The importance of making public procurement inclusive discussed at a Bridging the Gap webinar

In the framework of the project’s Knowledge and Learning Management Strategy, on 30 March Bridging the Gap held a webinar to analyse how public procurement has been and can be made compliant to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), as well as to present the guidance note on inclusive procurement including the inputs collected during a learning space held in Brussels on 27 February.

The session was conducted by Sylvia Beales, expert on Inclusive Social Development consultancy who also delivered the on-site session in Brussels. She addressed the importance of making public procurement inclusive, as this process is used by public authorities at all levels to purchase goods and services and to allocate large volumes of public expenditure each year.

Public procurement has a direct impact on daily life, employment conditions, health and the social inclusion of discriminated groups, including persons with disabilities who face daily barriers ranging from inaccessible environments, facilities and services to discrimination and negative attitudes.

Inclusive public procurement can remove these barriers and it can be an effective way to implement the CRPD and mainstream inclusion in many sectors at different levels.

Hence, throughout the webinar, participants also learnt and exchanged knowledge about the concepts of accessible and sustainable procurement, the challenges and the way forward in this matter, among others.

The inputs collected in this session will be incorporated into the final version of the project guidance note to provide information and indications on how to carry out inclusive procurement (service, labour and supply contracts).