BNSSG Healthier Together

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire VCSE
Brokerage Framework

The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector has a vital role in improving people’s health and wellbeing in Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. The VCSE Brokerage Framework enables the full breadth and depth of the VCSE sector to play this role.

The VCSE Brokerage Framework is a new system-wide approach to enable a diverse range of VCSE organisations to deliver health and wellbeing improvements in local communities, through investment from Integrated Care System (ICS) health and social care partners. The Framework provides a standard, robust and inclusive process for assessing the best proposals for community activities.

Contents

How the Brokerage Framework works
The benefits of joining
Who can apply to join
How to join
Questions and feedback
Investments
Key dates and supporting information

How it works

The Framework is hosted by the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire VCSE Alliance and co-developed in partnership with NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and ICS partners. It is funded by Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB and is being piloted in 2024, with an anticipated full launch in 2025.

The VCSE Brokerage Framework is being co-designed and tested by a partnership of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire VCSE Alliance, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and ICS partners, including Sirona care & health, the local authorities and VCSE sector.

The Framework will help integrate thousands of VCSE organisations with public sector bodies in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It offers a fair and simple way for public sector managers to engage diverse VCSE groups, including smaller organisations.

Public sector requests of VCSE organisations on the Framework might include:

  • Proposals to provide community preventive activities.
  • Data, insights and/or intelligence on a particular issue.
  • Co-production of new services.

To develop proposals for the pilot programmes, VCSE organisations need to join the Framework.

Benefits of joining

The benefits of joining the Framework include:

  • Easier funding applications.
  • Fewer entry barriers to the public sector – process is proportionate to the size of your organisation.
  • Networking and relationship building with VCSE peers.
  • Skill and practice sharing.
  • Greater community voice in public sector decisions.
  • Collaborative system reform and service design.

Who can apply to join

Any VCSE organisation operating for over 12 months can apply to join the Framework if they meet the following criteria:

  • A registered charity, unincorporated association, Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Community business (company limited by shares with a clear community purpose and benefits), Community Interest Company limited by guarantee (CIC, the common form of social enterprises), Community Interest Company limited by share (Schedule 2 with 100% asset lock), Community Benefit or Industrial Provident Society, or company limited by guarantee.
  • Have robust governance and sound financial management proportional to organisation size, as set out in the Brokerage Framework Quality Assurance requirements.
  • Based in and/or already delivering services and conducting activities within Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire.
  • Focused on at least one of the many aspects that affect health and wellbeing – including things like inclusion, work, housing, education, money, air quality, safety, transport, social and community connections alongside health and care advice, support and services.
  • Be willing to collaborate with other organisations on the Framework.
  • It is recognised that a community business, which has clear community purpose and benefits, may be a company limited by shares.

We encourage all VCSE organisations, even the very smallest, to apply. The joining process has been intentionally designed to be proportional to size.

How to join

Applications to join the Framework can be made by completing the VCSE Brokerage Framework application forms.

VCSE Brokerage Framework Application Form - part 1 VCSE Brokerage Framework Application Form - part 2

Once you have completed the application form, it will be reviewed by the Brokerage team and the assurance panel. We will aim to tell you the outcome of your application as soon as possible.

Please be aware there is no save and return option when filling out the forms. To help you gather relevant information to complete the application, these summary documents show all of the questions included in the application form before beginning your application.

Questions and feedback

The VCSE Brokerage Framework is in a test-and-learn pilot year during 2024 and 2025. The learnings and feedback gathered during the pilot will be used to further refine the Framework, with the intention of a wide-scale launch in 2025. Please share your experience of participating in or using the Framework by completing our feedback form.

We have developed some frequently asked questions and responses, which we hope will help provide further information about the VCSE Brokerage Framework.

Investments

The VCSE Brokerage Framework will be tested via four investment programmes. Learnings will be gathered through this process and used to inform the further development of the Framework.

The information about the four investment programmes is presented in the table below. These investments will be launched through the VCSE Brokerage Framework in November.

Programme

Communities Against Cancer programme

With investment from the SWAG Cancer Alliance, this ICB programme aims to engage communities and support the earlier diagnosis of cancers to improve outcomes and survival. Work that encourages:

  1. Timely presentation of signs and symptoms, encouraging the public to come forward to their GP. 
  2. Participation in cancer screening programmes to find cancers early, or even to prevent cancer.
  3. Understanding of how healthy lifestyle choices can reduce cancer risk.

