VCSE Prevention and Infrastructure Development

East Riding of Yorkshire Council is undertaking preliminary market engagement in relation to a proposed one-year VCSE Prevention plus 6 month extension and Infrastructure Development Contract commencing on 1 April 2027. The proposed arrangements will maintain continuity of essential VCSE support while enabling the Council and the sector to develop and test longer-term approaches to collaborative working, prevention and investment across the East Riding. The Council is currently considering a coordinated service with three connected requirements: Prevention and resilience grant administration: Administering relevant funding under the proposed VCSE Prevention and Investment Framework. The delivery of resilience and community coordination activity for residents, alongside grant decision-making process, grant payments, due diligence checks, performance monitoring, reporting and gathering intelligence. VCSE infrastructure and organisational development: Support offer for VCSE organisations, organisational development, governance support, volunteering, leadership and training, funding advice, and strategic sector representation.

Independent VCSE Participatory Research:

An independent piece of work focused on listening to and understanding the sector and working with it to shape what a future East Riding VCSE model could look like from April 2028 onwards. A separately funded Inclusion Health function is also currently delivered through the existing contract. The Council is seeking views on whether this should sit alongside the infrastructure requirement or be separately priced as an additional requirement. The Council is seeking views on the proposed scope, deliverability, market capacity, indicative costs and procurement structure, including the appropriate separation and boundaries between the requirements. The Council also wishes to understand how smaller, specialist and locality-based VCSE organisations could participate meaningfully in delivery and governance, and how the proposed arrangement could reflect the geographical size and diversity of the East Riding. The one-year arrangements are intended to maintain continuity while informing the Council’s longer-term commissioning approach. Participation in the engagement process or appointment to any transitional requirement will not guarantee the award of future contracts. The proposed scope, budget, contract value, procurement structure and timetable remain indicative and may change following preliminary market engagement and the Council’s internal financial, legal, procurement and governance approvals. This notice does not constitute a call for competition or a commitment by the Council to proceed with the procurement.