March 2011
1 post
Survey on DWP Work Programme and voluntary sector... →
Inclusion and the Third Sector European Network (TSEN) are conducting a survey to find out the extent to which the local voluntary sector in England has been included in Department of Work and Pension’s (DWP) Work Programme bids.
The government has signalled strongly to prime providers that it expects them to involve the voluntary sector in delivering the Work Programme, especially at a...
February 2011
1 post
Transparency, and other moves to open up... →
Including what it means for the voluntary and community sector The government has announced a number of measures to “make doing business with government more transparent, and more welcoming to smaller companies, charities and social enterprises” and to meet the government aspiration for SME’s to deliver 25% of government contracts. This new briefing includes the latest...
January 2011
1 post
Response to 'Modernising Commissioning' green... →
In December the Cabinet Office published a green paper which set out its plans for modernising commissioning. The Government commitment is to ‘support the creation and expansion of mutuals, co-operatives, charities and social enterprises, and enable these groups to have a much greater involvement in the running of public services.’
The paper covers a very wide range of issues related...
December 2010
3 posts
Measuring social value: how five social... →
In 2009, the Department of Health, with the support of the Cabinet Office, commissioned an action research project on social value.
The results aim to help social enterprises and commissioners better understand the wider impacts of service delivery and quantify the value in monetary terms. Five social enterprises delivering mainstream primary and community care services participated in the action...
Modernising Commissioning: Increasing the role of... →
The Cabinet Office has published their green paper on commissioning and is looking to NAVCA members for feedback.
This green paper, ‘Modernising Commissioning’ will feed into a white paper to be published early next year. There is therefore a tight timeframe for feeding in your thoughts.
The paper looks at four areas where commissioning could be improved or modernised. These are; new...
New government procurement feedback service for... →
The government has opened a new online feedback facility to enable suppliers to share their public procurement stories. The service is aimed at SMEs, so would be relevant for most third sector organisations to also use. The intention seems to be to open up a direct way for suppliers to tell central government about ‘barriers’ and ‘red tape’ to securing contracts.
The...
November 2010
8 posts
DWP releases preferred suppliers list for... →
DWP has announced who that it has completed the selection process for the Employment Related Support Services Framework and has made its award decisions.
The names and contact details of the organisations that have been selected as Preferred Suppliers in each of the Lots can be found below.
If local voluntary sector organisations are interested in sub-contracting opportunities for these...
Capable Communities: Towards Citizen-Powered... →
This report from the Public Sector Research Centre, takes a practical approach to citizens involvement in the design and delivery of public services.
Read the report (free registration required).
Merlin web portal launched →
The Department of Work and Pensions announced today that the welfare to work industry has launched the Merlin Web portal.
The portal has been developed for the industry, and by the industry, to help support the development of prime provider supply chains and the sharing of best practice. It will facilitate the development of partnerships with the Voluntary and Community Sector, and act as a shop...
New National Occupational Standards for... →
Commissioning is a skill set of growing importance within central government and across the wider public sector. The standards produced capture the performance, behaviours and knowledge and understanding that an individual must demonstrate to be considered competent to carry out a particular task within a commissioning role. The standards cover nine areas, broadly covering the whole commissioning...
'The Changing Face of Procurement and... →
The next meeting of the Procurement Champions Network is being held on the 15th December in London. The event will provide a dynamic opportunity to get up to date with some of the key changes to the procurement and commissioning of public services that have happened since the Coalition took power.
The Aim of the Event:
While much of our attention in the last few months has focused on the impact...
Making bidding easier for SMEs →
The Coalition Government has aspired to award 25% of government contracts to small to medium enterprises (SMEs). This week Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, announced measures to make it easier for SMEs to bid for government contracts.
These include plans to investigate options which may enable suppliers to submit standard PQQ data just once to simplify the process. More details...
Collaboration for communities →
As part of its Collaboration Benefits Programme, bassac has developed a guide designed to help you support collaborative working involving voluntary and community groups.
