“ I ' m probably qualified to comment given my global private sector now public sector experience ,” says Knowd . “ The public sector is very far ahead … Fundamentally a council ' s job is to improve the social , economic and environmental wellbeing of its local communities .”
Knowd is currently working on a project called the ‘ County Durham Pound ’, whose aim is to “ maximise the value of every County Durham pound ”, and he feels the lessons it teaches are directly transferable to work in the private sector :
“ We are pretty good at delivering social value . I do think we do a good job , but we are one actor in our community . What about the police ? What about the fire ? What about health ? What about housing ? What about education ? What about the universities ?
“ By collaborating , we ' ve got a better chance of maximising social value outcomes .”
For Knowd , that is what the embedding of social value in procurement practises comes down to : “ the mantra I always use is to maximise the value of every single pound you spend .”
In McKinsey ’ s pre-pandemic article “ Revolutionising indirect procurement for the 2020s ”, the consultancy argued that indirect procurement executives needed to bring stronger points to the table as its contrast with the clarity offered by direct procurement meant the sector ’ s interests were under-served .
While McKinsey ’ s report focused on the application of technologies to communicate improved financial outcomes , the sharp focus the pandemic brought to social impact brings both an effective and emotive tool to advancing the interests of indirect procurement through the decade .
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