Member Webinars

Pre-recorded webinar content for BCSPI Members

Click here to register for upcoming webinars on the Member Training page

Good Practices, Verified & Amplified

Join Kristi Fairholm Mader and Larry Berglund for a webinar that provides an overview to the key certifications like Living Wage, Buy Social, BCorp and Fair Trade, that can help local governments identify social value suppliers and a way to incorporate such practices into their own operations.

Procurement, Resilient Economies and COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis has greatly impacted local economies, now and potentially into the future. Now more than ever, procurement has a key role to play in building resilient communities.

Join David LePage of Buy Social Canada and Rory Kulmala of the Vancouver Island Construction Association for this special webinar that outlines how social procurement approaches can support local COVID-19-related adaptation and recovery efforts.

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Download Accompanying Info-Sheet

Tool Spotlight - Annual Impact Reporting Survey

Join Kristi Fairholm Mader from the BCSPI Impact Measurement Working Group for a walk through of the new Annual Impact Reporting Survey.

This short session will help explain the purpose of the survey, determine who should fill it out from your organization, and provide more information about the data collection and analysis process.

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Access More Impact Measurement Resources

Purchase for Impact and Measure What Matters

Join the BCPSI Impact Measurement Working Group for an overview of the BCSPI impact measurement framework and the tools you need to start measuring your impact today. As social procurement criteria in RFx become more common, governments and organizations need to measure and report out the community benefits their dollars are creating.

Access more information and other impact measurement and evaluation tools and resources in the impact measurement section.

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Access More Impact Measurement Resources

Measuring What Matters - A Regional Approach to Impact Measurement

Join BCSPI & Royal Roads University to discuss shared the experiences that informed the development of BCSPI’s impact measurement framework

A common approach to measurement for the region will reduce uncertainty for suppliers and support organizations in connecting procurement outcomes to the global sustainability goals. Access more information and other impact measurement and evaluation tools and resources in the impact measurement section.

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Access More Impact Measurement Resources

Living Wage: A Path to Equity and Opportunity

Join our speakers Anastasia French (Living Wage for Families BC), Jodi Jensen (City of Victoria) and Kaelin Chambers (Village of Cumberland) who share a wealth of knowledge, experience and first hand accounts of working with living wage in procurement. Learn how living wages build healthy communities, advance local economic development, and support you to achieve your social procurement goals.

This webinar covers what a living wage is, and how it’s calculated, the growing movement of living wage employers, benefits for employers, businesses and communities and living wage agreements in procurement.

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How can procurement advance reconciliation?

In the first event of the Purchasing Power 2022-2023 season, we look at how procurement can advance reconciliation. Tori Williamson, moderator and Training and Education Coordinator for BCSPI, is joined by  three industry leaders: Matthew Foss, Vice President of Research and Public Policy for Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), Tim Laronde, National Director of Indigenous Strategy for Chandos Construction, and Janine Kruse, Manager of Indigenous and Rural Relations at Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB). 

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How can procurement support zero waste?

In the second event of the Purchasing Power 2022-2023 season, we look at how procurement can support zero waste. Kristi Fairholm Mader, moderator and BCSPI Project Manager, is joined by two industry leaders: Sue Maxwell, Board Chair of Zero Waste BC, and Jane Rushton, Purchasing Manager at City of Nanaimo.

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How can procurement help address poverty?

In the third event of the Purchasing Power 2022-2023 season, we look at how purchasing can support systemic changes to promote community wealth and work to reduce poverty. Emma Renaerts, moderator and BCSPI project delivery team member, is joined by three leaders: Jill Zacharias from Tamarack Institute, and Susannah Cameron and Karen Bruno from EndPovertyEdmonton.

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How can social procurement engage Indigenous businesses?

In the first event of this speaker series, we look at how social procurement can engage Indigenous businesses. Kristi Fairholm-Mader, series moderator and project manager for BCSPI, is joined by two leaders in this area: Judy Kitts from the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) and Ron Arcos, Business Development Officer for the Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation (NEDC).

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How can social procurement support my local economy?

In this event, we look at how social procurement can support local economies. Kristi Fairholm-Mader, series moderator and project manager for BCSPI, is joined by two leaders in this area: Amy Robinson from LOCO BC and Alisha Masongsong from the City of Vancouver.

