Civic betterment and community facility support services

Tender description

The infrastructure support service will: — support growth and investment in the VCS and provide a support offer which is responsive to the needs of the sector, — facilitate VCS organisations and groups to build networks and connections in communities, to work with others and to prioritise prevention and early intervention, — enable VCS organisations to contribute to the delivery of place-based, integrated offers that help residents find the information and support they need within their local community, — provide the voice of the sector and act as an advocate for the VCS in Croydon at a regional and national level. The infrastructure support service will be required to: — support growth and investment in the VCS, — provide a support offer which is responsive to the needs of the sector, — facilitate VCS organisations and groups to build networks and connections in communities and to work with others, — facilitate and to prioritise prevention and early intervention, — enable VCS organisations to contribute to the delivery of place-based locality service models, integrated offers that help residents find the information and support they need within their local community, — provide the voice of the sector and act as an advocate for the VCS in Croydon at a regional and national level, — provide information, advice and guidance to the VCS in Croydon. The service will have a base in the borough and will be expected to: — have a governance structure, which has a strong element of local representation from the VCS, — be an organisation that has a track record of providing VCS infrastructure support, — actively engage with residents and the VCS on a regular basis to ensure VCS services are designed appropriately and meet the needs of the population, — demonstrate strong engagement, communication and collaboration across the VCS, — reflect the diverse nature and communities of interest in Croydon, — have robust well managed financial and organisation governance, — have in place a full range of good governance policies with the ability to demonstrate monitoring. Support organisations to set up their own good governance structures, — evidence and provide robust GDPR compliance alongside policies and procedures, — demonstrate organisational resilience, — demonstrate technical capacity and a track record of gathering, managing and utilising data to drive, guide and advise on development and change, — demonstrate a structure and means of operation which make the most effective use of available resources and sustain the organisation in the long term, — operate with respect for equality and diversity as an organisation, — be a London Living Wage employer, — has a profound understanding and knowledge of the borough and locality strengths and needs. The required and expected outcomes and activities are described below. The aims of the service are to: — maximise the potential of the VCS organisations and groups to be recognised, supported and developed as a key partner of the council, — enable the building and sharing of information, knowledge, expertise and resources; including better use and sharing of premises and the development of robust information governance across the sector, — connect people, places and services in the community to build a resilient network that delivers the priority outcomes within the VCS strategy, — reduce the dependency of Croydon’s population on statutory services, whilst creating a culture of self-care and community support that promotes preventative lifestyles and independence in Croydon, — increase the funding and investment in Croydon’s VCS by identifying and supporting innovative approaches, encouraging cross-sectorial collaboration and embedding a culture of impact-measurement and continuous improvement to maximise potential external fundraising, — ensure VCS is represented on local partnership groups and boards and that VCSOs are better empowered to speak as advocates for the sector and for their beneficiaries, — secure funding (external to Croydon public sector) for VCS organisations in the borough to improve services to local residents, — promote and support innovative approaches across the sector. The service will focus and evidence its delivery of outcomes in the following areas: — capacity building and support, including access to premises, — fundraising support, — development of partnerships, collaboration and networking, — volunteering, — identifying gaps and targeting support for under-represented groups and/or service/activity providers, — information on services.