The public service landscape is going to change in dramatic ways over the next few years. Whilst the pace and outcomes of this change will vary in different communities and localities, a consistent theme will be the provision of services through a mix of public, business, third, community and social enterprise sector organisations.
The implications for the third sector of this changing landscape are enormous and potentially very threatening. Although the Government and most local authorities are actively promoting the concept of the "Big Society" and a greater role for the third sectors - at the very same time, they are cutting their funding for service delivery and infrastructure support. This is ridiculous, seemingly short sighted and hypocritical.
Even third sector organisations that rely entirely on volunteers to undertake their activities require finance. And understandably, most of the service providing organisations employ paid professional staff. Without sufficient funding, something will have to give and the losers will usually be the users of the services.
Some form of financial support for third sector organisations to finance infrastructure support, organisational development, community building, and other important activities is absolutely vital. Increasingly, the public sector will seek to commission and procure services that they can no longer afford to deliver themselves. But such procurement needs to be based on contract terms that are commercially viable for both parties and not just attractive to a cash strapped local authority.
They need to be based on payments that cover costs plus some margin for investment and business growth. This is what any business would rightly expect – third sector and social enterprises are no different. And ideally, the contracts should specify outcomes and reward their achievement – rather than solely proscribe inputs or processes. These specified outcomes should be the result of a strategic commissioning process.
Strategic commissioning is about identifying need and aspiration, and meeting these from the available options in a manner which ensures value for money. It should be concerned with outcomes and not the form of the provider - or which sector it comes from. In order to determine these outcomes and choose between the options, it is essential that service users and staff are fully engaged in the commissioning process and any subsequent procurement.
If the public sector wants to be able to use more third sector providers to deliver public services it must address five key issues:
- understand the organisations long term goals and build relationships around these
- involve all organisations at every stage in the strategic commissioning processes and make procurement as simple and as resource light as possible
- ensure the availability of affordable loans for investment and working capital
- ensure that procurement and tendering conditions do not exclude the sectors and contract on commercially sensible and practical terms including fees and charges
- encourage business and public sector suppliers to include third and community sector groups in their delivery chain as respected partners
Above all respect the right of third sector organisations to challenge public sector decisions. There will be opportunities for much more third sector provision of public services - but only if local authorities do not treat and regard these sectors with contempt and hypocrisy, whilst promoting their role in the "big society". Now is the time for commissioners to speak out in favour of, and practically support, the sectors that they will increasingly come to rely upon.
John Tizard, director at the Centre for Public Sector Partnerships
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