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How can social procurement increase food security?

In this event, we look at how social procurement can increase food security. Kristi Fairholm-Mader, series moderator and project manager for BCSPI, is joined by two leaders in this area: Heather O’Hara from BC Farmers Markets and Jennifer Reynolds from Nourish.

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How can social procurement support diversity and inclusion?

In this event, we look at how social procurement can support diversity and inclusion. Kristi Fairholm-Mader, series moderator and project manager for BCSPI, is joined by two leaders in this area: Nerissa Allen from the Black Business Association of BC and Dugan Selkirk from Community Futures BC.

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How can social procurement address climate change?

In this event, we look at how social procurement can address climate change. Kristi Fairholm-Mader, series moderator and program manager for BCSPI, is joined by two leaders in this area: Mayor Karen Elliott from the District of Squamish, and Yamila Franco, co-founder of Nyoka Design Labs and the Afro Hub Market.

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Download the Series Summary

Introduction to the British Columbia Social Procurement Initiative

Join Rob Fisher of BCSPI and Tori Williamson of Buy Social Canada for a 30-minute info session that will provide an introduction to BCSPI and social procurement as a concept. Through the BC Social Procurement Initiative (BCSPI), communities and small businesses across British Columbia will benefit from an expanded social procurement program that focuses on getting the best value for every public dollar spent while also reinvesting back into communities and contributing to economic recovery.

Social Procurement: What it is and How to Implement the Strategy

This webinar explores the role of procurement in affecting social and economic development. Learn about what social procurement is, why it’s important and how it works including how and when to engage with social enterprises and how to measure the social return on investment for social procurement projects.

P-Cards: Small Buys and Big Impacts

Join Leah Hamilton (Government of BC) for a webinar about maximizing social impact through purchasing card spending, and developing a purchasing policy that includes social procurement considerations.

Leah, formerly a buyer at the City of Victoria, shares her expertise about maximizing your organization’s positive social impacts through purchasing card spending, and how these small purchases can add up to big community impact.

This webinar covers why the use of purchasing cards in social procurement can be effective, how to get started with implementation and how to evaluate social value within this spending stream.

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Read the Accompanying Case Study

Drafting an RFP with Social Value Criteria

Join Larry Berglund of Presentations Plus for this special webinar that outlines the step by step process for how to draft an RFP for goods and services with defined social procurement outcomes. The session will cover:

  • Which RFP clauses would be applicable?
  • How will a supplier be able to respond to social procurement criteria?
  • How would we measure outcomes?
  • How to use BCSPI templates as a basis for drafting RFx documents

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Download the RFP Template

Community Benefits in Action – Tools for Social Procurement Implementation

Join Elizabeth Chick, Executive Director at Buy Social Canada for this special webinar session to learn how these new template tools for community employment benefit and community benefit agreement implementation can be used to help design, evaluate and implement a social value into procurement processes for goods and services or major infrastructure and developments.

Social procurement is evolving as a standard means to leverage a greater value from existing procurement of goods and services. Concurrently, with the emergence of Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs), and the Community Employment Benefit (CEB) initiative process, there is a need to have a framework and guidelines to support an added social value from major developments and construction projects.

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Download the Social Value Menu

Introduction to Procurement for the Construction Sector

Each year, governments and public agencies of all types, combined, spend hundreds of billions of dollars on construction. With all this investment in construction, there is a drive to leverage these investments to create social impact within a local economy and community through the existing purchasing channels of construction services. As with many regions, societal issues such as poverty reduction, labour availability, housing, and social marginalization are driving public agencies to find more creative and innovative ways to address these needs.

Community Economic Benefits: A national perspective and local example (2022)

Watch this BCSPI Webinar to explore the federal Community Employment Benefits (CEB) Initiative.

Learn from Scott Hainsworth as he shares Comox Valley Regional District’s experience integrating community employment benefits into the two-stage procurement process for their $126 million water treatment project. This project included Federal funding that required participation in Infrastructure Canada’s Community Employment Benefits Initiative. Tori Williamson (Buy Social Canada) shares additional implementation learnings from the City of Surrey CEB project, and a national perspective on CEB and Community Benefit Agreement projects.

