“Social procurement.” Let’s be frank: it does not sound particularly exhilarating. But in the social impact world, it’s been garnering a lot of interest in recent years, and for good reason. 

What it means is the achievement of positive social or environmental impact through an organization’s process of purchasing goods and services. In other words, a government, philanthropic foundation or charity or company alters its supply chain to include businesses that offer an additional social benefit. For example, the practice is most common in construction, where contractors might hire workers through a social enterprise that employs those who’ve struggled to enter the labour market.

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, social procurement advocates believe this is their moment. While introducing a recent digital symposium run by Buy Social Canada, a social