UK Shared Prosperity Fund People and Skills

Tender description

<p style="margin-top: 0; background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)"><span style="color: rgba(33, 37, 41, 1)">Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) are currently reviewing information and evidence around appropriate routes to market for commissioning activity under the </span><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)"><a href="https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/investment/uk-shared-prosperity-fund/core-ukspf-implementation/">People and Skills element of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund</a></span><span style="color: rgba(33, 37, 41, 1)">. The commissioning strategy will strive to deliver value for money, using an evidence-based approach to appropriately target provision where it is needed. We are exploring different options to ensure that key local partners and stakeholder organisations of all sizes can be involved in this exciting opportunity; this could potentially include use of the Flexible Procurement System, as well as grants and open market procurement.&nbsp; </span></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)"><span style="color: rgba(33, 37, 41, 1)">We would like to notify providers that the FPS is currently open for applications and we encourage providers who aren’t already registered on there, and would like to bid for future opportunities as a lead provider, to apply via&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)"><a href="../../Advert?advertId=06dad17b-097a-ed11-811c-005056b64545&amp;p=e0cc5631-4690-e511-80fb-000c29c9ba21"><span style="color: rgba(1, 66, 135, 1)">The Chest</span></a></span><span style="color: rgba(33, 37, 41, 1)">&nbsp;before the deadline of <strong>Monday 27 February 2023 at 12pm</strong>. Please note, it is unlikely that the FPS will reopen for applications before commissioning for any UKSPF activity. </span></p> <p><span style="color: rgba(33, 37, 41, 1)">GMCA will be holding Drop-In Sessions to provide further information about applying for the FPS on Tuesday 31^st January, Thursday 2^nd February and Wednesday 8^th February 2023. These sessions will not focus on the content of individual submissions (i.e., organisations are not told how to respond), but instead mean that the FPS team can spend time providing answers about the application process. At the last opening, some smaller organisations and VCSEs found it helpful to talk through their thought process around applying.</span></p> <p><span style="color: rgba(33, 37, 41, 1)">To sign up for any of the Drop-In sessions, organisations can email </span><a><span>EWSFramework@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk</span></a><span style="color: rgba(33, 37, 41, 1)"> with their chosen date and a few time slots that work, and they will be sent a 10-minute MS Teams invitation. There are initially 3 days of Drop-In sessions planned however, if demand is high more dates will be added before the submission deadline. </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In addition to the planned Drop-In sessions, GMCA have also held a number of engagement sessions (listed below) which have been recorded and can be watched on YouTube:</p> <ul style="margin-top: 0" type="disc"> <li style="margin-left: 0"><strong><span>Information Session</span></strong><span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJ43VCLnvY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJ43VCLnvY</a>. This session gave a comprehensive overview of what the FPS is and what it has been designed to do. We covered what activity the framework has been used for to date, and the upcoming opportunities. We spoke about why organisations should apply for the FPS, which included looking at their eligibility to bid for EWS procured activity, and to give them oversight of the commissioning activity in GM.</span></li> <li style="margin-left: 0"><strong><span>Application Workshop</span></strong><span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJD4P7CB4XE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJD4P7CB4XE</a>. During this event we gave an overview of the FPS and spoke about the minimum standards required to join the framework. A large proportion of the event involved a step-by-step walkthrough of the SSQ Response Document – the part of the application that must be passed to join. This meant that we were able to give a good amount of detail to each section and speak about what we are expecting to see from responses. </span></li> <li style="margin-left: 0"><strong><span>Back to Basics Workshop</span></strong><span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS0cXB4qNUQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS0cXB4qNUQ</a>. This event was aimed at organisations who have never applied to the FPS before, and who might be smaller in size, which includes VCSEs. The event recapped some of the topics covered in previous events to give context plus information on who is suitable to be on the FPS. We also discussed that providers who have a track record in, or capability of, delivering work and skills-based programmes to GM residents, and who are interested in being a lead provider for contracted delivery are exactly who we are looking for.</span></li> </ul> Keywords: training, education, skills, work