Proposed East London 3rd Sector Training Providers Consortium
Background
The East London CVS Network wants to ensure that the 3rd sector can continue to play as a full a role as possible in helping East Londoners reach their highest potential through appropriate, high-quality education and training. However, because of the changing funding environment we believe that 3rd sector training providers are under threat unless we develop new ways of working. We are therefore looking into the possibility of establishing an East London 3rd Sector Training Providers Consortium. This email explains what we are doing and why, - and asks you to tell us the ways that you might be interested in working with us.
The LSC, and other funders of education and training, recognise that the third sector can often access groups of learners that they find hardest to reach. They also recognise that their current contracting arrangements don’t make it easy for our sector to win contracts to deliver learning to these target groups. The LSC Background information & the broader project London East invested a great deal of money in the borough-based LEAD (“London East Action for Development”) projects. These were established across our sub-region to help local 3rd sector agencies to achieve the necessary skills and experience to be able to successfully tender to provide education and training under mainstream LSC (and others’) contracts. Unfortunately, along with the internal configuration of the LSC, the contracting arrangements that the LEAD projects were set up to support have now changed. The LSC now tenders out contracts which seek much higher outputs than any individual 3rd sector provider is likely to be able to achieve alone. As a result of these changes there is a real danger that local groups who have worked very hard to achieve quality marks and deliver accredited training, etc., may not now be able to find appropriate contacts to bid for.
As a result the East London CVS Network is now looking to support the development of sub-regional consortia to help third sector groups who want to provide training and education under contracts. RedbridgeCVS is leading on this work in East London on behalf of the East London CVS Network. The proposed East London Training Providers Consortium will work to find appropriate partners with whom to make joint bids and will contract-manage any successful contracts. Partners can then spend their time focusing on delivering high-quality training and education.
The Lead Agency [RedbridgeCVS] for this new project will not be delivering training and so will not be in competition with its members for contracts. Neither will the Lead Agency be delivering capacity building outside of its usual Redbridge based work, and so will not be in competition with local CVSs. Local CVSs will continue to have a vital role in supporting local groups develop the skills and competencies needed to provide high-quality training to local people under properly funded and well-managed contracts.
We intend the project to become self-financing within about 3 years through earning management fees from successful contracts.
What are we doing?
In order to test the viability of such an approach, we are now keen to find out more about third sector training and education providers across the sub-region.
We have been circulating a short questionnaire [an Expression of Interest Form] and to date we have had over 65 responses. If you are a training provider please complete it yourself and forward it onto any other training providers you know. Please return this questionnaire to aileen@redbridgecvs.net
We have also held an information event to discuss the options for this work with potential partners. Over 30 people attended this event and expressed support for the work the East London CVS Network is doing.
If analysis of the data [from the Expression of Interest Forms] suggests that the project is as viable as we currently expect, we will develop a detailed Business Plan and begin to make applications for start-up funds to bodies such as Futurebuilders.
We believe that this is a vital opportunity for part of the sector in East London to keep control over its own destiny, and that others, who may have less of a commitment to supporting the voluntary and community sector, may seek to take this opportunity if we don’t…
If you have any queries please contact us:
Contact: |
Details: |
Issues: |
Aileen Shrimpton |
T: 020 8514 9614 |
Any questions on the EOI form |
Ross Diamond |
E: Ross Diamond T: 020 8514 9610 |
Background information & the broader project |
Alice Wallace |
E: Alice Wallace |
Background information & the broader project |