Capacity Building Team

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Capacity Building Team

• Applying for
• Public Service Contracts
• Information, advice and support

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Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services

• We were founded 1909
• We combine the power of charitable giving with
  organisational support, so that voluntary and
  community groups in Liverpool are
• Well governed
• Well resourced
• Well managed
• Well represented

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LCVS staff to support you

• 2 Funding Advisors
• 3 Development Officers
• Community Accountancy Service

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Public Service Delivery contracts whos
involved ?

• Commissioners
• they have responsibility to ensure a public
  service is delivered . They decide what service
  the statutory organisation needs to buy. They
  draw up the specification of the service required
  and determine the budget available.
• Procurement Officers and Legal Department
• They have responsibility for actually buying
  the service. They develop procedures for a
  competitive process that aims to get the best
  quality at the best price and with as little risk
  to the commissioning organisation as possible.

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Competitive Tendering Process..Liverpool City
Council example

• The advert will ask you to contact the
  Procurement Support Unit to express your interest
  and request a Pre-Qualification questionnaire.
• The Council will decide, from the information
  given by you and your referees whether you will
  be invited to submit a full tender for the
  contract advertised. You will then be contacted
  and formally requested to submit a tender for the
  contract.
• You may be asked to give a presentation to
  support your tender

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• Help with Pre Qualification Questionnaire
  (PQQ) and tender submissions
• Are you answering the questions they want
  answering ?
• Are you providing the right evidence?
• Are you making the wrong assumptions?

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We advise on

• Process and procedure. Checking you have
  completed all the right sections.
• Identifying parts of your organisation that need
  improving.

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What we dont advise on

• Detailed assessment of service delivery
  proposals. You are the experts in this !
• We will advise on the contract in general, but
  not on the specifics as this moves into the work
  of the legal profession.

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Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) contents

• Organisation Information
• Technical Experiences References
• Implementation
• Financial Details
• Insurance
• Equal Opportunities
• Health Safety
• Professional Conduct
• Undertakings

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Basic administration -

• You must be able to complete an electronic copy
  of the PQQ, returning the electronic copy on CD.
• You must provide two paper copies and two copies
  of all the supporting documents.
• Always read instructions carefully.

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1. Organisation Information

• LCVS will prompt you to answer every question in
  full.
• E.g. the full names and addresses of all the
  trustees / board members.
• Dont assume that details do not matter.

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1. Organisation Information

• What is your organisations legal status?
• Applying as a lead agent?
• An established or a new consortium?
• Who will you subcontract with?
• You must name the other parties, if possible.

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2. Technical Experience Refs

• Your currently held contracts for similar
  services, and their value.
• Referees from 3 public sector organisations
  (check with PQQ officer that theres no conflict
  of interest).
• These are also scored for financial monitoring
  and for the qualifications of financial staff.

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2. Technical Experience Refs

• Does your organisation have any quality
  accreditation, or strategy or plans to do so?
• What other quality assurance systems you may use?
• Clinical governance, where relevant?
• OfSTED / social care inspections?

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2. Technical Experience Refs

• Numbers of staff in this kind of work?
• Salary scales for all staff.
• Qualifications breakdown for staff.
• Relevant professional qualifications / experience.

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2. Technical Experience Refs

• Qualifications for IT, Finance, Business Support
  staff.
• CV for each manager.
• Staffing structure.
• CRB Checks?

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3. Implementation

• Your approach to working in partnership with the
  contract issuer?
• Any innovative ideas you have?
• Any additional social benefits above beyond the
  contracted service?

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3. Implementation

• Policies
• Child / Adult Protection policy.
• Your Complaints Procedure.
• Details of your training and induction policy.

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3. Implementation

• Provide details of your
• Business Continuity Plan.
• Business Continuity Institute guide
• http//www.thebci.org/gpg.htm

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4. Financial Details

• Copies of audited annual accounts for the last 3
  years
• Balance Sheet, SOFA / Income and Expenditure
  Account,
• Full notes to the accounts, Directors Report /
  Auditors Report.

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4. Financial Details

• If you have submitted accounts for a year ending
  more than 10 months ago
• supply a financial statement of turnover since
  the last set of published accounts.

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4. Financial Details

• Financial procedures on cash, payroll and asset
  control.
• Supply a cash flow forecast for the current
  year.
• VAT registration number.

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5. Insurances

• Details of employers liability,
• public liability and
• fidelity guarantee insurance.

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6. Equal Opportunities

• Equal Opportunities Policy.
• Details of how it is implemented in your working
  practices for staff and service users.
• e.g.s include recruitment, training, advertising

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7. Health Safety

• HS Policy and maybe others such as lone working
  policy.
• CV of the HS Officer.
• HS communications to staff?
• implementing HS.
• Safety improvement strategies?
• Details of HS Training for staff.
• Details of HS Audits.

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Make it easy to read

• Treat it like a job application
• Clear layout
• Well organised
• Labelled numbered appendices
• Refer to appendix no. and page no. in your
  answers
• If you need to repeat info, its OK

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General Comments

• Go back at the end and check against the system
  of scoring.
• Answer clearly with a Yes (or No).
• Make sure the PQQ is submitted on time.
• If still putting together supporting documents,
  such as policies, send them in later but asap.
• Make a note of this on the PQQ.

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General Comments

• Financial Viability is scored highly.
• How many months free reserves?
• Current assets current liabilities?
• How many different funders do you have?

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Where to find tenders

• The Chest the North West's Local Authority
  Procurement Portal
• www.thechest.nwce.gov.uk
• Has a link to
• Council Procurement pages

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Health

• Advertisements for service opportunities in
  health and social care
• http//www.supply2health.nhs.uk/

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Tender alerts

• Liverpool CVS Funding Enquiries Broadcasts
• Variety of funding opportunities including
  tenders
• To get on mailing list contact
• funding.enquiries_at_lcvs.org.uk

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Liverpool Chamber of Commerce

• Tender Alert Service
• Requires membership of Chamber of Commerce
• www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk

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The Longer Term

• Other options may include-
• Longer term diverse fundraising.
• Help to improve financial health.
• Working in a consortium or as a subcontractor.
• It may be that you need longer-term support to
  get to the standards required by commissioners.

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LCVS Contact Details

• Telephone [phone]
• Ask for Capacity Building Team, or Community
  Accountants
• (depends on your question)
• E-mail contact
• funding.enquiries_at_lcvs.org.uk