Ealing Commissioning and Tendering Master class

27th September 2013

Aims and Objectives:

•Introduction to Children’s Commissioning in Ealing

•The tender process and submitting high quality bids

•Demonstrating value for money and outcomes •Accessing contract opportunities

•Bidding on a Joint or Solo basis

THE TENDERING PROCESS

11AM TO 11.30AM

Commissioning, Procurement, Tendering & Contracting

Commissioning describes the whole process of mapping, planning, delivery and evaluation of services for a local area.

A commissioner is anyone undertaking this whole process.

Commissioning, Procurement, Tendering & Contracting

• Procurement refers to the purchase of services, usually by publicly funded bodies, at the best possible price, in the right quantity and quality, at the right time and generally via a contract. It is one part of the commissioning process

• Tendering is the process of making a formal offer in writing to provide services as specified in the tender documents. Successful tenders result in the awarding of a contract

• Contracting is about one organisation, such as a local authority paying another to deliver a service to an exact specification as laid out and agreed in a contract

Procurement Procedures• TOTAL ESTIMATED VALUE PROCEDURE • Up to £10,000 Officers should proceed in a manner most

expedient to the efficient management of the service.

• £10,001 - £35,000 Three written quotations as a minimum. • £35,001 - £75,000 Invitation to Tender to at least three tenderers. • £75,001 – EU Threshold Invitation to Tender by advertisement. • Above EU Threshold EU Tendering procedure.

PROPORTIONALITY , the PROVIDER MARKETS and the NATURE OF THESERVICES TO BE DELIVERED, all determine how the Tender process WILL BE DESIGNED & UNDERTAKEN -

EACH TENDER IS DIFFERENT !!

EU Procurement Directives (at present)

EU Requirements for tendering Part B Services:

• Financial threshold• A technical service specification and

Publication of contract award OJEU • Set by the prevailing case law.

CHANGING IN 2013 – UK may be an earlier implementer of the changes (yet to be agreed)

Part A Services Part A Services Part B (Residual) Services

(Most of Social Care Service delivery contracts fall into

Part B Services )

Part B (Residual) Services (Most of Social Care Service delivery contracts fall into

Part B Services )

The ‘common’ Tender Process

Common requirements of a Pre-QualificationQuestionnaire

• Legal status • Previous relevant experience • Resources, Qualification and Accreditations • Financial information – to size of the contract

• Policies and Procedures – ‘SAFEGUARDING’ • Equality & Diversity• Quality Assurance - ISO 9001, NYA Youth Service Quality Mark,

PQASSO, EFQM

• Insurances – Employment & Public liability Professional Indemnity

• References

Completing the PQQ • Pay attention to the scoring (if given) • Read through the whole document and thoroughly understand

what is being asked of the whole PQQ - in some cases questions can be confusing & often duplicated in the application form and can be interpreted in a number of ways

• If in doubt – ask !• Put yourself in the shoes of the evaluator who can only score you

on what you put down on paper• Financial health check• Check you have the relevant insurances in place • Update policies and procedures with current legislation • Contact referees in advance - time is of the essence.

Common requirements in an Invitation to Tender

• Ability to meet the service specification and provide evidenced based service solutions to meet target group and deliver outcomes

• Evidence ability to deliver the service, previous experience and knowledge of working with the need group and qualifications to do so.

• Ability to set up and delivery the service and the business skills in running the service – submit business plan. • Ability to work in partnership and how this will be achieved. • Ability to measure impact and outcomes. • Evidence the embedding of policies & procedures within your

organisation. • Ability to engage & consultant with target group to inform services

FEATURES OF A SUCCESSFULL BID

11:45 to 13:00

What makes a good tender submission? S – SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS ALL THE SERVICE SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS M -CLEAR MEANS OF MEASURING NEEDS AND SUCCESS OF THE PROJECTA –THE BUSINESS PLAN, MODE OF SERVICE DELIVERY AND OUTCOMES ARE ACHIEVEABLER - THE SUBMISSION IS REASLISTICT - THE SERVICE CAN BE SET UP, IMPLEMENTED AND DELIVERED IN THE REQUIRED TIMESCALES AND THE ORGANISATION

HAS EVIDENCED ITS TECHNICAL ABILITY TO DELIVERY THE SERVICE

• Plan from identification of need, to setting up service, to ongoing funding Evidence an understanding of the needs and demand for the service • Evidence how the service you are proposing best meets the needs of users • Service transformation requiring imagination, innovation, flexibility and listening to service users and carers. Understanding the difference between need and

want• Innovation that also address the achievement of providing best value – Diversification in service provision i.e. Increase in holiday short breaks as apposed to

residential respite • Be specific about what provision will be provided to address the need i.e. Don’t just state a menu of opportunities for young people aged 14+ will be provided

to recognise the different needs – go into detail about what provision will be offered• Increase provision at times when families and young people say support is most needed, after school, during school holidays, evenings and weekends. Night

time, and the impact of sleep deprivation, is identified as a particular pressure for many families requiring an increase in provision available 24 hours.

Preparation ...preparation......

