VOLUNTEERING AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR IN SOMERSET Word - VCS and Local... · • Volunteering and...

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A report by Liz Simmons for Engage West Somerset, produced with funding from the VSP Somerset Project Board using an allocation from the Transforming Local Infrastructure Grant

September 2013

VOLUNTEERING AND THE VOLUNTARY

SECTOR IN SOMERSET:

IDENTIFICATION OF GOOD PRACTICE APPLICABLE TO

SOMERSET

Volunteering and the Voluntary Sector: Identification of Good Practice Applicable to Somerset

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CONTENTS

Page

Key Findings 3

Section One: Introduction 4

Section Two: Methodology and Background 5

Section Three: Communication 7

Section Four: Voice and Impact 8

Section Five: The Compact 11

Section Six: Commissioning 14

Section Seven:

Other Ideas 17

Section Eight: The Next Big Thing 20

Appendix One:

Case Studies Contact List 21

Appendix Two:

Learning from VCS Assembly Models 22

Appendix Three:

Gloucestershire VCS Alliance – Frequently Asked Questions

23

Appendix Four:

Evaluation of 38 Community Asset Projects 27

Appendix Five:

Other Resources 28

Appendix Six: Reference Notes 29


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KEY FINDINGS

Over-Arching Themes

Successful VCS/local authority collaborations have the following elements:

• An understanding of the importance of good communication

• Cross -sector relationships of trust

• A shared vision based on clear values and principles of engagement

• Leaders at the highest level in all sectors who champion the change

• A willingness to ‘let go’ of what has gone before

• Recognition that all of the above takes time, there are no quick fixes

• Infrastructure funded, usually with three or five year cycles of funding Key Messages for Local Authorities

� Have a structure for engaging with the VCS

� Communicate proactively

� Encourage and resource partnership working � ‘Open up’ local data

� Be realistic about the amount of social investment the VCS can attract

� Time spent consulting on the Compact will benefit all partners

� Continue to make grant funding available for VCS organisations

� Review commissioning processes. Simply opening up contracts to the VCS is not enough

� Have an agreed definition of Social Value across sectors – interpretations vary

� Offer ‘in-kind’ support to the VCS

Key Messages for the VCS

� Be prepared – build skills and capacity

� Strengthen partnerships and develop models of joint working

� Trust one another

� Decide what delivery models work best (delivery organisations) e.g. consortia, VCS-only supply chain

� Share best practice across sectors


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SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION

‘Volunteering and the Voluntary Sector in Somerset – Identification of Good Practice Applicable in Somerset’

1.1 There are compelling strategic reasons for a strong collaboration between the

Somerset Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and Somerset County Council (SCC). At a time of considerable change and challenge in both sectors it is welcome that the VCS and SCC are exploring potential ways of enhanced joint working. Two reports have been prepared to help inform these discussions:

• Volunteering and the Voluntary Sector in Somerset – a state of the sector and impact analysis

• Identification of Good Practice Applicable to Somerset - identifying research and learning from other areas to inform a successful working relationship between Somerset County Council and the Somerset Voluntary and Community Sector.

1.2 In the course of preparing this second report, contact has been made with a

wide range of organisations across England from local authorities, voluntary and community groups, regional and national infrastructure organisations and national research and consultancy bodies. The main point that these many different organisations agree on is that one of the best ways to inspire wider change is for organisations and individuals to share their experiences – not as recipes for action elsewhere - but as encouragement for colleagues to experiment, collaborate, identify and build their own projects. This report is an opportunity to share some of the learning from local authorities and voluntary and community organisations.


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SECTION TWO: METHODOLOGY AND BACKGROUND

2.1 The research involved three strands of data collection methods. First, a web-

review was carried out in order to gather initial information with particular reference to recent reports and evaluations of local authority/VCS collaboration. Second, short telephone interviews were undertaken with key regional and national organisations asking them to identify particular examples of successful local authority/VCS partnerships and their views on why these were successful. Organisations contacted included:

• South West Forum

• Office for Civil Society South West Local Intelligence Team

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations)

• Compact Voice

• NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) through their Chief Officers Network

2.2 Third, telephone interviews were carried out with the eight organisations

which desk research and informal discussions had highlighted as of particular interest.

2.3 The report is divided into the following four key headings and at end of each

section there are some key themes and messages for both Somerset County Council and the Somerset VCS.

• Communication

• Voice and Influence

• The Compact

• Commissioning

Key Findings 2.4 Before presenting the findings of this short report into opportunities and

learning from other areas which may be helpful to consider in enabling SCC and Somerset VCS to work better together, consideration needs to be given to two main points:

• First, that the interviewees were often the current lead for the programme or project being discussed, thus their views tended to be positive although all interviewees were asked to give an alternative contact to achieve a balanced picture.

• Second, this report is not an in-depth study; the scope of the work was to present high level themes, case studies and successful models not to provide recommendations.

2.5 Thus rather than a comprehensive review, this report should be read as an exercise gathering some initial information to inform further debate and investigation between SCC and the Somerset VCS.

Background

2.6 One striking finding from both desk research and telephone interviews was that working relationships between local authorities and the VCS are “patchy”. In the South West the relationship ranges from highly involved, trusted and collaborative “critical friend” partnerships through to no formal structures or productive relationship at all.


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2.7 As an example, in Cornwall there are three VCS representatives on the Health and Wellbeing Board; in most areas there is one VCS representative (in addition to the HealthWatch patient representative); and in other areas including Somerset no VCS representation. It would also be fair to say that continual cycles of change and reorganisation within local authorities and financial pressures across all sectors, has led to disillusionment within the wider VCS. In many parts of the country the VCS feel:

• helpless to influence strategic level decisions in their local authority;

• frustrated that commissioning has not led to the opportunities and ‘level playing field’ they had hoped;

• and that the VCS contribution to civic life is undervalued.

