/20161130/documents/pspc2.pdf
112 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
113 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
114 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
115 Government of Manitoba. Aboriginal Procurement Manual. 2015.
116 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016
117 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016. and conversation with City sta.
118 https://www.rmwb.ca/Municipal-Government/municipal_departments/SCM/Doing-Business/So-
cial-Procurement.htm
119 Village of Cumberland. Social Procurement Framework. 2016.
Recommendation
|
4
Create a social
enterprise directory
to provide SCM
with a list of social
enterprises operating
in dierent spend
categories. A directory
will identify who is
available, the work
they do, and the
capacity of their
operations.
40
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.2.3 Meet the Buyer Events
Meet the buyer events allow businesses, in an informal setting,
to learn about potential opportunities for business with a
city.
120
Hosting these events also provide opportunity for a city
to explain how social value requirements link to larger social
outcomes being achieved.
121
At the same time, businesses are
able to present their goods and services to potential buyers,
thus also providing an education piece for the city.
122
These events raise awareness about potential contracts that a city may have in the
future, while increasing accessibility and transparency within the procurement
process.
123
Meet the buyer events will also provide education to suppliers about
the goals of a social procurement framework, and can provide workshops on how
to bid on a city contract.
124
Hosting events may also increase a city’s chances to
meet and connect with minority, small, or Aboriginal businesses that are not as
advantaged to apply for contracts.
125
Uses and Examples
• In Manchester (UK), the Economic Development Department hosts meet
the buyer events targeted at SMEs and the community sector. These events
allow potential suppliers to hear about upcoming opportunities and better
understand the tender process.
126
• Wales (UK) hosts speed dating Meet the Buyer events. The events outline
contract opportunities and allow for short one-on-one conversations that give
SMEs the opportunity to discuss requirements and explain the services they
provide.
127
120 Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business. Buying Local:
Tools for Forward-Thinking Institutions. 2013. Retrieved from: www.civicgovernance.ca/wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/2014/01/FINAL-Buying-Local.pdf
121 Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The Power of Procurement II The Policy and Practice of Manchester
City Council 10 Years On. 2017 Retrieved from: https://cles.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Power-
of-Procurement-II-the-policy-and-practice-of-Manchester-City-Council-10-years-on_web-version.pdf
122 City of London. City Procurement: Responsible Procurement Strategy 2016-2019. 2016
123 European Union. Buying Social: A Guide to Taking Account of Social Considerations in Public Procure-
ments. 2010. Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6457&langId=en
124 City of Victoria. Good Jobs + Good Business = Better Community: The Mayor’s Task Force on Social
Enterprise and Social Procurement Action Plan. 2017.
125 City of London. City Procurement: Responsible Procurement Strategy 2016-2019. 2016
126 Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The Power of Procurement II The Policy and Practice of Manches-
ter City Council 10 Years On. 2017 Retrieved from: https://cles.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Pow-
er-of-Procurement-II-the-policy-and-practice-of-Manchester-City-Council-10-years-on_web-version.pdf
127 Welsh Government. Community Benets: Delivering Maximum Value for the Welsh Pound. 2014. Re-
trieved from: http://prp.gov.wales/docs/prp/toolkit/140815communitybenetreportenglishwebupdated.pdf
Recommendation
|
5
Host meet the
buyer events, where
suppliers come
and learn about
opportunities for
city contracts, gain
knowledge about
how to bid on
contracts, and
showcase their
goods or service
to a city.
41
Social Procurement | State of Practice
• London (UK) has events targeting social enterprises and SMEs in an eort for
the City to learn from the market and create further opportunities.
128
• In the United States, ‘Vendor Outreach Sessions’ are conducted providing
small businesses with an opportunity to meet with specialists on a one-on-
one basis. The sessions provide businesses with information about potential
procurement opportunities and allow them to explain the good or service they
provide.
129
5.2.4 Advanced Notication
For suppliers, having a ‘heads up’ to what an organization will be procuring in
advance can enable them to bid on a future contract by developing appropriate
programs.
130
If organizations are able to provide notice of future contracts well in
advance, interested social enterprises and smaller businesses will be able to tailor
their goods or services to meet the contract needs.
131
Uses and Examples
• In Manchester (UK), procurers will start to engage with potential suppliers
long before the procurement process to develop new/ innovative solutions.
132
• Learnings from the City of Toronto social procurement pilot project identied
the need for suppliers to know about upcoming projects in advance, so they
can develop appropriate programs.
133
128 City of London. City Procurement: Responsible Procurement Strategy 2016-2019. 2016
129 National Women’s Business Council. Best Practices in Federal Procurement: A Study of the Successes and
Barriers for Women-Owned Businesses. 2006. Retrieved:
https://www.nwbc.gov/research/bestpractices-federal-procurement-studysuccesses-and-barriers-women-owned-
businesses (as cited in: University of Ottawa: Telfer School of Management, 2017)
130 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016
131 European Union. Buying Social: A Guide to Taking Account of Social Considerations in Public Procure-
ments. 2010. Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6457&langId=en
132 Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The Power of Procurement II: The Policy and Practice of Manches-
ter City Council 10 Years On. 2017 Retrieved from: https://cles.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Pow-
er-of-Procurement-II-the-policy-and-practice-of-Manchester-City-Council-10-years-on_web-version.pdf
133 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
42
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.2.5 Contract Unbundling
Unbundling of contracts entail the division of a large contract into smaller ones.
Within larger contracts, there may be the potential to have a portion unbundled
and directly purchased from a supplier that meets a stated procurement goal.
Generally, procurement teams are looking to take on larger contracts with fewer
suppliers.
134
The unbundling of contracts balances the savings from economies of
scale versus the diversity that multiple contracts may provide, which can enhance
competition and increase eciency.
135, 136
The agglomeration of contracts makes
it very dicult for smaller suppliers, including social enterprises and Aboriginal
businesses, to bid on contracts.
137
This is because the breadth and scope of the
contract will make it dicult for businesses that generally specialize in a specic skill
to qualify their bids.
138
Often, small businesses are able to do one or two things extremely well, but
contracts that are large in scale tend to run across multiple disciplines.
139
If a
specic service is unbundled from a contract, businesses that focus on that service in
particular will be able to bid on the contract and potentially provide a better quality
service.
140
There are currently no best practices regarding unbundling of contracts, and it
should be done on a case by case basis.
141
Even with policy encouragement, in
practice it largely does not occur.
142
If contracts are to be unbundled, care must be
taken to ensure they do not circumvent the procurement process.
143
134 Lepage,David. Exploring Social Procurement. 2014.
135 SIGMA (joint OECD and EU initiative). Brief 36: Public Procurement: Division of Contracts into Lots.
2016. Retrieved from: http://www.sigmaweb.org/publications/Public-Procurement-Policy-Brief-36-200117.pdf
136 University of Ottawa:Telfer School of Management. Canadian Federal Procurement as a Policy Lever
to Support Innovation and SME Growth. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/assets/docu-
ments/2017/Federal-Procurement-and-SMEs-report-Telfer_web.pdf
137 Plymouth Community Homes. Social Value Toolkit: Leading Economic, Environmental and Social Benet
Through Procurement. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk/wp-content/up-
loads/2014/12/Social-Value-Toolkit-Final-Oct-14.pdf
138 Scottish Government. Analysis of the Impact and value of Community Benet Clauses in Procurement.
2015 Retrieved from: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00480510.pdf
139 British Columbia: Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. Small Business: Doing Business with
Government Project. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/business-management/
business-and-government/doingbusinesswithgovtproject_v04.pdf
140 SIGMA (joint OECD and EU initiative). Brief 36: Public Procurement: Division of Contracts into Lots.
2016. Retrieved from: http://www.sigmaweb.org/publications/Public-Procurement-Policy-Brief-36-200117.pdf
141 ibid.
142 European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC). PPPs and Procurement: Impact of the new EU Directives. 2016.
Retrieved from: http://www.eib.org/epec/resources/publications/epec_ppp_and_procurement_en
143 European Union. Buying Social: A Guide to Taking Account of Social Considerations in Public Procure-
ments. 2010. Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6457&langId=en
The unbundling of
contracts balances the
savings from economies
of scale versus the
diversity of multiple
contracts that may
enhance competition
and increase eciency.
43
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Uses and Examples
• Multiple cities and organizations in the United States, including the
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and City of Seattle, have identied
unbundling contracts as an avenue to create potential opportunities for small
businesses.
144
In Seattle, there are no examples of unbundling occurring
inpractice, and departments identied a number of barriers to the practice
including supplier capacity and cost.
145
• At the University of British Columbia (UBC), a local supplier was identied
who could provide tofu at a lower price than their main supplier. The tofu
contract was unbundled from the other food purchases and awarded to the
local supplier.
146
• In London (UK), Public Contract Regulations aims to support SMEs by
exploring the unbundling of larger contracts. If a large contract is not
unbundled the purchasing group must give rationale as to why it is not
feasible.
147
• In eort to increase business with SMEs, Manchester’s (UK) council will
adapt contracts to their needs, with particular focus on unbundling large
contracts.
148
144 BART. BART Board Workshop 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.bart.gov/sites/default/les/better-bart/
Board%20Workshop%202017_4D_%202016%20Bond%20Implementation.pdf
145 City of Seattle. 2017 Annual Citywide WMBE Goals. 2017. Retrieved from: www.seattle.gov/Documents/
Departments/FAS/.../WMBE/WMBE_plans_2017.pdf
146 Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business. Buying Local:
Tools for Forward-Thinking Institutions. 2013. Retrieved from: www.civicgovernance.ca/wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/2014/01/FINAL-Buying-Local.pdf
147 United Kingdom. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
148 Manchester City Council. Manchester City Council Ethical (Procurement) Policy. 2017. Retrieved from:
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/download/6446/ethical_procurement_policy
44
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.3 Applying Social Impact Criteria
Specic language can be written into a contract that aims to achieve the goals of
social procurement.
