Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) - Resource and Funding Maximisation Market Engagement

Description

Essex County Council (ECC) are committed to investing in a quality holistic support offer for a thriving Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), which is imperative to achieving the ambitions we have for Essex residents. This VCS support programme will build capacity and resilience to enable the sector to continue to deliver key services for residents as a valued system partner. As part of the wider VCS support programme, ECC are seeking to procure a VCS Resource and Funding Maximisation offer which will work collaboratively with: • A VCS Universal Standard Support Offer, providing digital business, compliance and learning resources. • A VCS Community Participation partner, working strategically to develop a culture of participation across Essex and: • Geographically based resources offering targeted and bespoke support across a range of outcomes. The primary scope of the VCS Resource and Funding Maximisation service is predicated upon investing in a partner to enable a more strategic approach to maximising the funding and resources for the VCS. This partner will leverage financial and non-financial resources, strengthen the VCS capacity to secure funding, and support a strategic approach to distributing funding and non-financial resources. As part of the Council's preparatory work to inform the commissioning intentions for this project, we are holding an online Market Engagement event on Monday 2nd December 2024 between 15:00 to 16:30. If you wish to attend, please book a maximum of two places per organisation by emailing strengthening.communities@essex.gov.uk. Prospective bidders are advised that the Council will finalise the scope of the forthcoming procurement opportunity following the conclusion of the market engagement stage and reserves the right to amend the scope of this service accordingly. For the avoidance of any further doubt, please be advised that any dates for the proposed procurement opportunity are provided for indicative purposes only and the Council reserves the right to amend this information following confirmation of the procurement timetable for this project. Full details of the structure of this procurement and associated timetable will be detailed within the corresponding Contract Notice in due course Lot 1: The Council is seeking to is commission provider(s) to deliver a Funding and Resource Maximisation partner for the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Essex which will act as a conduit of funding and resources alongside advocating for the resource needs of the local VCS sector. This approach is designed to secure the strong foundations of the VCS sector in Essex, supporting their resilience and ability to continue contributing to meeting the needs of communities. The proposed contract commencement date is 1st April 2025 until 31st March 2031 with a break clause at 31st March 2028, subject to governance approval. However, prospective bidders are advised that the Council will finalise the scope of the forthcoming procurement opportunity following the conclusion of the market engagement stage and reserves the right to amend the scope of this service accordingly