Drivers for Change 2.8 In the last three years however some local authorities and VCS have

fundamentally reviewed their relationship and have co-designed and co-produced new structures. For some the catalyst for change was a new political administration, for others a new local authority CEO with commitment to work with the local VCS. In some areas it was a need to create a comprehensive and robust VCS engagement network to inform decisions on strategic plans. While in other areas it was a recognition that long-standing structures were financially unsustainable or lacked transparency. These changes have not been welcomed in every area - some VCS consortia have collapsed as a result and in others the changes are seen as ‘work in progress’. The critical factor for success however seems to be that these areas all had a significant number of individuals and organisations across sectors committed to making a new approach work.

2.9 Transforming Local Infrastructure (TLI) funding has been a catalyst for

change in some areas, for example in Gloucestershire a very engaged lead commissioner at Gloucester County Council has led the development of a completely new approach to the relationship between commissioners and the VCS. Transforming Local Infrastructure (TLI) is a £30million fund from the Office for Civil Society to create strong sustainable local infrastructure. Funding ends in September 2013. NAVCA1 has produced a report which highlights some of the successes of TLI, which includes:

• mergers (In Suffolk ten charities merged to form one)

• closer collaboration

• charging for services

• different ways of delivering development support

• creating new sources of income for the sector (London Borough of Merton used TLI to fund a fulltime post at the Chamber of Commerce creating a strong and productive connection with local business)

2.10 The NAVCA report highlights the critical role of the public sector “Many of the

most successful TLI projects have received strong support from public sector partners”2. In Leeds the work has enabled Leeds City Council to get more from their investment as they now understand better the work the VCS undertakes and what they should expect from them.

2.11 In Somerset, TLI has funded the development of a Voluntary Sector

Partnership which has developed a number of key services including a Somerset VCS News Hub and has provided an opportunity for Somerset VCS Infrastructure organisations to collaborate and share skills and resources.


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SECTION THREE: COMMUNICATION

3.1 In every report, conversation and case study the importance of good

everyday communication, within and across sectors, has been highlighted. 3.2 Ensuring that robust and transparent communication channels are in place

seems straightforward but does not always happen in practice. Effective communication is mentioned by NCVO in their “Best Practice Guide for Local Authorities and the Voluntary and Community Sector”3; by the National Audit Office’s commissioning guidance4; by Compact Voice; by IDeA5; and in every publication and evaluation on improving the relationship between local authorities and the VCS.

3.3 In each of the case studies contained in this report, interviewees stressed the

importance of proactive communication to the success of their work.

Key Points for Somerset County Council � A single point of contact within the local authority can help smaller

organisations feel included and supported. There is always a danger that only the loudest or largest organisations are heard.

� Communicate proactively

� Encourage partnership approaches

� A small amount of funding can provide a lot of training, support and collaborative working

� Creating opportunities for the VCS to connect with elected members as

well as officers can be beneficial to both parties

Key Points for the Somerset VCS � Consider organisational cultures

� Ensure that there is a genuine commitment to engagement by VCS

infrastructure organisations: “We need to ensure that infrastructure organisations are open to influence and listening to the sector so they can broker conversations and not just represent their own views.” ( A South West VCS Chief Office, “ Best Practice in Engagement” South West Forum6)


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SECTION FOUR: VOICE AND INFLUENCE

4.1 Voice and Influence in this context means the formal county-wide structures

whereby the local authority and VCS work together collectively to share knowledge and skills. Voice and influence includes the information, consultation, engagement and participation that takes place that is open to all and actively includes small and minority groups. Voice and Influence also encompasses the mechanisms for receiving and disseminating information about proposed service changes, commissioning intentions, funding, new committees, policy groups and forums.

4.2 The VCS is large and there is no doubt that it is difficult for local authority

officers to know who to engage with on a particular topic. There is however a danger that without any agreed process, engagement takes place only with the larger organisations, the ‘usual suspects’ who are then seen as the ‘voice of the sector’. Often, however these organisations lack the resources, process or motivation for gathering or sharing information across the VCS. True engagement takes time, skills and funding to achieve but will result in a more meaningful connection between the VCS and the local authority. The VCS itself needs a process to be able to select the most appropriate representative(s) to attend a local authority meeting.

4.3 Local authorities sometimes give as a reason for their lack of VCS

engagement a concern that they may have ‘potential providers’ round the table while service developments are being debated. In Cornwall, Gloucester and East Sussex their VCS engagement structures explicitly take account of this potential for conflicts of interest, but are working well and have the confidence of local authority officers, health partners and the VCS.

4.4 The recent report “Best practice in engagement” South West Forum7

concludes that there are four key reasons why the VCS should have a strategic voice within their local authority area:

1. To influence policy 2. To improve VCS / public sector relations 3. To ensure VCS views are heard 4. To enable groups to access funding

4.5 For local authorities the benefits of a strong VCS voice and good engagement

processes are:

• Better decision making

• Services for local communities that reflect the wishes of the service users and the wider public

• Ease of communication

• Contribution to localism agenda

• Participatory democracy

• An opportunity to develop the local councillors democratic representation role

• An opportunity to develop the skills of emerging organisations

• Properly developed voice and influence structures will ensure that minority voices are heard ensuring equality and fairness


