INCLUDING SOCIAL VALUE IN PROCUREMENT CHANGES LIVES

Leading procurement consultancy, 2buy2, is living up to their strapline, ‘purpose driven, not profit’, with their newly formed PSBO. Their mission is to include social value into procurement to improve the lives of people in poverty around the UK.

What is a PSBO?

A Public Sector Buying Organisation (PSBO) is a governing body that focuses wholly on delivering top quality procurement as well as the best supply chain services.

2buy2’s PSBO, Education Buying Group Ltd, brings compliant procurement solutions to education and other organisations. Rob Kissick, founder of 2buy2 said “The PSBO focuses on generating savings, encouraging the inclusion of social value into bids by suppliers and creating opportunities to deliver efficiency and expertise for educational establishments without a procurement team.”

Claire Easun, EBG Director says, “It was important to us to create a PSBO that is not-for-profit, with surplus funds getting passed back into education as a grant. Profit margins are not the goal, savings are.”

How does social value in procurement change lives?

Though it is not a legal requirement to include social value criteria in tenders, the public sector is encouraged to use procurement to achieve wider financial and non-financial outcomes, including improving wellbeing, communities and the environment by making social value a decision-making criterion when awarding contracts.

The PSBO has several frameworks that have a very real social value benefit to schools and the communities they serve. When a school signs a new contract, they can ask prospective suppliers to consider what they would be able to offer in support of the local community; a very real example of this is with a catering supplier 2buy2 recently worked with. They ensured 95% of all cooks completed an apprenticeship so they are paid the Living Wage. There are many families living in poverty, lots have free school meals. This social value initiative has proven to greatly help children in the community.

2buy2 works with organisations to get the most out of their procurement, including adding social value to their tenders. For more information on good procurement, email Geraint.williams@2buy2.com or visit 2buy2.com.