149
Often called social clauses, they are integrated into the
procurement process to enable social and environmental considerations to be
included in a contract.
150
In the Village of Cumberland, potential suppliers must provide two envelopes when
bidding on an Invitation to Tender (ITT). The rst envelope will include how the
proponent will meet a predetermined number of social value requirements, and
their bid will not be considered if they are unable to meet them.
151
As identied by the City of Barcelona, if a contract is given a social value
requirement, then upcoming contracts that are similar should have similar
conditions.
152
Consistency across contracts will ensure a transparent, open and
equitable process. If there are any changes within a contract that will favour specic
suppliers, an organization’s legal team should be consulted to ensure that the
requirements do not circumvent any trade agreements, or the duty of a transparent
and open procurement process.
153
5.3.1 Contract Set Asides | Limited Competition
Set Asides are contracts that have been removed from the regular procurement
process, and are only available to a targeted group of suppliers. Often,
organizations will use smaller contracts as potential opportunities to set aside for
targeted suppliers.
154
Within Canada, this is often applied to Aboriginal procurement, while elsewhere
it is used for social enterprises, local businesses, and SMEs.
155
By setting aside
contracts for a specic group, however determined, it is ensured that social value
outcomes will be accomplished. Joint ventures or subcontracting opportunities
can be explored in a set aside program if there are concerns about the ability of
suppliers to complete the work (see joint ventures/ sub-contracting below).
149 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
150 Halloran, Deirdre. Community Action Network. A Primer on the Use of Social Clauses in Ireland. 2015.
Retrieved from: http://www.canaction.ie/can_15/www/live_site/downloads/can_-_primer_social_clauses_web_
in_ireland_2015.pdf ?gi_sn=55b220918281c%7C0
151 Conversations with City sta
152 Ajuntament de Barcelona. Social Public Procurement Guide. 2017. Retrieved from: http://ajuntament.
barcelona.cat/contractaciopublica/en/
153 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
154 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
155 City of Gold Coast. City Contracting Plan 2017-2018. 2017 (Recycling and Waste Facilities) Retrieved
from: http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/city-contracting-plan-31907.html
Recommendation
|
6
Investigate whether
social value
requirements can be
used to pre-qualify
suppliers within an
ITT process
45
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Uses and Examples
• The Canadian Government’s
Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Businesses
(PSAB) set-asides certain contracts only available to Aboriginal businesses.
The program aects all federal contracts valued above $5,000 delivered to a
primarily Aboriginal population. The strategy also provides a framework for
Aboriginal businesses to form joint ventures with Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal
businesses to bid on contracts that have been set aside
156
• Manitoba has a provincial framework to set aside contracts for Aboriginal
businesses. Similar to the PSAB contracts directly aecting Aboriginal
businesses will be set aside. One provision is that certain contracts will be set
aside for specically Manitoba Aboriginal businesses.
157
• Australia’s
Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy
designates that
all federal contracts between $80,000 and $200,000 will be mandatorily set
aside for Indigenous businesses, with a few exceptions. Procuring ocers
must determine if an Indigenous business is capable of providing the good
or service. If there are no available Indigenous businesses a rational must be
given, and then the ordinary procurement process will occur.
158
• In the Bay Area, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has a
Micro Small
Business Entity (MSBE) Set-aside Agreement.
For purchases under $100,000,
eort will be made to purchase from a certied small business.
159
• The City of the Gold Coast’s (Australia) procurement policy mandates that a
portion of the annual procurement spend is set aside to suppliers that provide
benets to disadvantaged communities.
160
• The U.S. Small Business Administration facilitates the national small business
set aside program. Contracts between $3,500 and $150,000 are required to be
set aside for small business if there are at least two qualied small businesses
capable of bidding.
161
156 Aboriginal Aairs and Northern Development Canada. Evaluation of the Procurement Strategy for Aborig-
inal Business. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ-AEV/STAGING/
texte-text/ev_psab_1446467643497_eng.pdf
157 Government of Manitoba. Aboriginal Procurement Manual. 2015
158 Australian Government. Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy. 2015. Retrieved from: https://
www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/les/publications/indigenous_procurement_policy_0.pdf
159 http://www.bart.gov/about/business/ocr/SB_Program_Overview
160 City of Gold Coast (Australia). Procurement Policy and Contract Manual. 2016. Retrieved from: http://
www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/procurement-policy-guidelines-12293.html
161 https://www.sba.gov/contracting/government-contracting-programs/what-small-business-set-aside
46
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.3.2 Direct Awarding
Under certain circumstances, a contract can be
awarded without a competitive process. Policy
may allow direct award for contracts when they
are from another government organization,
when only one qualied vendor is available,
and in emergency, condentiality or other
shared cost arrangements.
162
If policy allows,
direct awards can be used to further social
goals.
163
Lower value contracts are often used
as an opportunity to buy directly from targeted
suppliers.
164
Direct awarding is dierent from a
set aside program because the set aside program
will still have a competitive process.
165
Uses and Examples
• In BC Hydro’s
Aboriginal Contract and Procurement Policy at BC Hydro
,
direct awarding is mentioned as a procurement approach. Even if a contract
is direct awarded, the bid must still be a competitive price and meet BC Hydro
expectations around qualications, safety and performance standards.
166
• In British Columbia’s
Social Impact Purchasing Guidelines
direct awarding
is a recommended approach. The guide highlights social enterprises as
organizations that can benet from a direct award process.
167
162 http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/bc-bid-resources/how-to-buy-
services/procurement-process/pre-award/direct-awards
163 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
164 ibid.
165 https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1354798736570/1354798836012
166 BC Hydro. Aboriginal Contract and Procurement Policy at BC Hydro. Retrieved from: https://www.bchy-
dro.com/content/dam/BCHydro/customer-portal/documents/corporate/community/aboriginal-contract-pro-
curement-policy.pdf
167 British Columbia: Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation. Social Impact Purchasing Guide-
lines. 2014
A B
47
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.3.3 Solicit Bid from Targeted Suppliers
A procurement policy can require bids from specic groups. These requirements
ensures that a supplier from a targeted group will participate in the bid process, and
is generally utilized within specic price thresholds. Outcomes of targeting suppliers
include increasing diversity in the supply chain, supporting social enterprises, and
supporting local or SMEs.
This approach is dierent from a set-aside program, where only targeted suppliers
can bid. Targeted bids do not ensure a specic supplier will be awarded a contract.
Once the suppliers have been identied, all bids will be evaluated on the same
criteria. As specic supplier groups are continually short listed, the theory is they
will increasingly win contracts.
168
Uses and Examples
• In Toronto, departments are required to seek one bid from a diverse supplier
that is identied through the City’s
Diverse Supplier Directory.
.
169
Between
February and September (2017) 20 contracts were awarded to diverse suppliers
valued at just over $250,000.
170
• In London (UK), one-o purchasing between £10,000 and £100,000 requires
solicitation of at least one bid from a local rm, small or medium enterprise, or
social enterprise.
171
168 Conversation with Toronto City Sta
170 City of Toronto Purchasing Report (2017)
171 City of London. City of London Procurement Code Part One: Rules. 2016
In Toronto, departments are required to seek one bid from a
diverse supplier that is identied through the City’s Diverse
Supplier Directory.
Recommendation
|
7
For contracts of
specic size and
scope, require
bids from a
targeted group (eg.
social enterprise,
Aboriginal business)
48
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.3.4 Joint Ventures
Joint Ventures involve two or more businesses deciding to bid on a contract
together. This is dierent than subcontracting, because both businesses are
working directly with the procuring organization. For businesses that are seeking to
directly work with the City, joint ventures may provide that opportunity. Generally,
organizations prefer a single vendor and do not promote joint ventures.
172
Joint
ventures will provide opportunities for businesses that do not have the capacity to
bid on a contract alone, and is often used by Aboriginal businesses.
173
Uses and Examples
• In Manitoba’s
Aboriginal Procurement Initiative
(API) the creation of joint
ventures is an avenue used to fulll requirements of the Aboriginal set-aside
program.
174
• The Canadian government’s
Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business
(PSAB) provides a framework for Aboriginal Businesses to partner with other
Aboriginal businesses or Non-Aboriginal businesses in bidding on set aside
contracts. Within a joint venture at least 51% of the joint venture must be
controlled by an Aboriginal business or businesses.
175
172 Request for Proposals (RFPs) examples from multiple organizations
173 British Columbia: Ministry of Finance. Aboriginal Procurement and Contract Management Guidelines.
2015. Retrieved from: http://www.n.gov.bc.ca/ocg/fmb/manuals/CPM/Aboriginal_Procurement_and_Con-
tractMgmt_Guidelines.pdf
174 Government of Manitoba. Aboriginal Procurement Manual. 2015
175 Aboriginal Aairs and Northern Development Canada. Evaluation of the Procurement Strategy for Aborig-
inal Business. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ-AEV/STAGING/
texte-text/ev_psab_1446467643497_eng.pdf
49
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.3.5 Targeted Employment
Stipulations can be written in a bid that require contractors to hire people from
a targeted group. Often, targeted employment requirements support providing
opportunities for the long term unemployed and other people with barriers.
176
A
United Kingdom study found that targeted recruitment and training requirements
do not add extra cost, nor does quality of service suer.
