Launching Social Procurement: An Action Plan for the City of Victoria

Launching Social Procurement:
An Action Plan for the City of Victoria
Dr. Angus Argyle, David Geronazzo, Jennifer Neufeld & Lindsay Meissner
Sustainable Community Development Graduate Certificate
Royal Roads University
October 2017

Launching Social Procurement: An Action Plan 2
Executive Summary
Communities spend large sums of money on the purchase of goods and services like
the construction and maintenance of roads, public buildings, sewage and water infrastructure.
Social procurement is the process of deriving additional community benefits from these
expenditures. Social procurement can manifest in a variety of ways such as employing people
who face barriers to employment, paying employees a living wage, encouraging diversity in
the workforce, and facilitating the participation of social enterprises.
A team of students from Royal Roads University has developed an action plan to
assist the City of Victoria in the launch of its social procurement practices. Canadian
municipalities with experience in social procurement policies and practices were interviewed.
Advice was also received from experts and practitioners in an online collaborative session,
and information was gleaned from existing social procurement frameworks and reports that
reviewed social procurement practices.
The experience of developing and implementing social procurement policy is
described and the successes of these municipalities are highlighted. Common challenges
faced by these municipalities are also addressed, along with some potential solutions
discovered through the research.
A set of recommendations has been developed for the City of Victoria that will assist
in leveraging its initial efforts thus far and launching it into a new way to do business that has
a social impact in the community. These include implementing a change leadership strategy,
creating a social procurement coordinator position, developing a social procurement program,
nurturing the social ecosystem, and pursuing opportunities for synergy with other projects.
Appendix A contains a list of resources including social procurement frameworks, policies,
and measurement tools and Appendix G is a list of definitions and terminology for italicized
words.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the City of Victoria for inviting Royal Roads
University students in the Sustainable Community Development Graduate Certificate to
participate in the research for this project. In particular, Keith Hennessey and Leah
Hamilton, our interviewees, collaboratory participants, our classmates and our instructors Dr.
Bill Dushenko, Dr. Hilary Leighton and Dr. Ann Dale have helped shaped the content and
ideas shared in this action plan.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
List of Figures 5
Introduction 6
Methodology 6
Interviews of Municipalities and Other Organizations 7
Literature Review 7
Collaboratory 8
Results and Findings 8
Social Procurement Development Case Studies in Four Municipalities 8
Stories of Success 11
Challenges and Potential Solutions 12
Recommendations 15
Implement a Change Leadership Strategy 15
Hire a Social Procurement Coordinator 17
Develop a Social Procurement Program 18
Nurture the Social Ecosystem Using Intermediaries 19
Opportunities for Synergy 20
Conclusion 21
References 23
Appendix A: Additional Resources 26
Appendix B: List of Interviewees, Where and When 29
Appendix C: Interview Questions for Municipalities and for Organizations 30
Appendix D: Initial Contact Letter and Email 32
Appendix E: Ethics Consent Forms: Interview Form; Collaboratory Form 34
Appendix F: List of Collaboratory Participants on September 18, 2017 37
Appendix G: Definitions and Terminology 38

List of Figures
Figure 1: The Conscious Change Leader Accountability Model (p. 15)
Figure 2: The Change Leader’s Roadmap (p.17)

Introduction
The City of Victoria has identified social procurement as a way to prosperity and
economic inclusivity (Mayor’s Task Force, 2015, p. 5). As a result, the Mayor’s Task Force
on Social Procurement and Social Enterprise (2017) developed an action plan titled Good
Jobs + Good Business = Better Community. Their action plan is a strong foundation in the
pursuit of an effective social procurement program and contains three recommendations:
social procurement, social enterprise development, and leading economic change (Mayor’s
Task Force, 2017, p. 5). Social procurement is the process of deriving additional community
benefits from expenditures such as construction and maintenance of roads, public building,
sewage and water infrastructure. Social procurement can manifest in a variety of ways such
as employing people who face barriers to employment, paying employees a living wage,
encouraging diversity in the workforce, and facilitating the participation of social enterprises.
Social procurement has incredible value for local communities. Sandra Hamilton
(Sandra Hamilton Consulting) writes that Ernst & Young (2013) measured societal value at
$3.69 per dollar in revenue earned for Atira Property Management, a $70-million social
enterprise that hires people from the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver (Hamilton, 2014, p.7).
Social procurement is also an opportunity for Victoria to become a leader in doing business
with social impact. This action plan provides research and recommendations to further
Victoria’s development of a social procurement framework and does so by looking at
municipalities and enterprises across Canada who are in the process of implementing social
procurement in their communities.
Methodology
In developing this action plan, a variety of qualitative research methods were used.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff from four municipalities involved in

social procurement plus social enterprises and other organizations that are part of
communities’ social ecosystems. A literature review of related research and policy papers
was conducted. Finally, a public collaboratory session further illuminated the specific
challenges facing cities in their adoption and implementation of social procurement.
Interviews of Municipalities and Other Organizations
Interviewed municipalities were selected based on the existence of a social
procurement policy, program, or framework. One selected municipality, the Regional
Municipality of Wood Buffalo, was not available for interview during our research period;
therefore, information from their website was used instead. An attempt was made to
interview a range of sizes and locations to get a spectrum of social procurement strategies
though, due to restrictions of scope, this was limited to Canadian sources (for information on
international cases, please refer to Appendix A). Interviews were consistent but semi-
structured to allow the conversation to develop beyond the set of questions, if the opportunity
arose. The intention was to compare and contrast community responses in different
ecosystems.
To meet these requirements four municipalities were interviewed (see Appendix B)
including the City of Victoria, the Village of Cumberland, the City of Vancouver, and the
City of Toronto. Interviews were also conducted with two other organizations: EMBERS
(Eastside Movement for Business and Economic Renewal Society) and Buy Social Canada.
Interview materials are provided in Appendices C, D and E.
Literature Review
Documents, including reports, literature articles and website posts, were selected
based on recommendations from municipal staff and industry experts. The review was not
intended to provide an exhaustive analysis but rather to gain an understanding of how other

