Making Procurement Work for All

In 2018 public sector organisations around the UK asked how they could use their powers of procurement to drive better work in their area. There were opportunities to promote good work by linking the awarding of contracts to suppliers who demonstrate good work practices – like paying the living wage, offering fair contracts, and providing opportunities for training. However, there are a range of practical, technical, legal and behavioural barriers to overcome for the power of good work procurement to be fully realised. This new research, carried out for Carnegie UK by Durham University, explored those barriers and how they could be overcome in consultation with senior procurement stakeholders in the North East of England, with the aim of developing a good work procurement strategy in the region.