Notice to Providers
Flexible New Deal Networking Opportunities (revised 20 June 2008)
As you may know the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) held seven flexible New Deal (fND) Pre Qualification Questionnaire events during April. The contact details of the organisations who attended these events were published on this website to help promote interested Prime Contractors, Sub contractors and third sector organisations to network with each other and formalise potential subcontracting arrangements within their proposals to deliver flexible New Deal (fND)
DWP has contacted these organisations to obtain additional specific information on their professional expertise and current potential future delivery locations. This information will be used to create a networking data base that will be published on this website to help further promote networking opportunities. This database can be accessed via the following link;
If you would like your organisations contact details to be included on this website networking database, please download and complete the contact stencil and e-mail it to sheffieldmayfieldcourt.flexiblenewdeal@dwp.gsi.gov.uk New updated contact information will be published each Friday.
Future Networking and other Activity
To further enhance networking opportunities, DWP is advertising other networking and Third Sector activities on this website organised by external partners. To find out more and how to participate in them, please access the following links;
Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) at the 2008 Welfare to Work Convention
ERSA and DWP have jointly agreed to facilitate a small number of informal workshops to bring together potential Prime Contractors for the flexible New Deal and interested subcontractors and partners.
These sessions are open to all organisations. You do not have to be an ERSA member or a current provider to be involved. The sessions will run over the designated lunch times and catering will be available in the room.
Day One (25 June)
- Session One – 12.45-13.30
- Session Two – 13.40-14.20
Day Two (26 June)
- Session Three – 12.15-12.55
- Session Four – 13.05-13.45
You can be involved in one of two ways. You can either book a table at one of the four sessions to promote your organisation to potential subcontractors, or you can use the opportunity to network and make contact with potential Prime Contractors and Sub contractors.
If you would like to host a table please note these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Please register your interest and state the session you would prefer to be involved in to gila@ersa.org.uk. You do not need to register if you are coming along on the day to meet the table hosts.
Public Contract Opportunities (PCO) programme.
In the recently published DWP Commissioning Strategy it is explicit, when referring to procurement of employment provision that “We (DWP) are committed to this market being here for the long term and to looking for further opportunities where we could work with the private and third sectors and public partners.”
Consequently the flexible New Deal includes funding for the Public Contract Opportunities (PCO) programme to help train third sector/smaller organisations in tendering skills and how to market themselves as a sub-contractor of choice.
The PCO programme is being run on behalf of DWP by Tendering for Care, who provide further details on the programme on their following website:
http://pco.tenderingforcare.com/
Futurebuilders
Futurebuilders is a £215m Government backed fund. Its aim is to invest in Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) so that they can compete on a level playing field with the private sector for public sector contracts. To this end, Futurebuilders will invest in TSOs to bring them to a level where they are not disadvantaged. For example, Futurebuilders is able to offer loans, sometimes combined with grants, to TSOs to:
- provide funds to enable them to tender effectively
- help them strengthen their balance sheets
- provide working capital to support the development of services and programmes
Futurebuilders will also look at other ways in which it can provide finance to assist TSOs to create 'competitive neutrality' with the private sector. If you have an issue that does not fall within these examples but, were it solved, would make you more able to compete more fairly, you should talk to us about whether we are able to help you.
Next Steps
Short listed bidders of stage 1 of the competition will be announced, week commencing 14 July 2008. Successful organisations at this stage will be invited to submit a Tender.
Disclaimer
Providers who supply contact information which is published on this website should note that this will not guarantee any future business or the award of a contract and that this is not an approval list or a guarantee of service quality.