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Having that first hand experience in Peru must have been incredible seeing the direct benefits of Fair Trade on a community. It is those direct impacts that need to be shared to get the support of governments and communities. Spending another dollar on a chocolate bar barely affects your life, but the effect it can have to a community half way around the world is compounded exponentially.
I never would have thought of waste management as something that could be outcome-based commissioned. As an outsider it’s wild to think that the more garbage the more profit for the vendor. Using outcome-based commissioning as a way to clean the community as well as lower the negative impacts on the environment by forcing companies to be more innovative is drawing a great picture of the future.
Interesting points. I agree that job training programs and small business innovation grants are a good option for outcome-based commissioning, but I wonder if sales and number of employees is the right measure to show whether a business is more successful now than before they get the grant.
I suppose that while outcome-based commissioning is a great idea, trying to find those measurable results for evaluation would be difficult to do properly especially when doing public programming with the unpredictability of humans. But when done correctly would benefit the work being done.
Interesting point. Do these economic development programs require a business proposal? Business proposals can show whether a community can support a business like whether the population your business is targeting is large enough to support your business as well as marketing strategies to reach your perfect customers. I feel like it would be very reasonable to make eligibility have more steps as well as showing evidence of follow through and measurable success or attempt at success at the very least.
I think these are fantastic options! In a way, this is encouraging preventative measures to peoples’ treatments rather than reactionary. Less hospitalizations because the residents/citizens are getting the care they need before it becomes critical. This type of procuring would likely save money in the long run as well as greatly improve the lives of the clients. Because we live in a place with free healthcare, it is not always clear just how much money is saved when people have good care and consistent housing.
I work for Health and Social Services department of my local government and we already do some outcome based procuring. While for goods its easy to tender for goods since the requirements are so much more clear, it is more challenging to have measurable outcomes with services.
Most of our RFPs we do ask for the proponents to prove their capability to do the work and at the same time we provide milestones for certain work to be completed by. It would be uncomplicated to add in outcome-based expectations as well.
My real curiosity is: if a vendor cannot meet the desired outcome, how does the contract manager handle it? Financial Penalty? Cancel the contract? Can they not participate in the next tender?
I agree that Fair Trade in Canada is great, but making Fair Trade fit into public procurement rules as well as best value when spending tax payer dollars is the true challenge. I guess that is why getting the support of the local governments and the community is how to make a town Fair Trade. Having government and community support can help pass legislation to adjust rules to allow for more Fair Trade options to be used. My community wishes to do similar changes so that more local businesses can be supported even if it’s less fiscally responsible for the government.
I would be so interested in doing case studies of how other towns in Canada have managed to become Fair Trade towns to see what strategies were used to get the community on board. I feel the response in my community would be a very mixed bag. Locals in my area care very strongly about supporting local businesses, but maybe that attitude isn’t far off the fairtrade path.
The benefits of supporting Fair Trade can be felt across the world, by producers, vendors, and community members. The economic and social benefits in the communities where Fair Trade producers are located is quantifiable in all measures of overall wellbeing.
The benefits to consumers is knowing you are making ethical purchasing decisions, especially in the western world where you can’t always see the direct impact your choice is making on communities around the world. Without the town actively making the choice to be a Fair Trade Town and communicating the benefits, the decision to make fair trade purchases is a personal one.
I would say the costs of being a Fair Trade Town, is just that, financial. During trying economic times as these where the costs of housing, fuel, and groceries is becoming untenable for many Canadian residents, local governments might look fiscally irresponsible or frivolous in encouraging the purchase of possibly pricier options.
Hello,
My name is Linza and I am a procurement officer for Yukon Government’s Department of Health and Social Services. I am apart of a team who helps government program areas select the correct procurement type and help draft contracts and tenders for Health and Social related procurements.
I have only been in procurement for 3 years and my biggest takeaway from this job has been no matter how hard to plan, there can still be unpredictable outcomes.
cheers,
Linza
