Community benefit clauses in public procurement: considerations on the role of partnerships in Scotland

Abstract

This paper explores features of business partnerships which involve public administrations, private for-profit businesses and social enterprises. In particular, the paper critically considers the role of community benefits clauses (CBCs) in procurement (with examples from Scotland) as a mechanism for ensuring a focus on social value-added in purchasing decisions. The questions we address are whether social enterprises effectively deliver value-added to the community (as compared to conventional businesses), and whether CBCs, as implemented so far, are suitable to capture such value added. The paper argues that one crucial, yet underestimated, element that can stem from the business relationship promoted by CBCs is, potentially, the evolution of the local business culture towards pro-social values and behaviours. The paper concludes with some open questions regarding the possibility of internalising community benefits in the governance structure of social enterprises, as well as with considerations regarding a possible wider role of social enterprises in the public procurement of social services and on the future role of CBCs in guaranteeing that the social benefits produced by of social enterprises are properly delivered and assessed.