## 5 The SPP Toolbox  
The SPP Toolbox is a step-by-step tool developed to operationalize the STP Model (Figure 1) in public organizations, including public authorities (available online at [[http://sppbizzi.eu/en/login](http://sppbizzi.eu/en/login)]([http://sppbizzi.eu/en/login](http://sppbizzi.eu/en/login))). The tool is aimed at procurement officers, officers from other departments and top-level decision makers belonging to public organizations, such as local authorities, regional authorities and central government bodies. The SPP Toolbox targets procurement organizations and their transformative potential for contributing to the niche formation process through the use of GPP, SPP and PPI approaches. Therefore, the SPP Toolbox assembles a range of perspectives, as well as practical skills, concerning the key factors mapped out at the niche level of the STP Model, as shown in Figure 2.  
The SPP Toolbox is mainly focused on sustainability and, for this reason, the term \"sustainable procurement\" is widely used. However, the goal is that the organization defines and implements a Sustainable Procurement Strategy (SPP strategy) oriented towards GPP, SPP and PPI. The SPP strategy is composed of the SPP vision, policy, targets and the action plan. The SPP Toolbox is a Deming Cycle type of tool and it encompasses six steps: (1) preparatory steps; (2) SPP policy and targets; (3) develop the action plan; (4) implement the action plan; (5) monitoring & reporting; and, (6) revision. An outline of the SPP Toolbox is presented in Figure 3, illustrating the main activities to be performed in each of the six steps. Each step will be presented in detail in the following sections. A distinct feature of the SPP Toolbox is its form format, allowing the collection and registration of information along the six steps. Step 1: Preparatory steps  
This step involves preliminary activities, including getting support from top management and different departments for GPP, SPP and PPI activities. In order to create an appropriate Sustainable Procurement Strategy and implement it effectively, a responsible team needs to be defined, comprised of management, technicians and legal experts and coordinated by a senior officer and an  
Figure 2: Scope of the SPP Toolbox. elected member. The responsible team will be in charge of implementing the SPP Toolbox within the organization, while the elected official is responsible for maintaining political commitment to SPP. A list of relevant internal and external actors is essential for defining the responsible team, as well as for stakeholder consultation and involvement in the subsequent steps of the SPP Toolbox. Additionally, the scope of activities is defined, e.g., the decision as to whether to apply the system to the whole authority, or just to some departments. The organization's starting point regarding its procurement practices is captured using the SPP Diagnosis Matrix (Table 1), adapted from the UK Sustainable Procurement Task Force Flexible Framework [56; 57]. The Flexible Framework is a widely used self-assessment mechanism which allows organizations to measure and monitor their progress on sustainable procurement over time. The framework was designed so that it could be used by all organizations. Although it covers activities and reporting requirements which are mandatory for all UK central government bodies [56], thus corresponding to the regime level, in the Portuguese context it constitutes a good practice, that can be applied to procurement organizations, thus currently it operates mostly at niche level. Some adaptations were introduced, both at themes and contents level. The SPP Diagnosis Matrix, described in Table 1, allows public organizations to determine the level of development, from 1 to 5, of their procurement practices and skills across six different dimensions: policy, vision and targets; communication and networking; people; market; procurement; monitoring and results. Figure 3: The SPP Toolbox cycle.