An online resource has been launched to help local businesses grant “wishes” to third sector organisations.
Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface (CTSI), a not-for-profit service which supports the development of the third sector in Clackmannanshire and the Forth Valley, has created a new ‘community benefit wishlist’ to facilitate better communication between public sector suppliers and the third sector.
The wishlist is hosted on the CTSI website and features requests from social enterprises, charities and community groups that are looking for community benefit support from the public sector.
Wishes range from practical items and funding through to mentoring advice, training and volunteer support, and can be submitted at any time.
All businesses that tender for public sector contracts in Scotland are required to consider how they will deliver community benefit as part of the procurement process. It is hoped that the new system will enable suppliers to address specific problems in the communities they serve rather than offering generic benefits.
Suppliers can now view the list and find a match for their expertise and resources before contacting the organisation directly if they think they are able to fulfil a wish – cutting out any procurement “red tape”.
Suppliers hoping to tender for public sector contracts can also use the wishlist to inform their response.
In addition, private sector companies that are keen to add value in their community are “welcome” to use the list.
The resource has been developed in collaboration with Scottish social value agency, Samtaler.
CTSI has worked closely with Clackmannanshire Council throughout the process and the wishlist will now be an “integral” part of the council’s ‘benefits factory’, which provides information to suppliers through a new Trello dashboard. Trello is an online collaboration tool that organises projects into boards.
The wishlist also allows local small organisations to upload easily to the new NHS Portal via the CTSI website.
Anthea Coulter, chief officer and business manager at Clackmannanshire TSI said: “We saw that a lot of our members just weren’t really benefiting from the community benefit programme and there was this disconnect between suppliers and the third sector where our members weren’t sure what to ask for and suppliers weren’t sure what the third sector needed.
“The community benefit wishlist cuts through that confusion and makes it really easy for suppliers to see exactly what the immediate needs of the community are and spot where they can use their expertise and add value. We think it will make the whole process much faster and lead to much stronger and more productive relationships between suppliers and the third sector. We are looking forward to seeing the first wishes granted and watching the list evolve over the coming months.”
The Clackmannanshire TSI wishlist follows a similar format to the one used by Perth & Kinross Council which was also created by Samtaler in 2019.
To view the wishlist or for more information visit https://ctsi.org.uk/community-benefits
