Health and social work services

Tender description

Hertfordshire County Council (the “Council”) is carrying out Pre-Procurement Market Engagement (“PPME”) in relation to support for the voluntary sector in Hertfordshire. The council will consider the feedback received to help inform the council’s options and further decision making. For the avoidance of doubt, this stage of the project is not part of a formal procurement process and the council is not committing, at this stage, to carrying out such a process. Participation or non-participation in the PPME shall not prevent any supplier participating in a potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the PPME shall place any supplier at an advantage in a potential procurement process. Participation in the PPME will be at each organisation’s own cost. No expense in responding to this PPME will be reimbursed by the council. Hertfordshire benefits from a strong and diverse voluntary sector, including a number of large countywide providers, others at a district level and smaller, more local organisations. Some of these organisations receive funding from the county council, whilst others do not. In either case, many of these organisations provide valuable preventative services that help reduce, delay or even prevent the development of health and social care needs. Hertfordshire County Council is particularly interested in developing its provider market for complex and multiple needs. The councils focus is on prevention and wellbeing, reducing the need for hospital admissions and long term institutional care. A number of organisations exist around the county to provide infrastructure support to the sector, primarily Volunteering Centres and Councils for the Voluntary Sector (CVSs). These operate at a district or dual-district level. This infrastructure support includes: — support to match people interested in volunteering with voluntary organisations, — support to organisations to fund raise and bid for funding, — support to organisations to manage their organisations (e.g. supporting trustees), — supporting VCS organisations with back office functions. The current provision is split over 2 lots and is run by 2 separate providers. Lot 1: representing and developing the voluntary and community sector. The overall targets and aims of Connect Hertfordshire are to: — provide 500 voluntary and community sector organisations with access to information, advice and fundraising support, — facilitate up to 200 organisations to develop partnerships, — support up to 100 organisations to develop solutions to sustainability, organisational issues and innovation, — to enable a more cohesive and effective county wide voluntary and community sector voice that can contribute to the local health and well being strategy, — build an overarching information hub accessible to all voluntary and community sector organisations, — enable innovation and demonstration of the social value of voluntary and community sector organisations in Hertfordshire, — develop a single point of contact and representation for other organisations to communicate and engage with the voluntary and community sector, — develop a steering group to ensure that the work of the provider is co-produced, fully owned by the VCS in Hertfordshire. Lot 2: supporting, developing and promoting local opportunities to volunteer. The overall targets and aims are to: — support at least 2 000 volunteers in each year of the contract across Hertfordshire, — promote a visible brand that will act as an umbrella for all volunteering activity, — help organisations be “volunteer ready” by sharing best practice, training and recognising volunteers, — enable individuals and organisations to utilise the #Teamherts website to reflect the increase in one-off and micro-volunteering and make it as easy as possible to access opportunities, — produce regular communications to engage, celebrate and update volunteers including extensive use of social media, — ensure that Hertfordshire is linked into national celebrations such as volunteers’ week both services are countywide. The council will consider the input and responses received as part of this pre-procurement market engagement to help inform the council’s options and further decision making.