municipalities have begun the process of change towards incorporating community or social
benefits into the procurement process.
Collaboratory
An online collaboratory session was facilitated on September 18, 2017, through
Blackboard’s Collaborate Ultra (Version 17.10; 2017) to gain further understanding of the
challenges and solutions presented by social procurement (for a full list of attendees see
Appendix F). Representation was sought from municipal, social enterprise, educational, and
industry experts. Following a collaboratory design format by Katrin Muff (2016), the purpose
of the collaboratory was to provide an inclusive space to dialogue about the successes,
challenges, and solutions surrounding the creation and implementation of a social
procurement policy. Data was reviewed and recorded through the use of polls and
whiteboard space within Blackboard’s Collaborate Ultra.
Results and Findings
Social Procurement Development Case Studies in Four Municipalities
City of Victoria
The 2015 release of Victoria’s Economic Action Plan, Making Victoria: Unleashing
Potential, included the recommendation that a social enterprise and social procurement task
force be created (Mayor’s Task Force, 2015). This task force developed an action plan in
2017 called Good Jobs + Good Business = Better Community that outlines three
recommendations: implement a social procurement policy, “strengthen and grow the
businesses already doing business with community benefit in mind and to grow the social
enterprise sector” (Mayor’s Task Force, 2017, p. 22), and “lead change in the mainstream
economy, making it more inclusive [and] sustainable” (Mayor’s Task Force, 2017, p. 26).
The task force was comprised of a spectrum of stakeholders including industry, First Nations,

community, non-profit organizations, post-secondary, and the provincial government
(Mayor’s Task Force, 2017).
Victoria is also finishing a construction-based pilot project with social value
requirements and plans on trying three to six tenders with the same scoring process to use as
a learning opportunity (K. Hennessey, personal communication, June 21, 2017).
City of Toronto
According to a report adopted by Toronto City Council outlining the Social
Procurement Program, nine pilot projects were implemented over eighteen months. Staff
determined best practices for their supply chain, ensured balance and equitability, and created
employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged people (Social Development,
Finance & Administration, & The Office of the Treasurer, 2016, p. 7-9). The report goes on
to indicate that these pilot projects and feedback from consultations with a wide spectrum of
stakeholders identified the following needs:
● clear guidelines and an enabling policy environment,
● tools, guides, and support systems,
● dedicated internal staff training and support, and,
● supplier and community capacity building and outreach.
Stakeholder feedback was incorporated into the design of the social procurement program,
and a full-time, permanent social procurement coordinator position, along with one
temporary term position, was created to work with multiple departments (Social
Development, Finance & Administration, & The Office of the Treasurer, 2016, p. 2, 9).
Toronto’s social procurement program has two goals: increase supply chain diversity
and create economic opportunities for marginalized people. It consists of four components:
implementation of a new social purchasing policy; development of tools, guides, and support
systems; internal staff training and support; and development of supplier community capacity

building and community outreach (Social Development, Finance & Administration, & The
Office of the Treasurer, 2016, p. 10-12).
One of two Toronto policy development officers interviewed indicated that the
change management process included 20 information sessions, 500 city staff, and ongoing
support. It was emphasized that simple communication strategies were used throughout the
process and that the process required a full-time social procurement coordinator to facilitate
(Toronto city staff, personal communication, August 3, 2017).
Village of Cumberland
According to the Village of Cumberland’s Financial Officer, Michelle Mason
(personal communication, August 2, 2017), Cumberland’s social procurement journey began
with Sandra Hamilton’s presentations to candidates during the 2014 municipal elections.
Councillor Ketler put social procurement forward as a strategic priority and Mayor Baird also
championed the issue. Cumberland hired Hamilton as a consultant to design their social
procurement framework and the framework was approved by council in August 2015. Mason
worked with Hamilton to develop education and training on implementation of the
framework for Cumberland’s purchasing staff (M. Mason, personal communication, August
2, 2017).
As Mason recalled (personal communication, August 2, 2017), the village
communicated about social procurement through their website, public meetings and on local
TV. They changed their website to attract diversified enterprises, communicated with
construction industry associations in BC and Alberta, conducted a telephone survey of local
food businesses, and they plan to send a questionnaire to local businesses in general.
Mason (personal communication, August 2, 2017) works with project managers on
requests for proposals so that 5% to 10% of the points awarded in assessing proposals are for
social impacts and the evaluation process is published in competitive bidding documents to

all vendors. The competitive bidding documents explain the key goals from the social
procurement framework to vendors. For tenders, the municipality’s social goals are explained
and in order to bid, vendors must first explain how they will achieve at least two of these
social goals; then bids are received. Examples of social goals include on-the-job training,
employing qualified local residents, and paying a living wage. Cumberland does not have
formal metrics in place yet, but informally social procurement has been a larger success than
expected with no significant rise in project costs (M. Mason, personal communication,
August 2, 2017).
City of Vancouver
The City of Vancouver developed a four-year action plan called A Healthy City For
All in 2014 (Community Services, 2014). Under the objective of ‘Making Ends Meet and
Working Well’, actions include educating leadership and staff on becoming a living wage
employer—including the steps necessary for certification—developing a social procurement
framework, and establishing a community benefit agreement policy for large developments to
reduce barriers to employment and enhance local purchasing (Community Services, 2014, p.
20-22). According to Vancouver city staff (personal communication, August 14, 2017),
Vancouver is now officially a living wage employer and is focused on creating a social
procurement policy. They are using the Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Program
framework until 2018 when their social procurement policy will be developed (Vancouver
city staff, personal communication, August 14, 2017).
Stories of Success
Victoria’s success is evident in its commitment to its vision of good jobs and good
business through the development of a well defined and diverse task force and action plan
(Mayor’s Task Force, 2017).

