Opportunities for a Big Society in the midst of cuts
The community sector has challenged local authorities, PCTs and statutory bodies to use the public sector cuts as an opportunity to create innovative, pioneering children and young people’s services.
In Commissioning and the Big Society, a guide to commissioning launched today, the Kindle partnership urges service commissioners to embrace a Big Society vision of services for young people and children by working more closely with small and medium-sized community organisations.
Kindle, the community sector partnership for children and young people, believes that better and more efficient services for children and young people in the midst of cuts can only happen if the expertise and passion of the community sector is used and rewarded. The new guide is essential reading for commissioners who want to get these partnerships right.
David Tyler (Chief Executive of Community Matters and Chair of Kindle) said, “if a Big Society with effective services is to be realised it is essential that we open up new opportunities and dialogues between commissioners and VCS organisations at a local level. That is what this guide does and no community organisation or commissioner can be without it”.
The guide, which was developed in partnership with the Government funded Commissioning Support Programme aims to show local authorities and agencies how to work more closely with local groups to add value to the money they spend on children and young people’s services. Dwindling budgets and the Big Society agenda mean that commissioners are reducing their spending on young people’s services, putting them at risk, as in several high profile cases of radical cuts such as Hampshire County Council’s £25m drop in its spend on children.
Aimed at commissioners, the publication sets out the business case for working with community organisations, gives a step by step process for commissioning from planning to evaluation to decommissioning. It also provides a checklist of do’s and don’ts for commissioning youth and children’s services from community organisations and a series of case studies.
Kindle also recently published a companion publication, Commissioning and the Community Sector, which takes community organisations through the process of winning commissions.
David Tyler, the chair of Kindle and Chief Executive for Community Matters is available for interview. For interviews or further information about Kindle or the commissioning publications please email Rosie Anderson or call 020 7520 2784