Participation in Public Procurement

Session recording

Session overview

Join the Oxford POGO Club online at 4pm, Tuesday 30 May.

How do you increase participation and inclusion in public procurement? In this session, we will explore initiatives to increase citizen participation and include Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), women-owned businesses, and minority groups in government contracting. We will hear from a panel of experts about initiatives around the world.

• Dr. Marie Julie Chenard, the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Head of Social Value, will talk about the DCMS Voluntary Community Social Enterprise (VCSE) Contract Readiness Programme, and a new Public Services Hub.
• Camila Salazar from the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) summarise insights from their report, Inclusive and effective public procurement: Findings and lessons from research in 12 countries.
• Issel Masses, Founder and Executive Director of Sembrando Sentido, which promotes transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in Puerto Rico. Issel contributed to the OCP report.
• Mary Mitchell from Scotland Excel will talk about her experience working with a Scottish local government to develop a Community Wishlist.
• Dr Katherine Sugar from the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh will talk about her research into SMEs, public procurement, and Net Zero targets.