Lithuania, having made its procurement green in the last three years, is working to make it socially responsible. We at OCP are chipping in with the design, data, and technology support through our LIFT impact accelerator; check out a short video about it here. Six months into the reform, here are a few early thoughts on how it is going.

It’s been great to see a genuine will to drive social value through better jobs, inclusion of the marginalized, equality and access to procurement.

Many compliance-oriented procurers are scratching their heads about the HOW. It seems many are curiously excited about a new-found power to create real societal impact, though.

The Government is using a positive bottom-up approach. The Public Procurement Office developed a a set of non-mandatory social criteria, including equal pay, inclusion of people with disability, work-life balance, etc. The Government has been promoting the uptake through:

• Training over 600 buyers and suppliers so far
• Creating an online network of early adopters to exchange experiences
• Direct phone line to consult buyers on social criteria application
• Positive encouragement through public recognition, showcasing good examples
• Support with annual planning to select procurement that can drive social value
• Creating an inter-institutional working group for regular reflection and joint planning.

The Government plans to use the lessons learned this year to decide on the next steps in policy development next year. The big dilemma is between top-down mandatory and bottom-up non-mandatory approaches.

Notably, the Public Procurement Office (Viešųjų pirkimų tarnyba) is setting up systems to collect data about social criteria use in real time to account for its uptake publicly. It intends to use this data to incentivize institutions to increase adoption through positive competition.

The Government is struggling with a mindset shift. As procurement has been used to pursue multiple policy objectives, especially environmental ones, many procurers talk about excessive requirements. Some have been overwhelmed with balancing environmental, social and more traditional procurement objectives (i.e. effectiveness, efficiency, competition, etc.).

It is also hard to avoid a compliance-driven approach. Making social procurement optional and energising social buying bottom-up is a feasible option. Still, many procurers have traditionally been particularly compliance-driven, so encouraging going beyond is hard.

However, here are some social procurement-specific tips I heard recently, especially from Livija Šepetytė and Lina Siksniute-Vaitiekuniene, whom I met at a recent social procurement training by Lithuanian Social Business Association in Vilnius:

• Clarify the WHY beyond compliance. Social procurement is a great opportunity to find meaning in what has traditionally been considered a tedious procurer role. Intentionality and clarity around the impact of specific procurement on society are powerful drivers for buyers to try their best.
• Make sure leadership is genuinely on board. Procurement officers should not be alone; they need real support from their management to ensure alignment with organisational goals and encouragement.
• Think about risks well ahead. There inevitably be errors and stepbacks. Space for mistakes and learning is important in encouraging procurers to explore the new territory of socially responsible procurement.
• Consult, consult, consult. Social procurement, especially, can benefit from early and comprehensive market consultations. It is essential to be creative and organise inclusive discussions with local markets to grasp social issues a particular procurement can solve and mirror that in procurement requirements. Gdynia municipality in Poland, for example, included more than 1,000 stakeholders through consultations to redesign its social services. Ignitis Group‘s Livija Šepetytė said, “Blindly including a social tender requirement without consulting the market is a straight way to failure”.  If you’re looking for an excellent example of sustainable procurement within SOEs, especially regarding management and quality control, Livija is your go-to person.
• Think about what makes sense for your context. Food procurement, for example, can help solve different societal issues from infrastructure. Buyer size, geography, sector, demographics, etc. are all important factors in selecting the highest point of contribution. Take time to decide how best to drive social value.

If you’ve read this piece and have ideas about accelerating social procurement in Europe, you know where to find me. Till then, keep it social!