Toronto’s Policy Development Officer, Wayne Chu (personal communication, August
3, 2017) shared some of Toronto’s major successes including: the Keele Street Hub where ten
local youth were hired as apprentices to build the youth centre; and procuring a contract for
the Water Treatment Facility where the City was able to embed social requirements into the
contract; as well as purchasing catering, food service, printing, and delivery couriers through
various social enterprises.
One example of success for the Village of Cumberland was the $3 million Dunsmuir
Project in which bidding contractors met, and in most cases, exceeded the key goals in
Cumberland’s Social Procurement Framework. Several social criteria were met: on-the-job
training, employing qualified local residents, paying a living wage, and providing financial
support to Council’s strategic priorities and to a local non-profit community organization.
According to Michelle Mason (personal communication, August 2, 2017), the success of this
pilot project paved the way for further successful projects.
Vancouver’s success stories include the implementation of a living wage for its
security and janitorial contracts; renovations within City Hall where they renovated a wing of
the building through deconstruction, diverting materials from the landfill (Vancouver city
staff, personal communications, August 14, 2017); and the construction of the Parq
Vancouver Casino, where a community benefit agreement was a condition for construction
permits (D. LePage, personal communication, September 18, 2017).
Challenges and Potential Solutions
Lack of Qualified Suppliers and Supports
A challenge identified by Keith Hennessey (personal communication, June 21, 2017),
Manager of Supply Management Services at the City of Victoria, is the difficulty of creating
a successful pilot project without a ready supply of social enterprises and intermediaries to

work with suppliers. Construction contractors expressed concerns to him about ensuring
safety and quality of work when employing marginalized incumbents. The lack of a local
intermediary that can recruit, train and support workers from marginalized backgrounds can
be perceived as a significant barrier (K. Hennessey, personal communication, June 21, 2017).
While Victoria does not have the resources to train or support employees for bidding
contractors, they can direct their efforts into developing the ecosystem by creating demand.
For example, Cumberland, Vancouver, and Toronto started with social procurement to grow
supply chains that included social benefits. Marcia Nozick, the CEO of EMBERS, suggests
that the strategic environment created by a social procurement policy, like that in Vancouver,
fosters the development of social enterprises that can address the staffing needs of contractors
in construction and other industries (personal communication, August 14, 2017).
A pilot project that is not construction focused may be a simpler initial RFP (request
for proposal). An example of a potential pilot project could be a contract with the Downtown
Victoria Business Association’s Clean Team, which has employed over sixty people with
barriers to employment, to provide cleaning services to the City’s downtown properties
(Kelly, 2014, p. 1).
Lack of Resources
Another universal challenge among interviewed municipalities was having enough
resources for the change management process. Vancouver hired a consulting company to
provide the personnel and expertise to help them identify their top priorities (Vancouver city
staff, personal communication, August 14, 2017). Cumberland, having also hired a
consultant, still indicated that the process was slower without extra internal human resources
(M. Mason, personal communication, August 2, 2017). Toronto recognized the creation of a
full-time coordinator position as a requirement to success. In this context, Victoria’s concerns

(K. Hennessey, personal communication, June 21, 2017) about adequate human resources to
reach the next stage in the implementation process are well supported.
In addition to hiring a social procurement coordinator, another solution that emerged
from the online collaboratory was the opportunity for creating time. David LePage (personal
communication, August 14, 2017) mentioned that a pre-notice of upcoming projects would
create opportunities for relationships within the supply chain. Enhanced communication
within the organization can support the existing staff to better implement a social
procurement policy.
Legal Roadblocks
One identified challenge by the City of Victoria was concerns about legal issues with
making changes to the procurement policy. Questions around ensuring transparency in the
process and developing criteria that do not violate regulatory and legal requirements arose in
interviews and discussion with city staff (S. Thompson, personal communication, June 12,
2017; K. Hennessey, personal communication, June 21, 2017).
Legal issues are valid concerns that require attention in the design of the policy.
David LePage mentioned that there are few restrictions on this type of policy in trade
agreements but that specific words, like ‘local’, would need to be avoided (personal
communication, August 14, 2017). Further, LePage indicated most procurement is risk
aversion rather than opportunity creation. In the collaboratory, Sandra Hamilton (personal
communication, September 18, 2017) explained that confusion exists between local
procurement and social procurement; while local procurement is limited to small contracts
under trade thresholds, social value criteria can and should be applied to any size of contract.

Recommendations
As a result of these case studies and research into social procurement, five
recommendations are proposed to the City of Victoria.
1. Implement a Change Leadership Strategy
The process of incorporating social benefits into procurement and purchasing is “an
organizational change management exercise” (Toronto city staff, personal communication,
August 3, 2017). From the research and interviews conducted, there is evidence that the
adoption of this new way of doing business in organizations requires strategies to lead and
manage change.
Change is required to move from one way of doing things to another, and using an
effective transformational change model is helpful. One model is Anderson and Ackerman
Anderson’s (2010) Conscious Change Leader Accountability Model, shown in Figure 1, that
addresses four key areas (mindset, culture, behaviour, and systems) and five levels
(marketplace, organization, team, relationship, and individual) which must all be considered
to achieve transformational change.
Figure 1: The Conscious Change Leader Accountability Model
(Anderson & Ackerman Anderson, 2010, p. 230)

Top-level leadership that empowers people both on city council and in administration
is needed to initiate and drive change. One champion of internal change in Victoria has been
Mayor Helps, who desires to lead transformation at City Hall in order to foster a more
innovative, proactive, and responsive culture to meet and exceed the needs of residents and
the business community (L. Helps, personal communication, June 16, 2017).
Identifying champions in each department and rallying support from passionate staff
is also part of developing a change leadership strategy. In all the municipalities studied,
people that championed the social procurement change were a key to success. Wayne Chu
(personal communication, August 3, 2017) from Toronto said that “[there is] a need for
senior level champions” and Vancouver’s city staff (personal communication, August 14,
2017) indicated that having champions in each relevant department was important for
implementation success. For Cumberland, both internal and external champions were
identified as a reason implementation was successful (M. Mason, personal communication,
August 2, 2017). In all these cases, champions were an integral part of the change process.
Identifying and developing these champions to become change makers will influence the
culture and lead to transformation.
Seeking socially-motivated community members and organizations that align with
Victoria’s objective of improving the well-being of its citizens through good jobs and good
business can provide a wealth of resources to support the work the city wants to accomplish
(Mayor’s Task Force, 2017, p. 7). They can lighten the City of Victoria’s load and provide
new opportunities through collaboration, co-design and increased social learning.
Measuring and celebrating successes is also an important component of change
leadership that is described as part of the Change Leader’s Roadmap (Anderson & Ackerman
Anderson, 2010, p 240) and illustrated in Figure 2. Acknowledging the accomplishments,

