Procurement
Procurement influences the quality of jobs and equity of access by examining how funds are used and for what purposes. Organizations can use procurement practices to directly fund projects focused on job quality/equity, to prioritize diversity and high-quality jobs within the organizations they financially support, or to incentivize the creation or advancement of good jobs through the procurement process itself. Businesses can use this lever through their purchasing processes.
The Harvard Government Performance Lab's Framework for Procurement Excellence is a good guide for thinking about each stage of the procurement cycle and how it can be used to advance equity and job quality. Consider how efficiency, fairness, and equity can help your organization achieve your desired results at each step in the process
The Procurement Process
Each step in the procurement process - from research through award - is an opportunity to infuse job quality concepts.
Sample Ways To Use This Lever
- Raise Awareness: Including job quality definitions in procurement documentation to raise awareness of what job quality is and signal its importance to the agency
- Incentivize or Require Behavior: Including living wage, scheduling or other job quality practices as a requirement for vendor or subrecipient contracts and/or requiring employers to set aside a specific number of jobs for local hires.
- Focus on Evidence: Using evidenced-based scoring preferences for projects that have a demonstrated track record of influencing one or more job quality features (e.g., earnings)
- Expand the impact: Providing specialized support, education and technical assistance to underrepresented organizations wishing to participate in the agency’s procurement process to diversify the respondent pool
Get More Information
- Check out a case study on using procurement for JQ
- Explore leading practices for this lever
- See how to measure JQ through procurement
- Check out additional procurement resources
Download: Self Assessment and Quick Start Guide
Procurement influences the quality of jobs and equity of access by examining how funds are used and for what purposes. Organizations can use procurement practices to directly fund projects focused on job quality/equity, to prioritize diversity and high-quality jobs within the organizations they financially support, or to incentivize the creation or advancement of good jobs through the procurement process itself. Businesses can use this lever through their purchasing processes.
The Harvard Government Performance Lab's Framework for Procurement Excellence is a good guide for thinking about each stage of the procurement cycle and how it can be used to advance equity and job quality. Consider how efficiency, fairness, and equity can help your organization achieve your desired results at each step in the process
The Procurement Process
Each step in the procurement process - from research through award - is an opportunity to infuse job quality concepts.
Sample Ways To Use This Lever
- Raise Awareness: Including job quality definitions in procurement documentation to raise awareness of what job quality is and signal its importance to the agency
- Incentivize or Require Behavior: Including living wage, scheduling or other job quality practices as a requirement for vendor or subrecipient contracts and/or requiring employers to set aside a specific number of jobs for local hires.
- Focus on Evidence: Using evidenced-based scoring preferences for projects that have a demonstrated track record of influencing one or more job quality features (e.g., earnings)
- Expand the impact: Providing specialized support, education and technical assistance to underrepresented organizations wishing to participate in the agency’s procurement process to diversify the respondent pool
Get More Information
- Check out a case study on using procurement for JQ
- Explore leading practices for this lever
- See how to measure JQ through procurement
- Check out additional procurement resources
Download: Self Assessment and Quick Start Guide
How government agencies can use procurement:
- Define Job Quality: Including job quality definitions in procurement documentation to raise awareness of what job quality is and signal its importance to the agency
- Living Wage or Local Hire Requirements: Including living wage or fair scheduling practices as a requirement for vendor or subrecipient contracts and/or requiring employers to set aside a specific number of jobs for local hires. This may include a certain number of entry level / apprentice jobs, for residents of specific zip codes, or that they look to specific workforce agencies that help to staff these individuals for employees as a first source
- Scoring Grants & Contracts: Using evidenced-based scoring preferences for projects and programs that have a demonstrated track record of influencing one or more job quality features (e.g., earnings) through the RFP selection process or giving preferential points for BIPOC led respondents
- Accessible Application Processes: Providing specialized support, education and readiness to underrepresented organizations wishing to participate in the agency’s procurement process
- Contract Design: Implementing trust based philanthropy approach such as full costs, flexible indirect rates, allowable use of funding for training, and up front payments
- Monitoring and Contract Management: Requiring respondents to collect job quality data on their organization during the course of performing functions under the contract
- Allocate Funding: Dedicating funding to projects that specifically advance elements of the organization's job quality strategy
- Bonuses and Awards: Providing bonus or award payments to organizations that meet or exceed job quality success metrics
- Using Compliance Processes: Adjusting compliance processes to support grantees such as sliding administrative rates, upfront payments, allowable training and infrastructure expenditures, and living wage floors
- Valuing Voice: Incorporating and compensating community members in the procurement design, selection, and implementation process
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