Knowledge building for public buyers
The Electronics Watch Innovation Pilot began in autumn 2024, with the launch of the Knowledge Building Series.
What is the Knowledge Building Series?
It is a webinar and workshop series that will focus on modern slavery and human rights risks in public sector supply chains. The Knowledge Building series will provide public buyers with an overview of labour rights violations and risks in several high-volume, high-cost purchasing categories. It will provide information and guidance to help public buyers comply with regulatory requirements and uphold their own policy commitments, using public procurement leverage.
Participants will have access to seven 1.5-hour webinars and workshops per year covering different topics, accompanied by slides and guidance notes. The Series is expected to run for three years as part of the Pilot: see the webinars and workshops planned for 2025 or download an overview.
Who is it aimed at?
Any public authority who wants to strengthen their responsible procurement policies and practices. It will help those who want to know more about modern slavery risks and other human rights violations that may be occurring in their supply chains, and what they can do about mitigating and preventing them.
Why should I join?
Many public buyers rely on supplier self-reporting, ESG risk ratings or certifications to assure their compliance requirements. These tools may be a good first step for responsible procurement, but they often provide a false sense of assurance. They do not usually reflect the realities for workers in supply chains. Even where risks are identified, they do not usually offer practical solutions. The Knowledge Building Series aims to deliver:
- Professional development to advance your socially responsible procurement capacity, focused on human rights and modern slavery
- Increased awareness of how to prevent and manage human rights risks in specific purchasing categories and supply chains
- Improvements in compliance data and evidence provided by suppliers, which could improve your tendering, contracting systems and decision-making
- Better supplier engagement based on increased knowledge of risks.