Whilst opportunities to secure grants for your organisation are likely to be decreasing - or, at best, remaining static - over recent years the voluntary and community sector has been able to take advantage of the increasing opportunities to contract - usually to deliver public services.  Public Service Delivery is an important strand within the Sustainable Funding Income Spectrum. Contracts are earned income - normally secured as a result of a tendering process. They have legal obligations and need to be entered into with proper consideration; however they can be a great way to fund your work where appropriate opportunities exist.  We have seen a shift from grants to contracts happening day by day and in the coming months we will see a further move to increased open and competitive tendering, often for services we have traditionally delivered through grant support. As there will be losers and winners, the sector needs to ‘get tender ready’ to survive.

Benefits and Challenges of the Contracts Funding Stream

• Ensure all risks are shared between purchaser and supplier
• Payment for goods or services set out in formal terms such as a contract
• Can be with the public, private or voluntary sector
• Income reliant on delivery of outputs or outcomes
• Restricted income stream
• Requires legal knowledge and expertise
• Requires regular monitoring and reporting            

Thinking about Contracting/Tendering? What to Consider?

Getting Tender Ready - effective tendering requires an understanding of the legislative, policy and the practical background within which public sector procurement is taking place.  It also requires a clear understanding of what procurement officers want to see in your tender document and how to ensure that   your tender scores well at the appraisal stage.  You will also need to have a grasp on procurement routes, pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQ’s), restricted, negotiated and e-procurement procedures.  Getting Tender Ready may also be about forming consortia between organisations to tender for and deliver contracted services.  It is against this backdrop that CVS now offers regular workshops on ‘Getting Tender Ready’ and related topics. Visit our Training Web Page for more details.

CVS Tendering Advice Service - CVS provides a service for local voluntary groups that are considering or are already tendering for local statutory sector contracts.  Contact Ian Curtis, Collaborative Working Officer  on 01234 354366 or at ian@yourcvs.org for more details.  Plus visit our ‘Public Service Contracting’ Web Page for up-to-date information.

ConsortiCo Ltd - in response to the Office of the Third Sector’s ‘Working in a consortium - A guide for third sector organisations involved in public service delivery’ (December 2008), and with the move from grants to contacts as a backdrop, a number of local charities have reacted to this change in circumstances by creating a consortium fit for the Bedfordshire and Luton sub-region and beyond.  A key reason for forming this consortium was to provide organisations with a ‘vehicle’ that enables them to access new opportunities to secure contracts, which would not otherwise be available to them.  ConsortiCo is the resulting vehicle and acts as a ‘Super Contractor’, identifying public service contract opportunities; and then securing these contracts and delivering them through subcontract arrangements with local, not-for-profit, third sector organisations, for the benefit of local communities.  To learn more visit www.consortico.com or contact Ian Curtis, CVS Collaborative Working Officer on 01234 354366 or at ian@yourcvs.org