Third Sector Commissioning Prospectus

We are proud to welcome you to the first third sector commissioning prospectus from the Adults and Communities Directorate and equally proud to confirm that we are investing approximately million to enable you, our partners, to deliver services to the citizens of Birmingham.

Most importantly you should note that in future, services will not be limited by simple eligibility but more by defined outcomes. You should also note that this process forms the first stage in the Directorate overall commissioning continuum and we aim to encourage the delivery of outcomes inline with the Well-Being Agenda.

As a Beacon council for increasing voluntary and community sector service delivery (2007-8), we are committed to working in partnership with the third sector to improve outcomes for people in Birmingham. We are also committed to honouring our commitments in the Birmingham Compact.

This prospectus is the product of extensive consultation with sector partners. It offers three year funding and is based upon the principle of full cost recovery, in line with the Birmingham Compact and the council corporate commissioning framework for the third sector.

The new application process tests your capacity to deliver outcomes for service users in Birmingham. We recognise that moving to an outcome-focussed approach is a major change, both for our partners, and for the directorate itself as funding body.

There will be much for us to learn from your experiences during this first year. We want to make this new process as user-friendly as possible. Please let us have your feedback on the process so we can use it to make future improvements.

If you would like to give us feedback please contact:

Jennet Hartrick
Commissioning Manager, Adults and Communities
Third Sector Partnerships Team
Telephone: 0121 675 4432
E-mail: jennet.hartrick@birmingham.gov.uk