A Countywide Infrastructure Organisation Providing Effective And Targeted Support For The Voluntary And Community Sector In Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Council (the Authority), invited tenders for the provision of ‘A Countywide Infrastructure Organisation Providing Effective and Targeted Support For The Voluntary And Community Sector In Leicestershire’ in accordance with the applicable elements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/102) (as amended) (“The 2015 Regulations”).

The Contract Provider will provide support services across the County to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) that are responsive to local need, including an on-line offer, training programmes, locally based support and an up to date database of local VCSE organisations. This support will focus on:

• Promoting, developing and supporting volunteering
• Influencing and enabling the local VCSE voice
• Capacity building by supporting new and existing VCSE groups and organisations
• Market development and shaping including developing a market for public services and support for VCSE groups bid for a deliver contracts

The infrastructure support services to be provided via this contract will support the implementation of the Leicestershire Communities Strategy and Strategic Plan. The contract will assist Leicestershire County Council to manage demand for services through early/community level intervention and prevention, to increase community resilience and to support more effective delivery of services by community groups. It will contribute to implementation of the Prevention Target Operating Model which sets out how the Council will work with partners and the community to reduce, delay, and prevent needs. The contract will help enable pre-primary prevention community-based initiatives which operate at a universal level to help communities to support themselves.

The contract will be in place for an initial period of 2 years, with an option to extend for a further period or periods up to a total of 36 months, taking the contract term to a maximum of 5 years.

The proposed service is based on current and known funding allocations. These could alter through the life of the contract in light of changes in future local and central government funding. The initial maximum contract value is £215,000 per annum (£1,075,000 for the maximum of 5 years).

Should the contract be extended Leicestershire County Council may secure an additional contribution or number of additional contributions of an amount of up to £300,000 from the local Clinical Commissioning Group(s) or any successor Clinical Commissioning Group (“CCG”) organisation. Any such additional contribution(s) may at the Council’s sole discretion be utilised to further the project aims and services in the Leicestershire area under the contract (including extending/increasing the level of the Services or locations (within the Leicestershire area) where the Service is to be provided, or improving the Services). If the value of the contract is increased, contract indicators and targets will also be increased to reflect the additional resource available.

The contract will continue to be managed by Leicestershire County Council, should the service receive additional funding contributions by the Clinical Commissioning Group(s).