Scottish public procurement has moved decisively beyond price and process.
Through a series of Scottish Procurement Policy Notes, the focus is now firmly on how procurement can deliver lasting economic, social and environmental benefit alongside value for money.
Policy notes such as SPPN 2/2021 on Community Wealth Building, SPPN 3/2022 on Fair Work First and SPPN 4/2021 on Community Benefits all point in the same direction. Procurement should create long term value for people and place.
For many organisations, the challenge is not understanding these policy expectations, but putting them into practice in a way that delivers real outcomes. Increasingly, this is being addressed through procurement approaches that embed social value structurally, rather than relying on one off project commitments.
Below is a practical, real life example of how Procurement Hub demonstrates that these Procurement Policy Notes can be translated from policy intent into tangible, measurable outcomes on the ground. Procurement Hub’s solutions and Giving Back Strategy provide an example of this approach in action. Rather than being an optional add on, Giving Back is a structured model where surplus generated through procurement activity is reinvested directly into communities. There are no shareholders and no profit extraction. Instead, funds are channelled into charities, local community programmes and targeted social impact initiatives.
This approach aligns closely with SPPN 2/2021 on Community Wealth Building and SPPN 4/2021 on Community Benefits, both of which focus on retaining value within local economies and delivering visible social outcomes. Within construction frameworks such as the Major Projects Framework (MPF2), these objectives are translated into clear and measurable KPIs, including:
- At least 85% of project value delivered through local supply chains and SMEs
- Up to 8 new jobs created per £5 million of project value, supporting local employment
- A requirement for a proportion of supply chain spend to be directed to social enterprises
- £5,000 of charitable or community benefit funding for every £5 million of project value
Alongside this, the Giving Back strengthens delivery by ensuring that surplus generated through procurement is not extracted as profit, but reinvested directly into charities and community programmes. Funding supports grassroots organisations delivering food security, youth services and homelessness prevention. Investment is targeted at the communities where procurement activity takes place, reinforcing local economic resilience. To date, £1.5 million has been invested through this approach.
Another clear example is SPPN 3/2022 on Fair Work First, which requires fair pay, secure work and responsible employment practices. Within MPF2, this is embedded through financial and contractual KPIs such as:
- 100% of subcontractors paid within 19 days or less on every MPF2 project.
- Mandatory reporting on payment performance and financial stability
- Supply chain transparency to support SME confidence
Giving Back further reinforces Fair Work principles by supporting organisations focused on employability, skills development and inclusion. This includes projects such as the Pilton Youth and Children’s Project in Edinburgh, The Angels Foundation UK, The Ferry Project in Cambridgeshire and St Petrock’s in Exeter and Devon, all of which help people access and sustain fair work opportunities within their communities.
What makes these approaches effective is not aspiration, but structure. KPIs are mandatory, monitored and reported, while Giving Back is planned, funded and transparent. Together, they demonstrate how Scottish procurement policy can be delivered in a way that is practical, measurable and genuinely beneficial to communities.
Further information on Giving Back, MPF2 and Procurement Hub’s wider solutions can be found through links provided.