Establishing a social procurement environment

To successfully undertake social procurement, councils must have the right internal policies and procedures in place.

Social procurement needs the support of senior management and responsible staff must be properly briefed and trained in social procurement.

The following tools are a resource for councils looking to engage in social procurement.

Becoming social procurement ready

It is important for councils wanting to introduce a social procurement policy to align with the social objectives and outcomes of that organisation.

Social procurement planning

There are two scenarios where a council could engage in social procurement:

  1. Dedicated social procurement project; and/or
  2. Embedding social procurement in a procurement project more broadly.

The creation of a business case is essential when considering a social procurement policy. The attached documents provide guidance and a template to assist councils in the procurement planning phase.

Procurement documentation

However procurement is done, all procurement documentation must clearly and accurately detail the council’s social benefit expectations.

Evaluation is critical for a transparent procurement process. The following templates help to evaluate the social components of the proposed contract.

Implementation

Contract monitoring and reporting are an important part of any procurement process.

With social procurement, tracking and reporting serves to:

  • determine the effectiveness of an organisation's social procurement initiatives;
  • inform decision-making about the existing and future project design and management, including lessons learned;
  • help to integrate sustainability into organisational operations, to enhance operating efficiency and cost savings;
  • drive transparency and accountability and meet disclosure expectations;
  • reinforce organisational commitments and demonstrate progress to staff and stakeholders. This enhances staff satisfaction, which improves service quality and their confidence in the organisation;
  • improve internal governance;
  • encourage organisations to share what they have learned; and
  • encourage stakeholders to take part in decision-making and governance.

For accurate tracking and evaluation, planning for social procurement monitoring and reporting must occur early in the process. It must also align with the key performance indicators.

Monitoring and reporting of social procurement outcomes DOC, 94 KB