Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s Experiment

Social procurement can attain particular traction when governments leverage large-scale infrastructure programmes to mandate the procurement of goods and services from categories of people in society that have historically be disadvantaged. However, frictions can arise within a system of regulation...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: David Goodwin, Riccardo Natoli, Catherine Xiaocui Lou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/14/2521
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849732973982646272
author David Goodwin
Riccardo Natoli
Catherine Xiaocui Lou
author_facet David Goodwin
Riccardo Natoli
Catherine Xiaocui Lou
author_sort David Goodwin
collection DOAJ
description Social procurement can attain particular traction when governments leverage large-scale infrastructure programmes to mandate the procurement of goods and services from categories of people in society that have historically be disadvantaged. However, frictions can arise within a system of regulation when operational choices in the structural design of a regulatory regime are not well matched with the nature of the social opportunity being addressed. In 2018, the Australian State of Victoria introduced a Social Procurement Framework, intending to create economic and employment opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups. Applying Sheehy and Feaver’s theory of regulatory coherence, and taking into account findings from interviews with stakeholders, this article assesses the coherence of the Australian State of Victoria’s social procurement regulatory regime, as it applied from 2018 to 2023. This article explains Victoria’s framework, makes recommendations for its improvement, and, drawing upon pertinent theoretical perspectives, extends the regulatory coherence debate into the domain of social procurement.
format Article
id doaj-art-289cefb878874bcf9820a44ff3978bd7
institution DOAJ
issn 2075-5309
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Buildings
spelling doaj-art-289cefb878874bcf9820a44ff3978bd72025-08-20T03:08:10ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-07-011514252110.3390/buildings15142521Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s ExperimentDavid Goodwin0Riccardo Natoli1Catherine Xiaocui Lou2Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih 43500, MalaysiaInstitute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, AustraliaInstitute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, AustraliaSocial procurement can attain particular traction when governments leverage large-scale infrastructure programmes to mandate the procurement of goods and services from categories of people in society that have historically be disadvantaged. However, frictions can arise within a system of regulation when operational choices in the structural design of a regulatory regime are not well matched with the nature of the social opportunity being addressed. In 2018, the Australian State of Victoria introduced a Social Procurement Framework, intending to create economic and employment opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups. Applying Sheehy and Feaver’s theory of regulatory coherence, and taking into account findings from interviews with stakeholders, this article assesses the coherence of the Australian State of Victoria’s social procurement regulatory regime, as it applied from 2018 to 2023. This article explains Victoria’s framework, makes recommendations for its improvement, and, drawing upon pertinent theoretical perspectives, extends the regulatory coherence debate into the domain of social procurement.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/14/2521infrastructuregovernment purchasingregulatory coherencesocial procurement
spellingShingle David Goodwin
Riccardo Natoli
Catherine Xiaocui Lou
Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s Experiment
Buildings
infrastructure
government purchasing
regulatory coherence
social procurement
title Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s Experiment
title_full Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s Experiment
title_fullStr Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s Experiment
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s Experiment
title_short Assessing the Design Coherence of a Social Procurement Regulatory System: Victoria’s Experiment
title_sort assessing the design coherence of a social procurement regulatory system victoria s experiment
topic infrastructure
government purchasing
regulatory coherence
social procurement
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/14/2521
work_keys_str_mv AT davidgoodwin assessingthedesigncoherenceofasocialprocurementregulatorysystemvictoriasexperiment
AT riccardonatoli assessingthedesigncoherenceofasocialprocurementregulatorysystemvictoriasexperiment
AT catherinexiaocuilou assessingthedesigncoherenceofasocialprocurementregulatorysystemvictoriasexperiment