Guidance specifically around commissioning and collaboration is also available.
Commissioning and the Big Society: the role of the... →
In January 2010 the Kindle partnership (of which NAVCA is a member) published Commissioning and the Community Sector, which aims to help community organisations to understand what commissioning is and how they can become ‘commission ready’.
Commissioning and the Big Society is a companion publication to help commissioners to understand the role that community organisations can play...
October 2010
5 posts
DWP Work Programme update →
A list of organisations who have submitted bids to be prime contractors on the framework agreement for the DWP Work Programme has been published. This is currently a long list, but will be reduced significantly once prime contractors have been selected for each of the regional lots. The list is also available as an Excel spreadsheet.
What does this mean?
The final prime contractors are...
Pathways through the maze: A guide to procurement... →
NAVCA and NCVO have released the second edition of the popular “Pathways through the maze: A guide to procurement law” publication. The publication has already helped many community and voluntary organisations navigate their way through the often confusing procurement law landscape, and this second edition offers important updates which take account of the recent changes in European...
SCDU develops commissioning packs →
The Strategic Commissioning Development Unit (SCDU) at the Department of Health has developed some commissioning packs. These packs contain a set of procurement templates, tools and info to assist health-care commissioners (both PCTs and GP Consortia in the future). However, they may be of interest to providers who want to view sample tender documents or have a look at the guidance health-care...
Glossary of terms for commisioning and procurement →
To help newcomers to the commissioning and procurement field (and those more seasoned amongst us), NAVCA has produced a glossary of terms used to help it’s members navigate through the process. The glossary of terms can be found on the LCPU resources page.
Kevin Curley writes to Nick Hurd about the new DWP... →
Kevin Curley, Chief Executive of NAVCA, has written to charities minister, Nick Hurd MP, about the new DWP Merlin standard. In his letter Kevin Curley praises the DWP “for recognising the problems which smaller sub-contractors were experiencing and for investing considerable time and effort in the development of a standard to address these”. He also asks that other government...
September 2010
7 posts
Putting People First →
The Putting People First website is host to some interesting discussion papers from the National Market Development Forum.
Briefings include:
The future social care market
Developing Market Intelligence
How will ‘Personalisation’ Change The Way Services Are Procured?
The National Market Development Forum is a short life group comprising commissioners and providers from...
The final report of the Commission on 2020 Public... →
The 2020 Public Services Trust has published its final report, ‘From social security to social productivity: a vision for 2020 Public Services’. The report is the culmination of 18 months reflections on the challenges facing the public sector. It identifies a triple crisis of rising social demand, fiscal constraint and inadequate productivity. It suggests moving beyond the Beveridge...
Compact Week - speakers available →
Compact Voice is offering a speaker service for areas holding events to mark Compact Week, 1-5 November 2010.
Whether you need someone to conduct a workshop, contribute to a training session or speak at a conference or meeting, Compact Voice can help.
Groups are invited to register their requests by 30 September 2010 on the Compact Voice website.
Big Society - but what does it mean? →
The government must be more precise about what the Big Society means, if the idea is to be a success, according to Geoff Mulgan, director of the Young Foundation. Writing in The Sunday Times, Mr Mulgan argues from recent history that “when government retreats, it’s as likely that crime and gangs will fill the space, with less trust not more. Many of the nations with the strongest...
New LEPs - 56 areas submit proposals →
A full list of the areas that have submitted proposals for local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) has been published on the Communities and Local government website. Ministers seem likely to look favourably on those that have taken seriously the government’s encouragement to ignore traditional regional and local authority areas and focus instead on ‘natural economic boundaries’....
Big Society discussion paper from CDF →
The Community Development Foundation has published a new discussion paper looking at the relationships between individual citizens, their communities and the state.
The Big Society and the responsive state presents and considers the government’s policy initiatives concerning community empowerment, including reducing bureaucracy for voluntary and community organisations, the Community First...