sharing stories of success and tracking activities resulting from the change will proliferate the
impact of the change itself.
Figure 2: The Change Leader’s Roadmap
(Anderson & Ackerman Anderson, 2010, p. 240)
2. Hire a Social Procurement Coordinator
All of the interviewed municipalities reported that a lack of internal human resources
was a significant challenge. As well, the Toronto identified the creation of a full-time social
procurement coordinator as a significant key to success (W. Chu, personal communication,
August 3, 2017). Our recommendation to Victoria is the creation of a full-time equivalent
social procurement coordinator to act as a liaison between multiple city departments and with
external stakeholders.

The role of the social procurement coordinator could involve: identification of
internal and external champions, facilitation of communication across departments involved
in procurement (D. LePage, personal communication, August 14, 2017), and development of
regional partnerships to build ecosystem capacity (S. Hamilton, personal communication,
September 18, 2017).
Additionally, this role could involve the development of educational programs for
external stakeholders (W. Chu, personal communication, August 3, 2017). Facilitating
education through methods such as human-centred design thinking (Brown, 2017), the social
procurement coordinator could engage stakeholders in co-designing a culture of social benefit
that suits the City of Victoria. An approach like Open Space Technology (Herman, n.d) could
be employed to collaborate with stakeholders on a vision for the community and work
through any related challenges that arise, while incorporating the city’s needs, values and
strategic objectives described in their action plan Good Jobs + Good Business = Better
Community (Mayor’s Task Force, 2017).
3. Develop a Social Procurement Program
A recommendation for Victoria is to treat social procurement as a program, similar to
Toronto’s with several elements: policy development, pilot projects, impact measurement,
and partnerships with intermediary organizations (Social Development, Finance &
Administration, & The Office of the Treasurer, 2016). Policy development could start by
adding social criteria to existing policies, bylaws, and best practices. Initial pilot projects
could start with smaller purchases and contracts. Marketing the success of these smaller pilots
will create a buzz that doing business with the city is GOOD for business AND the
community! The development of an impact measurement tool could include the requirement
of social benefit reporting from contractors and the city could track the social benefit
outcomes with the dollars spent on procurement. Partnerships and collaboration with various

intermediary organizations, like Buy Social Canada and B Corporations, could provide
access to valuable tools, resources, and networks. Further, this program should incorporate
change management principles to increase flexibility as implementation progresses
(Anderson & Ackerman Anderson, 2010).
4. Nurture the Social Ecosystem Using Intermediaries
The City of Victoria’s action plan Good Jobs + Good Business = Better Community
(Mayor’s Task Force, 2017) calls for the development of an ecosystem-based approach to
social procurement. Toronto’s Wayne Chu stated that their implementation led to an
opportunity to “lead by example” in the region (personal communication, August 3, 2017).
Chu emphasized that the development of regional partnerships with intermediary
organizations is a key to success for Toronto, and interviews with the Vancouver’s staff
agreed (personal communication, August 14, 2017). Dragicevic and Ditta (2016) also write:
“partnering with these [intermediary] organizations is paramount to developing a shared
understanding of the social benefits sought, as well as augmenting the collective capacity of
government, suppliers and communities to successfully deliver on them” (p. 20).
In the collaboratory, Sandra Hamilton spoke of her work to advance “community
benefit hubs” and the strategic advantages of communities within a region sharing social
procurement resources and standardized processes (personal communication, September 18,
2017). Bill Dushenko suggested intermediaries could “support ecosystem development
through professional development, developing social procurement goals, advice, raising
awareness, advocacy, economic information sharing, and integration in respective supply
chains” (personal communication, September 18, 2017). This ecosystem-based approach
requires systems thinking in that it “focuses on how the thing being studied interacts with the
other constituents of the system…[and] works by expanding its view to take into account

larger and larger numbers of interactions as an issue is being studied” (Aronson, D., 1996-8,
p.1).
Victoria’s five-year action plan has a strategic focus on addressing labour shortages
and barriers to employment (Mayor’s Task Force on Social Enterprise and Social
Procurement, 2017, p. 12). Hachigian (2017) writes that 10% of social enterprises on
Vancouver Island have an employment or training focus, compared with more than half of
social enterprises in British Columbia (p. 14). Two potential intermediary organizations for
the Victoria area are Our Place Society and EMBERS Staffing Solutions which are both
considering providing training and employment solutions in the Victoria area (Our Place
Society, Sept. 28, 2017; M. Nozick, personal communication, August 14, 2017).
Part of this recommendation is to market social procurement in the region through
sharing and celebrating stories of success. By sharing real-world stories, we can create an
awareness of the social benefits of procurement and nurture the ecosystem (H. Leighton,
personal communication, September 18, 2017).
5. Opportunities for Synergy
Our final recommendation to the City of Victoria is to look for opportunities for
synergy between different municipal objectives. One example of potential synergy is among
the three commissioned research projects from the Royal Roads University Graduate
Certificate in Sustainable Community Development: Youth Climate Leadership, Centennial
Square Revitalization, and Launching Social Procurement. From an online, class-wide
discussion, several synergies emerged, including:
● Use social or community benefit goals/outcomes that contractors can measure
and meet in their bids on the construction and re-design of Centennial Square.
● Engage a social profit organization to hire marginalized people to maintain the
Square’s space.

