Learning and Insights Andrew van Doorn Projects Director, hact Transforming Care and Support: Housing Matters 2 December 2008

People living with dignity in inclusive neighbourhoods Hact’s Vision Hact’s Mission Pioneering housing solutions for people on the margins

Identifying emerging need amongst people on the margins Developing, testing & promoting practical solutions for social inclusion Achieving change through partnerships and networks Acting as a bridge between HAs and the wider Third Sector Hact achieves this by

New Commissioning function for LAs – steep learning curve Need to rationalise Tendering new for many providers For small orgs: Competitive disadvantage Higher impact of loss of contract Need to encourage and test models of collaboration Background

Funded by CLG, in partnership with Sitra and NHF Three strands: Good practice guide for commissioners (CLG) Providers guide to procurement (Sitra) Collaborate pilot programme (hact) Aims of hact pilot Resource, develop and test multi-agency tendering partnerships Capture what works and develop resources to share more widely About the project

Supported partnerships in Durham, Liverpool, Redbridge, Rotherham, Southend and Suffolk Tested a range of approaches We provided Facilitation and support A budget up to £12,000 Opportunities to share learning Outputs Resource pack, events, evaluation What we did

Two broad types: Sub-contracting One-to-one large/small partnership Multi-partner approach Consortium Standard ‘lead agency’ model Special Purpose Vehicle About the pilot projects

The partnerships Suffolk: A successful consortium bid for floating support contracts and a central access and referral function Redbridge: A partnership to deliver a borough-wide floating support service between a large Housing Association and a small community-based refugee organisation Durham: Three small homelessness agencies working as a consortium of sub-contractors on partnership bids with two prospective lead agencies to tender for a county-wide floating support service Rotherham: A group of local providers of young people’s services setting up a separate company – Independent Local Services – to bid for a range of contracts including Supporting People Southend: A consortium bid for floating support service Liverpool: A group of small providers working towards developing a collective arrangement with the same lead agency for a range of future partnership bid

The resource pack Ten worksheets offering guidance on: Changes in SP commissioning and impacts for small providers Partnership bidding for SP contracts – large and small providers working together, building consortia, making the relationships work Providers working with commissioners to influence the process The most common structures for collaborative working and key issues when developing legal agreements with partners Guidance on bid-writing Thoughts on implementation

Quality of the relationships are key Attitudes of Commissioners are key Sub-contracting relatively straight forward and low in cost Consortium building is time intensive and expensive External support / consultants can add value Key learning

Need specialist legal advice Commissioners need to be aware of unintended barriers to partnerships – gateway questions Commissioners must manage the procurement team Allow lots of time: EU regulations are a minima, not a maxima Evaluation needs to give full weight to local connections Key learning

Maximising purchasing power between individuals – Up2Us HAs supporting social enterprise and micro markets and building capacity of smaller agencies – Opportunity Agenda With new migrants and refugees - Accommodate Partnerships with people and communities for voice – Community Champions Future partnerships