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CASE STUDY : Gloucestershire VCS Alliance Catalysts -TLI, Lead Commissioner for VCS Infrastructure, some Assembly Members and staff. Recognition that the governance and business model of the existing VCS Assembly (formed in 2004) was no longer sustainable, a desire from GCC to involve the private sector. The Alliance is a newly formed (2013), independent, self governing charitable incorporated organisation (hosted by the LEP) with its own accountable board of trustees and with formal constitutional links with the voluntary, public and private sectors. Board comprises one representative from GCC, the CEO of the LEP and three senior VCS representatives. Staffed by one Development Officer to keep operating costs low. Funded by a £40k grant from GCC and “in kind” support from GFirst/LEP. The Alliance has a distinctive legitimacy because it will maintain independence towards its members and other stakeholders by not engaging in service delivery. The Alliance has not been designed as a pressure group but due to its independence it will have access to a range of public and private sector groups where it can influence strategic thinking on behalf of the VCS community. A new vision for engagement which includes the Development Officer working with commissioners at GCC, Clinical Commissioning Group, Gloucester Care Services (provider of NHS community services) as procurement and commissioning takes place e.g. recent procurement of a new carers support service. The Alliance is supported by different thematic VCS Forums which will all have a distinctive county-wide agenda and which align with key public organisations. Forums can invite senior staff from health, local authority, etc to brief them on a particular matter or to answer questions and concerns (scrutiny role).

• Children and Young People’s Forum

• Health and Wellbeing Strategy (links to Health and Wellbeing Board)

• Stronger and Safer Communities These strategic forums meet four times a year. Each Forum elects its own Chair and these individuals make up a VCS Representatives Committee. Existing local VCS Forums will continue to exist and to focus on local issues as before. An Open Forum is held twice a year to which all VCS organisations are invited. Development Officer attends the County Funders Group to provide an independent VCS perspective. Andrew Lee, Gloucestershire VCS Alliance Development Officer Philip Williams, Lead Commissioner for VCS Infrastructure, GCC

CASE STUDY: East Sussex Speak Up Forum (hosted by 3VA one of three CVS’S in East Sussex East Sussex has a population of approx 500,000 people, five district/borough councils and a county council, dispersed population, some larger towns – similar in many ways to Somerset. Traditionally each district council ran its own VCS engagement structures with no county-wide/strategic engagement.


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Five years ago the county Council funded a one year pilot to set up a “Liaison Project” with a limited remit. Benefits recognised and a further two year funding committed to develop the work on the understanding that after two years the project would be put out to tender. 3VA successfully won the tender in October 2012 and has a three year contract with the County Council (approx £50k p.a.)

• No intention to replace or duplicate district/borough forums but to work alongside them on cross-county strategic issues, provide a mechanism to bring sectors together, exchange information, match VCS representatives to working parties/committees

• Project needed to demonstrate value for money, be truly independent and employ development workers (not managers)

Key success of the Forum has been the development of the East Sussex Prospectus Model of Commissioning (www.eastsussex.gov.uk). This development has had national recognition and has also been adopted by Birmingham City Council and Brighton & Hove Council. Miriam Wilkinson, Development Manager Speak Up Forum

Key Points for Somerset County Council

� Engagement is a process not a one-off event

� Understand the context and how people have been engaged in the past, what worked and what did not

� Acknowledge the importance of communities of interest as well as

communities of place and build on/support the work of local area networks/forums rather than try to create new structures

� Avoid the temptation to create VCS representation groups/structures or favouring particular groups which become the “voice of the sector”

� Recognise that county-wide engagement structures will need some funding

Key Points for the Somerset VCS

� Be prepared to collaborate

� Recognise that a formal engagement process will mean that some

organisations will have to make way for others

� Build on existing local forums (Bristol Futures8 talk about “boundary-spanners-people who make the connections between strategic vision and local assets”)

� Share skills and experience with emerging groups and people new to VCS

representation

� Be in it for the long-term


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SECTION FIVE: THE COMPACT 5.1 The Compact is the agreement between government and the VCS which

outlines a way of working that improves their relationship for mutual benefit. Almost every local authority in England is signed up to a local compact which sets out agreed principles for a relationship that reflects local circumstances and goals. Whilst most Compacts can be shown to be delivering tangible benefits for local partners and local people, some local Compacts have suffered from a lack of commitment from one or more partners.

5.2 In the last two years many local authority areas have revisited their Compact

at the same time as their VCS engagement processes seeing the two as closely linked. The involvement of the private sector in local Compacts is a recent innovation which should be monitored for impact. Partnership working between all sectors is essential to make localism work and the Compact as the ideal place to embed the principles underpinning The Localism Act 2011.

5.3 Areas with successful local authority/VCS engagement view their Compacts

as a living document with resources allocated to their review, dedicated local authority officer time to support and regular use to challenge decisions and initiate debate. In Bristol the local authority and NHS jointly funds a full-time Compact Officer post that is hosted by VOSCUR (the Bristol VCS infrastructure organisation). Bristol City Council has developed a network of Compact Champions at all levels who are local authority officers who have an interest in good relations between the local authority and the VCS. They volunteer to become Compact Champions and are usually people with personal experience of the VCS as trustees and volunteers.

5.4 Somerset has had a Compact since 2006 which was reviewed in 2010

“Somerset Compact - Somerset’s Voluntary and Community Sector and Public Sector - Working together as equal partners for the people of Somerset”9. There is no evidence either from the SCC website or anecdotally from VCS colleagues of the Somerset Compact being an active document and it is hard to assess how statutory signatories view its status.

CASE STUDY: Hertfordshire – A Three Sector Compact “Working Well Together” Hertfordshire started to discuss updating its Compact just as public sector cuts began to bite. The multi-sector Compact Group decided to re-do the whole document to ensure it was fit for purpose and relevant to all partners. They realised the way services would be delivered would be quite different – they could see a growing role for joint work with the private sector – needs of small businesses often similar to the needs of the VCS. Example – support for early years providers - VCS and private providers benefited from better business support and mentoring between sectors. Benefits

• The Compact does not include specific responsibilities for the private sector but makes it clear that there is an expectation that organisations that wish to work with public agencies and the VCS will follow Compact principles including in sub-contracting relationships.