Procurement Champions Network →
The next Procurement Champions Network event is on the 15th September commencing at 10.30 (with coffee from 10.00) in London. The event will be on the need to reduce the carbon footprint of public services delivered by the third sector and to adapt them to the impacts of climate change.
Speakers Include:
Chris Large of Global Action Plan will lead delegates through an interactive exploration of...
August 2010
2 posts
The Merlin Standard →
We have received enquiries recently about the Department for Work and Pensions and the Merlin Standard.
The final version of the Merlin Standard has now been published and will be put into use. The standard is a code of conduct developed by DWP for managing their supply chains on large contracts, such as the upcoming Work Programme which will require all contractors to sign up.
The code aims to...
Commissioning for Personalisation: from the... →
This report from CIPFA and the Public Management and Policy Association looks at how far the personalisation agenda has advanced, with a focus on commissioning.
The Putting People First, Transforming Adult Social Care website has pulled together a useful list of reports and examples looking at the role of commissioners in personalisation and how providers might respond to different ways of...
July 2010
7 posts
Commissioning strategically for better public... →
This new report looks at the experiences of local authorities up and down the UK in developing new ways of commissioning public services, working with partners in the private and voluntary sectors to rethink how services could operate. Top-down prescriptions will increasingly need to be replaced by more efficient, productive and flexible approaches that reflect the specific demands of different...
Stimulating new markets - commissioning social... →
A new report, ‘ Stimulating new markets - commissioning social enterprises’, has been published for the National Programme of Third Sector Commissioning.
This report presents the first stage of the Social Enterprise Coalition’s contribution research into stimulating new markets and using the power of commissioning to stimulate the social enterprise sector and new social...
DWP unveil online consultation on welfare to work... →
The government is consulting on its welfare to work plans and the design of The Work Programme.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is giving providers the opportunity to comment on a number of specific Work Programme issues. DWP has from today opened an online discussion facility which will run for four weeks.
‘The Work Programme - Your Thoughts’will allow organisations or...
4 tags
NAVCA's Tender Support Project enhanced →
With stories of public sector cuts filling the headlines of national and local newspapers, NAVCA’s Local Commissioning and Procurement Unit (LCPU) are poised ready to help local voluntary or community organisations in preparing tenders.
The NAVCA Tender Support Project provides one-to-one support to help prepare organisations for contracting or producing high-quality tender submissions for...
1 tag
Results of the Third Sector Commissioning Survey →
A report looking at the results of a third sector commissioning survey in Bristol carried out by the Bristol ChangeUp Consortium, including NAVCA member VOSCUR. The survey looked at Bristol organisations’ involvement in the early stages of commissioning, their readiness for commissioning, involvement in bidding and the ability of smaller organisations to engage with commissioning. The...
5 tags
DWP Framework Agreement for the Provision of... →
The Department for Work and Pensions (“the DWP”) has advertised the establishment of a framework agreement for the provision of employment related support services, helping people to select, train for, obtain and retain employment suitable for their ages and capacities.
This framework looks set to “simplify” existing arrangements and programmes, rather than being a large...
2 tags
Measuring social value: the gap between policy and... →
“Measures of social return are not like laws or sausages; you do want to understand how they are made”
The report looks into social value and methods of measuring it, such as Social Return on Investment. It concludes that SROI, while valuable, “can be an extremely ambitious goal”. It reports on how 30 of organisations have measured and communicated methodologies to measure...
June 2010
2 posts
Commissioning Improvement Programme - Bids Invited →
New bids are invited to this project which provides support for commissioners and third sector organisations to work more closely together in the commissioning process. IDeA has told us that ideally the bids would come from a chair of an LSP so potentially could come from the voluntary sector.
Commissioning Improvement Programme: more information
IDeA has teamed up with the Institute of...
Involving Users in Commissioning Local Services →
This new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation can be found in our Research and Reports section.