177
Targeted employment
can be done directly by the contractor or through a third party, for example an
employment agency.
178
Uses and Examples
• During Metro Vancouver’s
Evergreen Line Expansion Project
the contract
required a specic number of employment hours split between the Musqueam
Indian Band and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. After the contract was awarded,
the contractor was given twenty days to meet with both First Nations to
determine a process to meet the requirements. The contract also required the
contractor submit to the province a plan detailing how they will comply with
the requirements.
179
• The New South Wales’
Government Policy on Aboriginal Participation in
Construction
outlines mandatory Aboriginal targeted spends determined by
contract thresholds. Once 90% of the contract is complete, the contractor
must provide a participation report conrming the targets were met.
180
• Wales (UK) procurement policy proposes identifying areas of expenditure that
can be reserved for suppliers with a workforce that is at least 30% people with
barriers.
181
176 Halloran, Deirdre. Community Action Network. A Primer on the Use of Social Clauses in Ireland. 2015.
Retrieved from: http://www.canaction.ie/can_15/www/live_site/downloads/can_-_primer_social_clauses_web_
in_ireland_2015.pdf ?gi_sn=55b220918281c%7C0
177 Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Tackling Poverty Through Public Procurement. 2014. Retrieved from:
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/tackling-poverty-through-public-procurement
178 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
179 Evergreen Line Rapid Tranit Project Agreement, Schedule 18: First Nations. Retrieved from: http://
www.partnershipsbc.ca/projects/operational-complete/evergreen-line-rapid-transit-project/#1487651133619-
dd8088f1-822b
180 New South Wales Government. NSW Government Policy on Aboriginal Participation in Construction.
2016. Retrieved from: https://www.procurepoint.nsw.gov.au/system/les/documents/apic_policy_1_au-
gust_2016.pdf
181 Welsh Government. Wales Procurement Policy Statement. 2015.
A United Kingdom study found that
targeted recruitment and training
requirements do not add extra cost,
nor does quality of service suer.
Recommendation
|
8
Require suppliers
to employ a
minimum amount
of people with
barriers for
certain large
contracts.
50
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5.3.6 Subcontracting from Targeted Suppliers
Subcontracting involves a supplier employing another business to complete a
portion of an awarded contract. Subcontracting can provide an opportunity for
mainstream businesses to partner with businesses that are able to deliver social
value.
182
Within a social procurement framework, an organization can require
that contractors subcontract part of their work to a targeted group or social
enterprise.
183
If there are requirements to subcontract to specic suppliers it must
be included in the bid document prior to the contract being awarded.
184
Uses and Examples
• Within the Canadian Government’s
Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal
Business
(PSAB) contractors are encouraged to subcontract to Aboriginal
businesses when they need to fulll a federal government requirement.
185
• In Australia’s
Indigenous Procurement Policy,
there are minimum targets
for Indigenous business participation. Contracts that are subcontracted to
Indigenous businesses are able to count towards the targets.
186
• In Victoria (Australia), direct subcontracting involves working with suppliers
to subcontract part of their work to targeted suppliers. This can either be a
mandatory social clause or an encouraged voluntary action.
187
• In Barcelona (Spain), subcontracting to a social enterprise can be seen as a
performance condition improving the social eciency of public investment.
The guidelines state that the social enterprise must demonstrate their economic
and technical solvency and capacity to perform the subcontracted piece of the
contract. A subcontracted social enterprise cannot exceed 35% of the contract
price.
188
• Within the United States, in accordance with the
Small Business Act,
all
federal procurement over $700,000 ($1.5 million for construction) must have a
small business subcontracting plan.
189
182 Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement: The Business Case. 2015. Retrieved from: http://so-
cialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Social-Procurement-Business-Case1.pdf
183 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016
184 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
185 https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1354798736570/1354798836012
186 Australian Government. Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy. 2015. Retrieved from: https://
www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/les/publications/indigenous_procurement_policy_0.pdf
187 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
188 Ajuntament de Barcelona. Social Public Procurement Guide. 2017. Retrieved from: http://ajuntament.
barcelona.cat/contractaciopublica/en/
189 Retrieved from: https://www.sba.gov/contracting/government-contracting-programs/what-small-business-
set-aside
Recommendation
|
9
Place requirements
in large contracts
for suppliers to have
a subcontracting
plan that provides
opportunities for
businesses that
provide social value.
51
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6 | key ProgrAm elementS
6.1 Culture of Social Procurement
Although clear processes can be put in place, without an enabling culture there will
be continued diculty in fullling the potential of social procurement. For many
within organizations, social procurement represents another bureaucratic barrier
to their work.
190
It is seen as a burden instead of an opportunity. While reservation
by people is unfortunate, it is not unexpected. There are a number of steps
organizations can take to alleviate these concerns.
6.1.1 Leadership from Council and Management
The support of Council and management is vital to creating a robust and eective
social procurement framework.
191
Direct support from leadership will enable
a ‘whole of organization’ approach, where social procurement practices are
inuenced by, and align with, multiple city goals.
192
Competing priorities within an
organization remain a challenge, as social procurement is generally seen as a great
option, but secondary to cost savings and risk avoidance.
193
According to a
United
Nations
survey (2017), competing procurement priorities are the most often cited
barrier to sustainable or social public procurement in North American.
194
Leadership from Council and management sends a clear message that there is a
common vision. It is important that these leaders are part of the process from the
very beginning, as it will ensure buy-in and raise awareness about the work being
done.
195
Adding social value in purchasing will be seen as a clear organizational
priority that cannot be ignored.
190 Based on stakeholder consultation
191 Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The Power of Procurement II: The Policy and Practice of Manches-
ter City Council 10 Years On. 2017 Retrieved from: https://cles.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Pow-
er-of-Procurement-II-the-policy-and-practice-of-Manchester-City-Council-10-years-on_web-version.pdf
192 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
193 Halloran D. The Social Value in Social Clauses: Methods of Measuring and Evaluation in Social Procure-
ment. Global Public Procurement Theories and Practices. Florida: Springer Publishing 39-58 Eds. Khi Thai. 2017
194 United Nations Environment. 2017 Global Review of Sustainable Public Procurement. 2017. Retrieved
from: http://www.scpclearinghouse.org/sites/default/les/globalreview_web.pdf
195 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
Direct support from leadership will enable a ‘whole of
organization’ approach, where social procurement practices
are inuenced by, and align with, multiple city goals.
52
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6.1.2 Resources to Implement the Program
Time will be needed while introducing social impacts into contracts to fully
understand what impacts are being desired and the methods in which they will be
completed. Education on the potential impacts of social procurement, through
internal workshops, can help create buy-in from the sta unsure of what this new
way of purchasing is trying to accomplish.
196
For procurement teams that may not have the embedded knowledge and skills to
understand the role of social impact, it can be dicult to articulate what is being
accomplished, or determine what is possible. By dedicating resources and time to
examine social impacts, there will be a thoughtful approach to implementation;
leading to clearer requirements that meet the contract conditions.
197
6.1.3 Internal Champion
Successful programs will have an internal champion who is an expert on social
procurement.
198
A social procurement expert will provide advice and assistance on
potential social procurement opportunities.
199
It would be unreasonable to expect
everyone to immediately understand the full potential of social procurement.
An internal passionate expert can be the determining factor in moving social
procurement from policy to practice.
200
Having a liaison that can help educate
sta will ensure there is a gradual shift.
201
In many cases the ‘push-back’ from
departments is not because of professional disagreement, but due to the impression
that they do not have the expertise to apply the requirements properly.
202
196 Conversations with Toronto City Sta
197 Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Tackling Poverty Through Public Procurement. 2014. Retrieved from:
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/tackling-poverty-through-public-procurement
198 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
199 Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement Toolkit. 2013. Retrieved from: http://socialprocure-
mentaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Social-Procurement-Toolkit.pdf
200 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
201 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
202 Conversations with City of Toronto sta
For procurement teams that may not have the embedded
knowledge and skills to understand the role of social impact,
it can be dicult to articulate what is being accomplished, or
determine what is possible.
Recommendation
|
10
Hire an expert to lead
social procurement
program, educate sta
on the value of social
procurement, and the
ways they can embed
the practice into their
purchasing.
53
Social Procurement | State of Practice
The City of Toronto employs a Social Procurement Coordinator who is responsible
for implementing the social procurement policy. The position is full-time and
jointly funded between Social Policy and the City’s purchasing department. The
coordinator leads a social procurement team to identify what projects have the
potential to add social value. Over time, purchasing sta will become the experts on
social procurement. But as the process is still new, having a team of dedicated social
procurement experts ensures the success of the program.
203
6.1.4 Understanding Social Value
The addition of social requirements into contracts could be seen as the antithesis to
a culture that prioritizes the lowest price and risk when evaluating contract bids.
204
During their social value pilot program the City of Toronto identied signicant
risk aversion amongst sta as the requirements placed in contracts were unfamiliar
and did not follow a clear process or guideline.
205
To promote a committed cultural shift within an organization, sta should
understand the societal changes (poverty reduction, reconciliation etc.) they are
helping to facilitate.
206
Hiring progressive purchasers who already understand the
potential of social impact purchasing is an easy way to embed social procurement
within processes.
207
Eventually, by applying a ‘whole of organization’ approach,
social requirements that are tackling large societal issues will become business as
usual within procurement.