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• Collaboration, sharing skills and expertise are just as important to Partners as delivering contracts.

• Cross-sector training on social value with commissioners and VCS providers learning together with training provided by a local VCS organisation.

• Strong link with new policy developments such as Localism. Hertfordshire Association of Local Councils is a very active member of the Compact Working Group.

Alex Fitzpatrick, Third Sector Liaison Officer Hertfordshire Council

CASE STUDY: Bristol – Meaningful Engagement in Compact Renewal Compact Development Worker is hosted by VOSCUR but jointly funded by local authority and health. 2012 comprehensive engagement in renewal of the Bristol Compact over a three month period. Bristol took a creative and provocative approach to promotion of the consultation: weekly tweets of “Is 2 weeks enough to respond to consultations?” and “Decisions made behind closed doors – is that OK?” – grabbed attention and helped generate responses from over 50 local organisations. The Compact Partners Group produced a 25 page “You said, we did” report that fed back the comments and how they had been incorporated into the revised Compact. An annual report on achievements of the Compact in Bristol is produced. The Compact Partners Group ensured close alignment with commissioning and ensured that it reflected best practice. In February 2013 a workshop was held to bring together Commissioners and the Bristol VCS to discuss how to improve the engagement of the VCS in commissioning. This work was led by the Compact Group. An action plan was created and is now being taken forward by Bristol City Council/ VOSCUR to improve commissioning processes. Other recent successes for the Bristol Compact include:

• Extension of consultation period for BCC Hate Crime Policy

• Chaired BCC equalities budget consultation event

• Work with BCC on Community Right to Challenge

• Work on Enabling Commissioning Framework

• Influencing policy and practice on preventing homelessness, Hate Crime, community transport

Website: www.bristolcompact.org.uk

Mark Hubbard, Compact Liaison Officer VOSCUR


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� Develop a real understanding of the importance of Compact principles

� Include principle of the Localism Act within the Compact

� High level Compact Champions

� A meaningful review of a Compact needs real engagement and resources

Key Points for the Somerset VCS

� Consider how VCS engagement in Compact renewal has worked successfully elsewhere

� Review involvement of private sector as a new partner


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SECTION SIX: COMMISSIONING

6.1 Commissioning is informed by national policy, Joint Strategic Needs

Assessments, joint commissioning strategies, local authority plans, consultation with stakeholders and performance data. It is an area where nationally the VCS has seen great opportunities, but has also been disappointed at the scope and quality of many of the commissioning processes and in the lack of VCS involvement in the scrutiny and evaluation of commissioned services.

6.2 Within Somerset, as in other areas, the VCS wishes to help influence and

shape commissioning plans - feeling that they have a unique connection to their communities of place and interest. Many VCS organisations are also provider organisations and will wish to tender for work under the local commissioning arrangements. Commissioners often view this as a conflict of interest and as a reason for the VCS not to be involved in early discussions. As previously mentioned, in many areas (e.g. East Sussex, Cornwall, Gloucestershire) they have designed simple systems to allow the VCS to participate fully in shaping service design, in representing service user views, in engaging with local forums and in scrutiny and monitoring.

6.3 Procurement processes are the preserve of local authority officers. In

Cornwall and in Gloucestershire, the VCS contribution to procurement comes from the VCS Forum/Commissioning Board Development Officer because in both of these cases they work for an organisation which is not a provider and is therefore independent.

“How will the Alliance engage with Commissioners? – due to its unique independence, commissioners can have the confidence to engage with the alliance much earlier in the commissioning process – commissioners can freely share information without being concerned about a conflict of interest as they know the Alliance will not engage in service delivery – early discussions can take place regarding need, specifications and local capacity within the VCS, which ultimately can lead to a more rounded and informed commissioning process.” Gloucestershire VCS Alliance.10

6.4 It is too early to assess the impact of the Public Service (Social Value Act)

2012 - which was implemented in 2013 - on local authority commissioning and procurement of Social Value outcomes. There has been a hope amongst the VCS that this recognition of their local knowledge and experience, community engagement, client and carer accountable (user-led) structures, networks and volunteers, would result in more opportunities for small and local VCS organisations. The local authority in some areas has worked in partnership with other public sector organisations, the voluntary sector and wider stakeholders in order to arrive at a definition of social value. In areas where this has not happened it may have contributed to lack of community ‘buy in’ and unrealistic VCS expectations. The Institute of Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham11, NAVCA and ACEVO are currently carrying out a research project on commissioning and procurement of Social Value outcomes.


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CASE STUDY: East Sussex Commissioning Grants Prospectus Jointly published by local authority and health Every February East Sussex publishes a Prospectus to allow organisations to plan ahead for new services which will be procured to start in October. The Prospectus is very detailed yet accessible setting out the objectives for each service to be commissioned: the evidence of need, the target group, the performance and quality indicators, the funding allocation and the duration of the funding agreement. The Prospectus has achieved a balance between fair and transparent competition and support to the VCS e.g. which organisations can give advice on bid writing, legal advice, etc. The timescales published in the Prospectus allow sufficient time for the VCS to form partnerships and to develop the right governance structures. The Prospectus was developed in collaboration with the East Sussex VCS Forum and has achieved national recognition. Example of information on VCS Infrastructure commissioning from the 2012 Prospectus. Each year a comprehensive review is undertaken of the Prospectus which is published and informed/ improved the system. Miriam Wilkinson, East Sussex Speak Up Forum www.speakupforum.org.uk

CASE STUDY: Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum and Cornwall County Council VCS Commissioning Board Cornwall Strategic Partnership disbanded in 2010, significant restructure within Strategic Partnership Team at local authority. Recognition that there needed to be a “safe place” for dialogue between local authority and VCS. Strong leadership from CCC CEO. Three VCS summits held in 2010. Voluntary Sector Forum funded to provide secretariat as part of their four year infrastructure contract, host website and chair Commissioning Board. CCC probably provides an additional £35-40K per annum as help in-kind (4 days a week of a Strategic Officer, free meeting space). Strategic Officer “hot desks” within the VCS moving between different organisations – helpful to gain in-depth knowledge of sector and build trust. Ten thematic areas agreed which align with county groups, representatives co-opted and/or elected, some groups meet regularly, some are virtual. The VCS Commissioning Board is now part of the Scrutiny process within the local authority and CCC will refer items to the VCS Commissioning Board if they have not seen or commented on them.

