Social Café Scheme in Libraries for Adults with Anxiety and
Depression
Service Specification
This Specification is in four sections:
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Section 1 - Background Information – This section describes what has
led up to commissioning this activity and what have we done so far. This
includes the outcomes we are working to for the new service and the key
themes from our consultation. It includes our definition of a social café
scheme, and details of our joint working arrangements with Libraries.
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Section 2 – Requirements for the Social Café Scheme
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Section 3 – Guidance for completing the Contract Proposal Form This section provides the guidance that will be needed to complete the
application for this service. It describes the process, who to respond to,
how and when; and sets the requirements for the new services. This
section also includes how the application will be evaluated, the weighting
that will be given to each question, and the scoring system; who will be
on the evaluation panel and how services users will be involved in the
evaluation process.
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Section 4 – Contract Proposal - This section sets out the information that
must be provided in the application. It is expected that it will describe how
the new service will be delivered, the pricing schedule and the timescales
when these services will be delivered.
Section 1 - Background Information
Commissioning Background
There are currently 3 Adult Social Care partnership contracts that procure
activity provided through “drop-in” arrangements for vulnerable adults with low
level mental health issues.
As part of the delivery of the Commissioning Landscape these contracts are
scheduled to end at the end of March 2013. This gives us the opportunity to
commission new activity that builds on the strengths of existing arrangements,
improves access to mainstream activities, builds better links with other
preventative services and builds individual resilience.
Partnership Investment Approach
The proposed service will be consistent with the Partnership Investment
Agreement approach:
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Firstly, it will deliver actions and activities that prevent, reduce or delay the
need for significant health or social care interventions for individuals
(Preventative Support). An important aspect of this is that the preventative
impact can be evidenced.
Secondly it is an investment in an organisation that is able to contribute
extra resources to the project, thereby providing additional benefits for the
Council’s investment (Added Value)
Thirdly it is consistent with the principles of producing actions and activities
with those who need to benefit from them (co-production); building on the
abilities and resources of those who seek assistance (asset-based
approach); enabling people to gain information, advice and support from
actions and activities available to all (universal services); building up the
capacity and availability of support within communities and networks
(social capital)
Key Outcomes to be met by the new service:
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Reduce social isolation
Build resilience
Increase independent living
Reduce admissions to hospital, residential accommodation or long term
care
These outcomes will be met by commissioning activity that promotes social
networks, access to information and signposting for people who are one or
two steps away from having “eligible needs”. This includes regular
opportunities for adults with mental health issues, to meet others in a
supportive environment, access information and support that enhances their
quality of life and ability to learn skills and strategies that promote their
independence and good health.
Target Group
This commissioned activity is targeted at people who are one or two steps
away from having a level of need that makes them eligible for self directed
support with an individual budget; for people who are struggling with anxiety,
depression, panic attacks or other mental health conditions. This target group
will benefit from opportunities to meet with others, in a structured scheme
that will reduce their isolation and enable them to manage their lives and
conditions better. This should reduce the need for further and more prolonged
health and social care services. These activities are primarily [but not
exclusively] targeted at working age adults.
Objectives
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Reducing social isolation which makes people more vulnerable to
breakdown and depression. Help with maintaining friends and a social life
Having places that feel safe for people to meet others, get information that
helps manage their situation and conditions, particularly for people who do
not have access to specialist mental health services
Enabling people to share their experiences with one another to reduce
stigma and ignorance, both informally and through structured activity so
that information is accurate and up to date
Improving social connectivity – supporting people to have more social
contacts, to go out more, have more satisfying interactions with the people
they meet. All interventions need to increase or confirm social contact and
social networks
Building resilience so that people are more able to cope with their
circumstances through access to information, signposting onto appropriate
services and opportunities, activity, life skills and coaching, etc
Promoting a recovery approach that includes access to volunteering, work
and training
Promoting and improving the quality of life of people and their inclusion
within society and community life. Activities therefore need to create strong
links with other services and other opportunities in the community. [e.g.
CAB services, physical activities, counselling services, leisure
opportunities, volunteer programmes, training and work support]
Ensuring that people who access the activities have the opportunity to
shape them
Given the small investment we have to meet need across the City and to meet
these outcomes, we can provide a more comprehensive service with better
value for money if we build on existing resources and practice. To this end we
have spoken to a number of SCC services and established third sector
organisations to explore potential partnerships. We have also looked at the
very successful Dementia Café model and will be commissioning three social
café schemes
Our Definition of a Social Café Scheme
A Social Café is a regular event, run by experienced staff and volunteers,
providing a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, where people can drop-in as
they need to and, over refreshments, talk with others in a similar situation.
