Reintegrating ex-offenders into work through construction: a case study of cross-sector collaboration in social procurement

Loosemore, Martin; Bridgeman, Jemma; Keast, Robyn

doi:10.1080/09613218.2019.1699772

Cited by 17 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There is also a need to bring them together to address what Troje and Gluch (2019) describe as a lack of conceptualisation of social procurement research in construction. To this end, we adapted Loosemore et al 's (2020) framework of core enabling factors for cross-sector collaboration as our analytical framework by adding in the risk factors which can act to undermine collaboration reviewed above. This framework is illustrated in Table 1 and provides the basis for the coding of the data collected in relation to our research questions, using the methodology described below.…”

Section: Cross-sector Collaboration In the Context Of Social Procurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These are important gaps in knowledge to address within and outside the field of construction because, as Loosemore et al (2020) recently reported, cross-sector collaboration is particularly challenging in transitionary, project-based industries like construction. This is because project teams form, disband and reform and move continuously from one community to the next, forming new cross-sector relationships and partnerships to meet changing local community needs and priorities in each project location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Optimising social procurement policy outcomes through cross-sector collaboration in the Australian construction industry

Loosemore

Denny-Smith

Barraket

et al. 2020

ECAM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeSocial procurement policies are an emerging policy instrument being used by governments around the world to leverage infrastructure and construction spending to address intractable social problems in the communities they represent. The relational nature of social procurement policies requires construction firms to develop new collaborative partnerships with organisations from the government, not-for-profit and community sectors. The aim of this paper is to address the paucity of research into the risks and opportunities of entering into these new cross-sector partnerships from the perspectives of the stakeholders involved and how this affects collaborative potential and social value outcomes for intended beneficiaries.Design/methodology/approachThis case study research is based on a unique collaborative intermediary called Connectivity Centre created by an international contractor to coordinate its social procurement strategies. The findings draw on a thematic analysis of qualitative data from focus groups with 35 stakeholders from the construction, government, not-for-profit, social enterprise, education and employment sectors.FindingsFindings indicate that potentially enormous opportunities which social procurement offers are being undermined by stakeholder nervousness about policy design, stability and implementation, poor risk management, information asymmetries, perverse incentives, candidate supply constraints, scepticism, traditional recruitment practices and industry capacity constraints. While these risks can be mitigated through collaborative initiatives like Connectivity Centres, this depends on new “relational” skills, knowledge and competencies which do not currently exist in construction. In conclusion, when social procurement policy requirements are excessive and imposed top-down, with little understanding of the construction industry's compliance capacity, intended social outcomes of these policies are unlikely to be achieved.Originality/valueThis research draws on theories of cross-sector collaboration developed in the realm of public sector management to address the lack of research into how the new cross-sector partnerships encouraged by emerging social procurement policies work in the construction industry. Contributing to the emerging literature on cross-sector collaboration, the findings expose the many challenges of working in cross-sector partnerships in highly transitionary project-based environments like construction.

show abstract

Section: Cross-sector Collaboration In the Context Of Social Procurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimising social procurement policy outcomes through cross-sector collaboration in the Australian construction industry

Loosemore

Denny-Smith

Barraket

et al. 2020

ECAM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous research has found that, in the construction sector, there is a general lack of knowledge about social procurement [2,3,5,30,31], and the perceptions about the effects of social procurement vary. For example, some doubts persist about how social procurement might require more resources than traditional procurement [2,3,5,16,25,27,32], how it might displace "ordinary" workers [14,15,27], or that social value and employment requirements are difficult to evaluate (cf. [1,26,31,[33][34][35]).…”

Section: Social Procurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1,26,31,[33][34][35]). Other concerns relate to whether, despite its potential business opportunities, engaging in social procurement benefits brand goodwill or not [27], and whether collaboration around social procurement is difficult [32].…”

Section: Social Procurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Policies and Social Washing: How Social Procurement Unfolds in Practice

Troje

Gluch

2020

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social procurement is increasingly used by organizations to create social value. An important feature of social procurement used to mitigate issues with social exclusion is employment requirements, which aim to create internships for unemployed marginalized people. However, little is known of their effects on people working at an operative level. Through 23 semi-structured interviews with practitioners in the Swedish construction and real estate sector, this paper adopts a practice lens to analyse the effects of employment requirements (ER). Findings show that practitioners must handle the tension between old and new practices, and strike a balance between fulfilling formal responsibilities and performing new practices on an ad hoc basis, and finding the time and resources to do so. Practitioners act as practice carriers for both traditional work tasks and new employment requirement practices, which can lead to role ambiguity. The paper provides novel details for how employment requirements unfold in practice. It also adds to practice theory by suggesting an important relational aspect between first-order, premeditated practices, and second-order, emergent practices, and how both types of practices are vital for working with employment requirements.

show abstract

“…Nevertheless, it is estimated that 57,890 households were assessed as homeless in England in 2019, 34,100 in Scotland and 9210 in Wales [2]. In Wales alone, the latest figures show that 7698 young people (aged [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] asked local authorities for help with homelessness problems in 2018 [3]. This high number of young people seeking help with homelessness is not exclusively a UK phenomenon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preventing Youth Homelessness through Social Procurement in Construction: A Capability Empowerment Approach

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Homelessness is a serious and growing problem in the UK, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. The latest figures estimate that 160,000 households are at risk of the worst forms of homelessness. Employment is widely recognised as being critical to reducing homelessness, yet there has been no research into the role that the construction industry, as a major UK employer, can play in reducing this problem. The aim of this paper is to address this gap in knowledge and contribute to the emerging social procurement debate in construction by exploring the role that construction employment can play in reducing the risk of homelessness. Mobilising Sen’s and Nussbaum’s capabilities empowerment approach, an in-depth case study is presented of a construction employment program in Wales, UK, which was aimed at supporting young people who had experienced or who were at risk of homelessness. Contributing to the emerging social value and social procurement debate in construction and drawing on documentary analysis and interviews with young people who were homeless or at risk of homelessness who went through the program, findings indicate that these young people became empowered in ways which reduced their risk of homelessness. It is concluded that the capabilities empowerment framework is valuable in explaining how employment in the construction industry can reduce the risks of homelessness for disadvantaged youth with a care-experienced background or who were known to the criminal justice system.

show abstract

Reintegrating ex-offenders into work through construction: a case study of cross-sector collaboration in social procurement

Cited by 17 publications

References 35 publications

Optimising social procurement policy outcomes through cross-sector collaboration in the Australian construction industry

Optimising social procurement policy outcomes through cross-sector collaboration in the Australian construction industry

Beyond Policies and Social Washing: How Social Procurement Unfolds in Practice

Preventing Youth Homelessness through Social Procurement in Construction: A Capability Empowerment Approach

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About