Launch of VCSE Contract Readiness Programme

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This programme has now closed

This programme was open from July 2022 until March 2025.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is pleased to announce the launch of the VCSE Contract Readiness Programme, a 拢900,000 package of support designed to enable the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in England better compete for government contracts.

The programme primarily provides fully funded and tailored training to charities and social enterprises interested in bidding for public contracts 鈥� ranging from introductory webinars to in-depth short and long courses. To complement this approach, the programme also offers public sector commissioners ways to increase their awareness and understanding of the VCSE sector ultimately to enable effective partnerships.

The programme is delivered by School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) in consortium with Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) and Voice4Change England (V4CE). It will run until the end of the financial year 2024 - 2025.

Alongside the new DCMS VCSE Action Plan, the VCSE Contract Readiness Programme reflects the government鈥檚 broader efforts to reduce barriers to VCSE participation in public services, and to enable both VCSE suppliers and public sector commissioners to overcome these barriers and seize on the opportunities of working together.

VCSE Crown Representative, Claire Dove CBE, said:

The expertise of VCSEs means they are often ideally placed to help create compassionate, responsive and efficient public services.

The VCSE Contract Readiness Programme will help to address some of the barriers that have prevented VCSEs entering the public sector market. It will improve the skills and knowledge of VCSEs on how to bid for contracts and provide them greater opportunity to enter public sector supply chains. This in turn gives the government the opportunity of having increased diversity of providers in its supply chains.

Part of the programme is the newly created Public Services Hub. Hosted on SEUK鈥檚 website, the hub contains resources to support both VCSEs and public sector commissioners.

For VCSEs it contains information and resources about how to engage in public sector procurement and the support available to VCSEs including a learning programme of webinars, short and long courses.

For commissioners it contains information and resources to help them better work with the VCSE sector.

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