--- title: "Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) - Resource and Funding Maximisation Soft Market Test" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL" published: "2024-12-20" --- # Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) - Resource and Funding Maximisation Soft Market Test Buyer: ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21.json) ## Summary Essex County Council plans to invite prospective providers for a Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Resource and Funding Maximisation service through a soft market test as part of the market engagement process. The procurement is in the planning stage, with a deadline for market engagement responses set for 20th January 2025 at 12:00 noon. Key details include the title of the procurement, "Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) - Resource and Funding Maximisation Soft Market Test," classified under business and management consultancy services (CPV code 79400000). The engagement aims to gather feedback on the proposed service structure to inform the Council’s commissioning intentions. A proposed contract will commence from 1st April 2025, running until 31st March 2031, with an interim review on 31st March 2028. The process will be formalised post-market engagement, with detailed timelines and specifications to be shared in the upcoming Contract Notice. This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses specializing in business and management consultancy, particularly those with experience in the voluntary and community sectors. By participating in the market engagement, businesses can influence the final structure of the procurement, potentially tailoring it to their strengths and capabilities. The service aims to invest in a partner who can strategically maximize funding and resources for the VCS, helping to build resilience and capacity within the sector, which is crucial for meeting community needs in Essex. Companies adept at leveraging both financial and non-financial resources and those experienced in civic betterment and community facility support services will be well-suited to compete for this opportunity. ## Notice Further to the previous FTS PIN (ref. no: 2024/S 000-037463), which was published on 20th November 2024 regarding this forthcoming procurement opportunity, Essex County Council ("the Council") would like to invite prospective providers to engage in a soft market test as part of the market engagement for this project. The soft market test has been designed to establish the potential level of interest from organisations to deliver a Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) - Resource and Funding Maximisation service and to invite feedback on the proposed structure of this service to inform the Council's commissioning intentions. Pending a review of the market feedback for this soft market test, the Council intends to commission a VCS Resource and Funding Maximisation Service offer which will work collaboratively with: * A VCS Universal Standard Support Offer, providing digital business, compliance and learning resources. * A VCS Community Participation partner, working strategically to develop a culture of participation across Essex and: * Geographically based resources offering targeted and bespoke support across a range of outcomes. The primary scope of the VCS Resource and Funding Maximisation service is predicated upon investing in a partner to enable a more strategic approach to maximising the funding and resources for the VCS. This partner will leverage financial and non-financial resources, strengthen the VCS capacity to secure funding, and support a strategic approach to distributing funding and non-financial resources. For the avoidance of any further doubt, please note that the Council will finalise the scope of this procurement opportunity following the conclusion of the market engagement phase of this project. Therefore, the inclusion of any proposed scope of this procurement alongside any dates and budgetary information for the forthcoming procurement is provided for indicative purposes only. The Council reserves the right to amend this information following confirmation of the procurement timetable for this project. Full details of the structure of this procurement and associated timetable will be detailed within the corresponding Contract Notice in due course. Further details of the Council's current commissioning intentions for this service and a copy of the online soft market test questionnaire can be accessed via the Council's e-tendering portal: https://procontract.due-north.com/ Please note that you will need to complete the registration process to secure a user account to access the soft market test questionnaire on ProContract. However, please be advised that the registration process is free of charge and provides access to all the current and forthcoming procurement opportunities for Essex County Council alongside several other public sector organisations. Please note that the deadline for the soft market test responses will be Monday 20th January 2025 at 12:00 noon and all responses must be submitted via the response functionality within ProContract. ### Lot Information Lot 1 The Council is seeking to commission provider(s) to deliver a Funding and Resource Maximisation partner for the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Essex which will act as a conduit of funding and resources alongside advocating for the resource needs of the local VCS sector. This approach is designed to secure the strong foundations of the VCS sector in Essex, supporting their resilience and ability to continue contributing to meeting the needs of communities. The proposed contract commencement date is 1st April 2025 until 31st March 2031 with a break clause at 31st March 2028, subject to governance approval. However, prospective bidders are advised that the Council will finalise the scope of the forthcoming procurement opportunity following the conclusion of the market engagement stage and reserves the right to amend the scope of this service accordingly ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041127-2024 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 20 Dec 2024 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 3 Feb 2025 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £1,000,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL | | Locality | CHELMSFORD | | Post town | Chelmsford | | Postcode | CM1 1QH | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex | | ITL 3 | TLH36 Heart of Essex | | Local authority | Chelmsford | | Electoral ward | Moulsham and Central | | Westminster constituency | Chelmsford | | Delivery location | TLH3 Essex | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security - 98 - Other community, social and personal services ### Codes - 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services - 98133100 - Civic betterment and community facility support services ## Release History - 20 Dec 2024 at 10:07 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041127-2024 - 20 Nov 2024 at 10:06 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037463-2024 ## Notice URLs - https://procontract.due-north.com/ - https://www.essex.gov.uk/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04bd21.json.