● Host civic engagement events and activities in Centennial Square; in
particular, a makerspace on youth climate change leadership or a forum on
social enterprise.
Projects like these could encompass all three objectives of sustainable development:
environmental, social, and economic.
Conclusion
When marginalized people get jobs they end up “having apartments, paying taxes,
forming/renewing relationships, [and get] hired by companies” (M. Nozick, personal
communication, August 14, 2017). In short, they can become fully functioning members of
the community. Municipalities are already spending the money and by adding social
requirements, Victoria can “leverage an added social value from existing decisions” (LePage,
2014, p. 10).
In our analysis of the research, we found both internal and external challenges.
Externally, Victoria has identified challenges around finding and connecting with effective
intermediaries as they look to develop pilot projects. Internally, there are potential human
resource challenges in the implementation process as well as legal challenges around
procurement. Our research has provided five recommendations to both meet these challenges
and illuminate potential opportunities for the City of Victoria.
The first recommendation is to develop a change leadership strategy to spearhead
transformational change. The second recommendation is to hire a social procurement
coordinator who could facilitate interdepartmental collaboration and education as well as
create opportunities for stakeholder engagement. The third recommendation is to establish a
social procurement program that develops the policy, launches pilot projects, measures
impact, and connects with intermediary organizations. The fourth recommendation is to

nurture the ecosystem by developing regional partnerships, creating community hubs and
sharing stories of success. Finally, we recommend that Victoria look for potential synergies
among various city objectives.
Good jobs plus good business will mean a better community for the people of
Victoria.

References
Anderson, D. & Ackerman Anderson, L. (2010). Beyond change management: How to
achieve breakthrough results conscious leadership. Retrieved from Ebook Central
database: https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/lib/royalroads-
ebooks/detail.action?docID=624404#
Aronson, D. (1996-8). Overview of systems thinking. Retrieved from
http://www.thinking.net/Systems_Thinking/OverviewSTarticle.pdf
BC Partners for Social Impact. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.hubcapbc.ca/BC-Partners-
for-Social-Impact/BC-Partners-for-Social-Impact.aspx
B Labs. (2017). What are B Corps? Retrieved from http://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-
corps
Blackboard. (2017). Collaborate Ultra (Version 17.10) [computer software]. Available from
http://www.blackboard.com/online-collaborative-learning/blackboard-
collaborate.aspx
British Columbia Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation. (2014). BC social
impact purchasing guidelines. Retrieved from:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-
development/business-management/social-innovation/si-purchasing-guidelines.pdf
Brown, T. (2017). Design Thinking. Retrieved from https://www.ideou.com/pages/design-
thinking.
City of Vancouver. (n.d.) Sustainable purchasing. Retrieved from: http://vancouver.ca/green-
vancouver/sustainable-purchasing.aspx

Community Services Department. (2014). A healthy city for all: Healthy city strategy - Four
year action plan. Retrieved from The City of Vancouver:
http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Healthy-City-Strategy-Phase-2-Action-Plan-2015-
2018.pdf
Dragicevic, N., & Ditta, S. (2016). Community benefits and social procurement policies: A
jurisdictional review. (No.121). Retrieved from The Mowat Centre:
https://mowatcentre.ca/community-benefits-and-social-procurement-policies/
Hachigian, H. (2017). Social procurement: Mapping existing and potential opportunities for
social enterprise on Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island Social Innovation Zone.
Retrieved from: http://visocialinnovation.ca/final-report-social-procurement/
Hamilton, S (2014). Social procurement the Olympic, Commonwealth & Pan Am games,and
the growing case for social procurement policy in Canada. Retrieved from:
http://www.sandrahamilton.ca/assets/uploads/sandra_hamilton__social_procurement_
july_2014_web_59814.pdf
Herman, M. (n.d.). What Is Open Space Technology? Retrieved from
http://openspaceworld.org/wp2/what-is/
Kelly, K. (2014). DVBA’s support for Cool Aid’s housing plan. Retrieved from:
https://coolaid.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DVBA-Letter-of-Support-2014-July-
25.pdf
LePage, D. (2014). Exploring social procurement. The Canadian CED Network. Retrieved
from: https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/sites/ccednet-rcdec.ca/files/ccednet/exploring-social-
procurement_asi-ccc-report.pdf
McDougall, S. (2012, January 11). Co-production, co-design and co-creation: what is the
difference? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.stakeholderdesign.com/co-
production-versus-co-design-what-is-the-difference/

Muff, K. (2016). The collaboratory: A common transformative space for individual,
organizational and societal transformation. Journal of Corporate Citizenship,
2016(62), 91-108. https://doi-
org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/10.9774/GLEAF.4700.2016.ju.00012
Our Place Society. (2017, Sept. 28). Employment program pilot. Retrieved from:
https://www.ourplacesociety.com/employment-program-pilot
Social Development, Finance & Administration, & The Office of the Treasurer. (2016). City
of Toronto social procurement program. City of Toronto. Retrieved from:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2016/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-91818.pdf
Smart, A. (2015, November 23). To unfold: What a makerspace taught me (Part 2). [Blog
post]. Retrieved from http://asmartucate.blogspot.ca/2015/11/to-unfold-what-
makerspace-taught-me.html
The Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development and Prosperity. (2015). Making
Victoria: Unleashing potential - economic action plan. The City of Victoria.
Retrieved from:
http://www.victoria.ca/assets/City~Hall/Mayor~Council/Documents/CityVic_Econo
micActionPlan_Final_e.pdf
The Mayor’s Task Force on Social Enterprise and Social Procurement. (2017). Good Jobs +
Good Business = Better Community. The City of Victoria. Retrieved from:
http://www.victoria.ca/assets/City~Hall/Mayor~Council/Documents/SESP%20Action
%20Plan_e.pdf