Get practical advice on how you can incorporate community benefits into your next infrastructure or development project.

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Read the CVRD Case Study

Community Employment Benefits in Action – Infrastructure Projects

Join Elizabeth Chick, Executive Director at Buy Social Canada for this special webinar session that will discuss how the Social Value Menu – Community Employment Benefit Template can help you design, evaluate and implement a social value into your procurement process for major infrastructure and developments.

Social procurement is evolving as a standard means to leverage a greater value from existing procurement of goods and services. Concurrently, with the emergence of Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs), and the Community Employment Benefit (CEB) initiative process, there is a need to have a framework and guidelines to support an added social value from major developments and construction projects.

Download the Social Value Menu

Community Employment Benefits: A Local Example Comox Valley Regional District

Join Scott Hainsworth from Comox Valley Regional District as he shares Comox Valley RD’s experience integrating community employment benefits into the two-stage procurement process for their new $126 million water treatment project. This project included Federal funding that required participation in Infrastructure Canada’s Community Employment Benefits Program.

David LePage of Buy Social Canada augments Scott’s experience with other examples and general best practices.

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Read the CVRD Case Study

Construction Work Under $250K with Social Procurement Values

Webinar Contents:

  • Drafting an Request for Qualifications for construction and infrastructure projects under $250 K with social values
  • Overview of RF Qualification Process
  • The Social procurement guide for construction-related projects
  • Two step model with Shortlisting of Contractors
  • Social value clauses and language
  • Social value supply chain options
  • Use of CCDC qualification statements
  • Insertion of social procurement criteria and scoring
  • Construction service categories

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Developing a Social Procurement Policy

Join Larry Berglund of Presentations Plus for this webinar which explores how to write a social procurement policy with social value considerations.

Procurement policies define organizational principles and values. These factors combine to give staff direction on decision-making for the acquisition of goods, services, equipment, and infrastructure projects. Policies are a means of communicating to stakeholders the expectations it seeks through its business practices.

This webinar covers:

  • What a policy should and shouldn’t contain
  • Including social procurement values in a policy
  • Social procurement policy purpose and key statements
  • Policy procedure guides
  • P-card procedures
  • Examples of policy statements and reference template.

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Download the Policy Template

Download the Policy and Procedure Manual

Case Study: Developing a Social Procurement Policy - Qualicum Beach

Developing a social procurement policy is a key step to implementing social procurement for local governments. Join Qualicum Beach’s CAO, Daniel Sailland, CAO as he discusses their experience and subsequent policy as a case study example.

The webinar addresses the intent of the policy; the specific issues it covered; and where future policies can expand on this initial public policy. It also discusses the policy to assist other BCSPI members in gaining knowledge when drafting similar policies.

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Ask A Lawyer: Your Social Procurement Questions Answered

Sonia Sahota (Managing Partner, Civic Legal LLP) joins British Columbia Social Procurement Initiative (BCSPI) to share her expertise regarding policy development and implementation, trade agreements, bid documents, and contracts with social value.

During this session, Sonia answers and discusses pressing legal questions submitted in advance by BCSPI members as well as those submitted at the event.

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Social Procurement & Trade Agreements

Join Larry Berglund of Presentations Plus for this special webinar that discusses the trade agreements as they relate to social procurement and what you can and cannot do.

This session will provide a deeper dive into Canada’s many trade agreements and the implications for social procurement implementation.

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BCSPI Member Support

Please contact Rob Fisher, Program Coordinator for all BCSPI member enquiries and assistance:

E-mail: rfisher@scalecollaborative.ca

Phone: 250 886-3063

Please Note: The ideas, opinions, and suggestions provided are intended to promote best practices in procurement related to social procurement values and outcomes only. We are not commenting on a document in its entirety as a strategy or as a final product; we are not providing legal advice during any discussions, including telephone conversations or email transmissions. Any sample clauses, statements, checklists, training materials. and / or documents are provided as a framework for your consideration and are not legal advice on your specific procurement or contractual arrangements. Should you require legal advice, please consult your own professional advisors prior to entering into any legal agreements or arrangements.