Public Services Hub

Delivered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) and Voice4Change England, and funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) – the VCSE Contract Readiness Programme‘s objective is to enable greater participation of charities and social enterprises (otherwise known as Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations) in public service procurement. The VCSE Pathway The VCSE pathway is the primary part of the programme. It offers charities and social enterprises a range of webinars, short and long courses to help them understand the public procurement process and provide them with support to better compete for public sector contracts. Upcoming courses and webinars can be found on the SSE website CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE VCSE PATHWAY AND GET INVOLVED The Commissioner Pathway The commissioner pathway offers a range of support for public sector commissioners to help them understand the charity and social enterprise sector and how best to work with them. Social Enterprise UK are leading on the commissioner engagement stream of the programme. This will involve working with government at a strategic and departmental level to make it easier for government to engage with VCSE suppliers. At a strategic level, this work will include: Working with Contracts Finder/Find a Tender on enriching the VCSE data held by government. Driving engagement with government platforms/tenders from a wider range of VCSEs. Building a Champions network of commissioners to help them to drive the agenda forward.  At a departmental level, SEUK will also be: Benchmarking departmental spend with VCSEs by using SEUK’s datasets to help departments. understand how much they’re spending with VCSEs and how they can do more. Engaging staff through a series of “Demystifying the VCSE sector” webinars. Driving new relationships through a series of targeted meet the buyer events working with relevant VCSE suppliers for specific departmental/category level spend. SEUK are working closely with DCMS to drive all of the above activity with the relevant areas of government. If you work for a department and would like to engage with the programme or find our more please email the DCMS public sector commissioning team at public-sector-commissioning-team@dcms.gov.uk

Welcome to the Public Services Hub. This page is intended to support public sector professionals to understand why and how to engage with voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs). The VCSE sector’s expertise and commitment to purpose make them natural commercial partners for government and well placed to deliver effective public services. What is the VCSE Sector? Government uses the term voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to refer to the charity and social enterprise sectors. Most people are familiar with the charity sector, and aware of its long history working with and delivering on behalf of government. Many will be less familiar with social enterprises. Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose. To be a social enterprise, the organisation should: have a clear social or environmental mission set out in its governing documents and be controlled in the interest of that mission. be independent of state or government control, and earn more than half of its income through trading re-invest or donate at least half of its profits or surpluses towards their mission There are more than 168,000[1] registered charities in England and Wales, contributing £15.6 billion[2] to the economy and employing around 1 million[3] people - 3% of the UK workforce. There are an estimated 131,000 social enterprises in the UK, employing an estimated £1.9 million people.[4] SEUK estimate social enterprises contribute £60 billion to the economy.[5] Why work with VCSEs? Working with VCSEs has many benefits for government. In terms of policy alignment, VCSEs are the ideal partner to government in a number of key areas: Levelling Up. Over 75% of VCSEs deliver public services where they are based, with strong links to and knowledge of that locality.[6] Their expertise and connection to local areas ideally place them to create responsive, efficient and trusted public services. Social Value Act. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 aims to improve procurement practice and diversify suppliers to the government, enabling more VCSEs to deliver public services. It requires public service commissioners to consider how they can secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits, known as social value, through the performance of a contract. Government extended the Social Value Act by launching the Social Value Model, placing new requirements on central government from January 2021 onwards to explicitly evaluate social value and thereby further encourage the commissioning of VCSEs. SMEs. Government is committed to supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) via government procurement. The majority of VCSEs are also SMEs[7] – so working with them helps support those targets as well. Are they competitive? Government is committed to delivering social value and increasing opportunities for VCSEs in public procurement. Working with VCSE suppliers is a win-win for government, with VCSEs also providing competitive, innovative and high quality services in spite of the common misconception that they will be less competitive. According to SEUK’s research on the £250m spent to date by our corporate supply chain partners, over 80% found VCSEs were competitive on price and over 95% were comparable or better quality than incumbent providers.[8] VCSEs can also bring innovation to government delivery. The government’s Social Enterprise Market Trends Report 2019 found that social enterprises were more likely to have introduced a new or significantly improved service during the past three years.[9] Development of new products and services is the proxy used by government to measure innovation. VCSEs deliver differently, and this can help to bring new solutions to government. What sectors do they operate in? VCSEs operate in a variety of sectors. They are well known to operate in ‘people-services’ sectors such as health and social care, employability, homelessness, disability and domestic violence and sexual abuse support services. However, charities and social enterprises also operate in every other area of the business sector from technology to legal services. Resources for Commissioners VCSE Contract Readiness Programme Delivered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) and Voice4Change England, and funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) – the VCSE Contract Readiness Programme is designed to work with both VCSEs and public sector commissioners. Social Enterprise UK are leading on the commissioner stream of the programme. This will involve working with central government departments to make it easier for government to engage with VCSE suppliers.  