Aims & Objectives Of Project

A consortium of local infrastructure organisations, namely Community Lincs, South Lincolnshire CVS, Voluntary Action East Lindsey and Urban Challenge, has been awarded a two year contract worth £388,636 and aims to improve the community and voluntary sectors ability to win contracts for public service work. The funding for this project has been approved and provided from the Regional European Social Fund Consortium and Lincolnshire County Council who are the European Social Fund Co-financing organisation.

The Lincs2gether project, which aims to provide support to more than 60 organisations and over 400 individuals in Lincolnshire, is designed to support the Governments' initiative for the wider commissioning of public services. At first it will involve collaborative working of the community and voluntary sector organisations like, Lincolnshire County Council and Lincolnshire NHS, although it is expected that other Local Authorities will become more involved as the project develops.

The project has a number of key objectives, these include:

• Working closely with commissioners of services to ensure that Third Sector organisations are involved with all aspects of the commissioning and tendering process.
• To provide a range of training courses and mentoring opportunities to individuals and organisations at all levels to help build skills and confidence, prepare for contracting opportunities, represent the communities that they serve and deliver risk assessed and health and safety compliant public services.
  
• To develop a website and toolkit to help potential tenderers prepare and win contracts.
• To raise awareness about commissioning and procurement tendering and other contract issues.

Other features of the project involve liaising with commissioners to raise awareness on how the community and voluntary organisations can advise on and provide public services as well as playing a part in shaping future public policy.

Since the project launch, organisations are already seeing the benefits to the project. In early 2009, a major conference, entitled "Getting to Grips with Commissioning”, was held at The Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa where over 85 delegates benefited from a comprehensive programme giving information on all aspects of commissioning. The day also included a variety of workshops where delegates put forward a range of issues that need to be addressed to make this project successful. This information is now being used by a Joint Strategic Commissioning Group set up to oversee the successful implementation of the commissioning process within Lincolnshire.