208
203 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016. Conversations with City of Toronto Sta
204 University of Ottawa: Telfer School of Management. Canadian Federal Procurement as a Policy Lever
to Support Innovation and SME Growth. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/assets/docu-
ments/2017/Federal-Procurement-and-SMEs-report-Telfer_web.pdf
205 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
206 Social Traders. Measuring the Impact of Social Procurement: A New Approach. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Burkett-McNeill_Social-Traders_fram-
ing-the-value-question-in-social-procurement-Part-1.pdf
207 Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The Power of Procurement II The Policy and Practice of Manches-
ter City Council 10 Years On. 2017 Retrieved from: https://cles.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Pow-
er-of-Procurement-II-the-policy-and-practice-of-Manchester-City-Council-10-years-on_web-version.pdf
208 Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Tackling Poverty Through Public Procurement. 2014. Retrieved from:
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/tackling-poverty-through-public-procurement
To promote a committed cultural shift within an organization,
sta should understand the societal changes (poverty reduction,
reconciliation etc.) they are helping to facilitate.
Recommendation
|
11
Work to create an
interdepartmental
taskforce that
educates their own
departments about
how procurement
works and how they
can empower SCM
to succeed in their
social procurement
practices.
54
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6.2 Clear Goals, Objectives, and Approaches
Eective social procurement practices will clearly identify the goals and objectives
being sought.
209
When introducing social procurement, the rst step is to ensure
the chosen actions are justied by the program goals.
210
Social value requirements
cannot be aspirational, and should be linked to the subject matter of the contract.
211
A contract should clearly list the deliverables, measurement requirements,
monitoring responsibilities, and consequences if the social value requirements are
not met.
212
Social value requirements have to be achievable, otherwise there will be
no bids, or the quality of goods or services will suer.
213
Having clear quantiable social outcomes is equally important for suppliers.
Without clear outcomes suppliers will have a dicult time understanding what they
are trying to accomplish, which will decrease the likelihood of achieving any social
value through procurement.
214
Consideration should be given to how targets will
be measured before they are placed as a requirement into contracts.
215
It is better
to have a small number of achievable targets than a long list that are impossible
to reach or monitor.
216
Inserting requirements at the beginning of the process will
decrease the likelihood of potential confusion for suppliers.
217
209 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
210 Halloran, Deirdre. Community Action Network. A Primer on the Use of Social Clauses in Ireland. 2015.
Retrieved from: http://www.canaction.ie/can_15/www/live_site/downloads/can_-_primer_social_clauses_web_
in_ireland_2015.pdf ?gi_sn=55b220918281c%7C0
211 Cumbria County Council. A Social Value Toolkit: For Commissioners and Procurers. 2015. Retrieved from:
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/elibrary/Content/Internet/536/654/1085/6696/42171102532.pdf
212 Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement Toolkit. 2013. Retrieved from: http://socialprocure-
mentaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Social-Procurement-Toolkit.pdf
213 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
214 Croydon Council. Inspiring and Creation Social Value in Croydon. 2012. Retrieved from: https://www.
croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/les/articles/downloads/socialvalue.pdf
215 United Nations Environment. 2017 Global Review of Sustainable Public Procurement. 2017. Retrieved
from: http://www.scpclearinghouse.org/sites/default/les/globalreview_web.pdf
216 Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement Toolkit. 2013. Retrieved from: http://socialprocure-
mentaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Social-Procurement-Toolkit.pdf
217 Hebb, Tessa, and Hachigian, Heather. Social Value Procurement Measurement and Evaluation. Carleton
Centre for Community Innovation 2017. Retrieved from: https://carleton.ca/3ci/wpcontent/uploads/SVP-Eval-
uation_Final_April_13_2017.pdf
It is better to have a small number of achievable targets than
a long list that are impossible to reach or monitor.
Recommendation
|
12
Work with suppliers
to create achievable
targets that meet the
goals set forward by the
city.
55
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6.2.1 Contract Requirement Language
When placing requirements within a contract, the language can be descriptive
or prescriptive. Although similar sounding, there is a large distinction between
contracts stating, ‘provide opportunities for employment to people with barriers,’
compared to, ‘employ a specic percent of people with barriers to employment.’
New South Wales’ (Australia) guide on social procurement recommends taking a
more prescriptive approach, believing non-quantiable requirements will decrease
the likelihood of success.
218
Counter to that, others believe if requirements are
overtly specic, and seek to determine how a supplier will fulll them, they will not
be achieved.
219
When looking to build requirements into contracts, the language
used will play a determining role in how and if social impact goals will be met.
6.2.2 Challenges from Non-Compulsorily Language
Upon rst glance, it may appear that there are strong social value requirements
built into a contract. On close examination, the language used will most likely make
suggestions about seeking out social value, instead of requiring it. For example,
instead of saying a supplier is required to do something, it will say they are
required to consider doing something.
220
This language means potential suppliers
must consider how to add social value, but the assurance that social value will be
incorporated into the procurement does not exist. The use of non-compulsory
language is one way to ensure that trade-agreements are not violated, and that
provincial or federal law are not circumvented.
221
However, by using language that
is non-compulsory, suppliers may be unsure of what they are trying to accomplish,
and the result will be that social value is not incorperated into the contract.
218 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achieving
Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
219 Lepage, David. Exploring Social Procurement. 2014.
220 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
221 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
When looking to
build requirements
into contracts, the
language used will
play a determining
role in how and
if social impact
goals will be met.
56
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6.3 Monitoring + Evaluation
Monitoring contracts to ensure the social value requirements are being met is
equally important as having the initial requirement.
222
Monitoring should be
done consistently throughout the lifetime of the contract.
223
The monitoring
and evaluation of contracts is seen by many as the most dicult aspect of social
procurement.
224
There is often a perception that trying to understand social value
will involve a high demand on resources to collect data.
225
How an organization decides to measure social procurement will be a determinant
of its success. Two approaches to measurement are outcome based and impact
based.
226
An outcome based approach uses short term quantiable indicators that
are simple in nature, for example, number of persons employed from a specic
group. Impact based approaches look at long term, often qualitative, complex
indicators, for example, the eect that local procurement has on reducing the
poverty rate. While it is easy to see the direct results of purchasing a lower priced
good, the impact of creating social value can be far reaching, but harder to
quantify.
227
At the same time, attempting to measure impacts for a specic contract
may be overly complex and expensive, unless there is a strategic reason.
228
Contract monitoring should not create a resource burden that outweighs the
potential social benets.
229
The impacts of social procurement are hard to
articulate through one measurable target (i.e. increased employment), and even
more so within a specic contract.
230
For this reason, organizations will generally
monitor outcomes as they are less costly and more tangible, but must make sure
that by focusing on outputs they do not lose sight of the impacts sought.
231
222 Halloran, Deirdre. Community Action Network. A Primer on the Use of Social Clauses in Ireland. 2015.
Retrieved from: http://www.canaction.ie/can_15/www/live_site/downloads/can_-_primer_social_clauses_web_
in_ireland_2015.pdf ?gi_sn=55b220918281c%7C0
223 Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice. 2015 Retrieved
from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Prac-
tice-2015_FINAL.pdf
224 Halloran D. The Social Value in Social Clauses: Methods of Measuring and Evaluation in Social Procure-
ment. Global Public Procurement Theories and Practices. Florida: Springer Publishing 39-58 Eds. Khi Thai. 2017
225 Hebb, Tessa, and Hachigian, Heather. Social Value Procurement Measurement and Evaluation. Carleton
Centre for Community Innovation 2017. Retrieved from: https://carleton.ca/3ci/wpcontent/uploads/SVP-Eval-
uation_Final_April_13_2017.pdf
226 ibid.
227 State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government.
2010.
228 Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South Wales: A Guide to Achiev-
ing Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement. 2012.
229 Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benets and Social Procurement Policies: A Jurisdic-
tional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-
spp_review_nal.pdf
230 Social Traders. Measuring the Impact of Social Procurement: A New Approach. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Burkett-McNeill_Social-Traders_fram-
ing-the-value-question-in-social-procurement-Part-1.pdf
231 Hebb, Tessa, and Hachigian, Heather. Social Value Procurement Measurement and Evaluation. Carleton
Centre for Community Innovation 2017. Retrieved from: https://carleton.ca/3ci/wpcontent/uploads/SVP-Eval-
uation_Final_April_13_2017.pdf
While it is easy to see
the direct results of
purchasing a lower
priced good, the
impact of creating
social value can be far
reaching, but harder to
analytically quantify
57
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6.3.1 Enforcement of Social Value
Enforcement of social value requirements can be a tricky process in contracts. The
complete termination of a contract for failing to meet the social value requirements
is not realistic.
232
Ideally, there will be an agreement on the potential consequences if a supplier does
not meet their social impact requirements during evaluation.
233
Although nancial
repercussions for not meeting requirements can be used, the creation of positive
relationships with suppliers has proven a better route in ensuring compliance.
234
6.3.2 Contract Management
In procurement, once a contract has been awarded it is normal to move onto
the next. However, for contracts that have social impact requirements, procuring
organization will need to both manage the contract and support the contractor
throughout the process.
235
Written in contracts that are part of Toronto’s
workplace development program is a requirement that the supplier meets with
the City on a quarterly basis to ensure the continued success of the workplace
development program.
236
Spending time and energy enabling businesses through
contract management will lead to increasing social value benets and a continued
maturity of social value business practices.
