The role of private sector procurement and how it can be leveraged to affect economic opportunities for workers has become a critical area for attention. In the United States, procurement for goods and services among the largest US companies accounts for, on average, 75% of their total spending. Through these funds and the processes by which suppliers are identified, selected, or measured, businesses have a powerful mechanism to promote jobs that provide greater stability, family-sustaining wages, and enhanced benefits — all elements that are essential for improving workers’ economic opportunity and well-being. To this end, in 2019, the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) received a grant from the James Irvine Foundation to support the pilot of California Good Companies/Good Jobs — a four-year project aimed at leveraging business incentives to boost high-road employer practices and expand job quality for frontline workers, particularly women and people of color. With an emphasis on strategies that can improve access to quality jobs for workers, the pilot focused on procurement decision-making among local governments and anchor institutions in California. By emphasizing the strategic use of procurement contracts, the pilot sought to encourage employers to prioritize the expansion of opportunities and job quality elements such as pay, benefits, and job stability for frontline workers.

This brief discusses the potential of data-driven impact procurement as a job quality strategy and specifically how, through strategic partnerships, Kaiser Permanente (KP) embedded job quality in its procurement practices from 2019 to 2023. It describes KP’s strategies to engage pilot partners, design the implementation process, and use the data and lessons from this work to inform future action. The analysis is derived from interviews conducted by EOP staff in 2024 with stakeholders involved in the California Good Companies/Good Jobs pilot. In addition to KP leadership, these stakeholders included leaders from the data analytics platform Working Metrics (WM), KP, and security services firm Blackstone Consulting Inc (BCI). Interviews focused on the context of each organization’s engagement in the pilot, the rationale for and design of the pilot, the results of the pilot and reaction of the organizations involved, and resulting changes in practices and policies. EOP staff also reviewed pilot materials from KP and WM, previous WM use case briefs, and literature on job quality and the procurement landscape. The interviews provided context regarding use cases for WM that predated the pilot, including information about organizations that were using the platform to inform vendor selection. Drawing from the research and interviews, the brief also provides recommendations for increasing the uptake of job quality-focused procurement in the private sector in California and nationwide.

About Good Companies/Good Jobs

The Aspen Institute’s Good Companies/Good Jobs (GCGJ) initiative equips companies to advance economic opportunity through a key lever: good jobs. Through research, commentary, and convening, GCGJ elevates how companies can create shared value for workers, businesses, and communities. GCGJ is an initiative of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program.

About the Economic Opportunities Program

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program hosts a variety of discussions to advance strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. To learn about upcoming events and webinars, join our mailing list and follow us on social media.