Added Value from the VCS

How can we ensure the tendering process recognises the added value that local voluntary sector organisations bring to the community?

In the voluntary and community sector we know that our work brings added value to the community over and above the core services we deliver. The VCS enjoys a closeness and trust amongst Hackney’s diverse communities that has been built up over many years. This added value cannot be ‘scaled up’ and will not be easily replaced if it is lost.

Also it is important to note that the VCS  brings additional income to the borough through fundraising activities, for example in  2009 eleven local Hackney based groups who were  funded to provide advocacy or carers services bought in an additional £700,000.00 of grants and investment income between them.   

But how can we ensure that this added value is recognised in the procurement process?

Tendering is acknowledged to favour large organisations and it is recognised across the EU that small and medium enterprises generally are not faring well under the procurement rules.*

The British Government has issued clear guidance to redress this.
The Best Value Statutory Guidance (September 2011) states:

‘We want to encourage public agencies and civil society to collaborate more, including greater involvement for voluntary and community organisation as well as small businesses in the running of public services.’

 Also, the Guidance gives a clear duty to Local Authorities to:

‘consider overall value, including economic, environmental and social value, when reviewing service provision. As a concept, social value is about seeking to maximise the additional benefit that can be created by procuring or commissioning goods and services, above and beyond the benefit of merely the goods and services themselves.’

Added social value has to be integral to a contract to be counted. Jenni Inglis, an independent consultant specialising in Social Return on Investment comments:

‘Once any supplier has to bid on a scope and specification that has already been set, the opportunity to have their bid favoured on "added value" (is) limited.’

HSCF and Hackney CVS have highlighted the need to address social value in commissioning and procurement to the London Borough of Hackney who are currently considering their approach. At the moment there is nothing on the Council website which indicates it favours this approach.

If London Borough of Hackney is going to continue to tender out its services then we need to ensure that it builds in a really good system for measuring community benefits.  We have shared with LBH the Social Value in Commissioning Toolkit http://www.hscf.org.uk/?q=node/313 developed by the NHS and we are aware of the Social Return on Investment toolkit. 

If you have any information of what other councils are doing to work with and protect the diversity of their local voluntary sector please let me know. hscf@hcvs.org.uk

Best wishes,

Jackie Brett

Are you interested in helping Hackney CVS build a consortium which may help to secure contracts for the borough’s local providers?

City & Hackney Health & Social Care Forum (HSCF) has two representative places on the shadow board of the SPV.

If I’m selected, what would I be doing?  

Hackney CVS is working on the development of a Special Purpose Vehicle [SPV] which will be able to deliver public service contracts and subcontract to other not for profit/VCS providers of adult social care, health and wellbeing.

The primary goal of the SPV will be to improve the quality of life of local people, especially those who are most in need, through the provision of high quality, responsive, generalist and specialist services.

Why is Hackney CVS doing this?

We believe it is in the interest of local people to retain the expertise of local organisations which have locally rooted values and a social investment in the borough.

The benefit of this model will allow small organisations to get on with what they do best – delivering services – and let someone else take the strain of monitoring, negotiating and all the rest of it. 

Local providers, if tendering alone, may not have the appropriate organisational capacity to compete with large national organisations that have teams dedicated to winning contracts. Also, organisations based outside Hackney will not be able to adequately reach and provide services to local communities, especially those representing marginalised and diverse ethnic communities, or at the very least, will have to spend much time rebuilding an infrastructure that is already in place. Thus we think it best to invest in what is already here: a demonstrable track record and effective networks in place.

What are we looking for at this point?

This SPV will eventually require a governance structure. In the interim, we are setting up a Shadow Board comprised of as wide a range as possible of health and social care providers. Ideally we are looking for people who are decision makers in their own organisation, i.e. senior management/director level.  If you are interested in helping us with the setting up of this potentially significant development in securing resources for Hackney, then please fill in the attached application form and return it to hscf@hcvs.org.uk by 12 noon on the 1^st August.  Representatives will be selected on the basis of the application forms by a panel of HSCF Steering Group members.  

How much time will be required?

There is no escaping the fact that this will be a fairly intensive piece of work in the first phase – you will need to commit 3 solid days to meetings either August 10^th, 11^th, 12^th or September 07^th, 08^th, 09^th.

This workload may reduce a bit in the autumn but it will still be a major responsibility for the rest of this year.

I’m interested – who can I talk to before I say so formally?

Contact Rebecca Clarkson on 020 7923 1962 or email rebecca@hcvs.org.uk

What is Hackney CVS’s offer with consortia building and the establishment of an SPV?

Hackney CVS hosts the City & Hackney Health & Social Care Forum which has been discussing for some time with its members about the need for them to form consortia in order to respond to the new ways that Adult Social Care and Health contracts will be let now and in the future. Hackney CVS has worked with the Forum to investigate different models of consortia and following a recent event with the sector and commissioners, acquired funding to work with the sector to develop local consortia and partnerships further.

Click here to find out:

• What is Hackney CVS’s offer with consortia building and the establishment of an SPV?
• Consortium Development: the Hackney CVS offer to the health and social care sector
• Why develop the local VCS provider market?
• Hackney CVS development activities in support of the aims
• Resources available from Hackney CVS.

Click here to find out more

EDN Primes announced

In this short video opposite, you can listen to Gary Francis - EDN co-ordinator, talk about the announcement of the winning contractors or Primes of the Single Work Programme in Hackney and explain the next step for providers.

Come to our Single Work Programme conference on Friday, 10 June to meet the primes - click here to find out more


Hackney Primes announced from Hackney CEN on Vimeo.

Developing consortia in adult social care

City & Hackney Health & Social Care Forum (HSCF): Report on meeting with over 40 voluntary and community sector providers on Consortium development:

Commissioning timetable:  presented by Sally Wadsworth, Head of Joint Commissioning, Older People & People with Disabilities Health and Community Services Directorate

Key points

• Advocacy and carers services will be tendered first and over 55's health and wellbeing early next year
• Once the review of prevention services in the VCS is finished, then co production reviews of all other social services (totalling £100 million) will start in 2011-13.

Click here to read the presentations

Model of consortia: presented by Alex Whinnom CEO from GMCVO on their Hub & Spoke Special Purpose Vehicle and John Blackmore CEO Action Acton outlined their experiences of being a lead agency in Acton on Employment.  Sacha Lewis outlined Hackney Council’s procurement policies.

Click here to read the presentation from Alex

Click here to read the presentation from John

Key points

• The first two contracts to be released will be: Generic Community Advocacy for people who don't meet Fair Access to Care criteria and Carers Services 
• Social Action for Health are organising a meeting on Advocacy on 18 May, 2pm at City & Hackney Carers Centre, 96 Springfield House, Tyssen Street
• The City & Hackney Carers Centre will be calling a meeting re carers services
• Hackney CVS will be exploring setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle Hub & Spoke model
• HSCF will organise a meeting to look at procurement issues inviting Chris Hudson.

Where does this news come from? This news comes from our Policy team which meets monthly and brings together expertise from different parts of the sector to tell you what's on our mind.  It is part of our renewed promise to keep you informed about the work we do.