232 Halloran, Deirdre. Community Action Network. A Primer on the Use of Social Clauses in Ireland. 2015.
Retrieved from: http://www.canaction.ie/can_15/www/live_site/downloads/can_-_primer_social_clauses_web_
in_ireland_2015.pdf ?gi_sn=55b220918281c%7C0
233 Hebb, Tessa, and Hachigian, Heather. Social Value Procurement Measurement and Evaluation. Carleton
Centre for Community Innovation 2017. Retrieved from: https://carleton.ca/3ci/wpcontent/uploads/SVP-Eval-
uation_Final_April_13_2017.pdf
234 Halloran, Deirdre. Community Action Network. A Primer on the Use of Social Clauses in Ireland. 2015.
Retrieved from: http://www.canaction.ie/can_15/www/live_site/downloads/can_-_primer_social_clauses_web_
in_ireland_2015.pdf ?gi_sn=55b220918281c%7C0
235 Scottish Government. Analysis of the Impact and value of Community Benet Clauses in Procurement.
2015 Retrieved from: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00480510.pdf
236 City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
Although nancial repercussions for not meeting requirements
can be used, the creation of positive relationships with suppliers
has proven a better route in ensuring compliance.
Recommendation
|
13
Write stipulations
into contracts that
require suppliers
to check-in and
provide updates
and feedback on
fullling their
social value
requirements.
58
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6.4 Trade Agreements
While there are a number of trade agreements in place that the City of Vancouver
must adhere to, for the most part they do not restrict social procurement
opportunities. Generally, there is a fear that placing any preference within a
contract will automatically circumvent established trade agreements.
237
This
nervousness leads to purchasing teams missing out on potential opportunities to add
social value. In reality, trade agreements have a number of dierent exemptions
and nancial thresholds, that enable social procurement.
6.4.1 Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
The government of Canada introduced the
Canadian Free Trade Agreement
(CFTA) on July 1, 2017 in eorts to modernize the previous
Agreement on Internal
Trade
(AIT).
238
The CFTA governs internal trade between Canadian provinces
and territories and seeks to provide equal opportunity for Canadian businesses
regardless of geographical location.
The CFTA states that local governments, school districts and other public sector
agencies are not permitted to have local preference policies for food over $100,000
and services and construction over $250,000. Although Alberta, New Brunswick,
and Prince Edward Island placed exemptions for local food within their policy,
British Columbia did not. This means that any food procurement over $100,000
cannot be given local biases. The CFTA does not apply to procurement that is part
of a small businesses set-aside program.
The CFTA states that a procuring entity should avoid the use of technical
specications that require, or refer to a particular trademark, or trade name, patent,
copyright, design, type, specic origin, producer or supplier. If an organization
seeks out third party verication for social impact businesses or social enterprises,
they will have to ensure it is either exempt from the CFTA or maintains an open
and transparent process.
237 Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of Business. Buying Local:
Tools for Forward-Thinking Institutions. 2013. Retrieved from: www.civicgovernance.ca/wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/2014/01/FINAL-Buying-Local.pdf
238 Canadian Free Trade Agreement. 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.cfta-alec.ca/canadi-
an-free-trade-agreement/
59
Social Procurement | State of Practice
6.4.2 New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA)
Alongside the newly formed CFTA, the province of British Columbia is part of
the
New West Partnership Trade Agreement
(NWPTA) that includes Alberta
and Saskatchewan.
239
The agreement requires open and non-discriminatory
procurement where anticipated costs are above $75,000 for goods or services, and
$100,000 for construction.
Moving forward, the newly adopted Comprehensive Economic and Trade
Agreement (CETA), which reduces barriers for trade between Canada and the
European Union, may also play an increasingly prevalent role. Although trade
agreements appear as a rigid barriers to social procurement, they may not be as
onerous as on rst glance. In practice, legislative concerns about social procurement
have been shown more apparent than real.
240
Contracts that fall below the stated
thresholds do not have to conform to the trade agreements. As well, a number of
procurement types are exempt from the trade agreements. Exemptions include
non-prots, philanthropic institutions, prison labour, and people with disabilities.
The trade agreements may appear as a barrier to social procurement. In reality,
there are a number of opportunities that will not burden procurement teams with
unnecessary risk of circumventing them. At the same time legal council should
always be sought to ensure a procurement practices does not risk breaking any
trade agreement.
239 The New West Partnership Trade Agreement. Retrieved from: http://www.newwestpartnershiptrade.ca/
pdf/NewWest_Partnership_Trade_Agreement_2016.pdf
240 Revington C. Hoogendam R. & Holeton A. The Social Procurement Intermediary: The State of the Art
and its Development within the GTHA. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.lefca.org/documents/Social-Procure-
ment-Intermediary-LEF-2015.pdf
Although trade agreements appear as a rigid barriers to social
procurement, they may not be as onerous as on rst glance.
60
Social Procurement | State of Practice
The following recommendations build o the state of practice research and
are in support of working towards a formal social procurement program.
Procurement Approaches
1 Conduct a social impact opportunity analysis to examine contracts that are
up for renewal, and identify opportunities for social procurement pilots.
2 Increase the weighting of social value in contracts
that can clearly provide a social impact.
3 Explore the introduction of a simplied RFP for low risk
contracts that businesses with limited capacity can full.
4 Create a social enterprise directory to provide SCM with a list of social
enterprises operating in dierent spend categories. A directory will identify
who is available, the work they do, and the capacity of their operations.
Slowly, social procurement practices are becoming more common place in public
procurement. This report provides an overview of those practices and highlights
opportunities to inject social value within the procurement process.
While there are many guides that provide an understanding of what the benets
of social procurement are, it is the policies in place that show what organizations
are actively doing. By building a framework, the City of Vancouver will be able to
clearly articulate what they are trying to achieve, and how they are going to achieve
it.
Procurement is a tricky process, as is trying to understand social value. When these
two are placed together it can be dicult to comprehend what is possible. But
when the time is taken to formalise a strategy, the City’s purchasing will become an
increasing proponent in achieving the City’s larger social goals.
8 | recommendAtionS
7 | concluSion
By building a framework, the City of Vancouver will be able
to clearly articulate what they are trying to achieve, and how
they are going to achieve it.
Recommendation
|
14
Implement a social
procurement
framework, or
rewrite procurement
policy to reect
social procurement
initiatives.
61
Social Procurement | State of Practice
5 Host meet the buyer events, where suppliers come and learn about
opportunities for city contracts, gain knowledge about how to bid
on contracts, and showcase their goods or service to a city.
6 Investigate whether social value requirements can be used
to prequalify suppliers within an ITT process.
7 For contracts of specic size and scope, require bids from a
targeted group (ex. Social enterprise, aboriginal business)
8 Require suppliers to employ a minimum amount of
people with barriers for certain large contracts.
9 Place requirements in large contracts for suppliers to have a subcontracting
plan that provides opportunities for businesses that provide social value.
Program Elements
10 Hire an expert to lead social procurement program, educate
sta on the value of social procurement, and the ways
they can embed the practice into their purchasing.
11 Work to create an interdepartmental taskforce that educates their
own departments about how procurement works and how they can
empower SCM to succeed in their social procurement practices.
12 Work with suppliers to create achievable targets that
meet the goals set forward by the City.
13 Write stipulations into contracts that require suppliers to check-in and
provide updates and feedback on fullling their social value requirements.
14 Implement a social procurement framework, or rewrite
procurement policy to reect social procurement initiatives.
62
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Evaluation of the
Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.
aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ-AEV/STAGING/texte-text/ev_
psab_1446467643497_eng.pdf
Ajuntament de Barcelona. Social Public Procurement Guide. 2017. Retrieved from:
http://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/contractaciopublica/en/
Australian Government. Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy. 2015.
Retrieved from: https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/
indigenous_procurement_policy_0.pdf
Barnes, Trevor and Hutton, Tom, Prepared for Metro Vancouver. Dynamics
of Economic Change in Metro Vancouver. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.
mvprosperity.org/Documents/DynamicsofEconomicChangeinMetroVancouver.
pdf
British Columbia: Ministry of Finance. Aboriginal Procurement and Contract
Management Guidelines. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/ocg/
fmb/manuals/CPM/Aboriginal_Procurement_and_ContractMgmt_Guidelines.
pdf
British Columbia: Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. Small Business:
Doing Business with Government Project. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www2.
gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/business-management/business-and-government/
doingbusinesswithgovtproject_v04.pdf
British Columbia: Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation. Social
Impact Purchasing Guidelines. 2014
Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. Promise and Prosperity: The 2016
Aboriginal Business Survey. 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.ccab.com/wpcontent/
uploads/2016/10/CCAB-PP-Report-V2-SQ-Pages.pdf
Canadian Community Economic Development Network & Government of
Manitoba. Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy. 2015. Retrieved from: https://
www.gov.mb.ca/housing/pubs/mb_social_enterprise_strategy_2015.pdf
Centre for Citizenship Enterprise and Government. Social Value in Public
Procurement. 2014. Retrieved from: https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/
documents/download-pdf-social-value-bb6.pdf
9 | Work Cited
63
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The Power of Procurement II: The Policy
and Practice of Manchester City Council 10 Years On. 2017 Retrieved from:
https://cles.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Power-of-Procurement-IIthe-
policy-and-practice-of-Manchester-City-Council-10-years-on_web-version.pdf
City of Gold Coast. City Contracting Plan 2017-2018. 2017 (Recycling and Waste
Facilities) Retrieved from: http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/city-contractingplan-
31907.html
City of Gold Coast (Australia). Procurement Policy and Contract Manual.
2016. Retrieved from: http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/procurement-
policyguidelines-
12293.html
City of London. City of London Procurement Strategy 2015-2018. 2015.
City of London. City of London Procurement Code Part One: Rules. 2016
City of London. City Procurement: Responsible Procurement Strategy 2016-2019.
2016
City of Seattle. 2017 Annual Citywide WMBE Goals. 2017. Retrieved from: www.
seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/FAS/.../WMBE/WMBE_plans_2017.pdf
City of Toronto. Social Procurement Program. 2016.