While the therapeutic value of refreshments is an essential component of the
event, providing a café is not the aim of the scheme.
The Social Café scheme will also provide a programme of activities and
events that will encourage people to participate in a wider range of activities. It
needs to provide information that enables people to access services more
effectively and to manage their specific conditions.
Three Schemes
The three Social Café Schemes will run fortnightly, each one developed with a
different partner and in a different area of the city. In brief, the three schemes
are:
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Social Café Scheme in Libraries
Social Café Scheme in Partnership with Public Health in the North East of
the City
Social Café Scheme – City-wide with a central base.
This specification is for the Social Café Scheme in Libraries. It has been
developed in consultation with Libraries staff, mental health providers and
mental health service users. The fee for the scheme is £12,500 per year for 3
years [subject to change due to Budget pressures].
Why we are working in partnership with Libraries.
Libraries are a city wide information service that increases people’s access to
information and culture in a variety of media locally, regionally and nationally.
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To develop support for the target group described above and to embed
that support within Libraries
To increase access to the Library network and all its associated resources
for the target group
To encompass the planned therapeutic reading and social activities being
carried out by Libraries.
To co-commission with Libraries a social café scheme to be managed by a
provider organisation
To develop a co-commissioning approach that can be extended across
the library service
Section 2 – Requirements for the Social Café Scheme
Overarching service requirements:
The provider will be required to:
 Demonstrate your organisation’s previous experience in delivering
services to people with mental health issues
 Demonstrate your organisation’s ability and skills to assess need and
manage events/meetings.
 Demonstrate how you will target services to the target group described
above
 Demonstrate the capacity to bring in support for this scheme from other
agencies [e.g debt, health and housing advice] where this is appropriate
 Demonstrate the added value that your organisation will bring to this
scheme
Specific service requirements
 To develop and manage a fortnightly Social Café scheme, at Manor
Library, for people with low level mental health issues, to meet with one
another on a fortnightly basis in an attractive and supportive environment.
 To open from 10 to 4 [as a minimum] and for 25 weeks of the year.
 With Library staff, to develop an annual programme of events, coproduced with clients and including the therapeutic reading development
activities being planned by Libraries
 With Library staff and their partners [including volunteers] to deliver IT
training to increase skills, confidence and access to information
 To have a minimum of 30 people attending at any one session and a
minimum of 50 registered throughout the year
 All events, meetings, programmes to be managed by staff with experience
of mental health
 To recruit, train and support volunteers and to deliver a minimum of 400
volunteer hours per year with an increase of 25% in each if the following
two years
 To work pro-actively with the Recovery and Education Programme in the
Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust.
Section 3 – Guidance for Completing the Contract Proposal Form
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Read the background section of the specification to ensure that the aims
and objectives for this service are understood
Understand the service requirements and describe how these
requirements will be met in the Contract Proposal
Complete all the questions in the Contract Proposal
Provide the supporting organisational documentation asked for in the
Contract Proposal
The deadline date for submitting contract proposals is no later than 12 noon
on the 3rd December 2012. Please note we will only accept electronic
applications.
Completed proposals and supporting documentation need to be e-mailed to:
accountablebody.service@sheffield.gov.uk
Proposal Queries
We will be holding a briefing session for organisations who are intending to
apply for this contract – 10 am on the 14th November. This session will
provide an opportunity for organisations to ask for further clarification or
information.
Evaluation Process
There are four questions set out in the Contract Proposal Form, each one with
a weighting.
It is important to recognise that if any organisation fails to benchmark on
Question One on the application [i.e reaches 50%], we will not progress any
further with assessing the application. Nor will we consider any organisation
which is unable to evidence previous experience of delivering services to
people with mental health issues. See below for an explanation of our scoring
system
Evaluation Scoring Matrix
Score
Description of Response
0-1.4
Unsatisfactory response, suggesting the bidder
would have serious difficulties delivering the required
contract standards, or has provided limited
information.
