IoF Consultants Group AGM, 20th November 2012

Crown Representative for Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprises

Michael O’TooleCrown Representative for VCSEs

Agenda

• Background• Strategic objectives for role• My priorities• Tools available• Fundraising & Tendering

UNCLASSIFIED

Strategic objectives for the role

• Open up more business to VCSE organisations, influence public sector commissioning and procurement

• Build strategic dialogue between government and the VCSE sector• Strong VCSE voice at the highest levels and communicate key

developments out • Open up public sector business to VCSEs, by:

– Make it easier for more VCSs to tender for public contracts– Decisive interventions on public procurement policy and practices, working

with other government departments leading major commercial opportunities – Help VCSEs take services to the public sector market and remove barriers to

market entrance – Understand needs and develop VCSE skills and capacity to win and deliver

public service contracts

UNCLASSIFIED

Strategic objectives for the role

• Build strategic commercial engagement with representative groups / stakeholders:– Use intelligence on opportunities and barriers to VCSE public service delivery

to improve policies, processes and develop government’s procurement capabilities

– Disseminate / encourage central policy and procedures to the wider public sector

– Commercial insights to government’s overall public service reforms

• Work with Crown Representatives / Commercial Leads, procurement, public service reform, OCS and Departments

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The role of the Crown Representative for VCSE

• New role created as part of Government’s commitment to enable charities and social enterprises to do more

• Government wants to improve its relationship with our sector and open up public service opportunities

• Build upon making it easier for more VCSEs to tender for public contracts, e.g. - – All contracts now published including under the £100K threshold– PQQs gone for <£100K contracts (simplified for above)

. 

My priorities

• Engage with sector & listen• Focus on engaging with representative groups and other

stakeholders about VCSE issues• Understand skills requirements and work with others to build

capacity and expertise for VCSEs• Demonstrate good practice and case studies• Ensure visibility of opportunities, pre-engagement, awareness

within commissioning • Specific interventions in programmes to provide VCSE voice

 

My priorities: pre-market engagement

• Be part of the conversation – understand policy and commissioning intentions in your sector

• Read and respond to policy consultations• Review procurement pipelines increasingly being published to look

for possible opportunities• Sign up for email alerts on Contracts Finder & Funding Central• Monitor PINs, register interest in future procurements and attend

information days• Build on your customer base & use them for references• Help buyers shape their procurement specification during informal

pre-market engagement

 

My priorities: open up business to VCSEs

• Providing information on useful developments and opportunities via Twitter and providing updates to the VCSE sector through my website

• Product Surgeries – VCSEs present their services directly to Government buyers– Improve Government buyers' awareness of VCSEs

• Providing input into the development of public procurement process & making direct interventions into specific procurements to ensure excellent VCSEs can effectively offer their services to government departments and agencies

 

Procurements above £10,000 are now published on Contracts Finder

Supplier Feedback Service – “Mystery Shopper”

Fundraising and Tendering

• Success in tendering has key different ingredients for success compared to fundraising and grants

• Tendering is highly competitive – often against commercial business development teams

• There are multiple stakeholder needs to satisfy• Understanding the risks and contingency planning for a performance

contract are potentially more critical than in a grant– Especially with PbR contracts

• Many VCSEs don’t have capacity or expertise to respond to tender opportunities

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Tendering tips

• Analyse the spec & supporting documents very carefully. Understand the liabilities, risks, performance drivers, variables, etc

• Use Q&A/clarification process to highlight key differentiators • Allow plenty of time & resources for content preparation, writing,

review, proofing, and proofing again! • Build in a ‘fresh eyes’ review/proof of the near final version (sense

check by someone not involved in writing the tender) • A bid will not win unless strengths are clear - this is a competition –

sell yourself! • Be positive, solution-focussed and concentrate on meeting both the

beneficiary’s and commissioner’s needs

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Tendering tips

• Flexibility to ensure delivery is tuned to meet the specific needs set out and offer enhancements – Offer unique ideas not specified, over and above the specification. – Consider sharing upsides – offer continuous improvements and innovation

• Think of it as an exam - answer the questions directly and comprehensively

• Where possible use an Executive Summary to highlight your USP, fit, track-record, key evidence and solution summary

• After the contract award, whether successful or not: – Find out who won – this informs competitor intelligence and may open up

possible sub-contractor opportunities – Always make use of feedback facilities – win or lose, learn and improve

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Tendering tips

• Public sector is making the process simpler but it will rightly be held accountable for the procurement decisions it makes - take the process very seriously

• Evidence matters - cite evidence in your bid and use case studies, references, beneficiary stories, customer feedback, general praise, awards, independent accreditations, and positive media coverage

• If you say your system will show or do something, prove it - include a screen shot of how it works or other tangible evidence

• This is a competitive process – sell, sell, sell!

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Fundraising and Tendering

• Consultants can work VCSEs to:– Develop Tenders or review drafts– Contract management and monitoring – Market & competitor research– Models of delivery: sub-contracting, partnerships, consortia – Policy Development and Revision – Contract negotiations

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How you can help - feedback

• It is early days for this new role and I look forward to building relationships across the sector

• I welcome feedback on how we can do more to help VCSEs value your comments

• Questions?

• Michael.o’toole@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk • http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/crown-representative-volun

tary-community-and-social-enterprises

• Please follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/otoole_michael