Activation of unemployed through social procurement: from policy to practice

Abstract

In this paper, we trace how ‘social procurement’ (SP) translates from policy to practice. Launched as a driver of social innovation and sustainability, SP offers a novel way of strengthening the implementation of active labor market policies locally. Policy tools are not neutral instruments, however; they shape the substance of policy in decisive ways. That is, how tools are used determines what the policy ‘becomes’. Building on a qualitative case study, the analysis shows how local translations enabled new roles, approaches and purchasing practices, and how the practice of purchasing ‘social goods’ largely became a practice of providing competence to private enterprises. The implications of such a shift for local work on active labor market policies, as well as broader implications of attempts to use procurement to attain social sustainability, need to be further explored in future research.