The Supplier Diversity Playbook was written through a collaborative effort between SMI and Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) using HAN’s research and learnings over the past decade. HAN catalyzes its more than 75 health system members (representing nearly 40% of nonprofit healthcare organizations) to apply a holistic social impact lens to their business practices, including supply chain. In doing so, health systems can more intentionally address economic and racial inequities that create barriers to improved health and well-being outcomes in the communities they serve.

At HAN, supplier diversity is one facet of the “impact purchasing” lens, a strategy that aims to leverage institutional purchasing power to create positive social and economic impacts in local communities. The impact purchasing strategy calls for us to prioritize not only diverse spending, but also spending that is sustainable, local, and high-impact (e.g., spending with employee-owned businesses) to stabilize local economies and build community wealth. By expanding our focus to include these other lenses of spend, we can leverage even more of our existing resources to maximize local economic multipliers and drive inclusive, economic growth.

The impact purchasing strategy is part of a broader “anchor mission,” a commitment by large, place-based institutions to intentionally apply their long-term, place-based economic power, and human capital in partnership with the community to mutually benefit the long-term well-being of both. Through this playbook, SMI and HAN aimed to share our knowledge with a broader audience, align around shared definitions in the supplier diversity space, and create practices and standards around supplier diversity to accelerate the industry.

The playbook is a great way to build momentum within your supplier diversity program, and we invite those who are interested in broadening their impact purchasing efforts to join us in going deeper. The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) is an organization that can support your institution to expand your approach, collaborate with peers, and gain access to additional resources. Examples of the types of resources available to HAN members include:

Collaboration with other health systems and industry partners to achieve collective impact.
Monthly calls, educational presentations, shared definitions and goals, resources, and 1:1 consulting support.
Educational opportunities, including speakers, newsletters, and case studies.

A current example underway of leading practices of health systems in impact purchasing is through the “Impact Purchasing Commitment” (IPC). In partnership with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, HAN created a commitment for leading members to shift purchasing focused on supplier diversity, environmental sustainability, and community wealth building. One key component of the IPC is a pledge by the dozen participating health systems to collectively increase their spending with minority and women-owned businesses by $1 billion by 2025.

With millions of community members experiencing avoidable negative health impacts, HAN exists to scale up anchor mission strategies like impact purchasing to help build communities where all can be healthy and thrive. Join us as we work to reach a critical mass of health systems adopting as an institutional priority the improvement of community health and well-being by leveraging all their assets for equitable, local economic impact.

We appreciate our partnership with SMI and are excited about the reach that this playbook can have in driving increased supplier diversity in the healthcare supply chain.

Visit Healthcare Anchor Network to learn more and join the more than 75 health systems building more inclusive and sustainable local economies.

David Zuckerman and Claire Brawdy