Denny-Smith, George (2022) The social value of indigenous procurement policies in the Australian construction industry. PhD thesis, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract
Indigenous procurement policies have gained popularity as a form of social procurement in Australia and other countries with colonised populations as governments seek to create social value for and address the socioeconomic inequities experienced by Indigenous peoples. In Australia, Indigenous procurement policies require governments to meet purchasing and employment targets of Indigenous suppliers and workers. The construction industry is a major contributor to the success of these policies because of its size as an employer and the significant infrastructure investment commitments made by Australian governments before, and in response to, COVID-19. However, this thesis argues that the methods used to evaluate these policies are potentially misleading and misrepresent the potentially negative social value they could create. Operationalising an Indigenous evaluation framework and designed around principles of decolonised and community-based research, this thesis investigates the social value created by Indigenous procurement policies in the Australian construction industry. Findings indicate that creating social value for Indigenous construction workers may require a broader focus on culturally supportive workplaces. Findings also indicate that in general, Indigenous procurement policies can create social value when their aims are supported by all stakeholders. However, the policies can also create negative social value through compliance-driven behaviour and tokenistic employment which prevents Indigenous business and workforce development. Recommendations are made to address this and maximise the social value the policies create. Methodologically, this thesis shows how Indigenous programs and policies can be evaluated in partnership with Indigenous stakeholders. Theoretically, the findings help illuminate the underexplored area of social value in construction. Practically, this thesis will help construction managers aiming to develop, implement and evaluate Indigenous procurement strategies to create social value in partnership with the communities in which they operate.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Sunindijo, R Y and Piggott, L |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | indigenous population; workforce; compliance; employment; government; investment; partnership; procurement; purchasing; construction worker; employer; stakeholders; supplier; social value; Australia |
| Index terms: | program, population, workforce development, construction manager, commitment, procurement policy, compliance, COVID-19, community-based, evaluation, construction industry, construction worker, social value, employment, purchasing, partnership, Australia, infrastructure investment, procurement strategy |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, profession, sociology, partnership management, industry analysis, procurement strategy, software systems, health risk and incident analysis, management, professional development, public policy, psychology, economic analysis, contractual arrangements, practitioner, demography, communities and social development, Geography, health safety and environment |
| Topics: | Procurement, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Education, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Governance, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Digital Applications, Urban Studies, Human Resources |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here