LHC Procurement Group

Award-winning public sector frameworks promoting improved diversity and inclusion

More than 50 community wellbeing and social value projects funded in recent years

LHC Procurement Group is a not-for-profit procurement partner dedicated to supporting public sector organisations in delivering high-quality, sustainable and socially responsible construction, refurbishment, and maintenance projects for social housing, schools and public buildings. Established in 1966 by 13 founding local authorities, LHC was the first public sector procurement organisation in the UK.

By providing efficient procurement frameworks and expert guidance, LHC empowers public bodies to maximise value for money while achieving positive, lasting impacts on local communities and the environment.

Challenge

There are many framework providers in the public sector, but few of them have the local expertise, technical support and community benefits delivered by LHC.

Our challenge is to help LHC boost awareness among clients (typically local authorities, housing associations and NHS estates teams) and suppliers (particularly local construction SMEs), communicating its distinctive value in a crowded market, and supporting the organisation to deliver meaningful framework solutions that also achieve its social value purpose.

Strategy

LMC has worked with LHC Procurement Group since 2020. We run the group's Press Office function, providing a regular, efficient pipeline of PR around each of its frameworks and their key stages, plus communications toolkits for use by each framework's appointed companies, as well as a regular flow of interviews, opinion pieces and technical insight articles for the media.

In 2020, we helped LHC to launch its innovative Architecture Design Services (ADS1) framework in London to ensure that the public sector had access to top-tier architectural practices that reflect the vibrant and multifaceted nature of the capital. The initiative won multiple awards for its approach to delivering social value impact, particularly in promoting diverse representation within the architectural sector, and including the GO Awards in 2022 (the Social Value Award - Local Authorities, won in partnership with Southwark Council). Used to generate more than £22 million in architecture fees, ADS1 set a benchmark for inclusivity and community engagement within over 100 London architectural projects of varying scope and scale. This includes NHS trusts, universities, local authorities and housing associations. LHC Procurement Group is now building a similar approach into many other frameworks.

More recently our work for LHC Procurement Group has also included detailed brand awareness research and qualitative interviews with more than 40 procurement directors from across the country, detailed tracking of regional and national policies, and the facilitation of new introductions to key industry organisations for future collaborations.