This will include working with central government departments to: Benchmark departmental spend with VCSEs by using SEUK and open-source datasets to help departments understand how much they’re spending with VCSEs and how they can do more Engaging staff through a series of “Demystifying the VCSE sector” webinars Driving new relationships through a series of targeted “meet the buyer” events working with relevant VCSE suppliers for specific departmental/category level spend SEUK are working closely with DCMS to drive all of the above activity with the relevant areas of government. If you work for a department and would like to engage with the programme or find out more please email the DCMS public sector commissioning team on public-sector-commissioning-team@dcms.gov.uk. Commissioning for Social Value The Public Services (Social Value) Act requires people who commission public services to think about how they can also secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits, known as social value, through a contract. The Social Value Model – In 2018 government announced it would go further and explicitly evaluate social value when awarding most major contracts with all departments expected to report on the social impact of their major contracts. The Social Value Model helps government departments implement the changes. It provides a consistent approach to social value for both commissioners and suppliers. More details on how this works can be found in Procurement Policy Notice 06/20 (PPN 06/20) Guides and other online resources The art of the possible in public procurement  - This report published by E3M looks at the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the flexibility it provides commissioners. It goes through how commissioners can unlock these flexibilities, highlighting the art of what is possible in public procurement. From procurement to partnership: A practical toolkit for commissioners - This step by step guide from E3M has been created to help commissioners maximise positive social outcomes and public value through the creation of effective public service community partnerships. Local Authority Guide – A guide created by Social Enterprise UK and supported by GLL is for people working in local authorities who are interested in social enterprise: council leaders, senior managers, directors of services, commissioners, heads of procurement, or those with responsibility for economic development. It explains what social enterprise is, how social enterprises can help meet a local authority’s strategic objectives, and gives practical advice on how local authorities can best work with them Government Outcomes Lab outcomes toolkit - for commissioners considering using outcomes based commissioning in their work with VCSE partners. Research The role of Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations in public procurement (August 2022) – This publication from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) explores the role which VCSEs can play in public services. It looks at VCSEs current participation in public procurement, the barriers faced by VCSEs in securing public sector contracts and how these can be reduced. UK Public Procurement through VCSEs, 2016-2020 – DCMS research carried out by Tussell to analyse the scale and proportion of UK public sector procurement conducted through VCSEs from 2016 through to 2020. Creating a social value economy (May 2022) – This report sets out a new vision for social value and how it can be used as a tool to shape markets, transform public services and create an environmentally sustainable future. This was published as part of the Social Value 2032 Programme, a programme of work delivered by SEUK in partnership with Jacobs, PwC, Shaw Trust, Siemens and Suez. Social Enterprises Market Tends Report (April 2021) – DCMS coordinates government policy towards social enterprises and commissioned this report. It examines the sector and identifies its scale in the UK, utilising a broad DCMS definition which includes both social enterprises within the voluntary and community sector and also social enterprises operating as mission-led or purposeful businesses with private sector legal forms. Front and Centre report (May 2019) – The report focuses on the extent to which social valuehas been embedded through processes and priorities within government. It particularlylooked at the understanding and awareness of the Act in local government among officers andcouncillors outside of procurement teams and examined the appetite to use the Act. Find suppliers The Social Enterprise Directory – A directory of all social enterprises which are members of Social Enterprise UK. Upcoming Changes to working with VCSEs The Procurement Bill will come into force during 2024 and is set to reform the UK’s public procurement regime post-Brexit. Provisions within the Bill will more effectively open up public procurement to VCSEs so that they can compete for and win more public contracts.  Further detail on the Bill is available at the Transforming Public Procurement landing page. [1] Charity Commission, as of 17th February 2022 [2] DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates, Summed Monthly GVA (to September 2022) [3] DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates, Employment July 2021-Jun 2022 [4] DCMS BEIS Social Market Trends report, April 2019 [5] The Hidden Revolution - SEUK, 2018 [6] Tussell Trust Research for DCMS, UK Public Procurement through VCSEs 2016-2020, 2021. [7] State of Social Enterprise report 2021 and Charity Commission 2023 [8] Buy Social Corporate Challenge Year 6 Impact Report, SEUK, 2022 [9] DCMS BEIS Social Market Trends report, April 2019