Appendix A: Additional Resources
International Resources
Wales – Community Benefits in Public Procurement (2014)
http://prp.gov.wales/docs/prp/toolkit/140815communitybenefitreportenglishwebupdated.pdf
Wales - Community Benefits Measurement Tool for Construction or Infrastructure
Projects
http://prp.gov.wales/docs/prp/toolkit/cbmeasurementtoolv720160331constructionandinfrastru
cturefinal.xls
EU – Socially Responsible Public Procurement (2011)
http://www.ccre.org/docs/SRPP_Joint_Statement_Final_EN.pdf
Northern Ireland – Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy (2014)
https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/dfp/ni-public-procurement-
policy-version-11-august-2014.pdf
Australia & New Zealand – Framework for Sustainable Procurement (2007)
http://www.apcc.gov.au/ALLAPCC/APCC%20PUB_ANZ%20Government%20Framework
%20for%20Sustainable%20Procurement%20-%20Sept%202007.pdf
New South Wales – Social Procurement in NSW (2012)
http://cdn.socialtraders.com.au/app/uploads/2016/05/Social-Procurement-in-NSW-Full-
Guide.pdf
National Resources
Buy Social Canada
Buy Social Certification for Social Enterprise Suppliers and Purchasers
https://www.buysocialcanada.com/sample-documents-and-resources/
B Corporation Canada
Certification of For-Profit Companies Meeting Rigorous Social and Environmental Standards
https://www.bcorporation.net/canada
Social Enterprise Council of Canada
Non-profit dedicated to support development and growth of social enterprises across Canada
https://socialenterprisecouncilcanada.wordpress.com/enp-landing-page/
Canada – Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business (2014) https://www.aadnc-
aandc.gc.ca/eng/1354798736570/1354798836012

Provincial Resources
Ontario: Metrolinx’s Community Benefits Framework (2014)
http://thecrosstown.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/communitybenefitsframework.pdf
Nova Scotia – Sustainable Procurement Policy (2016)
https://novascotia.ca/treasuryboard/manuals/PDF/300/30301-02.pdf
British Columbia – Social Impact Purchasing Guidelines (2014)
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-
development/business-management/social-innovation/si-purchasing-guidelines.pdf
Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy (2015)
https://www.gov.mb.ca/housing/pubs/mb_social_enterprise_strategy_2015.pdf
Municipal Resources
Rural Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta https://www.rmwb.ca/Municipal-
Government/municipal_departments/SCM/Doing-Business/Social-Procurement.htm
Village of Cumberland, British Columbia https://cumberland.ca/social-procurement/
Winnipeg, Manitoba - Creating a Robust Social Enterprise Sector in Winnipeg (2009)
https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/files/ccednet/SE_Report_feb_09.pdf
Winnipeg, Manitoba - Social Purchasing Portal http://sppwinnipeg.org/
Toronto, Ontario - Social Procurement Program
https://web.toronto.ca/business-economy/doing-business-with-the-city/social-procurement-
program/
The social procurement intermediary: The state of the art and its development within
the GTHA (2015)
http://www.lefca.org/documents/Social-Procurement-Intermediary-LEF-2015.pdf
Vancouver Island - Social procurement: Mapping existing and potential opportunities
for social enterprise on Vancouver Island (July 2017) http://visocialinnovation.ca/final-
report-social-procurement/
Vancouver Island assets for social enterprise, social innovation and social finance:
Mapping, discussion and gaps analysis (2015) http://visocialinnovation.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2016/08/VISIZ-Assets-and-Gaps-August-2016-1.pdf

Social Value Procurement Measurement and Evaluation: Toolkits and Frameworks
https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/sites/ccednet-rcdec.ca/files/ccednet/pdfs/svp-evaluation_final_april_1
3_2017.pdf
Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Purchasing
http://mcspgroup.com/portal/2017MCSP_overview.pdf

Appendix B: List of Interviewees, Where and When
Buy Social Canada - David Le Page - phone interview- August 14, 2017
City of Vancouver – Anonymous / Dustin Lupick - phone interview-August 14, 2017
City of Toronto - Wayne Chu / Anonymous - phone interview- August 3, 2017
Village of Cumberland - Michelle Mason - phone interview- August 2, 2017
Victoria - Keith Hennessey/Leah Hamilton - City Hall, Victoria BC - June 21, 2017
EMBERS - Marcia Nozick, CEO - phone interview- August 14, 2017

Appendix C: Interview Questions for Municipalities and for Organizations
Interview Questions for Municipalities - Social Procurement and Social Enterprise
1. Does [municipality] have a social procurement policy in place? When was it
developed?
2. What motivated [municipality] to choose to pursue social benefits in procurement?
3. What is/was your role in the creation or implementation of social procurement policy
in [municipality]?
4. Can you describe the process [municipality] used to introduce social procurement to
your community?
5. Who was involved in the process and what role did they play?
6. Were there specific ‘champions’ that led the way and how did they do that?
7. What does your collaboration network look like? In other words, what internal
departments, external organizations, enterprises and government agencies are
involved and what are their roles?
8. Was the community engaged in the process and what did that look like?
9. How does [municipality] measure the success of its social procurement policy?
10. Are there any indicators being used to track this success?
11. Are there any challenges that have come up since implementation?
12. What are some examples of social procurement contracts that [municipality] has
tendered?
13. What organizations/social enterprises have bid on these social procurement
contracts?
14. Are there any intermediary organizations working between the [municipality] and the
social enterprises you mentioned earlier? What roles and/or functions do they
perform?
15. What strategies does [municipality] use to ensure transparency in the procurement of
goods and services?
16. Have you faced any legal roadblocks?
17. What supports or resources are needed for more effective implementation/adoption of
the social procurement policy?
18. Are there any people or organizations you would recommend we talk with?
19. If you could offer words of wisdom or advice to other municipalities developing their
social procurement policies, what would you say?
Interview Questions for Organizations - Social Procurement and Social Enterprise
1. Has your organization participated in social procurement policy development for a
municipality?
2. What is/was your role in the creation or implementation of social procurement policy
in [municipality]?
3. Who was involved in the process and what role did they play?
4. Were there specific ‘champions’ that led the way and how did they do that?

5. What does your collaboration network look like? In other words, what internal
departments, external organizations, enterprises and government agencies are
involved and what are their roles?
6. Was the community engaged in the process and what did that look like?
7. How should a [municipality] measure the success of its social procurement policy?
8. What indicators should be used to track this success?
9. What challenges do you see/have experienced with implementation of a SP policy?
10. Has your organization/social enterprise ever bid on a contract with specific social
outcomes? What did the contract ask for/how much weight did they put on the social
component?
11. Are there any intermediary organizations working between the [municipality] and
your social enterprise? What roles and/or functions do they perform?
12. What strategies should a [municipality] use to ensure transparency in the procurement
of goods and services?
13. Are there any legal roadblocks for municipalities trying to implement a SP policy?
14. From your perspective, what supports or resources are needed for more effective
implementation/adoption of the social procurement policy?
15. Are there any people or organizations you would recommend we talk with?
16. If you could offer words of wisdom or advice to other municipalities developing their
social procurement policies, what would you say?

