Alex Hooke, Executive Director Advocacy & Engagement, reflects on the key insights from Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) 2022 when it comes to how governments can lead the charge in social procurement policy best practice.

SEWF is much more than an event. Yes, SEWF22 in Brisbane was a truly inspiring experience – shout out to Whitebox Enterprises for their seamless execution. But what follows the event is most critical and will generate the change we want.

New Zealand hosted SEWF in 2017. The surrounding activity reaffirmed long-term government investment, launched global partnerships, and spawned a new committed group to bring the event to Brisbane. Melbourne hosted Australia’s first SEWF in 2009 - and is now the undisputed capital of social enterprise in Australia.

SEWF22 was designed to bring the global social enterprise community together and put the spotlight on the Australian sector. To inspire and uplift individual enterprises and entrepreneurs. And importantly, to emphasise the pivotal role of government in creating policy to grow the sector. An event yes, but a catalyst for change too. As a government, one of your biggest opportunities for change is procurement - or how you spend your money. By choosing ‘social procurement’, you generate social value beyond the goods and services procured, driving positive social, environmental and economic outcomes for your jurisdiction.

“We may be higher up the mountain than others here, but it is a false peak, we see from here that there is still long way to go” - Social Enterprise Scotland

Scotland, the founding nation and inaugural host of SEWF, is a world leader in social enterprise and social procurement. As a frontrunner, they can utilise their strong vantage point to set a precedent, sharing their learnings to empower others to follow.

At Social Traders, we firmly believe that social procurement is one of the greatest untapped opportunities to generate positive sustainable social impact in Australia. But despite encouraging progress, we still have significant space for growth - and we’re committed to helping government tap into this.

It’s striking how similar the challenges (and solutions) are across regions and jurisdictions when it comes to social procurement policy and practice. Social Traders hosted a fringe event with social procurement intermediaries from seven countries (Australia, NZ, Canada, UK/England, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands).

Together we shared, reiterated, and confirmed knowledge to compile key learnings for governments to consider.

These seven key takeaways will help you employ effective procurement policy to shape a fairer and more equitable Australia - and are applicable to local, state and federal levels of government, and their agencies.