Third Sector Strategy Action Plan
Theme:
Ensuring delivery of the strategy
Aim:
To develop and maintain a strategic overview of the third sector
Action
Lead
By when
Measure of success
Progress
1. Appoint a team with a clear
ownership of this strategy (Quick
Win)
Abdool Kara
October 2008
Team appointed
Complete - Stronger
Communities Team created
and appointed with
responsibility for delivery of
this strategy October 2008
2. Create new Third Sector
Coordinator post in Chief
Executive’s Department (Quick Win)
Kate Martyn
October 2008
Officer in post
Complete - Post created and
officer in post from 6
October 2008
3. Objectives from Third Sector
Strategy Action Plan set out in Third
Sector Coordinator’s targets (and
reviewed as part of annual
appraisal) (Quick Win)
Kate Martyn
October 2008
Objectives included in
work plan
Objectives included in work
plan at mid-year appraisal
October 2008
4. Regular progress reports on
implementation of the Third Sector
Strategy Action Plan to the Stronger
Project Management Board (Quick
Win)
Kate Martyn
Progress reports
received quarterly
On agenda for next meeting
(18 December 2008)
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(April 2009)
December 2008
then quarterly
1
5. Regular progress reports on
implementation of the Third Sector
Strategy Action Plan to the Compact
Board (Quick Win)
Rob Bowler
January 2009
then every four
months
Progress reports
received three times a
year
On agenda for next meeting
in January 2009
6. Regular updates provided to
portfolio holder with responsibility for
the Third Sector (Quick Win)
Rob Bowler
November 2008
Progress reports
received 6 times a year
Stronger Communities
Manager has regular one-toone meetings with the
portfolio holder.
Theme:
Developing a commissioning framework
Aim:
To bring coherence and clarity to commissioning the third sector
7. Clarify the difference between
grants and commissioning, and
commissioning and procurement.
(Quick Win)
Procurement/
Legal
January 2009
Clear, plain English
distinction
8. Publicise guidance on funding the
third sector (Quick Win)
Rob Bowler
January 2009
Guidance on website and
intranet
9. Identify key officers responsible for
commissioning services in
departments and communicate to
sector (Quick Win)
Heads of
Service/
Procurement
Team
December 2008
Officers identified in each
department. Publish
contacts on website and
intranet
10. Improve communication between
officers funding/ commissioning the
Third Sector through virtual network
and use of intranet (Quick Win)
Rob Bowler /
Ongoing from
All departments December 2008
Bulletins produced at
least quarterly
Intranet page in place
11. Improve communication with the
Third Sector through wider use of
Merton Connected website (Quick
Win)
MVSC /All
departments
Bulletins produced at
least quarterly
Already used for
communication regarding
annual funding
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Ongoing from
January 2009
2
Aim:
To ensure a fair and equitable commissioning framework that reflects competing priorities
12. Identify best way to set up and
populate database of funding to the
Third Sector
Rob Bowler / IT
Services
March 2009
Number of officers
entering up to date data
13. Identify and share best practice on
grant panels
Rob Bowler /
March 2009
All departments
Best practice published
on intranet
14. Set standards for payments to Third
Sector (Quick Win)
Rob Bowler
April 2009
Feedback to Funding &
Procurement Sub-group
15. Current three-year grant funded
groups to be commissioned
All depts/ Rob
Bowler
April 2009
Aim:
Reduce the burden of commissioning on both commissioners and third sector organisations
16. Develop and roll out common
application form
Rob Bowler /
From April 2009
All departments
Number of applications
using standard form
17. Evaluate CSF data collection system
and roll out corporately
CSF
Data on intranet
18. Avoid duplication of monitoring data
where there is more than one funder
by adopting ‘lead funder’ model
Rob Bowler /
From April 2009
All departments
Three-year funded
groups feed back through
Funding & Procurement
Sub-group
19. Develop common monitoring tool
(use version developed by
Community & Housing Dept. and
MVSC as base) and roll out to all
departments
Rob Bowler
Number of organisations
using tool recorded in
database
Aim:
Sept 2009
April 2009
Ensure delivery of an effective commissioning framework
20. Procurement Strategy and guidance
to include reference to procuring
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Procurement
December 2008
