|
Derek Alcorn, Chief Executive Officer |
 |
Contracting in the Voluntary Sector
The following article is taken from the November/ December 2008 issue of the Public Service Review.
Citizens Advice is the largest advice and information charity in Northern Ireland working against poverty and meeting the information, advice and advocacy needs of people across Northern Ireland, who in the year to March 2008 raised 279,222 enquiries, 56% of which were social security related.
Some years ago, in mapping out a future financial strategy we made a number of basic assumptions. Firstly, that there would be no significant new sums of grant aid from government, secondly that we would have to earn our own way by selling services, and thirdly that the pattern of contracting to not for profits agencies, which had occurred in America, would come to the UK. We set up a trading company Citizens Advice Services, which gave us the legal and financial structures to enter the Social Economy. An additional task was, and is, to change the culture of a traditional voluntary organisation to one that was focused on delivering social outcomes within a business context.
Our assumptions proved correct. Today all of the main political parties in the UK are arguing that the voluntary sector has a key role to play in the delivery of public services, and much of this will come through contracting. In Northern Ireland, we are delivering a number of successful contracts:
■ A contract for the delivery of the Minimum Wage Helpline in Northern Ireland from BERR;
■ A £1.2m contract from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland for the delivery of a money advice service;
■ A contract from the Social Security Agency (SSA) in Northern Ireland for the delivery of benefit take-up to vulnerable customers from their database, with a mail out to 25,000 people;
■ A three year contract from the Financial services Agency for the delivery of financial capability training to young people in Northern Ireland not in education employment or training (NEET).
The contract for benefit take-up is a good example of how government thinking has shifted in recent years. Citizens Advice currently holds the SSA contract in Northern Ireland for benefit take-up, with a mail out this year to 25,000 people. Since the take-up rate for retirement pension in Northern Ireland is just under 100%, the SSA holds the name and address of virtually every pensioner in Northern Ireland. It is now making intelligent use of this database by applying filters, e.g. writing to pensioners over 80, or to people claiming Retirement Pension but not Pension Credit to say that they may be entitled to increased benefits. In the 12 months to March 2008, the benefit take-up exercise generated an additional £8.1m of benefits including arrears, with a very high Value for Money ratio of 14:1 - £14 in benefit claimed for every pound of SSA expenditure. The evolving model combines intelligent use of the SSA’s database with the skills and knowledge of Citizens Advice in dealing with socially vulnerable people.
Making the change has not been easy. Government departments and agencies think they are simply buying advice when they are also buying business design, project management, and financial management and reporting. Contracts relate payment directly to results, pay only when outcomes are delivered, and increase the accountability of all parties, so they change business processes and drive cultural change. In particular, they demand more detailed statistical recording and reporting. We in turn have had to learn the skills of bidding for tenders, ensuring that our costs are fully reflected, and ensuring that we deliver. So far, we have managed to do this in a way that recognises the central objectives of the organisation and its core values. The result has been the growth of our organisation, an enhanced service to the public in Northern Ireland, and very positive positioning with government. Contracts have enhanced our service to the public, and we look forward to continuing to provide social outcomes within a business framework.
Courtesy of "Public Sector Review"