Adaptability of social procurement to manage procurement issues of affordable housing construction

Affordable housing delivery is constrained by procurement inefficiencies and social inequities, limiting project performance and societal benefits. Due to such issues, emerging methods, including social procurement, are increasingly applied worldwide to embed social value into affordable housing construction. However, it remains underexplored in the Sri Lankan context. While global research highlights its potential, there is a lack of contextualised evidence on how social procurement can be adapted to address the unique challenges of affordable housing. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the adaptability of social procurement for affordable housing construction projects in Sri Lanka. Adopting an interpretivist philosophy, a qualitative research choice, and a survey strategy, the study employed the Delphi technique with expert validation across three rounds. 11 key social issues were identified in existing contract strategies, alongside 16 social procurement features across the four social procurement types, with the potential to address these issues. The study identified that all four social procurement types can be effectively integrated into the commonly used contract strategies in Sri Lanka: separated, integrated, and PPP. The study provides a validated framework contextualised for Sri Lanka, offering practical recommendations for policy reforms, tender integration, and capacity-building initiatives.