In today’s world, businesses are increasingly judged not just on their bottom line, but also on their impact on society.
This is where social procurement comes in – using your purchasing power to create positive social and environmental outcomes.
If you’re a company committed to social procurement, integrating it into your tender submissions is crucial. It shows your values, sets you apart from competitors, and can even give you an edge in the selection process.
This is all well and good. But how do you communicate and portray your social procurement in your tenders? Through your social procurement proposal.
What is a social procurement proposal?
A social procurement proposal is a document submitted by a potential supplier in response to a tender that outlines how they will meet the buyer’s social procurement requirements.
These requirements typically go beyond the traditional focus on price and quality, and instead prioritise the creation of positive social and environmental outcomes alongside the delivery of goods or services.
Essentially, it’s a blueprint for how a company will use its purchasing power to make a positive impact on the community, the environment, and its workforce.
Social procurement proposals can cover a wide range of initiatives, such as hiring from disadvantaged groups, sourcing from social enterprises, investing in local communities or reducing environmental impact.
A strong social procurement proposal not only demonstrates your company’s commitment to doing business responsibly and creating a positive impact beyond the bottom line. It can also give you a competitive edge in the bidding process and help you to build stronger relationships with stakeholders.
Government requirements for social procurement
To help explain them, here are two examples of government Social Procurement Frameworks –
Queensland Dept of Energy and Public Works
How to communicate your social procurement in your tender submissions
So, how do you effectively communicate your social procurement efforts in a way that resonates with tender evaluators?
We’ve got some key tips.
1. Understand your buyer’s priorities
Before diving into your own initiatives, delve deep into the buyer’s social procurement goals.
(Don’t forget to look at the mandatory structure and content required for these social procurement proposal plan to maximise your evaluation scores.)
Analyse their policies, past tenders, and any available guidance documents.
What is their focus? Are they focused on local employment opportunities, diversity and inclusion, or environmental sustainability?
Aligning your approach with their priorities demonstrates a strong understanding and increases your chances of success.
2. Clearly define your social procurement objectives
Now look at your company. Clearly define your company’s social procurement objectives.
Outline specific goals and metrics that demonstrate your commitment to making a positive impact on society.
Whether it’s supporting local communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, or reducing environmental impact, having well-defined objectives will showcase your dedication to social responsibility.
2. Showcase past successes
Highlighting your past successes in social procurement is a powerful way to build credibility.
Provide concrete examples of projects where your company successfully integrated the principles in your social procurement proposal.
Discuss the positive outcomes, such as job creation, community development, or environmental improvements.
Answer questions, such as –
Where has your company successfully achieved these goals in a recent relevant contract?
What key risks and mitigations has your organisation identified in successfully achieving these goals?
This not only illustrates your experience to the evaluators but also serves as tangible evidence of your commitment.
3. Integrate social metrics into your performance data
Incorporate social metrics into your overall performance data.
Demonstrate how your organisation tracks and measures its social impact. This could include the number of jobs created, funds invested in local communities, or reductions in carbon footprint.
By integrating social metrics into your performance data, you showcase a comprehensive understanding of the broader impact your business has beyond financial results.
Answer questions such as –
Who will be accountable from your organisation to achieve these goals and what are their credentials?
What methodologies or approaches will you use to achieve these goals?
How will your company communicate results along the way as you achieve those goals?
Let’s take a look at an Aboriginal Engagement Management Plan as an example.
This Plan may require a bidder to meet specific goals in terms of percentages of total spend with Aboriginal Enterprises (companies) and percentages of total employment with people of Aboriginal heritage.
These goals are often contractual: this means that a bidder needs to write about a well thought out – and proven – approach to meeting those goals.
Another example is a Diversity Management Plan.
This Plan may require a bidder to meet specific goals in terms of percentages of the workforce that are of certain age ranges, certain sexual orientations, certain races, disabilities (mental and physical). These goals are also often contractual.
4. Emphasise community engagement
Many social procurement initiatives involve active engagement with local communities.
Highlight your community engagement efforts, whether through partnerships, volunteer programs, or community development projects.
By showcasing your involvement, you not only contribute to the betterment of society but also demonstrate a commitment to long-term relationships with the communities you serve.
5. Detail your supply chain practices
Tenders often require a thorough understanding of your supply chain.
Use this opportunity to showcase how your supply chain aligns with your social procurement principles. Discuss your supplier selection process, ethical sourcing practices, and efforts to support local businesses. Clearly articulate how your supply chain practices contribute to positive social outcomes.
6. Provide testimonials and references
Include testimonials and references from stakeholders who have directly benefited from your social procurement initiatives.
Whether it’s a local business, a community organisation, or an employee, their testimonials add a human touch to your tender submission.
Real-world examples and endorsements from those impacted by your initiatives can significantly strengthen your case.
7. Clearly articulate future commitments
Demonstrate your commitment to continuous improvement by outlining future social procurement initiatives.
Clearly articulate your plans for ongoing community engagement, diversity and inclusion programs, and environmental sustainability efforts.
This showcases a forward-thinking approach and reassures decision-makers that your commitment to social procurement is not just a one-time effort.
8. Highlight collaborations
Social procurement is rarely a solo endeavour.
Partnerships with social enterprises, community organisations, and other businesses can amplify your impact and demonstrate a strategic approach.
Describe your key collaborations and the unique social values they bring to the project.
9. Don’t overpromise, underdeliver
Remember, the evaluation process is not just about winning the tender.
Make sure your proposed social procurement initiatives are realistic and achievable within the project’s scope and budget.
Overpromising and underdelivering can damage your reputation and future opportunities.
10. Differentiate yourself from your competitors
Ensure your social procurement plan not only distinguishes your company from its competitors but also establishes a unique selling proposition centred on ethical practices, community engagement, and environmental stewardship.
Increasingly, where procurement decisions are influenced by social and environmental factors, a robust social procurement plan can be a deciding factor in winning contracts and partnerships, giving the company a competitive edge that extends beyond conventional business metrics.
How can Tender Evaluation help you communicate your social procurement in your tender submissions?
The team at Tender Evaluation have 13 years’ experience in evaluating Social Procurement Management Plans (also called social procurement proposals) for tenders to government and corporates in Australia.
We are experienced both in what government and corporate clients are wanting in these Management Plans, and also how your company should structure and create content for these Management Plans to maximise your evaluation scores.
Our approach to working with you, will be to teach you how to write them and support you as you do, so you increase your own internal capabilities.
Tender Evaluation will use models or templates to speed up the writing of your plans, so that when the tender is released to your organisation, you already have the basics in place. This will minimise the amount of time you need to write these plans.
What’s the next step to getting help? We are happy to sign an NDA, get on a Zoom and talk about your timeframe, what feedback you’ve received from your Clients about your social procurement approaches, and review one of your tender submission components where you talk about these approaches.