May 2010
3 posts
Understanding commissioning →
IDeA has published a new guide Understanding commissioning: a practical guide for the culture and sport sector designed to help people in the culture and sport sector understand the process of strategic commissioning in public services and how to engage in it to produce better outcomes for communities.
Commissioning & the community sector: Challenges,... →
Event: 24 June 2010 London
Who is the event for?
Voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations wanting to explore new funding opportunities and secure contracts from local authorities for children and youth services
Regional, district or local level support organisations for the VCS
VCS representatives on Children’s Trusts
Local authority and PCT commissioners for children and young...
Procurement Champions event: (We're Already) Doing... →
15 June - 10am to 4pm London
June’s Procurement Champions Event focuses on how the need to reduce the national budget deficit is likely to affect public services delivered by the third sector and steps the sector can take.
The Procurement Champions is a network of people who work in local and regional support and development organisations (infrastructure) and play a role in helping...
April 2010
4 posts
Department of Health launch new NHS commissioning... →
The Department of Health have published ‘The NHS commissioning environment: A guide for organisations in the third sector’. This is a handy document for understanding NHS structures and an overview of how to engage with commissioning processes.
Download ‘The NHS commissioning environment: A guide for organisations in the third sector’
Department of Health launch new NHS commissioning... →
The Department of Health have published ‘The NHS commissioning environment: A guide for organisations in the third sector’. This is a handy document for understanding NHS structures and an overview of how to engage with commissioning processes.
Download ‘The NHS commissioning environment: A guide for organisations in the third sector’
Two important publications for PCT commissioners... →
Two important publications for PCT commissioners and providers have been updated by the Department of Health this month.
Principles and Rules for Cooperation and Competition sets out the principles and rules which the Department of Health expects commissioners and providers of NHS services to follow to ensure co-operation, while protecting competition. It includes obligations regarding fair...
New payment requirement on sub-contracting →
There has been concern with how some prime contractor’s deal with sub-contractors and the terms and conditions and payment timescales used.
New guidance has been issued on payment timescales, and the DWP is involved with developing a code of conduct on sub-contracting.
Following the recent Budget, from 25 March 2010, it will be mandatory for all Government departments, agencies,...
March 2010
6 posts
New Compact Voice briefing on imminent public... →
With cuts to public services in England on the horizon, Compact Voice has released guidance on how the Compact can help partners weather the “perfect storm”.
Read more and download the briefing
Personalisation and Supported Housing →
Look Ahead Housing and Care, in conjunction with Tower Hamlets Local Authority have published one of the first reports on the idea of personalising services and giving tenants control of budgets in supported housing. Choice, control and independence: Personalising block contracts in supported housing can be found on the Department of Health Care Networks.
Download ‘Choice, control and...
Important news for providers of low value Welfare... →
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is changing the way it procures Low Value Provision (LVP) for Welfare to Work related training. To bid for and supply LVP, providers will need to complete an online application form, including details of the types of training on offer and where it can be delivered. See the DWP website for more details.
Invitation to Tender: Delivery of training -... →
We wish to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced contractor to deliver high quality training on contracts. NAVCA has a good track record of delivering training that is tailored to the specific needs of staff of our members and other support and development organisations; practically focussed, up to date, relevant and competitively priced. We wish to deliver a number of one-day introductory...
Procurement Helpdesk for providers and... →
A reminder that there is now a procurement helpdesk (procurement@help.pcconline.info) on the PCC website which may be used to ask questions and seek advice on procurement issues arising from system management policies and in particular the PCT Procurement Guide.
Queries will be answered in 10 days.
Recommendations published from Cabinet Office... →
Rt Hon Anne McGuire MP was appointed by government as the Cabinet Office’s Advisor on Third Sector Innovation in November 2008. She has been considering the third sector’s role in the design and delivery of more personalised public services and has now published her first report and recommendations entitled ‘The Role of Third Sector Innovation: Personalisation of health and...