Scedu Tender Readiness Toolkit
Encyclopedia
The Scedu
(Sheffield Community Enterprise Development Unit) Tender Readiness Toolkit was released in March 2006 as a practical resource for social enterprise
s looking at procurement
.
The Tender Readiness Toolkit was adopted by many leading social enterprises since its launch, and received warm backing from across the public sector
and social enterprise sector nationally and locally in South Yorkshire
.
opportunities were diminishing with the end of the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and the European Union
's expansion leading to a decrease in Objective 1 Structural funds.
Sheffield City Council
approved a report in April 2004 entitled A policy for the expansion of opportunities for social enterprises through public procurement and planning policies which outlined the council's ambition for a mixed economy of provision through procurement:
"A thriving social enterprise sector in the city is also a mechanism for bringing excluded groups into the labour market, raising skill levels and increasing future employability, which in turn improves the quality of life for the individuals concerned and their families and helps to secure the sustainability of communities."
This built upon Central Government's The National Procurement Strategy for Local Government (2003) which spelt out that effective procurement would help local authorities to achieve their Community/City Plan objectives.
's 2003 report Public procurement: a toolkit for social enterprises, in that it offered a practical solution for social enterprises and voluntary and community organisations to assess their options, benchmark their current status, set development targets, and find contract opportunities. It was produced in cd-rom format and was specifically designed to be easy and practical for people to use.
(the British Urban Regeneration Association) in June 2007. The judges marked the Toolkit against components identified by Sir John Egan as those of a sustainable community
. The judges commented "An excellent piece of work with accessible documentation and a staged process which allows for progression through the process of getting an organisation in the kind of shape needed to tender as well as writing up the content of a tender."
Scedu
Scedu was set up in 1995 as a 'not for private profit' social enterprise. It is the social enterprise support and reference organisation for Sheffield and South Yorkshire....
(Sheffield Community Enterprise Development Unit) Tender Readiness Toolkit was released in March 2006 as a practical resource for social enterprise
Social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....
s looking at procurement
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...
.
The Tender Readiness Toolkit was adopted by many leading social enterprises since its launch, and received warm backing from across the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
and social enterprise sector nationally and locally in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
.
Background
The issue of procurement was particularly important in South Yorkshire as many mainstream fundingFunding
Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money , or other values such as effort or time , for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institutions...
opportunities were diminishing with the end of the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's expansion leading to a decrease in Objective 1 Structural funds.
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors...
approved a report in April 2004 entitled A policy for the expansion of opportunities for social enterprises through public procurement and planning policies which outlined the council's ambition for a mixed economy of provision through procurement:
"A thriving social enterprise sector in the city is also a mechanism for bringing excluded groups into the labour market, raising skill levels and increasing future employability, which in turn improves the quality of life for the individuals concerned and their families and helps to secure the sustainability of communities."
This built upon Central Government's The National Procurement Strategy for Local Government (2003) which spelt out that effective procurement would help local authorities to achieve their Community/City Plan objectives.
What it did
The Scedu Tender Readiness Toolkit differed from the likes of the DTIDTI
DTI may refer to:*Debt-to-income ratio*Deep trench isolation*Defense Technology Institute, the Thai defense technology public organisation*Department of Trade and Industry, a government department in several countries*Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad...
's 2003 report Public procurement: a toolkit for social enterprises, in that it offered a practical solution for social enterprises and voluntary and community organisations to assess their options, benchmark their current status, set development targets, and find contract opportunities. It was produced in cd-rom format and was specifically designed to be easy and practical for people to use.
Tools of the trade award
The Tender Readiness Toolkit won a Tools of the Trade award run by BURABura
Bura may refer to several different things:* Bura , a genus of beetles* Boura , a city of Achaea, Greece* Bura , a figure in Greek mythology* Bura , a wind in the northern Mediterranean...
(the British Urban Regeneration Association) in June 2007. The judges marked the Toolkit against components identified by Sir John Egan as those of a sustainable community
Sustainable community
Sustainable communities are communities planned, built, or modified to promote sustainable living. This may include sustainability aspects relating to reproduction...
. The judges commented "An excellent piece of work with accessible documentation and a staged process which allows for progression through the process of getting an organisation in the kind of shape needed to tender as well as writing up the content of a tender."