City of Victoria. Good Jobs + Good Business = Better Community: The Mayor’s
Task Force on Social Enterprise and Social Procurement Action Plan. 2017.
Clean Energy Canada. The Power of Procurement. 2017. Retrieved from: http://
cleanenergycanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Power-of-Procurement_
FINAL.pdf
Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of
Business. Buying Local: Tools for Forward-Thinking Institutions. 2013. Retrieved
from: www.civicgovernance.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/
FINALBuying-Local.pdf
Columbia Institute, LOCO BC, and ISIS Research Centre at the Sauder School of
Business. The Power of Purchasing: The Economic Impacts of Local Procurement.
2013. Retrieved from: http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Faculty/Research_Centres/
Centre_for_Social_Innovation_and_Impact_Investing/Core_Themes/Social_
Innovation/The_Power_of_Purchasing
64
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Croydon Council. Inspiring and Creation Social Value in Croydon.2012. Retrieved
from: https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/files/articles/downloads/
socialvalue.pdf
Cumbria County Council. A Social Value Toolkit: For Commissioners and
Procurers. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/elibrary/Content/
Internet/536/654/1085/6696/42171102532.pdf
Ernst & Young. Atira Property Management Inc.: Social Impact of Hiring Target
Employee Group Individuals. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.atira.bc.ca/sites/
default/files/APMI%20Social%20Impact%20Report%20-%20July%202017.pdf
European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC). PPPs and Procurement: Impact of the
new EU Directives. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.eib.org/epec/resources/
publications/epec_ppp_and_procurement_en
European Union. Buying Social: A Guide to Taking Account of Social
Considerations in Public Procurements. 2010. Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.
eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6457&langId=en
Evergreen Line Rapid Tranit Project Agreement, Schedule 18: First Nations.
Retrieved from: http://www.partnershipsbc.ca/projects/operational-complete/
evergreen-line-rapid-transit-project/#1487651133619-dd8088f1-822b
Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Pathways to Reconciliation: Cities respond
to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. 2015. Retrieved from:
https://fcm.ca/Documents/tools/BCMC/Pathways_to_reconciliation_EN.pdf
Halloran, Deirdre. Community Action Network. A Primer on the Use of Social
Clauses in Ireland. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.canaction.ie/can_15/www/
live_site/downloads/can_-_primer_social_clauses_web_in_ireland_2015.pdf ?gi_
sn=55b220918281c%7C0
Halloran Deirdre. The Social Value in Social Clauses: Methods of Measuring
and Evaluation in Social Procurement. Global Public Procurement Theories and
Practices. Florida: Springer Publishing 39-58 Eds. Khi Thai. 2017
Halton (UK). Halton’s Social Value Procurement Framework. Retrieved
from: https://www3.halton.gov.uk/Pages/councildemocracy/pdfs/
SocialValueProcFramework.pdf
65
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Hebb, Tessa, and Hachigian, Heather. Social Value Procurement Measurement
and Evaluation. Carleton Centre for Community Innovation 2017. Retrieved
from: https://carleton.ca/3ci/wpcontent/uploads/SVP-Evaluation_Final_
April_13_2017.pdf
Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Tackling Poverty Through Public Procurement.
2014. Retrieved from: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/tackling-poverty-throughpublic-
procurement
Lepage, David. Exploring Social Procurement. 2014.
Manchester City Council. Manchester City Council Ethical (Procurement)
Policy. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/
download/6446/ethical_procurement_policy
Manchester City Council. Social Value Toolkit for Suppliers 2017. 2017. Retrieved
from: www.manchester.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/24934/social_value_
toolkit.pdf
Mowat Centre and Atkinson Foundation. Community Benefits and Social
Procurement Policies: A Jurisdictional Review. 2016. Retrieved from: http://
atkinsonfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mowat-af_cb-spp_review_
final.pdf
Government of Manitoba. Aboriginal Procurement Manual. 2015
National Women’s Business Council. Best Practices in Federal Procurement:
A Study of the Successes and Barriers for Women-Owned Businesses. 2006.
Retrieved:
https://www.nwbc.gov/research/bestpractices-federal-procurement-studysuccessesand-
barriers-women-ownedbusinesses
New South Wales Government. NSW Government Policy on Aboriginal
Participation in Construction. 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.procurepoint.
nsw.gov.au/system/files/documents/apic_policy_1_august_2016.pdf
Plymouth Community Homes. Social Value Toolkit: Leading Economic,
Environmental and Social Benefit Through Procurement. 2014. Retrieved from:
http://www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/
Social-Value-Toolkit-Final-Oct-14.pdf
Province of Nova Scotia. Advancing Social Enterprise in Nova Scotia. 2017.
Retrieved from: https://novascotia.ca/business/docs/social-enterprise-framework.
pdf
66
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Revington C. Hoogendam R. & Holeton A. The Social Procurement Intermediary:
The State of the Art and its Development within the GTHA. 2015. Retrieved from:
http://www.lefca.org/documents/Social-Procurement-Intermediary-LEF-2015.
pdf
Scotland. Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. 2014
Scottish Government. Analysis of the Impact and value of Community
Benefit Clauses in Procurement. 2015 Retrieved from: http://www.gov.scot/
Resource/0048/00480510.pdf
Scottish Government. Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026. 2016.
Retrieved from: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0051/00511500.pdf
SIGMA (joint OECD and EU initiative). Brief 36: Public Procurement: Division
of Contracts into Lots. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.sigmaweb.org/
publications/Public-Procurement-Policy-Brief-36-200117.pdf
Šličiuvienč, Dovilč. Public Procurement in Lithuania: (Dis)balance Between
Profitability and Environmental Protection. Global Public Procurement Theories
and Practices. Florida: Springer Publishing 17-38 Eds Khi Thai. 2017
Social Procurement Action Group (SPAG). Social Procurement in New South
Wales: A Guide to Achieving Social Value Through Public Sector Procurement.
2012.
Social Procurement Australasia. Insights Into Social Procurement: From Policy
to Practice. 2015 Retrieved from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/
wpcontent/uploads/2015/07/SPA-Insights-From-Policy-to-Practice-2015_FINAL.pdf
Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement: The Business Case.
2015. Retrieved from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/
uploads/2014/09/Social-Procurement-Business-Case1.pdf
Social Procurement Australasia. Social Procurement Toolkit. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Social-
Procurement-Toolkit.pdf
67
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Social Traders. Measuring the Impact of Social Procurement: A New Approach.
2013. Retrieved from: http://socialprocurementaustralasia.com/wp-content/
uploads/2013/09/Burkett-McNeill_Social-Traders_framing-the-value-question-
insocial-procurement-Part-1.pdf
State Government of Victoria (Australia). Social Procurement: A Guide for
Victorian Local Government. 2010.
Strandberg, Coro. 2014. Social Value Business Guide.
United Kingdom. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
United Nations Environment. 2017 Global Review of Sustainable Public
Procurement. 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.scpclearinghouse.org/sites/
default/files/globalreview_web.pdf
University of Ottawa:Telfer School of Management. Canadian Federal
Procurement as a Policy Lever to Support Innovation and SME Growth. 2017.
Retrieved from: http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/assets/documents/2017/Federal-
Procurement-and-SMEs-report-Telfer_web.pdf
Village of Cumberland. Social Procurement Framework. 2016. The Framework
was designed by Sandra Hamilton and adapted from Social Procurement: a Guide
for Victorian Local Government. State Government of Victoria, October, 2010.
Retrieved from: https://cumberland.ca/social-procurement/
Welsh Government. Wales Procurement Policy Statement. 2015.
Welsh Government. Community Benefits: Delivering Maximum Value for
the Welsh Pound. 2014. Retrieved from: http://prp.gov.wales/docs/prp/
toolkit/140815communitybenefitreportenglishwebupdated.pdf
68
Social Procurement | State of Practice
The following appendix provides information on a selection of social procurement
policies, reports and guides. The appendix identifies the organizational definition,
goals for social procurement, approaches to meet the goals and the steps to
implimentation. Measurement and evaluation tools are noted where applicable.
Canadian Context
• British Columbia | Social Impact Purchasing Guidelines
• City of Toronto | Social Procurement Program and Staff Consultation
• Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (Alberta)| Procurement Pilots, Social
Procurement Framework (Hamilton, 2016), and Staff Consultation
• Victoria (BC) | Good Jobs + Good Business = Better Community - Mayors
• Task Force on Social Enterprise and Social Procurement Draft Action Plan
• Village of Cumberland (BC) | Social Procurement Framework (Hamilton,
2015) and Staff Consultation
International Context
• Barcelona (Spain)| Social Public Procurement Guide
• City of the Gold Coast (Australia) | Procurement Policy and Contracting Plan
• London (UK) | Public Procurement Strategy + Guide
• Manchester City | Report, Guide + Policy
• New South Wales | Social Procurement Guide
• Scotland | Procurement Reform Act (Scotland) 2014
• Victoria (Australia) | Social Procurement Guide
• Wales | Procurement Policies
Aboriginal Context
• Manitoba | Aboriginal Procurement Initiative (API)
• New South Wales (Australia) | NSW Government Policy on Aboriginal
Participation Construction
• Canada | Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business
• BC Hydro | Aboriginal Procurement Policy
• Australia | Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy
• Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) | Vancouver 2010 Sustainability
Report
10.1 | Review of Social PRocuRment
Appendix:
10.1 Review of Social
Procurement
10.2 Social Procurement
Booklet
69
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Canadian Context
British Columbia | Social Impact Purchasing Guidelines
Social Impact Purchasing is a process through which organizations consider not only
value for money, but also social and environmental impacts when purchasing goods
and services.
