Guidance

Clarification questions and responses

Updated 30 November 2022

Applies to England

1. Funding

1.1 Is £900,000 the total amount of funding available (and thus to be shared amongst multiple successful bidders) or is there is between £300,000 to £900,000 available per successful bidder?

£900,000 is the total amount of funding available. If DCMS awards the funding to more than one applicant, £900,000 will be shared between the successful applicants.

1.2 Is the fund giving grants of £300,000 to £900,000 to VCSE organisations in order to help them participate in public service procurement?

No, £900,000 is the total amount of funding available.

DCMS are looking to award the funding to a delivery partner(s) that will deliver a programme to support the VCSE sector to participate in public service procurement in England.

The funded programme must support:

• VCSEs with a turnover of £250,000 to £10 million
• VCSEs delivering services in England
• Where appropriate, funded activities/outputs should be targeted at VCSEs delivering services addressing health and social care, employability, disability, homelessness, domestic violence and sexual abuse. We would assume however that at least some of the funded activities/outputs will also be relevant to VCSEs delivering services outside of these areas which is permissible as long as it does not detract from supporting VCSEs delivering services in the above priority areas.
• Where appropriate, funded activities/outputs should initially be focused on VCSEs engaging with central government procurement and supply chains, although we would assume some of the activities/ outputs will be relevant to both central and local procurement and related supply chains. We are interested in hearing how applicants will use an iterative approach to delivering the programme across three years to widen the scope of the programme to potentially include local government procurement.

DCMS would like the maximum number of VCSEs in England to benefit as possible from the funded programme(s), whilst taking into consideration the funding available.

Research suggests that there are up to 250,000 active VCSEs in the UK. It estimates that between 9,200 and 12,500 VCSEs engage in government contracting each year, i.e., up to 5% of active VCSEs.

DCMS asks applicants to consider the above information when applicants put together their proposed programme and when answering 1.5 and 3.5 of the application form. Question 1.5 of the application form asks applicants to provide an estimate number of VCSEs their proposal seeks to engage in activities, both directly and indirectly. Question 3.5 of the application form asks applicants to provide who their programme will target and their rationale for this.

1.3 How many applicants are you looking to award funding to overall? (consortiums counted as one applicant)

DCMS are ideally looking to fund one applicant who is likely to be a lead organisation applying as part of a consortium of organisations. However it is possible that more than one applicant will be awarded, contingent on successful applicants being complementary in the delivery of overall objectives.

1.4 Can we have more information on the annual finance approval process? When will funding for 2023/24 and 2024/25 be confirmed? Will programmes need to close early if funding is unavailable in in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Funding for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are subject to annual financial approval processes that take place in DCMS. This usually involves the confirmation of budgets to ensure they are in line with DCMS and government priorities for the next financial year.

We expect to be able to confirm funding for years 2 and 3 around January-February before the start of the relevant financial year. This timescale is approximate and subject to change.

In the unlikely scenario that no or reduced funding is available for 2023/24 and 2024/25, there will be a discussion between DCMS and the grant holder on how best to proceed.

1.5 Can grant funding be used to pay for recruitment costs including recruitment agency fees?

Yes, grant funding can be used for recruitment costs including recruitment agency fees.

Applicants should demonstrate they have the sufficient experience, capacity and capability to deliver the programme. However, we do understand the timescales involved are tight and therefore grant funding on recruitment costs would be eligible assuming that they are proportionate and provide good value for money.

1.6 Can grant funding be used to pay for freelance staff costs?

Yes, grant funding can be used to pay for freelance staff costs as this would come under staff salary costs.

Use of grant funding on staffing costs should be proportionate and represent good value for money.

2. Eligibility

2.1 As a social enterprise, would we meet the eligibility criteria as “a charity or institution (other than a charity) which is established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes”?

Yes, a social enterprise would meet the eligibility criteria.

3. Application

3.1 If applying as a consortium, do all the requested details of consortium members need to be provided in the application form?

At the application form stage, “in principle” partners should be named in your application form by the lead organisation. We expect all partnership arrangements to be fully confirmed at interview stage, should your application reach this stage.

3.2 Do you have a template for the detailed budget you require?

The programme budget breakdown requested in 8.6 of the application form can be provided in whatever format the applicant chooses.

This budget breakdown template is an example of the kind of budget breakdown required and should be used as a guide. Applicants do not have to follow this format exactly.

4. Programme Design

4.1 Is the grant solely for delivery of support to VCSE organisations or is there an element of onward grant making in the fund?

The core purpose of the fund is for the delivery of support to VCSE organisations and not for onward grant making. However, we will consider proposals that will include a limited amount of onward grants as part of innovative approaches to enabling VCSE participation.

4.2 Is the co-design of the programme between the successful applicant and DCMS, or would it also include sector engagement?

The co-design of the programme will primarily be between the successful applicant and DCMS.

Sector engagement can be conducted during the co-design period. However, any sector engagement agreed will need to avoid preventing the programme’s successful launch in mid December.

Given that funded programme(s) will be expected to run for three-years, the successful applicant(s) may want to conduct sector engagement during the grant funding period in order to support continuous improvement of the programme. Please note, the evaluator that is appointed by DCMS to conduct an independent evaluation of the programme will likely conduct a mid-programme evaluation.

4.3 To what extent must a funded programme focus on central government procurement compared to local government procurement?

