Commissioning and procurement: case studies

Case studies on good local commissioning that involves the voluntary sector and is facilitated by local support and development organisations. If you have examples that would make a good case study get in touch - lcpu@navca.org.uk. 

General

• Cornwall's Community Advice Network (pdf, 3.17MB). Local solutions to local problems: How local authorities can continue grant funding local advice services.
• Voluntary Action Sheffield (pdf, 53 KB). Third sector access to procurement opportunities
• Institute for Voluntary Action Research (856 KB - external website). Forewarned is forearmed: critical factors for mergers: An IVAR case-study looking at one organisation's merger with four smaller organisations in the same field.
• Salford CVS Action Learning Set (doc, 75KB). A case study looking at how Salford CVS used Action Learning to work through some of the challenges of commissioning and procurement.
• Voluntary Action Rotherham (doc, 31KB). VAR used a procurement approach to distribute grant funding in an attempt to introduce groups to tendering.
• NAVCA's Tender Support Project Evaluation (pdf 700KB). NAVCA's evaluation of our Tender Support Project. The report shows how a small investment can make a big difference to local charities and voluntary groups' success in bidding for contracts.

Supporting collaboration for public service delivery

Case studies that illustrate how LSDOs support collaboration for public sector delivery. 

• Salford CVS: The Importance of Community Development Workers (pdf, 80KB)
• Hackney CVS (Word, 154KB)
• Rotherham Children, Young People and Families Consortium (Word, 175KB)
• Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service: Supporting a collaborative bid (pdf, 109KB)

National Commissioning Conference 2010: Working with an innovative and entrepreneurial third sector

LCPU and Salford CVS ran a joint workshop on innovation and commissioning at the 2010 Guardian Commissioning Conference. Here are the case studies from Salford on commissioners supporting third sector innovation.

• Approved Providers Register (Word, 107 KB)
• Early Intervention and Prevention Fund (Word, 105 KB)
• Thriving Third Sector Investment Fund (Word, 109 KB)