Appendix D: Initial Contact Letter and Email
Initial Contact Letter
Jennifer Neufeld
[address]
[phone number]
[email]
July 10, 2017
[potential participant]
[address]
Re: Research Project
Social Enterprise and Social Procurement Policy
Dear [name],
Along with my fellow project teammates, David Geronazzo, Angus Argyle and Lindsay Meissner, we are
students at Royal Roads University in the Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Community Development
program. I am writing to invite you to participate in a study on social enterprise and municipal social
procurement policy development. The purpose of this study is to explore various processes and outcomes for
incorporating social benefits into a municipality's procurement practice and policy.
Participation would involve an approximately 45-minute telephone or video conference call with yourself and
two of our team members at a time of your choosing. The interview would include questions about your
municipality’s social procurement policy, some of the measures of success, challenges you faced, your
experiences to date, and your reflection on future opportunities. Should you agree to participate, we will ask
you to sign our ethics consent form, indicating that you are willing to provide information (anonymously or
identified) for the purposes of our research. Our research has received approval from the Royal Roads
University’s Ethics Review Board.
Our project has been identified by the City of Victoria as an important step in helping them to develop a
procurement policy with social benefits and to support social enterprise on Vancouver Island. Our research
findings will be presented to Victoria’s city council in the fall of 2017 as part of a recommended action plan to
strengthen their social sustainability objectives.
If you would be willing to be interviewed, please contact me at the phone number or email below. You may
also contact our supervisor, Dr. Hilary Leighton, for more information.
Thank you for your consideration.
Warmest regards,
Jennifer Neufeld Dr. Hilary Leighton, Assistant Professor,
[phone number] School of Environment and Sustainability
[email] [phone number]
[email]

Email
Subject: Inquiring about your experience with a social procurement [policy/framework]
Dear [potential interviewee],
I am conducting research on social procurement policies through Royal Roads University under the supervision
of Dr. Hilary Leighton. I am aware that your [village/city/etc.] has a social procurement
[framework/policy]. Would you be willing to share your [village's/city’s/etc.] experience on the social
procurement framework?
The purpose of the research is to explore various processes and outcomes for incorporating social benefits into a
municipality's procurement practice and policy.
Participation would involve an approximately 45-minute telephone or video conference call at a time of your
choosing with myself and one of my project teammates (David Geronazzo, Jennifer Neufeld and Lindsay
Meissner). The interview would include questions about your municipality’s social procurement framework,
some of the measures of success, challenges you faced, your experiences to date, and your reflections on future
opportunities. Should you agree to participate, we will ask you to sign our ethics consent form, indicating that
you are willing to provide information (anonymously or identified) for the purposes of our research. Our
research has received approval from the Royal Roads University’s Ethics Review Board.
Our project has been identified by the City of Victoria as an important step in helping them to develop a
procurement policy with social benefits and to support social enterprise on Vancouver Island. Our research
findings will be presented to Victoria’s city council in the fall of 2017 as part of a recommended action plan to
strengthen their social sustainability objectives.
If you would be willing to have a conversation about [your village/city/etc.] experience, please contact me at the
phone number or email below. You may also contact our supervisor, Dr. Hilary Leighton, for more information.
Thank you for your consideration.
Warmest regards,
Angus Argyle Dr. Hilary Leighton, Assistant Professor,
[address] School of Environment and Sustainability
[email] [phone number]
[phone number] [email]

Appendix E: Ethics Consent Forms: Interview Form; Collaboratory Form
Interview Form
Royal Roads University
School of Environment and Sustainability
CMDV 525 Applied Community Development – Case Studies
RESEARCH CONSENT FORM
This research is part of the course work for CMDV Applied Community Development – Case
Studies course which is one of three courses required for successful completion of the
Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Community Development at Royal Roads University.
The students involved in this study are: Angus Argyle, David Geronazzo, Jennifer Neufeld
and Lindsay Meissner. These student’s credentials can be established by contacting the
program head, Dr. Hilary Leighton, Assistant Professor, School of Environment and
Sustainability at (250) 391-2600 ext. 4475 or via email at hilary.leighton@royalroads.ca.
This document constitutes an agreement to take part in a research case study, the objective
of which is for RRU students to investigate specific challenges and issues identified by the
City of Victoria. Through interviews, dialogue and consultations, as well as design thinking
and exploration students will apply sustainable community development principles of:
collaboration, creativity, integration, adaptation, diversity and regeneration for decision-
making purposes and create a final Action Plan (with recommendations for next steps) to be
presented to City Council in the fall of 2017.
The research will consist of a number of open-ended discussion topics including interviews.
The foreseen questions will refer to the state of the particular challenge the City faces and
will identity ideas, perspectives, comments, opinions, reflections, behaviours and attitudes,
strategies, beliefs, etc. within individual lives, professional contexts and community
environments.
Information will be recorded in hand-written format, through audio recordings, and in some
cases by video and photographic form.
If you wish to participate in this study anonymously and do not wish to be identified (this
also means no video or photographs), you will be assigned a pseudonym and no specific
comments will be attributed to you. If you wish to participate in this study and be identified
as yourself, (this means agreeing to the use of video and/or photographs and your name in
print), you will be named within the study where specific comments will be attributed to
you.
Please tick the appropriate box below to identify your choice.
□ Anonymous /pseudonym □ Identified by name