• Example of work – VCS joined a multi-sector Working Party to co-design/produce new service around early intervention and wellbeing. Project group of officers developed business case. Clear demarcation between VCS involvement in vision, strategy, representing user needs and the process of commissioning/ procurement.

• Children’s Services now working with VCS Commissioning Board to shape their commissioning strategy


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• Some VCS Commissioning Board meetings deal with a single strategic challenge, e.g. transport

• VCS contributes to the Portfolio Briefing packs for Elected Members

• Involvement in budget consultations Development of Commissioning Board helped by four sessions of training in partnership working (IVAR) which local authority officers also attended. Donna Peverley, Strategic Partnership Team, Cornwall County Council www.cornwallvsf.org for information on the VCS Commissioning Board


� An agreed local definition of Social Value � Commission for outcomes rather than services

� Engage with prospective providers at an early stage

� Test PQQ’s with organisations that are potential new market entrants to

ensure the questions are proportionate

� Be proactive in developing partnerships and subcontracting relationships amongst providers to enable new collaborations and innovation

� Give potential providers sufficient time to prepare

� Contracts need to be of a manageable length so potential VCS providers can

deliver them, particularly if they are on a Payments-by-results basis

� Uphold Best Value Guidance 201112

Key points for the Somerset VCS

� Continue to invest time and staff in developing skills in preparing and writing tenders, project management and collaboration

� Develop models of joint working ( e.g. equal partnership basis)

� Best partnerships acknowledge differences in risk, resource and reach

� Collaboration between large and small VCS organisations allows smaller

groups to deliver while playing to the strengths of larger groups

� Decide what delivery models work best (delivery organisations) e.g. consortia, VCS-only supply chain

� Governance structures need to have the operational and strategic skills to

manage contracts and deliver good services

� Share best practice across sector

� Where a consortia approach is used consider an independent “honest broker” to provide impartial leadership and mediate any difficulties between partners13


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SECTION SEVEN: OTHER IDEAS

“Sometimes there is less value in trying to be completely new and more value in seeing what is going on and what can be adapted and improved.” Paul Farthing,14 Age UK

7.1 The following are a collection of small ways that connection and collaboration

between local authorities and VCS can take place and which are neither innovative nor high cost, but which make a huge difference in sharing limited resources and building understanding.

In-Kind Support

7.2 A real difference can be made through the relatively simple act of making space available for staff or volunteers in local authority offices, providing free meeting rooms, providing IT resources and distributing surplus office furniture.

Joint Training

7.3 Cornwall VCS has been allocated two places on the Cornwall Leadership Academy giving it access to high quality training, the opportunity to build networks with leaders from other sectors and to invest in civic leaders of the future. The VCS have also been offered training in specialist areas such as Social Value.

CASE STUDY: Swindon Support VCS organisations can apply for a number of hours of specialist support from another VCS organisation via a short application form. Applications are administered and assessed by Voluntary Action Swindon. Examples of funded work include, financial training for trustees, help with a tender document, IT support, HR advice. VCS organisations are reimbursed for hours spent by both staff and volunteers (rates £20 - £25 per hour). Swindon Support is funded by Swindon Borough Council from the Community Grant Fund with an annual budget agreed each year. Voluntary Action Swindon invoices SBC each month. Benefits to VCS - networking between organisations, building relationships often between organisations that have not worked together before, “peer mentoring”. Benefits to SBC – this system makes a small amount of money go a long way, support to VCS targeted to what individual organisations want and not tied up in a block contract, spreads a limited financial support across the sector to the small groups as well as the larger groups, transparent process. Voluntary Action Swindon and Mark Seeney, Swindon Borough Council

7.4 How can staff and volunteers become more connected to people outside their

traditional comfort zone?


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7.5 In some local authorities it has been suggested that staff should be out of the office working with other stakeholders half of the time. In Bristol, the Director of the Futures Department says “inter-relationships are important and innovation comes from putting yourself at the centre of lots of different conversations”15. In Cornwall, the senior Strategic Officer with responsibility for the VCS Commissioning Board works four days a week in different VCS offices and only one day a week in the local authority. As a result, understanding and communication has been improved and concerns can be dealt with before they become a big issue.

CASE STUDY: Sunderland Partnership External Funding Working Group The Group is a sub-group of the local Compact Implementation Group and was set up to make the best use of funding programmes that are of potential benefit to local communities in Sunderland by publicising opportunities and facilitating a partnership approach to bids. The Group is supported by the City Council’s Financial Resources (Commercial) Service. Key Steps in the Process

• Bidding or tender calls circulated to Compact signatories and members of Compact Group, Sunderland Partnership members, Area VCS networks and VCA Sunderland.