• Read through the entire Initiation to Tender (ITT)• Assess the risks, investment required and engage key

stakeholders.• Think about each of the questions and ensure you understand

what each question is asking. • Look at the evaluation scoring.• Develop project plan to complete the submission. • Pay attention to the ITT clarification questions and answers • Attend provider briefing sessions. • Ask questions and seek clarification where required. • Do not leave the submission until the last minute.

Exercise 2: -

• Critiquing previous tender submissions (examples only for the purpose of this training)

• Ratings 1 – 5 (1 low and 5 highest score)

• Indentify areas for improvement

Key learning points

• Plan your answers• Evidenced base should be on service solutions and

how will risks be mitigated• Ability to link best value, service sustainability and

achieving specification requirements and outcomes• Flexibility of service provision • Continuous monitoring

Pitfalls to avoid • Answer did not address the question. • The submission made no explicit link to the outcomes required, it was implied but not

explicit. • Lack of specificity in meeting the described needs and understanding the complexity of

need.• Services were based on existing provision with little explicit reference to meeting the

requirements of the service specification. • Limited explanation given as to what is to be provided (assumed awareness of the

organisation’s ability to provide a service)• Services were too expensive as it included provision not required• No reference was made as to how referrals would be received and how assessment of

needs would be undertaken. • No information given as to how the provider would communicate with other

professionals. • Business plan did not address the management of risks ,

contingency planning or interim service arrangements.

Continued.....• Sell our service• Give good introductions to answers • In all your tender answers keep referring back to the service specification

requirements • Understand and answer the question. • Ensure all your answers address the requirements of the question. • Try and quantify added value and evidence why the added value

components will be beneficial to the services being procured. • State the purpose and objective of engaging users in the

deliver of the service and why this is considered to be beneficial.

BE EXPLICT, CLEAR AND CONCISE, CROSS REFERENCE ANSWERS TO THE SERVICE SPECIFICATION

LUNCH

13:00 TO 13:45

BUILDING THE FUTURE?

What could the future hold ?

Prior or early notification of tendering opportunity

• Networks • Preparation • Fact and knowledge finding – needs and outcome data • Indentify partners / potential collaborators • Get ready to tender • Assessment of risk • Planning and resourcing

DOING THE BUDGET

14:30 TO 15:00

Benchmarking...evidencing Best value • Know your USP and the cost of your service • Research • Benchmark

– Remit/scope of the service – Partnerships & Collaboration – Location, – Accessibility, – Complexity of need, – Number of staff / volunteers (staffing ratio) – Staff turnover,– Training & Qualifications of staff, – Other funding arrangements – Full cost recovery,– Number of activities sessions or outputs to be delivered,– Price, – Timescales of service delivery Significant number of variables are involved when benchmarking thus care should be taken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Benchmarking Short Break Services

Service type Costs – Short break services for disabled children • Residential overnight £69.97 – £373.00 per child per night (24 hour period)• Family based overnight £140.36 - £226.26 per child per night (24 hour period)• Day care £99.21 – £204.83 per child per session (8 hours)• Domiciliary home care £16.74 – £25.60 per family per hour• Home support £17.54 – £25.60 per family per hour• Home sitting £10.98 – £26.07 per family per hour• General groups £296.68 - £430.61 per session• Afterschool clubs £239.77 - £331.17 per session• Weekend clubs £296.68 - 324.17 per session• Activity holidays £113.38 (for a 2 day break) - £3,701.15 (7 day break)Reference: Research Report DCSF-RR224The Costs of ShortBreak Provision (March 2010)

Not intervening early is expensive….C

ost

per

child

/

fam

ily

Severity of need

Cost

Family Intervention Projects – £8-20,000 per family per year

Family Nurse Partnerships – £3000 per family a year

Child looked after in children’s home – £125,000 per year placement costs

Child looked after in foster care – £25,000 per year placement costs

Schools - £5,400 per pupil

Children’s Centres - around £600 per user

Costs increase as children get older

Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care – £68,000 per year for total package of support

Child looked after in secure accommodation – £134,000 per year placement costs

Parenting programme (e.g. Triple P) – £900-1,000 per family

PEIP – £1,200 - 3,000 per parent

Multi-Systemic Therapy – £7-10,000 per year

DECIDING WHAT TO DO NEXT ?

Solo or Joint Enterprise

15:00 to 15:40

Partnership / Consortia submissions

Types of Collaborative working– Scaling up – Sheltering – Merging – Sub-contracting – Consortium

Models of Consortia Working: Informal Network

Commissioning Body

Contractscharity 1

charity 2

Charity 3

Charity 4

Charity 5 Charity 6

Charity 7

Lead Agency

Formal Consortium

Partnership / Consortia submissions – factors to consider

• Maintaining independence and remaining true to mission

• Effective governance arrangements• Risk assessment and mitigation• Protecting charitable resources and ensuring

that they are used appropriately

Partnership / Consortia submissions

www.locality.org.uk

Contact Details

membership@childrenengland.org.uk

training@childrenengland.org.uk

www.childrenengland.org.uk

Tel: 0207 833 3319