Goals
• Increased independence and sustainable employment for those in need
• Meaningful independence and community inclusion for people with disabilities
• Culture of social innovation across the province
Approaches
• Direct award
• Preference for social enterprise
• Short form RFP
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Understand your social value requirements
• Confirm your procurement process
• Identify the type of social impact purchasing that meets your needs
• Complete your procurement process and make your purchase
Measurement + Evaluation
• Track the number of contracts that are awarded to social enterprises or social
purpose businesses
70
Social Procurement | State of Practice
City of Toronto | Social Procurement Program and
Staff Consultation
Social procurement is the achievement of strategic social, economic and workforce
development goals using an organization’s process of purchasing goods and services.
Goals
• Increase diversity of supply chain by providing diverse suppliers with equitable
access to competitive City procurement processes;
• Enact workforce development program : Increase the number of employment,
apprenticeship and training opportunities leveraged for people experiencing
economic disadvantage, including those from equity-seeking communities
Approaches
• Require bids from select suppliers
• Supplier certification through third party organizations
• Social value weighting
• Workforce development program
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• For procurement between $3,000 and $50,000 in value, divisions will be
required to seek at least one quotation from a diverse supplier as part of the
Divisional Purchase Order process
• For procurement over $50,000 in value, for which there is a competitive
procurement process, suppliers will be encouraged to develop their own
supplier diversity programs
• Contracts over $5 million and lasting over 2 years may be required to implement
workforce development program
• Acquire and maintain list of diverse suppliers
• Develop templates, language and evaluation guidelines
Measurement + Evaluation
Output indicators:
• Number of competitive procurements selected to include a workforce
development component
• Number of proposals received for RFP projects that include workforce
development proposal
• Number of diverse suppliers in City supply chain (direct or subcontract)
• Number of direct suppliers in competitive procurements developing their own
supply chain diversity program
71
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (Alberta)| Procurement
Pilots, Social Procurement Framework
1
, and Staff Consultation
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) is transforming its method
of purchasing goods and services to proactively seek social and economically
sustainable benefits for the region. The Municipality will seek to leverage its current
spend to achieve desirable and targeted social impact.
Goals
• Procurement will work to add, rather than diminish social value in society
• Increase social and economic development
• Increase in supply chain diversity
• Improving access to government contracts
• Improve small business access
• Build social enterprise capacity
Approaches
• In 2016 The Regional Muncipality of Wood Buffalo recommended their Social
Procurement Framework be accepted as information by council.
• Social procurement framework was followed by social procurement pilots
• Significant weighting for social value
• Contractors must meet social value requirement to prequalify for ITT
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Held a number of stakeholder engagement meetings with suppliers to educate,
and also gain insight to help collaboratively build a social procurement
framework
• Developed a portal for under threshold contracts that are sent out via email to
self-registered vendors
• Belief that existing contracts can be strategically restructured to add social value
in renewal
• Examples of contracts where social value has been weighted 33%
Measurement + Evaluation
• If supplier does not meet social requirements in contract they may be banned
from bidding on contracts for period of time
1 The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Social Procurement Framework was designed by Sandra Hamilton
72
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Victoria (BC) | Good Jobs + Good Business = Better
Community - Mayors Task Force on Social Enterprise
and Social Procurement Draft Action Plan
To help Victoria’s economic ecosystem thrive and improve the well-being of Victoria
residents, we must adjust our thinking and realize the potential to drive social
good and economic opportunity at the same time as prudently, responsibly, and
transparently managing tax dollars and spending decisions.
Goals
• Strengthen and reward small business sector
• Help people with barriers find opportunities for employment
• Grow strong inclusive economy
Approaches
• Weighting for the hiring and training/retraining of people with barriers
• Preference for Vendors that hire people with barriers
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Establish Social procurement framework
• Educate city staff, social enterprises, and businesses
• Develop and provide educational material
• Survey and engage businesses
• Pilot social procurement
• Strengthen capacity for supportive employment
• Procurement policy weighs on a case-by-case basis if contract can provide
extended social value
Measurement + Evaluation
• Currently there is nothing mentioned
73
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Village of Cumberland (BC) | Social Procurement
Framework
2
and Staff Consultation
The Village of Cumberland uses a social procurement framework to leverage public
dollars and achieve desirable and targeted social impact for the Village through
competitive bid and purchasing activities.
Goals
• Expand definition of best value
• Promote diversity and innovation through supply chain partnerships
• Stimulate growth and build capacity of supply chains
• Improve access to contracts for micro, small business and social enterprises
• Increase local jobs
• Help move people out of poverty
Approaches
• Asks for consideration of social value within contracts
• Contractors must meet social value requirement to prequalify for ITT
• Social Value weighting
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• For ITTs contractors must prequalify by meeting social value requirements,
then contract awarded 100% on price
• Contracts are weighted (approx. 5%) on providing social value
Measurement + Evaluation
• Currently, there are no measurement other than initial meeting of requirements
2 The Cumberland Social Procurement Framework was designed by Sandra Hamilton and adapted from Social
Procurement: a Guide for Victorian Local Government. State Government of Victoria, October, 2010
74
Social Procurement | State of Practice
International Context
Barcelona (Spain)| Social Public Procurement Guide
This guide specifies social inclusion, gender equality and social justice measures
designed to encourage the award of work, supply and service contracts to companies
and professionals that perform public contracts with a business model base on
decent wages, stable employment with health and safety protection, environmental
sustainability and ethical behavior, to promote the production players’ democratic
participation and drive social innovation.
Goals
• Support social enterprises
• Increase employment for people with barriers
• Healthy economy
Approaches
• Predetermined contractual obligations established by the contracting body
before tenders are submitted
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• When creating contracts social measures are evaluated to see if they fit the
context of the contract
Measurement + Evaluation
• In the case where there is a significantly high impact socially, on the people
and the interest groups involved, as well as financially, the contractor may be
required to draw up a report analyzing social impact and the monitoring carried
out during the contract
75
Social Procurement | State of Practice
City of the Gold Coast (Australia) |
Procurement Policy and Contracting Plan
Council is committed to social procurement, a strategic approach to meeting
social objectives through procurement and in particular providing employment
opportunities via procurement to disadvantaged communities on the Gold Coast.
Goals
• Developing and attracting social enterprises
• Encouraging local businesses to include social or community objectives into
daily business practices
• Promoting employment opportunities and inclusive and accessible work
environments for people with barriers
• Build the skills, knowledge and ability of not-for-profit community groups to
enable them to access funding and expand services
Approaches
• Weighting of local business
• Set Asides: Mandate to spend certain amount procurement spend on suppliers
that provide benefits to disadvantaged communities of the Gold Coast
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• In City Contracting plan they will identify social procurement as potential
"sourcing method" for specific contracts
• Award up to 15% preference to local suppliers, based on sliding criteria
Measurement + Evaluation
• Percentage of procurement spend with local suppliers
• Percentage of procurement spend aligned to strategic outcomes
76
Social Procurement | State of Practice
London (UK) | Public Procurement Strategy + Guide
Through our procurement processes and activities we aim to minimize the negative
impacts associated with goods, services and works and their associated supply chains
and maximize potential benefits including social value.
Goals
• Support SMEs
• Support Local business
• Support Social Enterprise
Approaches
• Require bids from specific suppliers
• Supplier engagement to increase future procurement
• Unbundle contracts
• Social Value weighting
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• For one off purchasing a minimum of three firms to be invited to submit written
quotations, including: one local firm, an SME or a Social Enterprise
• If large contracts are not unbundles there must be a rationale
• In underdeveloped markets evaluation criteria will be weak, but in completive
markets it is used to ensure City maximizes social value
• Social value panel formed with community members to ensure the social value
is designed by them
Measurement + Evaluation
• City aims to enhance all data collection, measurements, and results reporting to
continue to develop and achieve target outputs
77
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Manchester City | Report, Guide + Policy
A process whereby organizations meet their needs for good, services, works and
utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of
generating benefits not only to the organization, but also to society and economy,
whilst minimizing damage to the environment.
Goals
• Promote employment and economic stability
• Raise the living standard of local residents (local business)
• Promote participation and Citizen Engagement
• Support SMEs
Approaches
• Simplify RFP
• Meet the buyer events
• Social procurement in all stages
• Pre-procurement engagement
• Unbundle contracts
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Create link between procurement and wider corporate responsibility
• Maintain an ongoing relationship with supplier after contract is awarded
• Take an evidence based understanding of where spend goes and the impacts
Measurement + Evaluation
• Measure percentage of local spend
78
Social Procurement | State of Practice
New South Wales | Social Procurement Guide
Social procurement refers to the generation of social value through purchasing
and procurement processes. In other words, social procurement is another way
that public bodies can achieve their social objectives (alongside more traditional
approaches to achieving these objectives).
Goals
• Employment and training
• Social inclusion
• Diversity and Equality
• Local sustainability
• Social and Service innovation
• Fair Trade
Approaches
• Social Clauses (but the requirements can range depending on contract)
• Supply market Analysis
• Social value weighting
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Leadership
• Communication and Education
• Policy and Process
• Planning
• Opportunity Analysis
• Supplier Engagement
Measurement + Evaluation
• Encourages contract management uses key performance indicators
79
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Scotland | Procurement Reform Act (Scotland) 2014
Smart use of procurement can play a key role in promoting jobs and growth,
encouraging innovation, boosting training and apprenticeship opportunities and
helping small and medium enterprises (SME’s) third sector organizations and
supported businesses to compete effectively for contracts.
