Contract for the Provision of a Third Sector Organisation to support the sector and build capacity in Swansea

Swansea Council has a long and productive history of partnership working with the Third Sector in Swansea. A Compact agreement was made between the parties in 1999. This document was updated in 2021 and was co-produced to reflect joint working principles between Swansea Council and the Third Sector. It provides a robust and workable framework for ongoing dialogue between the partners to aid the Council achieve its aims under its strategic requirements and plans outlined under the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and Swansea Councils Corporate Plan amongst many others. Swansea Council is engaging with the market to seek interest from suitably experienced organisations who can operate within the Swansea locality to support Third Sector organisations and build capacity within the sector in Swansea. We are seeking organisations with working knowledge of the sector and who can provide a base in Swansea to work in partnership with Swansea Council and the wider Third Sector to aid in the achievement of the stated aims of Swansea Compact and ensure a sustainable, thriving Third Sector and volunteering community within Swansea. To aid the Council to achieve the objectives outlined in the Compact Agreement for a sustainable, thriving Third Sector and volunteering community within Swansea, the Service Provider will;

• Work with Swansea Council to meet the terms of the Swansea Compact Agreement (which can be found under appendix A within this document) including the joint Chair of the Compact Liaison group.
• Host an accessible hub in Swansea to facilitate provision
• Facilitate a volunteer centre in Swansea to provide support and guidance for potential volunteers and those who wish to offer volunteer opportunities in Swansea
• Provide training facilities and programmes that are sector specific and where required bespoke or brokered for the sectors requirements
• Undertake an analysis of need to ensure training programmes respond to current needs of the third sector
• Support strategic partnership work and enabling the voice of the of the wider third sector to be heard through a co-productive approach e.g. strategic boards and forums as necessary
• Support the sector in becoming more sustainable through the development of trading opportunities, social enterprise etc.
• Work with the Sector on prevention and early intervention models and informal volunteering to support Community resilience, through Community Coordinators or other local networks
• Support third sector organisations through offering advice and assistance on different third sector strategic models and governance arrangements
• Provide advice and information, including but not exclusively:
• Funding advice and assistance
• Volunteer support
• Constitutional advice
• Policy development advice
• Brokering back office functions
• Promote and support the third sector in securing funding from a variety of sources specifically available to third sector organisations
• Provide a comprehensive information service for the Swansea third sector
• Intervene early to identify risks to ensure third sector groups are constitutionally robust
• Facilitate co-productive approaches in the design, delivery, monitoring and review of the Contract.
• Develop an exit strategy for the contract termination