Over the past six months, in collaboration with Northamptonshire County Council's corporate procurement team and district and borough colleagues, the Voluntary Sector Support Unit has undertaken a tender process to award eight separate contracts over five service functions for the provision of infrastructure services for the benefit of front-line VCS service providers.
Terry Wright, Corporate Manager of Community Development, Borough Council of Wellingborough, commented:
"The evaluation processes was professionally managed and each tender was fairly and comprehensively assessed. The partnership approach demonstrated by the range of agencies involved in the evaluation ensured that varying needs of different customer groups were represented."
"The evaluation team was drawn from across a range of different agencies including the County Council, the District and Borough Councils and the Voluntary sector. The extensive skills, experience and knowledge of the team ensured an in depth and balanced assessment of each tender."
Maria Taylor, Corporate Strategy and Community and Voluntary Support Manager at Daventry District Council commented on the tendering process:
“Everyone involved in the process is now better able to understand their evolving roles and responsibilities. We can ensure that what we all do fits together better, and with less duplication. Local authorities can best support the community and voluntary sector by helping it to help itself. These contracts are excellent examples of peer support and effective partnering”
On September 1st 2006, seven of these eight contracts were agreed and signed for a three-year term between all successful parties and the county council. The Youth Infrastructure Services contract, that was due to commence April 1st 2007, was not awarded at this time and the council is currently evaluating more clarified information sought from the preferred bidder before a final decision can be made.
Val Hitchman, Head of Community Services at Kettering Borough Council further stated:
“As we share the same ambition for a strong local voluntary and community sector it is important for funders to continue to be equal partners in the procurement of services from the voluntary sector.”
Four Local Infrastructure Organisations (LIOs) have been contracted for four localities to support the frontline VCS service providers with the following primary services:
- Start-up/organisational development
- Information, advice and assistance
- Advocacy/representation
- Partnership building/brokerage
- Policy and research
- Promote and develop volunteering
- Contribute to the delivery of local area agreement priorities
Wherever possible, the LIO’s will prioritise the needs of voluntary and community groups that face change.
Shireen Mears, Principle Regeneration Officer, Corby Borough Council says,
“NCC’s voluntary sector infrastructure tender process has provided an opportunity for the county’s local authorities to demonstrate how we can effectively work together and perhaps more importantly take decisions jointly. We are all working towards the same aims and are dedicated to enabling a stronger and more effective voluntary sector infrastructure for the county – ultimately to improve opportunities for people and communities in our areas.”
One specialist contract was awarded for direct support to Black Minority Ethnic (BME) Community based organisations that are funded through the council’s Strategic Funding Programme and to support the LIOs to deliver their services to BME groups:
Two further specialist contracts were also awarded to primarily support the capacity building of the above agencies and to engage and work at a strategic level with the county council and its partners:
Ian McCormick, NCompass President and LAA Strategic Board Deputy Chair commented on the recent developments:
“We are faced with a significant adjustment for the sector, given the pressure on resources and the rising demand for services provided by voluntary and community groups. NCompass has undertaken to work with local and specialist infrastructure organisations around the county to assist with information, advice and partnership working.
We will work with the VCS to track the impact of structural change; we will also work with county council officers to identify the best achievable strategic outcomes and, wherever possible, we will also attempt to identify funding opportunities with our partners for VCS groups to support vulnerable people.”