All documentation will be kept strictly safe and confidential within the CMDV 525 class
environment on password protected computers in a locked classroom. While raw data will
be destroyed at the end of the certificate in October 2017, the final Action Plans may be
used in other capacities such as: City of Victoria internal usage as they may be implemented,
possible public presentations and conferences, on the City Studio website, etc. This means
that it will be used beyond the purposes of this course.
You are not compelled to take part in this research project. If you do elect to take part, you
are free to withdraw at any time with no prejudice. While you are free to withdraw from
participating in the study at any time, your data can only be withdrawn from this study up
and until August 25, 2017 when any data that was collected prior to this date will have been
synthesized and integrated into a larger data set and will be irretrievable. If you elect not to
take part in this research project, this information will be maintained in confidence.
If you have any questions before signing this document, please feel free to ask. If you would
like to receive a copy of the final Action Plan please indicate in the tick box below and
provide your email.
By signing this form, the individual gives free and informed consent to participate in this
project.
Name: (Please Print): ______________________________________________________
Signed: _________________________________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________________________________
I would like to receive a copy of the final Action Plan.
Email: _________________________________________
Your participation is a direct contribution to helping create a more resilient and sustainable
City of Victoria.
Thank you.
Collaboratory Form
Social Procurement and Social Enterprise Collaboratory Session
Research Consent Form
Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Community Development
Royal Roads Student Research Team:
Angus Argyle, [email]
David Geronazzo, [email]
Jennifer Neufeld, [email]
Lindsay Meissner, [email]
Our credentials can be established by contacting the program head, Dr. Hilary Leighton,
Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability at [phone number] or via
[email].

• The purpose of this research project is to explore the successes and challenges that
various municipalities across Canada face in regard to incorporating social benefits
into their procurement process.
• The intent of the collaboratory session is to share stories of success and design
potential solutions to some of the challenges.
• The information from this collaboratory will be used to support the City of
Victoria’s efforts to lead economic change through the development of a social
procurement policy and support the growth of the social enterprise sector on
Vancouver Island.
As a participant in this 90 min collaboratory session, your input, ideas and feedback will help
shape the direction of the project’s recommendations for the City of Victoria. All information
collected (attributed or anonymously) through this session will be analyzed and become part
of the research project. This project will be complete by October 15, 2017.
You are not compelled to take part in this research project and we welcome any questions
you may have before making your decision. If you do elect to take part, you are free to
withdraw at any time without prejudice.
Please check the boxes below that correspond to your wishes:
❑ I consent to participate in the above on-line collaboratory session above scheduled for
12:00-1:30pm PT/ 1-2:30pm MT/ 3-4:30pm ET on Monday September 18, 2017. I am aware
that I am free not to participate and have the right to withdraw at any time without prejudice.
❑ I would like to receive a copy of the final action plan sent to this email:
_________________
❑ I do not wish to be identified in any research or information coming out of this
collaboratory session and wish to participate anonymously (including no video or
photographs). I will be assigned a pseudonym with no specific comments attributed to me, or
be identified as myself. Otherwise, I will be identified as myself and be named with specific
comments attributed to the same (including video or photographs).
Name _______________________________ Date_______________________
Signature ____________________________

Appendix F: List of Collaboratory Participants on September 18, 2017
City Staff, Sr. Manager, Supply Chain Operations City of Vancouver
Dr. Bill Dushenko, Adjunct Professor, Royal Roads University
David LePage, Managing Director, Buy Social Canada
Dr. Hilary Leighton, Assistant Professor, Royal Roads University
Keith Hennessey, Manager of Supply Management Services, City of Victoria
Leah Hamilton, Buyer, Supply Management Services, City of Victoria
Loralee Delbrouck, Sustainability Specialist, City of Vancouver
Matthew Smedley, Executive Director & CEO, Mission Possible
Sandra Hamilton, Social Procurement Advisor and Canada’s First Social MBA, Sandra
Hamilton Consulting
Moderators: Dr. Angus Argyle, David Geronazzo, Jennifer Neufeld, Lindsay Meissner

Appendix G: Definitions and Terminology
B Corporations: A community of for-profit companies that have met “rigorous standards of
social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency” and receive
certification from B Corps. (B Labs, 2017)
Collaboratory: “A collaboratory is a facilitated space open to everybody, and in particular,
to concerned stakeholders, to meet on an equal basis to co-create new solutions for societal,
environmental or economic issues by drawing on the emergent future.” (Muff, 2014, p.12)
Co-design: “Occurs where more than one person is involved in drawing up a plan for doing
something.” (McDougall, 2012)
Human Centred Design Thinking: “Design thinking is a human-centered approach to
innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the
possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” (Brown, 2017)
Makerspace: “A space with materials for students to let their curiosity and imagination come
to life. An informal, playful, atmosphere for learning to unfold. A space where
making, rather than consuming is the focus. A space where trans-disciplinary learning,
inquiry, risk-taking, thinking, crafting, tinkering, and wondering can blossom.” (Smart, 2015)
Open Space Technology: “In Open Space meetings, events and organizations, participants
create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of
strategic importance...Open Space works best when the work to be done is complex, the
people and ideas involved are diverse, the passion for resolution (and potential for conflict)
are high, and the time to get it done was yesterday.” (Herman, n.d.)
Social Ecosystem: For the purposes of this paper, ecosystem refers to the interrelated
systems of social enterprises, intermediary organizations, and other community-based
organizations that work together for social benefit in their community. (Hachigian, 2017)

Social Enterprise: “The purpose of social enterprises is to utilize business strategies to earn
revenues and achieve social, environmental and/or cultural impact.” (Mayor’s Task Force,
2017, p. 30)
Social Procurement: “Social procurement is the achievement of strategic social, economic
and workforce development goals using an organization's process of purchasing goods and
services.” (Social Development, Finance & Administration, & The Office of the Treasurer,
2016)
Transformational Change: Transformation is a radical shift of strategy, structure, systems,
processes, or technology, so significant that it requires a shift of culture, behaviour, and
mindset to implement successfully and sustain over time. (Anderson & Ackerman Anderson,
2010, p. 60)

Launching Social Procurement: An Action Plan for the City of Victoria

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (9)

Semelhante a Launching Social Procurement: An Action Plan for the City of Victoria

Semelhante a Launching Social Procurement: An Action Plan for the City of Victoria (20)

Último

Último (20)

Launching Social Procurement: An Action Plan for the City of Victoria