• Details posted on dedicated website

• Initial meeting organised to discuss any interest in the opportunity, agree how partnerships could be developed and agree what process required to confirm a lead organisation

• Expressions of interest invited from potential lead organisations

• Assessment undertaken by an independent panel according to agreed criteria

• Further meetings to agree content of bid, confirm lead agent, partnership arrangements and sub-contracting arrangements

• Endorsement of statutory and other partners secured

• Bid submitted by lead organisation

• Liaison on the development of the bid continues Benefits

• A competitive advantage by being able to demonstrate genuine partnership approach, best practice shared, learning shared, services better coordinated leading to better quality services, risk in new projects shared, mutual support across organisations

Andrew Copland, Senior Partnership Officer, Sunderland Partnership

CASE STUDY: Chester TLI (Chester Voluntary Action) Skill Share Consortia of local infrastructure organisations received five years of funding to develop joint services including a Third Sector Assembly. TLI funding has supported:


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• A trading co-operative to generate income

• Development of a diagnostic tool for local VCS

• Local authority, private sector and VCS infrastructure have pooled skills and resources to offer joint help and assistance to small and medium organisations

• Local authority has provided IT resources and IT server to local CAB, distributed surplus office furniture, given free office space to Credit Union

• Full time secondment of a Senior Manager to support Third Sector Assembly

Bev Cope, TLI Project Manager, Chester Voluntary Action


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SECTION EIGHT: WHAT IS THE NEXT BIG THING?

Changes to EU Procurement Rules 8.1 A provisional agreement has been reached with final adoption due in October

2013 to change EU procurement rules. Cabinet Office has indicated that it will be implementing changes quickly. One item of interest may be the introduction of a new “light touch” regime for the procurement of social, health and some other services and the raising of the threshold for this category of services to £600,000.

Social Impact Bonds

8.2 Social Impact Bonds are a form of outcomes-based contract in which public sector commissioners commit to pay for a significant improvement in social outcomes e.g. a reduction in offending rates, or the number of people being admitted to hospital, for a defined population. Through a social impact bond private investment is used to pay for interventions which are delivered by service providers with a proven track record. Financial returns to investors are made by the public sector on the basis of improved social outcomes. If outcomes do not improve, then investors do not recover their investment. Social Finance16 launched the first Social Impact Bond in September 2010 called the “One SIB” in the Criminal Justice sector.

CASE STUDY: LIST (Local Integrated Service Trust) Peninsula Authorities (Torbay, Cornwall, Plymouth and Devon) Developing a model using social investment, social impact bonds to fund services “For Children on the Edge of Care”. It is expected that the VCS will be commissioned to provide most of the services. South West Forum have been engaged to manage long term engagement with specialist VCS across these local authority areas funded by the Big Lottery Next Steps Programme (Phase 1 ends December 2013) and a South West Forum facilitated VCS information meeting was held on 28th August 2013. A long term vision – two years of discussions have already taken place. Richard Sutton, Torbay Development Company


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Appendix One: Case Studies Contact List

• Gloucestershire VCS Alliance 07977211005 [email protected] Andrew Lee, Development Officer www.glosvcalliance.org.uk

• Speak Up Forum (hosted by 3VA) East Sussex 01323727872 [email protected] Miriam Wilkinson, Development Manager www.speakupforum.org.uk

• Hertfordshire Council 01432 383038 [email protected] Third Sector Liaison Officer

• VOSCUR (Bristol) 01179330507 [email protected] Mark Hubbard, Compact Liaison Officer www.bristolcompact.org.uk

• Cornwall County Council 01872 324477 Donna Peverley, Strategic Specialist for the Voluntary Sector www.cornwallvsf.org

• Voluntary Action Swindon 01793 538398 [email protected]

• Sunderland Partnership Andrew Copland 01615611476 [email protected]

• Chester Voluntary Action Bev Cope, TLI Project Manager 01244323527 www.chesterva.org.uk

• Richard Sutton, Torbay Development Company


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Appendix Two: Learning from VCS Assembly Models

Role

• Manage expectations

• Have clear vision, aims and scope

• The process to develop credibility is lengthy and complex but using democratic processes, transparency and clarity of scope from the outset makes it work

Structure and Governance

• Reflecting county-wide thematic networks helps embed the structure

• Consider relative merits of nominating or electing representatives

• Be clear about expenses and payments

• Provide travel costs (and care costs for volunteers as a minimum)

• Provide joint training

• Provide starter information packs

• Establish monitoring processes (e.g. VOSCUR did a baseline survey in 2011 and follows up every year to find out how sector feels its voice/influence has changed)

• Representation and integrity – key challenges

• Sector consultation and debate are required to get the right structure – needs time to develop

• Categories/qualification for membership (Somerset had similar debate over TLI partners)

• Terms of Reference essential

Ways of Working and IT

• Proportionate number of meetings

• Good websites required

• Blogs, twitter, etc all useful but have had limited use and email remains the most commonly used method of communication

Adapted from “Research into Models and Practices for a Voluntary Sector Assembly for Manchester” Manchester Learning Skills & Employment Network, April 2012


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Appendix Three: Gloucestershire VCS Alliance (the Alliance) – Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between the old Assembly and the new Alliance?

• The Alliance is not a new name for the old Assembly. The Alliance is a brand‐new organisation but it is supported by the Executive Committee of the

old Assembly, who recognised that the governance and business model of the old Assembly was no longer sustainable.

• The Alliance will be an independent, self‐governing charitable incorporated

organisation whereas the Assembly had no legal identity and was hosted within another organisation.

• The Alliance will have its own accountable board of trustees, whereas the Assembly operated with an executive committee with no legal responsibilities.

• The Alliance will have formal constitutional links with the voluntary, public and private sectors, whereas the Assembly only had informal links with other VCS organisations.

Who is on the Board of the Alliance?

• In order to set up the new organisation an interim Board has been established which comprises:

Claire Mould (Interim Chair) – Open House; Tracy Clark – Young Gloucestershire; Christina Snell – Age UK Gloucestershire and David Owen – GFirst/LEP.

• Additional interim Board members may also be appointed if required.

• As soon as a critical mass of members has been established, Board members will be elected in accordance with the organisation’s constitution and governance model.

Who will manage the Alliance?