On this page you’ll find resources designed to support social enterprises and charities -otherwise known as voluntary community and social enterprises (VCSEs)- compete alongside other organisations for public sector contracts as well as the latest news from the ongoing VCSE Contract Readiness Programme Upcoming events on the Contract Readiness Programme The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) funds the VCSE Contract Readiness programme. DCMS has worked with a consortium led by School for Social Entrepreneurs partnering with Social Enterprise UK and Voice4Change England to design and deliver a programme that will enable VCSEs to compete alongside other organisations for public sector contracts.  Find out more about the programme here Further support from government on applying for contracts VCSEs – A guide to working with government – The VCSE Crown Representative, Claire Dove CBE commissioned this  guide from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (which holds responsibility for the VCSE sector in government) and Cabinet Office. It sets out  how social enterprises and charities can best work with government. It goes through the best ways for VCSEs to approach working with public sector commissioners from steps such as registering to becoming an approved supplier to how to best engage early with commissioners. It contains top tips for tendering and details what public sector buyers are looking for. Getting ready for the new Procurement Bill: official learning and development offer -The Procurement Bill is currently making its way through Parliament and will introduce significant changes to the way public sector organisations buy goods and services. The Bill will help open up public procurement to a broader supplier base including VCSE organisations.  The new regime will go live in 2024. To prepare organisations for the changes the legislation will bring the Cabinet Office will offer a comprehensive learning and development programme to help organisations better understand the changes. There will be lots of published guidance and  free ‘knowledge drop’ sessions to provide an overview of the forthcoming changes, with tailored versions aimed at VCSEs who supply public sector organisations (or aspire to do so).  Procurement teams in contracting authorities will also be offered e-learning and longer more in-depth courses. Finding Opportunities Contracts Finder – This is government’s single online portal on which contracts valued above £10,000 in central government and above £25,000 in the rest of the non-devolved public sector are listed. It’s free to use to find opportunities. You don’t have to register but if you do you can set up an account to have new opportunities that suit your organisation emailed to you regularly. Join Frameworks – Framework Agreements are ‘umbrella’ arrangements allowing multiple suppliers to be listed as potentially being able to work on a specific contract. They are agreed by a lead buyer with one or more suppliers. Once part of a Framework Agreement the lead buyer and other pre-advertised organisations can purchase goods and services from your organisation. More information is in the VCSE guide listed above. Government Dynamic Purchasing System – signing to the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is similar to an electronic Framework Agreement but one which allows new suppliers to join at any time. They however have their own set of requirements. More information can be found in the VCSE guide listed above. Getting contract ready A key part of being able to win public sector contracts is to make sure your organisation is contract ready. Here are a few resources to help apply from support courses and webinars to publications. SSE Programmes The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) run a series of programmes and courses to support social enterprises grow and develop. These include: Social Business Modelling and Scaling – This workshop covers a broad range of integrated topics that are instrumental in creating and expanding a successful social business model. Winning Grants from Trusts and Foundations – This course will equip organisations with the tools needed to secure more funding from trusts and foundations, showing you how to identify valuable funder prospects, develop a more compelling case for support, write more impactful applications and build strong long-term relationships with funders Measuring Social Impact – This three-day course is full of the information you need to measure your impact successfully. Negotiating Skills and Pricing – This practical course will improve confidence and self awareness around setting prices and will help you to plan effectively for more formal negotiations to ensure a win-win outcome. Finding New Customers and Making More Sales – This one-day workshop will provide you with all the tools, techniques and help you will need to make finding new customers as straightforward as possible. Bid Writing Support Lime Green Consulting – Lime Green Consulting are a fundraising and strategy consultancy for UK charities and social enterprises. They offer bid-writing support and review applications. They also run training programmes in partnership with organisations like the School for Social Entrepreneurs. Key things to have in place to apply for a bid When applying for a public sector contract, VCSEs need to ensure that they have a few things in place before applying. These include: insurance policy modern slavery policy cybersecurity certificates Access to funding Access to appropriate funding is vitally important for VCSEs to grow and develop. Here are some places to go to find finance from repayable social investment to grant funding. Find a Grant - Find a grant is a pilot service that allows organisations to both search for government grants and find out if they are eligable for support.  Access - The Foundation for Social Investment - Access’s mission is to make sure that social enterprises and charities can access the finance they need to sustain or grow their impact. As a social investment wholesaler, Access funds a series programmes designed to help social enterprises and charities - from blended finance (grants and loans) to investment readiness programmes  The National Lottery Community Fund – The National Lottery raises money for good causes, supporting charities, community groups and social enterprises access grant funding. In 2021/22 it awarded over £579 million to these organisations. Current live funds can be found here Good Finance – The Good Finance website is designed to help social enterprises and charities navigate the world of social investment. It contains resources to help you find out if repayable finance is for you, a fund mapper, case studies and a pre-investment support page for organisations that are not yet investment ready. Funders Online – A database of over 8,000 sources of grant funding. Organisations need to pay a subscription to access the resources UnLtd – UnLtd is the foundation for social entrepreneurs. They run a series of awards offering funding for smaller social enterprises and also provide social investment (repayable finance) through the Growth Impact Fund. Get your organisation noticed With social value being a mandated part of central government contracts and all public sector bodies having to consider social value in commissioning as well as an increased focus on ESG amongst corporates – organisations from across the public and private sector are looking for VCSEs they can partner with. Here’s some ways on getting your organisation noticed. Social Enterprise Directory – All Social Enterprise UK members are featured on SEUK’s Social Enterprise Directory which is used by organisations looking to find social enterprise suppliers. If you are a social enterprise and not a member of SEUK you can find out more about membership here.