Funding & Procurement

It doesn’t have to be this way

Procurement processes and monitoring are key players in the narratives that shape how our systems operate. When bidders are rewarded for telling stories about saving broken people, we get more programs, rules and processes that focus on the individual and perpetuate inequities.

When we shift procurement to focus on wellbeing, we can fundamentally change how our systems operate by directing funds to bidders who are doing transformational work.

KEY INSIGHTS

A critical lever for change

1. Funding and procurement practices have tremendous power to move our country toward one where everyone has a fair shot at wellbeing.
2. Procurement can dramatically change practices and services, rather than solidifying the inequities built into systems. Procurement can remove the barriers that prevent people from making the progress they want — and build environments that support long-lasting wellbeing for people, families and communities.
3. Innovative procurement strategies already exist today — including requiring flex funding to be built into budgets, collecting data on the tradeoffs people experience, financially supporting programs that are co-created with participants, and more. These have the potential to change the landscape of our systems and create impacts that ripple out beyond procurement itself.

Make change in procurement

Looking for ideas on where to start? Here are some examples:

Require flexible funding in budgets.

In our experience, one of the biggest impacts on increased access to wellbeing is for awards recipients to have the flexibility to pay for what would most enable access to wellbeing as scenarios arise.

Require recipients to engage people impacted by the project in the design of the project.

This not only allows for better buy-in, but actually creates a better project, program or product. The people most impacted have the deepest understanding of the tradeoffs (wellbeing costs) involved.

Apply wellbeing design principles to your procurement process.

Learn how to design procurement processes to focus on equitable access to wellbeing so that you can direct funds to bidders who are doing transformational work. Here are some ideas for how to apply wellbeing design principles to your procurement process.

Join a learning community.

We are convening a group of human services leaders interested in integrating equitable access to wellbeing in procurement and sharing lessons. Learn more and contact us to get involved.