• In order to keep operating costs as low as possible the Alliance will not employ a Chief Executive or a management team.

• Strategic and financial management will be delivered through the Alliance Board and an Audit & Finance sub‐committee of the Board.

• Day‐to‐day operations will be the responsibility of the Development Officer(s).

• A Development Officer (Andrew Lee) has already been recruited and it is anticipated that he will take up his role during July. In the interim period Andrew is providing informal, part‐time support to the organisation.

How is the Alliance funded?

• The Alliance has been provided with initial backing from Gloucestershire County Council (GCC).

• GFirst/LEP have provided ‘in‐kind’ support with office space and other support

functions.

• A sustainable business model has been designed to develop a consortium of different backers from different sectors, without having to compromise the independence of the organisation by engaging in service delivery.

Would this funding be better spent on supporting front‐‐‐‐line VCS

organisations?

• The Alliance will avoid developing high‐cost, directly employed support

functions and instead develop a low‐cost, ‘peer‐to‐peer’ support function.


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• Consequently, the sums involved in supporting the Alliance only represent a very small proportion of the total GCC expenditure with the VCS in Gloucestershire.

• If this funding was split across the VCS in Gloucestershire the impact for individual organisations would be negligible, whereas this option provides an opportunity for all VCS organisations to participate and benefit from the work of the Alliance.

Is the Alliance effectively controlled by GCC?

• Whilst initial backing has been provided by GCC the Alliance constitution has been established to provide unique representation from the public and the private sectors on the Board, whilst always maintaining a VCS majority and a VCS Chair.

How can the Alliance deliver an independent voice for the VCS?

• The Alliance has not been established to act as a pressure group but due to its independence it will have access to a range of public and private sector groups where it can influence strategic thinking on behalf of the VCS community.

• The Alliance has been established with a formal structure to ensure democratic representation of the collective views of the VCS membership via VCS Forums and a VCS Representative Committee.

• The Alliance will enjoy distinctive legitimacy because it will maintain independence towards both its members and other stakeholders by not engaging in service delivery.

How will the Alliance engage with its members?

• The Alliance has established an operational model that includes different thematic VCS Forums that pertain to individual member interests.

• The VCS Forums elect their own Chair, set their own agenda and are supported by a Development Officer to facilitate their efficient operation.

• The VCS Forums will feed into the wider organisation via a VCS Representatives Committee, which will be composed of the Chairs of the various VCS Forums.

• In addition, the Chair of the VCS Representatives Committee will sit on the Alliance Board.

Don’t VCS Forums already exist?

• Yes, there are several local VCS Forums and the Alliance has no intention of disturbing or duplicating these existing relationships.

• The Alliance will create a small number of thematic VCS Forums that will provide a different focus and concentrate on a county‐wide agenda, allowing

existing local Forums to focus on local issues. Is the Alliance not just another Infrastructure Support (IS) organisation?

• The Alliance will deliberately avoid duplicating some of the traditional support functions provided by other IS organisations such as training, project management, funding information & consultancy.

• The Alliance will establish thematic VCS Forums for members to meet, network, debate and develop strategies & actions to develop the VCS in Gloucestershire & the communities they serve.


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• The Alliance will also provide an independent platform to facilitate and develop a culture and practice of ‘peer to peer’ support between VCS organisations.

• The Alliance is not a traditional pressure group for the VCS and will actively establish formal links and partnerships with both the public and private sectors in order to:

Positively promote and represent the VCS. Independently inform and influence strategic decisions. Contribute to and learn from working with other sectors

What do you mean by peer-to-peer support?

• This is where member organisations can provide each other with ‘pro‐bono’

support based around their own skills and experience in specific areas.

• This is not designed to replace training for specific subjects but perhaps provide a more 1:1, informal alternative that can sit alongside training programmes delivered by other organisations.

• The Alliance will provide a dedicated section on its website for members to provide information about their organisation or post specific requests. Alternatively, members can ask the Development Officer to try and find a member organisation who might be able to help with a specific issue.

How will the Alliance engage with Commissioners?

• Due to its unique independence, commissioners can have the confidence to engage with the Alliance much earlier in the commissioning process.

• Commissioners can freely share information without being concerned about a conflict of interest as they know that the Alliance will not engage in service delivery.

• Consequently, early discussions can take place regarding need, specification and local capacity within the VCS, which ultimately can lead to a more rounded and informed commissioning and tender process.

The Alliance differs from the latter-day Assembly but surely it’s just a replica of the original Assembly?

• There are some similarities but lessons have been learnt and there are some crucial differences:

o The Alliance is an independent organisation with its own legal identity. The Assembly was always hosted within another organisation, which sometimes led to a blurred understanding of what the Assembly did and potentially compromised its independence.

o The Alliance has a formal, transparent governance structure. The Assembly had a more informal structure that sometimes struggled to bring together the different strands of the Assembly in a coherent fashion.

o The Alliance has deliberately adopted an outward‐looking approach

and established constitutional links with both the public sector and the business community. The Assembly was more inward‐looking and

only had informal links with the public sector and no links with the private sector.


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How will specific or minority issues be heard in an organisation like the Alliance?

• The Alliance will have dedicated VCS Forums which in turn will have the freedom to establish more specific sub‐committees or working groups if

required.

• This will enable minority views and specific agendas to have a platform and there is a transparent structure in place to elevate issues beyond a VCS Forum to the wider organisation.

• This means that groups do not operate in silos and relevant issues can be discussed as part of a wider agenda, rather than remain within a narrow context.

• In addition, the independence of the Alliance will enable it to establish working relationships with relevant public and private sector bodies, so that relevant issues can be raised and discussed across different sectors, rather than just within the VCS community.

Is there any connection between the Alliance and the Children & Young People (C&YP) work strand of the Transforming Local Infrastructure (TLI) project?

