This series of blogs talks about social purchase as a way to bolster demand for the goods and services produced by social enterprises. The first two posts have described the concept and suggested two ways of encouraging its adoption, especially in the public sector.

The Caledon Institute recommended this approach to the City of Hamilton as one option in pursuing its goal of social inclusion.  The City was interested in this objective in respect of its role as co-host of the PanAm Games in 2015.

So what to do?  Here are the recommendations on social purchase that we made to the City.  They pertain to the Games specifically but clearly have broader application.

• Commercial activity should promote social inclusion in business practices related to training, hiring, building and operations. 
• Companies and organizations receiving contracts for the Games should be required to pay a living wage.
• Successful bidders should also be required to build and/or operate according to the highest accessibility and environmental standards.
• Businesses receiving contracts for Games-related facilities, venues and services should be required to provide training to and/or employ people who face barriers to employment. 
• Businesses receiving contracts for Games-related facilities, venues and services should be encouraged to engage with a local voluntary organization pursuing a social goal to promote training and employment opportunities for the people it serves.
• Local small businesses and social enterprises should have access to advice and training on how to engage in the bidding process related to the procurement of Games-related contracts.

But how to actually take these actions?  Municipalities that have had experience with social procurement advise: do first things first. Develop a set of guiding principles.

A 2010 guide for local governments in Australia talks about open and fair competition*.  All suppliers are treated fairly, in a transparent manner and with access to the same information.  Transparency means that procurement processes are conducted in an honest and open manner, with the highest level of integrity and in the public interest.

Another good piece of advice comes from Vancouver.  The city set up a community portal for the procurement of goods and services for the 2010 Winter Olympics.  The information helped ensure that all bidders – including social enterprises – had access to the same information regarding contract opportunities.

Social enterprises and local small businesses can be encouraged to work together or to partner with larger suppliers to respond to tenders.  Sometimes a job appears too big or too complex for a single enterprise – social or other – to bid on its own.

The Vancouver Olympic experience was instructive in many ways.  More on that in blog #4.

*Social Procurement: A Guide for Victorian Local Government and Local Government Expert Support Program – Social Procurement in Practice.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreajoseph/1797894335/

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