The Supporting Links to Commissioning project provides support and advice on  commissioning in Leeds. Helping organisations to be more aware of the commissioning agenda and procurement issues. The project is currently funded until March 2012.

Get in Touch

If you have questions about commissioning contact either Rachel Koivunen or Alan Wallace at VAL.

Rachel Koivunen, Project Manager rachel.koivunen@val.org.uk

Alan Wallace, Project Officer alan.wallace@val.org.uk

or call 0113 297 7920

Free support is available to Third Sector organisations in Leeds.

We can:

• Help you understand the Commissioning Cycle
  

If you are new to Commissioning the best place to start is with The Basics where we explain the Commissioning Cycle.

• Help you understand how Commissioning works in Leeds

We understand how commissioning works in Leeds and can support you to understand how Leeds City Council approaches commissioning, how the Third Sector approaches it and what structures there are in place for you to become involved if you want to.

• Give advice on what you need to do if you want to engage in the process

The Commissioning agenda is a factor driving Third Sector organisations to be better organised and managed. A lot of this is about organisational health i.e. having good systems in place - we have produced a Toolkit to help you with this.

We can also advise you on Collaboration and Consortium Building. Commissioning is increasingly tending to focus on larger contracts and smaller numbers of them. Collaborating can enable groups to compete for contracts that they might be unlikely to win by themselves.

• Let you know what contracts are available

Leeds City Council publish a Contracts Register in it you can find every contract let by LCC; who manages the contract; what the value of any contract is; and, when it is up for renewal. Use this to start thinking about which contracts you may wish to tender for and start planning! Download a copy from the Contracts Register page.

• Further reading, articles, and useful websites

Being aware of what is happening elsewhere and what experienced organisations and people are saying will help your understanding of the commissioning agenda.