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Included in strategy and
guidance
from the Third Sector (Quick Win)
21. Identify learning and development
needs and solutions to enable better
commissioning of Third Sector
organisations
Corp
Learning/All
departments
June 2009
Number of staff attending
training
22. Ensure Funding and Procurement
Sub-group represents groups with
contracts with LBM (Quick Win)
Funding and
Procurement
Sub-group
members
Ongoing from
January 2009
% of groups with
contracts represented
Theme: Building on the Compact
Aim:
To enable the third sector to be involved in shaping and influencing policy
23. Build consultation principles within
the involvement strategy that will be
adopted across the council
Kate Martyn
April 2009
24. Influencing commissioning priorities
through effective links with existing
structures such as Involve, CEN and
the Funding and Procurement Subgroup
CEN, Involve,
Funding &
Procurement
Sub-group
members
Ongoing form
April 2009
Number of contracts
where CEN, Involve and
Funding & Procurement
Sub-group report they
have influenced changes
25. Use Merton Connected MVSC e-mail
bulletin and LBM website to feed
back to Third Sector about changes
to policy as a result of their input
Rob Bowler /
All
departments
Ongoing from
April 2009
Number of changes
reported
26. Ensure consultations follow good
practice guidance
Consultation
Team
Ongoing from
April 2009
Number of exceptions
reported to Funding &
Procurement Sub-group
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4
Aim:
To facilitate third sector organisations to build stronger communities
27. Implement and develop the
volunteering strategy
Rob Bowler/
VCM
28. Facilitate dialogue between the
Stronger Team and the sector (Quick
Win)
Rob Bowler /
Ongoing from
Stronger Team January 2009
Mgrs
Aim:
Ongoing from
June 2008
Sub-group has met twice,
working on action plan
To develop a better understanding between the council and the third sector
29. Include information about the Third
Sector in corporate and departmental
inductions (Quick Win)
Corporate
Learning and
Development
February 2009
% of inductions where
Third Sector included
30. Produce a short summary on the
third sector for inclusion in job packs
for council posts (Quick Win)
MVSC
January 2009
% of application forms
sent out with info sheet
31. Annual event to promote work of the
Third Sector to members
Compact
Board
December 2009
Event held and range and
number attending
32. Potential candidate event to include
information about the Third Sector
Member
Services
Autumn 2009
(pre-election)
33. Members induction to include
information about the Third Sector
Member
Services
2010
(post-election)
34. Invite Third Sector staff to LBM staff
forums to improve partnership
working
Rob Bowler
leads for L2/3
managers
forums
Ongoing from
April 2009
Aim:
Number of forums
attended
To support councillors in their understanding of and their work with the third sector to ensure they can
fulfil their role as community leaders
35. Members to receive MVSC directory
(Quick Win)
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MVSC
April 2009
5
% of members in receipt
of directory
36. Members’ contact details added to
Merton Connected database (Quick
Win)
MVSC
April 2009
% of contact details
added
37. Members given list of groups in their
ward (Quick Win)
MVSC
April 2009
% of members given
information
38. Members and officers to be informed
that the process of formally
nominating councillors on to the
trustee boards of third sector
organisations will end (Quick Win)
Ged Curran
November 2008
No councillors or officers
to be nominated onto the
trustee boards of third
sector organisations from
April 2009
39. Democratic Services to be informed
that the process of formally
nominating councillors on to the
trustee boards of third sector
organisations will end (Quick Win)
Rob Bowler
November 2008
Letters currently being
drafted
40. Third Sector organisations affected
to be informed that the process of
formally nominating councillors on to
the trustee boards of third sector
organisations will end (Quick Win)
Rob Bowler/
MVSC
November 2008
Letters currently being
drafted
Aim:
Letters currently being
drafted
To promote and embed this strategy to be adopted by all funding bodies in the LSP
41. Compact Board to oversee progress
against the Third Sector Strategy
and promote good practice across
the LSP
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Compact
Board
Ongoing
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