The digital transformation of our cities aims to make city services more functional, more sustainable and easier to use for modern citizens. But everyone who has ever worked with a new software system or a new computer knows how much a simple mistake can undo your great plans.
City officials may not be experts on ICT infrastructures and software systems, but they have a great many tools at their disposal to obtain such expertise. One such tool is public procurement, allowing city officials to obtain goods, works and services from specialised market players who have much more knowledge about these goods works and services. In the process, city officials can not only make their city smarter, but also more social.
Public buyers are among the biggest investors in the European single market, spending 2 trillion euro per year on goods, works and services. That gives them a lot of potential to have a positive influence on the broader market – both on the demand and the supply side – by demanding that suppliers operate in more sustainable or socially responsible ways. Public authorities use public funds when procuring goods, works and services. The European Union (EU) has created a well-regulated public procurement market founded on the core principles of transparency, equality and open competition to ensure that these funds are not misspent and that tenders are fair. Socially Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP) aims to go one step further and to address the impact on society of the purchases made by the public sector. SRPP is about implementing social considerations in in public contracts to achieve positive social outcomes.
Socially Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP) aims to go one step further and to address the impact on society of the purchases made by the public sector. SRPP is about implementing social considerations in in public contracts to achieve positive social outcomes.
The European Commission (EC) has recently published the report “Making socially responsible public procurement work: 71 good practice cases”, The 71 cases included in the report make the potential of SRPP visible, showing how procurement can affect the broader market. By promoting employment opportunities, decent work, social inclusion, accessibility, design for all, ethical trade, and compliance with social and environmental standards, public buyers can increase demand for “socially responsible” goods, works and services. Public procurers can be especially impactful in sectors where they command a large share of the market, such as construction, healthcare and transport. As public procurers spend around 14% of the EU’s gross domestic product, their power does not stop there. The EC report also contains cases relating to cleaning and facility management, food/catering services, furniture, gardening services, social services, textiles and ICT.
The report highlights well the particular challenges procurers face when purchasing ICT services. ICT equipment goes through long and complex supply chains, crossing national and continental borders and industries, before becoming a fully realised, usable product. Such supply chains are plagued by a lack of transparency, increasing the risk of workers’ rights being violated. At the same time the report also shows that public buyers are not powerless in the face of these challenges, there are many proven measures they can introduce during the purchasing process that will increase transparency and establish due diligence as a standard practice. Such measures include a Code of Conduct, social award criteria and contract performance clauses. Furthermore, there exists a legal framework that ensures the transparent and independent verification of and compliance with these measures, allowing for transparency between the procuring authorities and their suppliers.
A good example comes from the Catalan Association of Local Authorities (ACM), representing 95% of municipalities in the region. This institution used its procurement of printers to strengthen workers’ rights in the electronics supply chain. Bidders admitted in the framework agreement had to ensure compliance with labour rights and safety regulations in the production chains of the factories where the goods subject to the contract are produced. To do so, they had to perform due diligence to achieve supply chain transparency, collaborate with independent monitors and remedy breaches of labour rights and safety standards. The contractors reacted positively to these demands and provided detailed supply chain information about specific models and production locations used under the contract. ACM contracted four providers.
The report features similar examples from Germany and Finland, showing that public buyers have many different options for applying social consideration when purchasing ICT-hardware. But there is another case from Finland that is even more enlightening, focusing on the procurement of software services. The Finnish National Agency for Education needed to find a supplier for the renewal of three of its websites.
Knowing that there is an increased need for people with disabilities, in particular persons with a visual impairment, to perceive, understand, navigate and interact with the online environment, the Agency required suppliers to describe in their offer how it would guarantee a user-centred approach and which technologies it would use to ensure accessibility. That ultimately led to a website that could be used by more people and contributed to a more inclusive internet. In the process, the Agency also saved time and money. Integrating accessibility requirements from the beginning, meant that there was no need for drastic changes in the design at later stages. That supports one of the main conclusions of the EC report. Socially Responsible Public Procurement can make your city more inclusive and efficient, while also bringing financial benefits. That makes it a valuable tool for any ‘smart’ city.
The publication of this article is part of a partnership between Smart Cities magazine and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and was originally published in the January/February/March 2021 of Smart Cities. Available in Portuguese.
