Capacitybuilders - delivering the ChangeUp Programme, the future of national support services
13/07/2007
Capacitybuilders’ Board meeting on 22 November 2006 committed itself to a programme of change in the future delivery of national support services to the voluntary and community sector and social enterprises.
Board's decision
The Board’s decision was in response to a package of proposals recommended by Simon Hebditch, Chief Executive, aimed at ensuring that Capacitybuilders is able to offer the sector a coherent and sensible approach to the future provision of national support services.
Capacitybuilders has consulted widely with the sector - during the Destination 2014 consultation earlier this year - on what the priorities are for a set of national support services.
Draft framework paper
More recently, in June of this year, a draft framework paper was issued for comments.
The paper described what a set of national support services might look like.
Capacitybuilders received 160 responses to that draft framework paper. There was unanimous support for the introduction of the Voice theme and of Capacitybuilders’ aims of ensuring national support services are more demand-led, and more connected with local, sub-regional and regional consortia.
Centralised communications
There was also wide agreement that there should be a single communications centre, bringing together all materials produced by national support services - providing a single gateway to information, advice and sign-posting for both infrastructure organisations and frontline third sector organisations - along with marketing the whole ChangeUp effort.
Issues of concern
There were four main issues of concern to those organisations responding:
- the timetable and process of establishing the new national support services
- the treatment of support for Volunteering, ICT and Governance in the new framework
- the grouping of support themes and programmes
- how Capacitybuilders will ensure that commissioning is transparent and fair under the new arrangements.
Moving forward
Capacitybuilders has considered carefully how to move forward in the light of those responses and concerns.
The importance of streamlining arrangements cannot be over-emphasised.
Listening to the sector
The voluntary and community sector has asked Capacitybuilders, through the Destination 2014 consultation, to offer more strategic leadership around capacity building as a whole.
Streamlined approach
Capacitybuilders believes that it is right in principle to streamline the approach to national support services and that it must take account of the need to reduce expenditure in this area.
Therefore, the Board of Capacitybuilders has decided to move forward on the basis of four key national support services but with some revisions:
1. The proposed Workforce strategic theme is to be re-named ‘People and Skills’, with the modernisation of volunteering effectively comprising a major investment programme within that theme.
2. ICT support is likely to be an important part of the ‘Finance and Resources’ programme and it is envisaged that essential work on building strong governance will be included in the ‘Performance’ theme. ‘Voice’ is also confirmed as one of the four key strategic themes.
3. In drawing up the specifications for all four strategic themes, Capacitybuilders will identify a portfolio of specific priority programmes and ensure that any work being undertaken is demand-led, connected with local, sub-regional and regional consortia and dedicated to bringing about radical change – in support of its overall vision.
4. Capacitybuilders is establishing a small technical advisory team, starting work immediately, to be chaired by Julia Kaufmann, Capacitybuilders Board member and Chair of its Grants Committee. This group will include independent experts as well as Capacitybuilders staff, and will take responsibility for driving through the whole process from creating the final specifications, running an initial pre-qualification exercise, overseeing the full tender and making final recommendations to the Capacitybuilders Board on the applications for the role of strategic leads for each of the four national support services.
5. The timetable for establishing agreements with new strategic theme leads has been slightly adjusted to ensure best practice and allow time where it is needed, but the start date of April 1st 2008 for the four themes is confirmed. The revised timetable will see the launch of a formal pre-qualification stage in early September 2007 with an advertisement seeking expressions of interest for theme and programme leads. Shortly after this, Capacitybuilders will hold a briefing session to explain the new arrangements and processes in detail, so that questions can be addressed.
6. A full tender process will take place leading to recommendations being forwarded by the technical advisory team to the Capacitybuilders Board - so that a Board decision can be made in relation to the strategic leadership of each of the four national support services at its 19 December 2007 meeting.
7. The four, new national support services will be in operation from 1 April 2008. Therefore, the existing agreements relating to the current national hubs will finish at the end of March 2008 as already planned. The Chief Executive of Capacitybuilders will have the discretion to agree, where necessary, that sufficient staff are retained in April and May 2008 for the express purpose of completing the annual reports and accounts of the hubs for 2007/08. Such identified staff will be offered new 2 month contracts from 1 April to end May 2008 for these purposes and to enable a smooth transfer to the new national support services.
8. It is vital that the business plans of the four national support services for 2008/11 are aligned with the business plans and objectives of the local, sub-regional and regional consortia and take full account of the need to reach a range of socially excluded groups through their support bodies. Therefore, a working conference will take place in late January/early February 2008 to ensure such effective links between all the ChangeUp constituencies. This will be an important area of liaison work which will inform the details of the national support service business plans over the first three months of 2008 – before the launch of the new arrangements from April 2008.
ENDS.
Additional Information:
The four strategic themes:
1) Finance and Resources
2) Performance
3) People and Skills
4) Voice
The procurement process
Capacitybuilders views the process as a sponsorship or granting exercise.
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) recognises that it is common now for grants to be awarded following competitive bids, with a formal grant agreement, detailing roles and responsibilities, service level agreements and key performance indicators .
The approach by Capacitybuilders will be one of EU Treaty based principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency, mutual recognition, and proportionality, and some degree of advertising - appropriate to the scale of the grants and the market it is trying to stimulate. This is in line with the UK Government objective of receiving value for money in all public procurement, not just that which is covered by the EU directives.
Timetable
Action: Public advertisement to initiate pre-qualification process for potential lead agencies. Capacitybuilders will issue the specification, terms and conditions and details of the application process, including arrangements for the communications centre
By: 5 September 2007
Action: Briefing session for potential applicants
By: Mid September
Action: Deadline for pre-qualification submissions
By: 1 October
Action: Short-listed applicants will be invited to submit business and delivery plans
By: 8 October
Action: Deadline for full applications
By: 19 November
Action: Capacitybuilders Board decision on grants for strategic theme leads
By: 19 December
Action: Working conference for lead agencies and consortia to initiate period of joint work around priorities and planned activities
By: Mid January 2008
Action: Transitional arrangements between hubs and new lead agencies
By: February/March 2008
Action: Finalisation of business and delivery plans
By: 31 March 2008
Action: New national support services start operation
By: 1 April 2008
Action: Closing hubs wrap up their work, produce annual reports and accounts
By: April/May 2008
