Organisations which used Navca's 'tender support service' have won contracts totalling over £2.6m so far, the umbrella body has advised.
Some 148 voluntary and community organisations in England signed up to the service, which closed to new applications at the end of February. A spokesperson for Navca today advised that nine organisations have since reported their winning tender bids with a combined value of £2,601,381.
Upon completing the training, 100 per cent of participants reportedly felt they had improved their bidding practice, according to Navca's evaluation published yesterday.
Navca received £70,000 from the Office for Civil Society's National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning budget to provide the subsidised training scheme. Participants were provided with eight-hours of bespoke training, initially to aid organisations as they entered tender bids but after a low up-take, the remit was extended to planning for future tenders, and fees reduced from a maximum of £150 to £50.
A diverse range of organisations from health and social care to youth services used the service. While more than one third (56) of the organisations had an income of under £250,000, 19 organisations receiving training had and income over £1m. Almost half (71) of the organisations involved had no tendering experience prior to the training.
Helping small charities
Kevin Curley, Navca chief executive, said the training was particularly useful for small charities:
"Small local charities often provide extremely popular and cost effective local services, but as the report highlights, there are numerous barriers that stop them from winning contracts.
"This project proves that with a relatively small investment local charities can be helped to win contracts. Indeed, we think that the £1.6m is rising all the time as we hear that more of the groups we helped are winning contracts. This support is turning the policy aspirations around commissioning into local reality."
Areas of concern in tendering highlighted by the participants included short timescales and pressures at time of tendering, as well as "overly bureaucratic" tendering processes by local authorities which were "demanding of unnecessary standards, time-consuming, and disproportionate to the value of the contract".
Further support
Navca's evaluation highlighted a need for further support subsequent to completing a tender. Some 97 per cent of organisations said this would be needed.
The scheme is currently closed but a spokesperson for Navca advised that the body would like to re-open the training. She also advised that the organisation hopes that funding from the recently announced £10m Investment and Contract Readiness Fund, details of which are yet to be finalised, may be able available to extend the support programme.
