The University of Pretoria (UP) recently hosted a seminar titled ‘Procurement Practices as a Pathway towards Economic Development’ on its Mamelodi campus. The seminar featured guest speaker Stephen Davenport, Assistant Vice-President for Social and Economic Development at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia, in the US.

Davenport set the scene by explaining Richmond’s context which, as the capital of the Confederacy during the country’s Civil War in the 1860s, still bears institutional legacies from that time, with stark racial and economic divides. VCU has positioned itself as an anchor institution in the community, and strives to partner with local communities to make a difference.

“Our vision is to integrate community engagement with all aspects of university work,” Davenport said. “We want to build a bridge between the university and the community, and we want to demonstrate civic responsibility. Our hope is to address societal inequities, and to grow in smart and sustainable ways by empowering local partners.”

VCU is classified as an R1 institution in recognition of its high research activity. As a result, it possesses a considerable budget for expenditure, with its economic impact being assessed at more than $1.5 billion (over R25 billion).

“When we have all these assets and resources, it’s really important that we align them in a way that benefits our community,” Davenport said.

VCU bases its operations on its Anchor Institution Strategic Framework, seeking reciprocal, equitable and asset-based partnerships through three core activities: operating, investing and serving/learning. Significant focus is given to purchasing, with a strategic focus on redirecting institutional purchasing towards local businesses.

“It is critical to prioritise diverse, sustainable, local spending with small businesses as well as women- and minority-owned businesses,” Davenport said. “We see this as an opportunity to connect with these enterprises and encourage them to offer their services. We prioritise suitable contracting opportunities for them, and see this as a way of stabilising economies.”

From an employment perspective, VCU offers opportunities to local residents, encouraging those from disadvantaged communities to engage with university training programmes targeted at upskilling and improving employability. In addition, they assist with CV building and mock interviews, and provide job-seekers with access to university resources such as the library system and links with relevant faculty members.

The serving/learning aspect of VCU’s strategic framework relates to its role as a workforce developer, addressing local and regional workforce needs; and as an advisor/networker, channelling expertise to increase local capacity. In terms of investment, VCU uses real estate development to anchor local economic growth in line with the university’s expansion, and as an incubator, offers services to support start-up businesses and/or non-profits.

Davenport made reference to a new programme that is being piloted – the SWaM (Small, Women and Minority-owned businesses) Ambassadors Initiative – which aims to increase VCU spending with local businesses.

“At VCU, we have a number of departments and schools, with each responsible for how they spend their respective budget. As a result, it can be challenging to implement broader institutional changes, as certain departments have long-standing relationships with specific vendors and are hesitant to consider switching to alternative providers,” Davenport explained. “We started tracking spending, and identified those who were doing really well in terms of increasing their SWaM investment. We formed a kind of advisory board with these members, and meet up regularly to discuss ways to break down barriers to community-minded procurement. One of the things we have done is to promote a prioritised list on our procurement website, all while driving home the messaging of why it is important to utilise SWaM vendors.

“We host an annual SWaM fest where local service providers come to campus to meet department members and decision-makers, and we allow for these businesses to bypass our formal procurement process to some degree.”

He added that they also hold an annual ceremony to recognise departments that have done well in increasing SWaM expenditure, and host community partnership spotlights that document the experience for all parties involved.

Dr Martina Jordaan, Head of Community Engagement, and Research and Postgraduate Studies at UP (Mamelodi campus), thanked Davenport for his insightful presentation, saying that the VCU initiatives are impressive and offer a guide for steps that other universities can take to have an impact on local communities.