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South Korean Delegation Talks CWB and CB with SDP and SLC

South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) Headquarters welcomed new friends on 30 July, as the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) and SLC hosted delegates from South Korea, to discuss Community Wealth Building (CWB) and Community Benefits (CB).

Included in the party were 21 representatives from South Korean regions and social enterprises, as well as the SDP Team, Gillian, Julie, Amy, Fran, Elizabeth and Lynzie and SLC Community Benefits Officer Jen.

During the meeting, SDP Programme Manager, Gillian Cameron delivered a presentation on SDP’s work with its members to boost Community Wealth Building among Scotland’s regions, through its networking events, tender training and Community Benefit portal workshops.

Following this, SLC Community Benefits Officer, Jen Fleming talked about SLC’s work to implement Community Benefits as a contractual obligation on all tenders over £50k. She explained the processes the council used to engage with suppliers, contract managers and Third Sector Organisations, including SLC’s Cenefits portal and Community Wish List.

Jen and Gillian described how SDP and SLC had worked together to raise awareness of SLC’s Community Benefits processes among suppliers, with webinar workshops and marketing campaigns.

Focus then turned to the audience, with questions from representatives of South Korea’s Daejeon Jung-Gu and Chungcheongnam-do Buyeo-gun regions, as well as those from Gyeongbuk Citizens Foundation; Empathy Seeds and the Hope Institute.

The representatives were keen to get more information on the SDP funding model, the way in which it interacted with Scotland’s main buyers, and how it enabled small businesses to collaborate and bid on larger contracts. Gillian’s answers can be found here, in her presentation slides.

Next, Jen answered questions on SLC’s CB work, explaining how SLC ensured that Community Benefits that were promised were delivered, and what the most popular choices of Community Benefits were (among suppliers) alongside common challenges of choosing them. Jen’s answers recapped the content in her presentation, which can be found here, in her slides.

Following the meeting, SDP and SLC asked to be kept informed of the South Korean delegates’ progress in implementing CWB and CB measures in their own organisations.