Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Support

Description

Essex County Council ("the Council") conducted a procurement to commission a new Voluntary and Community Support service as part of a wider offer to strengthen and champion a thriving and influential voluntary and community sector within the administrative boundaries of Essex (excluding the unitary authorities areas of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea). In addition, this service will also be open to the following classification of users: NHS Healthcare (Integrated Care Systems) both within the administrative boundaries of Essex and cross-boundary organisations. This procurement encompassed the following lots: Lot One: Universal Standard Support Offer Lot Two: Community Participation The commencement date for both lots is 1st December 2024 until 31st March 2031 with a break clause at 31st March 2028. Please note that the maximum duration amounts to 75 months and 30 days. However, due to the constraints with the fields in this notice, this position has been rounded up to the nearest month. The stated budget for this service is based on £75,000 for the initial four (4) months per lot and £75,000 p.a. for each subsequent year of the contracts per lot. In addition, the Council understands that there may be scope for additional funding of up to 15% although this remains subject to confirmation during the post-tender phase of the project. In addition, please note that the total value of the procurement in section II.1.7 of this notice reflects the cumulative value of the contract award for both lots excluding any additional funding. Lot 1: Universal Standard Support Offer (USSO) The scope of this lot was designed to secure provider(s) to develop and maintain a Universal Standard Support Offer (USSO) to the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Essex. This service is designed to allow users to self-assess and directs them to relevant, up to date and accessible business and compliance advice. The overarching purpose of this lot is to provide equity in access to quality, practical guidance to ensure organisations have the strong foundations needed to support them to achieve their goals, plan for development, become more resilient, build capacity and contribute to flourishing communities. The successful bidder must ensure that the service delivers the following commissioning requirements: • Ensure the USSO is hosted as a digital platform • Allow users the ability to complete self-assessments of their organisational health • Automatically direct users to high-quality and relevant information, advice, guidance and resources based on the outcome of their self-assessment regarding business development and compliance (e.g. governance procedures, safeguarding, policy templates, legal updates, training). • Be easily accessible to all VCS organisations regardless of size, skill or accessibility needs. • Allow users to intelligently browse the resources within the USSO Please note that the above information is intended to provide an overview of the Council's commissioning requirements for this service and full details of the scope of this provision were published in the associated service specification via the Council’s e-tendering portal, ProContract. The proposed contract commencement date is 1st December 2024 until 31st March 2031 with a break clause at 31st March 2028. The stated budget for this lot is based on £75,000 for the initial four (4) month term followed by £75,000 p.a. for each subsequent year of the contract. In addition, the Council understands that there may be scope for additional funding of up to 15%, although this matter remains subject to final confirmation. Lot 2: Community Participation This lot was designed to enable the Council to commission provider(s) to deliver a strategic approach to building Community Participation across Essex. The successful provider for this lot will be required to support the development of a broad approach to community participation, developing a culture of active and engaged communities that can be driven forward and supported by place-based resources. Leading the development of an eco-system that enables and grows community participation within the boundaries of Essex County Council (excluding Southend and Thurrock). • Lead the creation of an ecosystem that facilitates community participation • Support and develop a positive environment in which the value of participation is recognised and community activity is flourishing • Embrace digital technology to connect local efforts into an integrated whole • Advocate for accessible participation, by creating, promoting, and fostering accessible and welcoming pathways into community participation • Identify and scope opportunities to maximise the potential of corporate volunteering capacity and return on Social Value commitments. Please note that the above information is intended to provide an overview of the Council's commissioning requirements for this service and full details of the scope of this provision were published in the associated service specification via the Council's e-tendering portal, ProContract. The proposed contract commencement date is 1st December 2024 until 31st March 2031 with a break clause at 31st March 2028. The stated budget for this lot is based on £75,000 for the initial four (4) month term followed by £75,000 p.a. for each subsequent year of the contract. In addition, the Council understands that there may be scope for additional funding of up to 15%, although this matter remains subject to confirmation during the post-tender phase of the project.