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BUYING REGIONAL & PROCUREMENT

The Well-being of Future Generations Act says public organisations should spend 95% of their budgets within Wales.  If that happened, it would transform the lives of people and communities. 

We know that if businesses and organisations in South West Wales buy more from each other, we can keep more wealth here in our local economy, develop our supply chains, and create more opportunities for people and businesses.

So what are the obstacles to more in-region procurement, and how can we work together across the public, private and third sectors, to make it work better?

OUR ACTIVITY

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20/04/21

PROCUREMENT & REGIONAL BUYING MEMBERS FORUM
We really want to see what we can do, as a regional alliance, to keep more of our spending in the region - the money we spend as individuals and businesses, as well as the public money that gets spent by local authorities and major organisations. 4theRegion invited member businesses and organisations in the procurement sector to an online conversation to look collectively at the challenges our region is facing, discuss what’s needed and what we can do to help.
Procurement & Regional Buying Members Forum

11/11/20

DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION SECTOR FORUM
4theRegion invited member businesses and organisations in the development and construction sector to an online conversation to look collectively at the challenges our region is facing, discuss what’s needed and what we can do to help.  Business leaders returned to the theme of procurement, with frustration that regional companies miss out on contracts and development opportunities in the region, because of the way they are packaged and procured.
Development & Construction Members Forum

12/12/19

THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE
4theRegion in partnership with EFT Consult convened a forum at The Grand Hotel in Swansea to talk about community wealth building and the importance of keeping regional spending in the region.  With expert speakers from the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), the Future Generations Commissioners Office, and a video appearance from Deputy Minister Lee Waters, our goal was to foster discussions around what's possible within the existing statutory framework and procurement laws.
Art of the Possible - Procurement Conference

01/10/19

WHAT IS THE FOUNDATIONAL ECONOMY
Sometime in 2018, the Welsh Government started talking about something called “the Foundational Economy". This week, the first of the projects to have been successfully awarded money from the Foundational Economy Challenge Fund have been announced, so we thought you might be wondering, what exactly is the foundational economy?
Article - What actually is the foundational economy?

12/07/19

FOUNDATIONAL ECONOMY CHALLENGE FUND BID
In partnership with Family Housing Association, 4theRegion submitted a bid to the Welsh Government's Foundational Economy Challenge Fund.  Our proposal was to create a partnership of regional organisations to develop innovative, workable solutions to the barriers preventing more in-region procurement by major buyers.  Our bid was unsuccessful 🙁

23/07/18

PROCURING TRANSFORMATION EVENT SERIES
4theRegion has held a series of Appreciative Enquiries into Procurement.  With diverse participants from the public and private sector, we’ve had engagement from Carmarthenshire Council, City Deal, Swansea Council, the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner in Welsh Government, and businesses including major contractors and a mix of smaller local businesses.
Procuring Transformation - Appreciative Enquiry Events

14/06/18

PROCUREMENT EMERGES AS A KEY THEME
4theRegion hosted Wales' first Circular Economy conference at the Liberty Stadium, attracting over 300 businesses and organisations from a wide range of sectors.  The focus of the Empowering Future Generations event was to explore the challenges and opportunities of implementing the principles of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.  Procurement emerged as a key theme: "Only when public bodies truly embed well-being principles into the way they evaluate and select their suppliers, will businesses be empowered to change."