Successive Governments have claimed to want to open up the delivery of public services to the voluntary sector. Their aim has been to create more efficient, effective and responsive services for the public. Therefore any group seeking to deliver public services needs to be able to subscribe to excellence and quality in service delivery at a competitive price. Local groups who may want to deliver public services need to become aware of the direction and emphasis of local public policy through VAL's policy forums (see the I want my say section of this website.)

To help local organisations to be successful in delivering public services, we offer a professional training and advice service as follows:

Our mentoring service offers one to one intensive support tailored to the needs of your organisation. As part of the mentoring service you can expect to receive support as follows:

• Tender readiness - organisational health checks, & developing skills to negotiate and win contracts
• Adopting a social enterprise approach to service delivery
• Information about tender opportunities
• Tendering and procurement resource pack
• Translating complex tender documents/ specifications
• Support to get through the PQQ process
• Feedback on completed tender applications
• Support around the application process including specific rounds by funders e.g. City Strategy
• Facilitating partnerships and forming consortium
• Support to get involved in and/ or influence the Strategic Commissioning Framework for Leicester's Local Area Agreement

Specific, practical and tailored workshops for organisations wanting to trade, adopt social enterprise models and successfully deliver public services. Workshop topics include: Getting tender ready, forming partnerships and consortia, and organisational development themes e.g. business planning, marketing, performance improvement, quality.

Join our procurement email bulletin to keep informed about forthcoming workshops.

Email service to inform you of tender opportunities and the latest news and developments in the world of commissioning and procurement. We can also offer your organisation email support and advice.

Accredited training to ensure that your workforce has all of the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully deliver public services.

Click here to visit our resources page