Subject to community engagement, it will focus on communities with health inequalities and activities will be delivered by VCSE organisations with targeted communities.

Investment: £225,000 for 24 months.

Children’s Wellbeing

This programme will focus on children’s wellbeing, mental health and healthy weight in North Somerset. Co-funded by Sirona care & health, North Somerset Council and the Locality Partnerships, activities will build a coordinated wellbeing offer for children in North Somerset for targeted referrals and self-referrals.

The total investment package is £250,000 (£150,000 Year 1 and £50,000 per annum for Years 2 and 3).

Falls prevention

The prevention of falls and prolonged lying on the floor after falling has a large impact on people’s health. This programme will build on established, proven activities (for example, strength and balance classes) and coordination across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (through the Falls Collaboratives) to ensure effective and inclusive delivery in targeted communities.

Anticipated fund: £720,000 / year over 3 years

Work Well

The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire WorkWell programme is an integrated approach focused on supporting Disabled People and people with health conditions to start, stay and thrive in work.

It aims to tackle health, social and employment barriers that can lead to people leaving work, or being unable to return after sickness, and will provide tailored support and advice for up to 3,000 people and their employers (where relevant) within the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire area.

Grants may cover increased delivery capacity, encouraging innovation, facilitating collaboration between health and work initiatives and capitalising on learning opportunities.

VCSE Brokerage Framework – market engagement and go-live dates

We are really excited to announce that investment opportunities for VCSE organisations to submit applications for, through the VCSE Brokerage Framework, will go live on 6 November for the Children & Young People and Communities Against Cancer programmes.

Children & Young People in North Somerset

Market engagement dates are both online: 5 November at 10:30am and 11 November at 10:30am.

Please sign up for one of the market engagement dates to find out more about this exciting opportunity and to ask any questions about the programme or the process for making proposals.

Communities Against Cancer

Market engagement dates are both online: 14 November at 12 noon and 26 November at 11am.

Please sign up for one of the market engagement dates to find out more about this exciting opportunity and to ask any questions about the programme or the process for making proposals.

WorkWell West and Falls programmes

Market engagement and go live dates for the WorkWell West and Falls programmes are being finalised and will be announced in the next few weeks.

Assurance panel and application dates

The purpose of the VCSE Brokerage Framework Assurance Panel is to ensure that organisations on the Framework meet the quality assurance requirements and criteria for joining.

The VCSE Brokerage Framework Assurance Panel has oversight of the assessment of applications to the Framework and plays the lead role in the quality assurance decision-making process. The membership of the Panel and the process it follows are set out in the Terms of Reference.

The Assurance Panel members use the VCSE Brokerage Framework policy checklist when reviewing and confirming the suitability and quality of core requirement policies (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Safeguarding and Complaints policies)

VCSE Brokerage Framework policy checklist

Assurance Panel Terms of Reference (ToR)

Assurance panel and application dates

Application submission deadline to be reviewed by upcoming panel Assurance panel date
23 August 2024 5 September 2024
27 September 2024 8 October 2024
25 October 2024 6 November 2024
22 November 2024 3 December 2024

To ensure applications to join the Framework are assessed in time to allow participation in the pilot programmes, VCSE organisations are advised to submit applications by 27 September 2024. Applications will remain open after this date, but the Brokerage Team cannot guarantee that applications will be assessed in time for participation in the pilot programmes.

Overview of the Brokerage Framework Quality Assurance requirements

Category   Example   A. Up to £100k   B. £100k-£250k   C. £250k-£500k   D. £500k-£1m   E.   >£1m  
Governance   Governing document: Constitution or Memorandum & Articles  
   Annual report (at least 1 year of operating)  
   List of trustees/directors 
Financial management   Bank account +3 months of bank statements  
   Statement of Financial Activities   
   Accounts: Independent Examination        
   Full accounts           
   Projected budget           
Inclusive practice   Equality/Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Policy  
   EDI data analysis        
   EDI action plan           
   Evidence of public / patient involvement        
Safe practice   H&S law compliance  
   Insurance  
   Safeguarding policy  
   DBS checks if appropriate 
Continuous improvement   Complaints Procedure  
   Monitoring, evaluation and learning policy        
   Demonstrable improvement from monitoring data analysis           
Socio-economic contribution   Social value policy/statement           
   Demonstrable commitment to local supply chain (including VCSE)              
Collaborative practice   Track record of collaboration – case study           
   Example of used collaboration/ partnership agreement/ MOU               
   References from previous partners/ sub-grantees/ sub-contractors