• There is a very close connection as the steering committee of the C&YP work strand had worked with external consultants to produce a detailed governance model and ‘modus operandi’ for a new C&YP infrastructure support organisation in Gloucestershire.

• To try and obtain funding, this work was shared with GCC, who were looking to divert support from the old Assembly to an independent VCS organisation that covered the whole of the VCS but with a different approach to the old Assembly.

• Consequently, the Executive Committee of the old Assembly were looking to develop a more independent and sustainable infrastructure support organisation and identified many shared values and parallels with the model developed by the C&YP team.

• The end result was that these two separate pieces of work were essentially combined to help establish the Alliance; following the model developed by the C&YP work strand and with initial funding from GCC.

• Accordingly, the first VCS Forum to be established within the Alliance is the C&YP Forum.

Source: www.glosvcsalliance.org.uk


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Appendix Four: Evaluation of 38 Community Asset Projects, 2010

Key points for VCS organisations

• Found forms/admin daunting especially if multiple sources of funding

• Often refurbishment costs were not calculated fully

• Surveys often not up to date

• Short term funding gaps causes problems (e.g. builders to be paid within 14

days of invoice and local authority/funders working to different timescales)

• Model partnership agreements and expectation documents would be helpful

Key Points for Local Authorities

• Provide tapered ongoing funding to ensure smooth move to financial

sustainability of the VCO

• One local authority appointed a “broker” as the single point of contact and

facilitator to work with all local authority departments

All partners

• Important to maintain clarity of decision‐making and good commissioning

• Need to be brutally realistic about long‐term financial viability of proposal

• Business plans should be independently evaluated

• VCS may need capacity building in asset management

• Ensure clarity of roles

• All decisions to be clearly recorded to avoid confusion

General

• Possible to identify good practice but no one “ideal” model of asset transfer

due to different starting points, unique characteristics and circumstances.

• Each asset transferred costs approx £1M

• A healthy partnership depends on the quality of the relationships between

individuals, consider an independent third party to mediate

Source: “A Summative Evaluation of the Community Asset Programme” C.

Masundire, Rocket Science UK Ltd, 2010


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Appendix Five: Other resources

• “Rewiring Local Services” Local Government Association July 2013

• “Engaging the VCS in Commissioning: Outputs of workshop for VCS organisations and Commissioners” VOSCUR, Bristol, version 0.5, February 2013

• “Prototyping Public Services” NESTA Innovation Unit, November 2011

• “Social Value. Learning from Maximising Social Value Road-shows” NAVCA, August 2013

• “When the going gets tough….Charities’ experiences of public service commissioning” S. Hedley and I. Joy, New Philanthropy capital, May 2012

• “Localism in Practice: A Resource Guide” South West Forum 2012

• “The Voice. The VCS Commissioning Board – what’s it all about?” Voluntary Sector Forum Cornwall, www.cornwallvsf.org.uk

• “Informing and influencing the new local health landscape – a guide for local Compacts” S. Cooke, Compact Voice, 2012

• “Support for Commissioners and Policy makers in Health and Social Care for working with the Voluntary and Community Sector” Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East

• “Engagement for Commissioning Success: A Smart guide to engagement” http://tinyurl.com/LGAeng

• Skilling Up for Stronger Voices – A skills framework for third sector representatives – www.navca.org.uk

• Local Compacts – A User Guide www.compactvoice.org.uk

• “Right here, right now. Taking co-production into the mainstream” New Economics Foundation and NESTA www.nesta.org.uk

• Regional Voices - materials on VCS engagement with health and social care structures. www.regionalvoices.org


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Appendix Six: Reference Notes

1 “Transforming Local Infrastructure: early indications” Barney Mynott,

[email protected], NAVCA August 2013, page 1 2 “Transforming Local Infrastructure: early indications” Barney Mynott, [email protected], NAVCA August 2013, page 3 3 “Best Practice Guide For Local Authorities and the Voluntary Sector (VCS), Charlotte Stuffins, NCVO October 2011 4 “Successful Commissioning Guide: How to secure value for money through better financial relationships with civil society organisations” (Revised version) National Audit Office June 2011 5 “Front Office Shared Services - Working with the third sector” IDeA, 2008 6 “Best Practice in Engagement. Sharing the Learning” Beverley Jones and Deborah Fisher, South West Forum, July 2013, page 11 7 Best Practice in Engagement. Sharing the Learning” Beverley Jones and Deborah Fisher, South West Forum, July 2013 8 “Public Sector Innovation and Local Leadership in the UK and the Netherlands” R. Hambledon, J. Howard with B. Dieters, P.J. Klok and M. Oude Vrielink, Joseph Rowntree Foundation Report June 2012, page 41 9 “Somerset Compact - Somerset’s Voluntary and Community Sector and Public Sector - Working together as equal partners for the people of Somerset” Revised 2010, www.somerset.gov.uk 10 “Gloucestershire VCS Alliance (the Alliance) – Frequently Asked Questions, www.glosvcsalliance.co.uk 11 Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham. www.birmingham.ac.uk 12 “Best Value Statutory Guidance” Department of Communities and Local Government, September 2011. www.communities.gov.uk 13 “ How can the voluntary sector achieve the scale needed to deliver public services” Tom Hamilton-Shaw, from “Open Public Services: Experience from the Voluntary Sector”, NCVO, October 2012, page 33 14 “Innovation (Still) Rules! An innovation and creativity guide for not-for-profit organisations” L. Gower and J. Saxton, nfpSynergy, January 2013, page 13 15 “Public Sector Innovation and Local Leadership in the UK and the Netherlands” R. Hambledon, J. Howard with B. Dieters, P.J. Klok and M. Oude Vrielink, Joseph Rowntree Foundation Report June 2012, page 47 16 Social Finance, www.socialfinance.org.uk

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