European Community of Practice

The report has been elaborated by the EQUAL support estructure in Spain, based on the experience of several projects located in different regions of Spain.

The target was to identify and promote the inclussion of social clauses in the process of procurement in different levels: National, regional and local administration. Procurement takes a big part in the labour market, therefore, mainstreaming this good practices has a gret potential of influencing the larger spectrum of the labour market.

The process of incorporating social clauses in procurement has four steps:

1.- Awareness. As for anything that is innovative, it is necessary to start by creating the sensitiveness to the issue through an awareness raising campaign.

2.- Technical training. Once the need is perceives, we need to show how to present and include social clauses in procuremen in the context of the legal framework of public administrations and labour regulations in particular.

3.- Implementation. We must empashize the gradual nature of this process. In the area of social clauses nothing changes in 24 hours. It requires minor steps and small victories. The guide includes a table with specific examples of social clauses included in public administrations.

4.- Legal changes. This is the final step. When the legislator perceives the good practice established through this process as something deserving a generalization, a new legal proposal is forwarded for consideration and discussion at the appropriate level. No doubt this is the best result one can expect of this whole process. The guide points out a number of legal changes in the three layers of the Spanish Public Administration: National, regional and local