Facilitating Supplier Diversity: A Collaborative Approach to Engaging Underrepresented Suppliers and Large Firms

The year long project involves a number of activities:

• Knowledge transfer. CREME and SDE are sharing material that will support the implementation of supplier diversity in SDE members' companies. The intention is to share the accumulated and synergistic expertise at special events for SDE members. Importantly, these experiences will help to shape broader policy debates in the UK and other European countries.

• People transfer. CREME will recruit two specialists who will be 'placed' with SDE. One of these 'placement fellows' will work with an SDE member to create a 'Hub', which will draw together suppliers at different points in the supply chain. The other expert will assist in the production of a 'Handbook' that will have resonance in a number of European countries.

• Developing the business case for Supplier Diversity. CREME's action research methodology will be used to develop an informed approach to supplier diversity in practice. This will be distinctly European in orientation.

SDE is a supplier diversity programme facilitated by the Brussels-based, not-for-profit organisation MPG. SDE provides a not-for-profit advisory service to its corporate members. This service creates sustainable supplier diversity programmes through internal capacity-building, work with primary contractors and the development of relationships between members and potential suppliers from under-represented groups. SDE also promotes supplier diversity to business and political stakeholders in Europe.