1.5-2.4
Unacceptable response, indicating that the bidder
would meet only some of the requirements of the
contract some of the time. Considerable work would
be needed with the bidder to expand on information
provided in order for the information to meet the
required contractual standards
2.5-3.4
Acceptable response, indicating that the bidder
would be likely to meet the basic contract standards,
but further work needed to ensure that contract
standards will be met consistently.
3.5-4.4
Good response, clearly indicating that the bidder has
fully understood and can apply and deliver all the
required contract standards. Small amount of work
may be needed in some areas.
4.5-5
Response indicating that the bidder has a wholly
comprehensive understanding of the contract
standards and that the proposed approach will result
in the contract standard being exceeded.
Please note that failure to achieve 50% of the available points (i.e. 2.5)
for any one question will prevent further assessment of the bid.
Additionally, bidders that do not achieve an aggregate score of 66% (i.e. 3.33)
may not be considered.
The applications will be assessed by a panel that includes, Commissioners
and Contract Officers from Adult Social Care, the Collections and Reader
Development Officer in Libraries, and a representative from Sheffield Health
Social Care Trust. The Service Users group will be involved in evaluating
Question 4 on the application.
If further clarification is required from organisations, we may ask the
organisation at short notice to do a presentation to members on the evaluation
panel. It is planned that this will take place during the week commencing the
7th January 2013.
Decisions
We will inform all organisations the outcome of the evaluations by the end of
February 2013. The contract start date will be 1st April 2013.
Section 4 - Contract Proposal
% of Question
Guidance
score
What we will be looking for
It is an essential requirement that your organisation, and the staff
involved in the Social Café, have experience of dealing with people
with mental health issues. Please describe this.
1
What experience,
 Describe your organisation, its staffing
capacity, skills and
structure, the type of work you do and
25% resources does your
experience in this field of work
organisation bring to
 What other contracts do you hold and
this project
where else do you get funding..
 Demonstrate your organisation’s financial
stability for the life of this contract.
 What additional value does your
organisation bring to this contract.
2
30%
How will you develop
and run a Social Café
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3
25%
Who will you work
with and how will you
develop referral
pathways in and out
of your service
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4
20%
What systems will you 
have in place to
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ensure a continuous
improvement in the
Describe as fully as possible how you will
set up, develop and deliver a Social Café
in a Libraries venue. You need to
demonstrate how your proposal will meet
the outcomes and outputs set out in the
specification.
Include opening times, who will staff it,
what is their experience of mental health
issues.
Where will volunteers be recruited from
and how will you train, supervise and
support them.
How will you make people feel welcome
and at home.
Provide a indicative program for the first
12 months.
Include costs for all of the above.
Demonstrate your knowledge of local
organisations and services and how your
organisations works with them.
What relationships, working practices will
you develop with other organisations to
meet the outcomes described for this client
group.
How will people get to know of your
scheme and how will you recruit clients
How will you encourage attendance from
clients in BME communities
Describe governance for the scheme.
How will you ensure that service users are
involved in the development and shaping
of the café
service you offer and
how will service users
be involved in this.
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How will you review and evaluate the
service and how will service users be
involved in this
What arrangements/exit plans will you put
in place at the end of the contract.
Appendix 1
Outputs/Key Performance Indicators for Social Café in Libraries
It is expected that through the delivery of this contract the provider will
produce a number of key outputs/KPI’s. These will be negotiated at the
contract award stage.
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Number of services users
Number of Volunteers recruited
Number of Volunteer hours ( 400 hrs first year, 500 hrs second year , 600
hrs final year)
Number of service users taking part in leisure and social activities outside
of the Café.
Number of referrals and signposting onto other organisations in the city
Number of referrals into the Café Scheme from health and social care
organisations
Number of activities that service users are signposted into and participate
in
Number of service user engaging with volunteering, education, training
and work related activities
In addition to above on a quarterly basis the provider will be required to report
back to Sheffield City Council on the following activities:
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Evidence of a greater use of Library activities and resources
Active working relationships with city wide organisations
Evidence of progression onto self help groups and activities.
Pen pictures and case studies of individual progress. Where there is
evidence, reporting back on the number of clients who have maintained or
improved their capacity to manage their mental health condition, reduce
lapses and live more independently.
Evidence of increased social activity for service users outside the
fortnightly social café.
The provider will be required to send quarterly diversity monitoring reports that
will include information on gender, age, ethnicity and post code.