The Executive Office (TEO) Communities in Transition: Youth Programme in the Shankill CIT Area

Tender description

The Executive Office (TEO) is seeking to appoint a Contractor for the provision of a Youth Programme in the Shankill CIT Area; this relates to the Shankill upper and lower, including Woodvale, and Annex A of the Specification provides maps of the area. In collaboration with relevant stakeholders such as youth services, schools, colleges, the Contractor will design and deliver a programme that provides direct support to young people aged 11 – 19 years who are vulnerable and in danger of recruitment from paramilitary organisations. Through delivery of programme activity, the Contractor will ensure there is greater co-ordination of youth provision and support with collective impact across all the contexts in which young people live their lives in Shankill CIT area. This tender is linked to the Communities in Transition (CIT) Project which had been due to end in June 2021, however the Executive made a commitment within ‘New Decade New Approach’ to continue its delivery with a renewed focus and additional funding up to 31 March 2024. The CIT Project is therefore being delivered in two phases, with Phase 1 having been completed in 30 June 2021 and Phase 2 to be completed by 31 March 2024. Phase 1 of the Project provided a firm foundation for continuing to address the issues that allow Paramilitarism, criminality and coercive control to persist within communities. Phase 2 presents an opportunity to further refine the work as we move forward. This Contract falls under Phase 2 and will support the Department in its overall delivery of the CIT Project. The Contractor’s Youth programme will incorporate and deliver a number of programme activities, described at paragraph 6.5 of the Specification. Full details of all the requirements for this Contract are provided for within the Specification of Requirements Schedule. This programme is designed to maximise the impact of the proposed intervention on the ground, within the CIT area, through working with young people aged 11 – 19 years, their families and support networks to: • Gather the voices of young people • Develop a collaborative working platform • Develop youth focused social action projects All activities which the Contractor proposes to carry out must clearly link to the objectives listed above. The Contractor must not be delivering general youth activities as part of this programme, activities must be clearly linked to addressing the needs of children and young people which have arisen as a result of living in a community with high levels of paramilitary activity, criminality and organised crime. The Contractor will be expected to start delivering the Contract in early December 2021 for a period of one year.