Alex Stevenson, Director G4S Welfare to Work - The role of the prime provider in supporting the third sector, local, and national government to ...

Bridging the gap
The role of the prime provider in supporting the third
sector, local, and national government to work
together to deliver lasting employment for all
Alex Stevenson, Director G4S Welfare to Work

Introduction

   How do we get the third sector, local, and
    national government working together?
             What makes an effective partnership
   Current delivery:
             What has worked well
             What needs to be improved
 Future commissioning – how can future
  commissioning be used to bridge the gap at a
  national level?
 Conclusions

Effective Partnerships

   Shared objectives and vision
   Ownership and accountability
   Transparency of information
   Honesty and trust
   Combining knowledge and sharing expertise
   Clear common targets
   Shared understanding and celebration of
    success
   Working with the same values

Prime Contract Model and
Current Commissioning
 Allows nationally commissioned provision to be tailored
  to local delivery
 Utilising the best local organisations including LA and
  VCSO
 All parties working to same objective – greater return for
  the jobseeker
 One central Information system, everyone is measured
  the same
 All parties are managed effectively with clear targets
 Prime contractor acts as a conduit for collaboration
 Best practice sharing increases overall performance

Current delivery – what has
worked well
Role of the Prime:
   Voice as a champion of our local partners
   Stakeholder engagement
   Advocate for local subs
   Working with ERSA and other bodies
   Voluntary Sector Forums
   Development of Supply Chain Partners
   Engaging with local, regional and national
    organisations/ partners
   Local Comms strategy and marketing

Current delivery – what has
worked well – Case Studies
ESF Families with Multiple Problems Programme
National Campaigning
       Effective national campaigning, voice of local provision, ensure that the
         messages are heard

Work Programme
Link with Regional Bodies - Transport for Greater Manchester
     Effective collaboration with local authorities to develop programmes

Link with Kent County Council
     Linking with Kent Council Councils local employment programme

Link with Trafford Council
     Data sharing with Trafford Council

How can we work together
better?
 Shared targets
 Increased integration
 Consistent measurements
 Consistent funding structures
 Transparency and accountability at all levels and across
  all stakeholders
 Collaborative employer engagement
 More robust and powerful Employment & Skills Boards?
     LAs
     LEPs
     VCSOs
     Other public bodies

Future Commissioning – How can
this bridge the gap?
 By facilitating effective partnerships throughout
  the commissioning structure
 Bringing shared accountabilities through a new
  model that incorporates the advantages of
  central and local commissioning
 Prime contractors effectively representing
  VCSE partners at a local and national level

Centrally Commissioned
Provision
 Leverages central expertise – allows sufficient resource
  and evaluation – sufficient complexity
 Aligns to a cohesive, national policy agenda and
  reduces the duplication of work and spend
 Standardised performance and quality measures of
  provision
 Ensures minimum standard of provision
 Allows for greater economies of scale

Locally Commissioned
programmes
 Local Authorities as strategic centres to lead a
  coordinated response
 An intimate understanding of local labour market needs
  and challenges
 Existing Local partnerships, including with the voluntary
  and community sector
 Provision designed to complement local economic
  patterns.

Future Commissioning through
shared ownership
   Keep central expertise – DWP maintain overall control of the
    procurement and the development of the payment structure
   Bring accountability to a local level – Local Authorities have a role
    in selecting the Prime contractor for their area and the on-going
    performance management
   Keep the Prime contractor model – retain management expertise
    whilst drawing on the best local provision
   Ensure Prime contractors have the best local provision, and that
    they represent that provision at a national level

How does this support 3rd sector
providers?
 Maximises their representation within
  commissioning structure by having Primes and
  Local Authorities present
 Increases the scrutiny on supply chains in
  procurement
 Increases accountability of Prime contractor for
  supply chain management and dispute
  resolution

Bridging the gap through the
Commissioning structure
 By facilitating effective partnerships throughout
  the delivery structure.
 This is achieved by:
       Joint development of programme objectives between
        Local Authorities and Central Government
       Give Local Authorities a role in managing
        performance of Prime contractors
       MI shared with all key stakeholders
       Sharing labour market knowledge, developing
        shared solutions
       Common understanding of performance targets

Bringing Localism into
Employability Commissioning

   http://g4swelfaretowork.com/news/g4s-
    launches-new-paper-on-the-future-of-
    commissioning-welfare-to-work-provision/