Goals
• Promote job growth
• Encourage innovation
• Increase training and internship
• Support SME's, third sector and supported business
Approaches
• Buyers must consider social value when procuring goods or services
•
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• The following must be considered by purchaser:
• Potential improvements to the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of
the authority's area
• How to facilitate the involvement of small and medium enterprises, third sector
bodies and supported businesses in the process, and how to promote innovation
Measurement + Evaluation
• After the end of each financial year, the Scottish Ministers must prepare areport,
based on information contained in annual procurement reports during that year,
on procurement activity in Scotland (including social aspects)
80
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Victoria (Australia) | Social Procurement Guide
Social procurement involves using procurement processes and purchasing power
to generate positive social outcomes in addition to the delivery of efficient goods,
services and work
Goals
• Increased diversity of supplier market
• Improvements in supplier quality
• Strengthen organizational partnership with diverse range of community actors
• Contribute to economic and social development of local community
Approaches
• Social clauses
• Weighing of social value
• Conduct spend analysis
• Direct subcontracting
• Purchasing agreements
Implementation
|
Next Steps
Focus on either:
• One Off Direct Purchases- Short term work
• Ongoing Purchases- Create a relationship with a ‘social value businesses’ without
putting a formally binding contract in place
Measurement + Evaluation
• There are a number of scenarios where social impacts prove difficult to measure
and monitor. For example, it is easy to determine whether the number of
new employees meets contractual obligations, but other social impacts such as
community pride or wellbeing are less quantifiable.
81
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Wales | Procurement Policies
The process whereby organizations meet their needs for goods, services, works
and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of
generating benefits not only to the organization, but also to society and the economy,
whilst minimizing damage to the environment
Goals
• Support people with barriers
• Support social benefit suppliers
• Maximize opportunities for SMEs
Approaches
• Identify areas of expenditure which can be reserved for suppliers with a
workforce of 30% or more disadvantaged workers
• Identify areas of expenditure which can be reserved for 'social benefit suppliers'
• Simplify standard procurement processes
• Meet the buyer events
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Make an employment utilization plan
• Advertisement of local supply chain opportunities a condition of contract,
• Ask for a CB proposal and ideas (but do not evaluate as part of the tender)
Measurement + Evaluation
• Complete an annual return to Welsh Government of procurement outcomes,
achieved through procurement
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
Aboriginal Procurement Context
Manitoba | Aboriginal Procurement Initiative (API)
Procurement practices can be seen as one way to assist in the development of
Aboriginal business and supports Manitoba’s commitment to community economic
development as a key component of Manitoba’s economic strategy, intended to
develop a provincial economy that is more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable.
Goals
• Stimulate Aboriginal business development
• Indirect creation of new employment opportunities
• Relationship building between aboriginal suppliers and government buyers
• Enable a better understanding of tender process by buyers
Approaches
• Aboriginal Business Set Asides
• Mandatory Aboriginal Business Participation
• Aboriginal Business directory
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Create an Aboriginal Procurement Criteria that evaluates whether contract fits
the API
• If contract meets requirement, follow steps of Set Aside program
• Maintain an Aboriginal Business Directory
Measurement + Evaluation
• Currently there is nothing mentioned
83
Social Procurement | State of Practice
New South Wales (Australia) | NSW Government
Policy on Aboriginal Participation Construction
Government procurement provides a significant opportunity to increase Aboriginal
skills and economic participation.
Goals
• Provide opportunities for Aboriginal people within national construction
contracts
Approaches
• Mandatory Aboriginal participation
• Based on financial thresholds
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Aboriginal participation is project based:
• Projects primarily directed to Aboriginal communities (includes beneficiary, key
user group or predominant stakeholder) (Mandatory 5%)
• All other construction contracts over $10 million (Mandatory 4%)
• All other construction contracts over $1 million (Mandatory 3%)
Measurement + Evaluation
• Contractors must submit Aboriginal participation plan within 60 days of contract
being awarded
• Participation report must be provided when project reaches 90% completion
explaining how participation plans has been implemented
84
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Canada | Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business
Procurement is a tool for Aboriginal businesses to grow by gaining experience,
developing capacity, and forming partnerships with other businesses to compete for
procurement opportunities
Goals
• Provide opportunities for Aboriginal people within national contracts
Approaches
• Mandatory Set Asides- Applies to all federal contracts with value greater than
$5,000 delivered to primarily Aboriginal population
• Voluntary Set-Asides - May elect to set aside select opportunities
• Joint Ventures and Partnerships - Allows partnerships to bid on opportunities
that have been set aside
• Use of Aboriginal Criteria
• Departments are encouraged to request Aboriginal Business Sub-Contracting
Aboriginal business database
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Create an Aboriginal Procurement Criteria that evaluates whether contract fits
the PSAB
• If contract meets requirement, follow steps of Set Aside program
• Maintain an Aboriginal Business Directory
Measurement + Evaluation
• Currently there are none mentioned, although concerns have been raised that
the PSAB privileges larger Aboriginal businesses
85
Social Procurement | State of Practice
BC Hydro | Aboriginal Procurement Policy
Working together to build relationships that respect Aboriginal peoples’ interests is
important to BC Hydro.
Goals
• Supporting the long-term economic interests of Aboriginal people in British
Columbia
Approaches
• Direct award
• Set aside contracts
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• May fulfil procurement commitments outlined in agreement with an Aboriginal
group, but still:
• Must be at market competitive prices
• Must meet expectations with respect to qualifications, safety and performance
standards for the work
• Contract may be awarded to Aboriginal group, or business designated by
Aboriginal group to perform work
• ‘Direct Procurement” opportunities will take into account: security of supply,
competitive market impacts, and ongoing program costs and efficiencies
• Encourage suppliers to use Aboriginal Business Directory to explore
opportunities for partnerships and subcontracting
Measurement + Evaluation
• Currently, there are nothing mentioned
86
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Australia | Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy
A strong Indigenous business sector will help drive financial independence, and
create wealth and opportunities for Indigenous Australians.
Goals
• Creating opportunities for Indigenous businesses to grow
• It is also about stimulating private investment in new Indigenous businesses.
• Target: 3% of Government contracts awarded to indigenous businesses by 2020
Approaches
• Target for purchasing from Indigenous businesses
• Mandatory set-aside program
• Minimum indigenous participation requirements for certain contracts
How do they get there?
Mandatory Set-Aside:
• For domestic contracts between $80,000-$200,000, buyer must first determine if
Aboriginal SME can complete contract
• Document outcome of search
• If no suitable indigenous business identified than go through regular
procurement
• If set aside program not applied there must be rationale why
Minimum Indigenous Participation:
• All new contracts valued at $7.5 million or above in particular sectors
• Mandatory minimum requirements are written into contracts
• Venders submit an Indigenous participation plan
Minimum Contract Targets
• To Reach Target Portfolios may include:
• Direct contracts with an Indigenous business
• Subcontracts with an Indigenous business when subcontract directly relates to
goods or service
• Direct contract with joint venture (Joint venture must be minimum 25%
indigenous)
• Multiyear contracts can be counted towards the portfolio’s performance against
the target for each year
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Utilize Indigenous procurement website
• Lists contract targets, awarded and the total value of them by category
• Requirement to report contracts and will be cross matched with indigenous
business database
• Measures include: value, term, good service being purchased, minimum
requirement
87
Social Procurement | State of Practice
Vancouver Olympic Committee |
Vancouver 2010 Sustainability Report
VANOC will make every effort to work with suppliers to leverage sustainability impacts
and increase innovation, trade and investment in the sustainability and Aboriginal
participation sector.
Goals
• Increased social, ethical and environmental performance
• Growth of minority-owned businesses and the sustainable enterprise sector (First
Nations, Inuit, Metis, inner-city, social, fair trade, and environmental enterprises)
• Increased jobs for targeted communities (e.g. Aboriginal people, people with
disabilities, inner-city residents)
Approaches
• Direct award
• Limited competitive bid
• Open competitive bid with custom specifications
• Aboriginal opportunity requirement
• Inner-City opportunity requirement
• Weighting within overall evaluation process
Implementation
|
Next Steps
• Pre-procurement opportunity analysis to identify high impact opportunities
• Choose procurement approach depending on opportunity
• Selected opportunities will prepare customized participation specifications, criteria
or other info to support bid preparation
• Targeted performance questionnaire will factor in the scoring and ranking of
vendors
• During process, procurement team will clarify targets with potential suppliers
• After award procurement will ensure contract clauses are in contract to ensure
fulfilment of commitments
Measurement + Evaluation
• Suppliers required tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs)
88
Social Procurement | State of Practice
10.2 | SociAl Procurement booklet
89
Social Procurement | State of Practice
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
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Social Procurement | State of Practice
•
13
Apply Social Impact
Criteria
•Contract Set Asides
Australia, Canada (PSAB), Manitoba, BART,
USA
•Solicit Bid from Targeted
Supplier
Toronto, London (UK)
•Targeted Employment
Metro Vancouver’s Evergreen Line, New
South Wales
•Subcontracting
Barcelona, Canada (PSAB), Australia,
Victoria (AUS)
97
Social Procurement | State of Practice
•
16
Solicit Bid from Targeted
Group
•Requirement that organizations solicit a
bid from a targeted group (often diverse
business)
•
Generally they are utilized within speci c
price thresholds
•Di erent from a set aside program
because it does not ensure targeted
group will be awarded contract
•Once a bid from targeted group is
accpeted the normal procurement
process commences with no
priveledging of any vendor
98
Social Procurement | State of Practice
99
Social Procurement | State of Practice
S + +