The funded programme must support VCSEs to increase its participation in central government procurement, with a minimum of 50% of funding being used to support VCSEs in central government procurement.

However, DCMS welcomes proposals which also include supporting VCSEs in local government procurement.

DCMS would also assume that some of the activities and outputs of a funded-programme will be relevant to both central and local procurement and related supply chains.

4.4 Should a funded programme cover the NHS provider selection regime?

Identifying relevant procurement and commissioning regimes to focus on will form part of the co-design process of the programme. We anticipate that topics such as the NHS provider selection regime will be part of this and will therefore be included in the programme.

Please note that funded programme(s) should support VCSEs delivering services in employability, disability, homelessness, domestic violence and sexual abuse, as well as in health and social care.

4.5 Is there scope for funded programme(s) to include intelligence gathering about the challenges VCSEs face in feeding back to DCMS and other government departments?

The primary aim of the fund is to enable VCSE organisations to develop how they themselves can be better prepared to bid for contracts and increase their participation in public service procurement, including testing different approaches and understanding what approaches work. The primary aim of the programme is not intended for research purposes.

Successful applicant(s) should use their expertise and knowledge of the VCSE sector, as well as existing research such as the “The role of VCSEs organisations in public procurement” to deliver a programme that meets the fund’s primary objectives.

Grant holders may use some funding to gather intelligence on the barriers VCSEs face on the demand-side of the commissioning process but this must not be the primary focus and should serve to fulfil the fund’s objective to enable VCSE organisations to increase its participation in public service procurement.

4.6 It would be helpful to have some more information about engaging public sector commissioners. Is the purpose of this mainly to raise awareness of the sector? Would there be support through DCMS or Cabinet Office to get access to officials?

The main purpose of engaging with public commissioners is to make it easier for the VCSE sectors to position their offer to public commissioners, raising commissioner awareness and understanding of the sectors’ role and value.

Below are some indicative activities and outputs which could be delivered.

• Organising “Meet the Supplier/Buyer” events between VCSE organisations and government commissioners
• Producing a digital map that shows where VCSEs offer services relevant to contracts/subcontracting opportunities - e.g. using Charity Commission dataset and Social Enterprise UK registry
• Producing case studies that demonstrate and promote the social value VCSEs create delivering priority services

The scope of support to engage commissioners can be agreed between the successful applicant and DCMS during the co-design phase.

4.7 What work will DCMS and government do on the commissioner side to encourage the participation of VCSEs in public service procurement?

DCMS is supporting and working with the VCSE Crown Representative and other government departments on the commissioner side to encourage the VCSE participation in public service procurement. DCMS will share relevant details of this work with the grant holder where it will benefit the programme’s delivery.

5. Geographical coverage

5.1 Is DCMS seeking to provide national coverage in England with this fund or will it seek to fund the most effective bids – even if that left part or even the majority of England without coverage?

Funded programme(s) must support VCSEs across England and have broad coverage of England.

If an applicant’s proposed programme only supports VCSEs in certain areas, in the evaluation of bids, DCMS will need to consider whether other applications will be complementary in providing broad coverage of England overall.

5.2 Can an application be made based on a region, for example, in the West Midlands, with the scope to scale to England at a later stage?

DCMS are seeking to fund programme(s) that have broad coverage of England from the outset of the programme.

If an applicant’s proposed programme only supports VCSEs in certain areas, in the evaluation of bids, DCMS will need to consider whether other applications will be complementary in providing broad coverage of England overall.

6. Evaluation

6.1 From experience, creating an evaluation framework at the beginning of a programme (during the co-design phase) lends itself to better reporting and outcomes, could this be considered?

The proposed timeline is for the independent evaluator to be appointed in April 2023.

The evaluation plan sets out two main phases of research activity, one mid-programme and one at programme close. This is intended to maximise the budget available for research and analysis to support both formative and summative aspects of the evaluation.

Prior to the research contractor being appointed, DCMS analysts will work with the programme provider to ensure that appropriate administrative and monitoring data are being collected from the outset.

DCMS also welcomes bids that set out how applicants can support data collection, evidence generation and learning throughout the lifetime of the programme.

6.2 As a result of the funded programme, what percentage of contracts do you want to go to the VCSE sector and what is the financial value of this? How will satisfactory performance of a programme be judged?

The objective of the VCSE Contract Readiness Fund is to enable VCSEs to compete alongside other organisations and increase their participation in public service procurement in England by:

1. improving the skills, knowledge and support networks of VCSEs for successful bidding
2. improving the awareness amongst VCSEs of opportunities regarding current and upcoming tenders
3. making it easier for the VCSE sectors to position their offer to public service commissioners, raising their awareness and understanding of the sectors’ role and value
4. improving the evidence on what initiatives work

We will work with the provider through the co-design phase to translate our objectives into clear success measures for the programme. These will be assessed as part of ongoing grant management and through the independent evaluation, which will include process and impact strands.

7. Other

7.1 Can you give more detail of what represents receipts of proof of eligible expenditure?  Can you confirm that this will not be onerous in terms of things like individual salary payments etc?

DCMS will not ask for expenditure on named individuals although it can ask for staff expenditure that does not name individuals. The level of evidence required on expenditure will depend on fraud risk assessment of the grant holder.

Any expenditure relating to government funding should maintain best practice financial procedures in order to demonstrate good value for money in the event of an audit.