The Strengthening the Voluntary Sector programme. Call for tenders for a leadership development programme

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1 The Strengthening the Voluntary Sector programme Call for tenders for a leadership development programme The Baring Foundation and the J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust are pleased to announce a call for tenders for a leadership development programme for the advice sector. The leadership development programme will provide ongoing professional development to chief executives and senior leaders and recognise their considerable achievements and successes in challenging times for the sector. The successful organisation will have a track record in leadership development, a clear understanding of and links to the advice sector and will tie the programme to ongoing work within the sector on capacity development and sustainability. A grant of up to 238,000 will be awarded by the Baring Foundation to fund the programme. This call for tenders includes information on our organisations, our interest in the advice sector and our thinking on leadership development. Full details on the tender requirements are included in Section B. Tenders must be received by 9am on 5 November Organisations shortlisted for the grant will be interviewed during the afternoon of 12 November If you are interested in tendering you are strongly advised to discuss your proposal with David Sampson at the Baring Foundation well in advance of the deadline. Contact details are provided at the end of this call for tenders. A. Background This section provides background on the Baring Foundation, the J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust, our support for the advice sector and how we believe the leadership of chief executives and senior leaders can play a role. In this context: the advice sector means not-for-profit organisations that provide free advice about problems for which legal remedies exist. The relevant categories of law are often gathered under the catch-all label of social welfare law, whilst the areas can differ we view the core categories as: Page 1 of 8

2 o welfare benefits; o debt; o housing; o community care; o employment; and o immigration. At the same time, areas such as asylum, discrimination, education and public law can be implied; and by senior leaders we mean staff in advice sector organisations that report to chief executives and may take on a chief executive role in the advice sector in the future. 1. The Baring Foundation The Baring Foundation is an independent foundation working to improve the quality of life of people experiencing disadvantage and discrimination. We aim to achieve this through making grants to voluntary and other civil society organisations and by adding value including through promoting knowledge and influencing others. The Foundation has had a long term interest in the advice sector and in 2012 launched the STVS Future Advice programme. This programme seeks to support the building of a series of bridges to a future system of effective social welfare legal advice services: attracting income; making the most effective use of resources; strengthening advice organisations; making strategic use of the law; building the evidence base for advice; and advocating and campaigning for advice. Future Advice is a collaboration with Comic Relief, Unbound Philanthropy and the Legal Education Foundation. In 2014, the administration of the fund moved from the Baring Foundation to the Legal Education Foundation. 2. The J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust The J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust was endowed by Sir John Paul Getty, KBE, who died in April 2003 in London, where he had lived since the 1970s. The Trust started distributing funds in 1986; since then it has awarded over 80 million in grants to thousands of charities across the United Kingdom and it will be closing in It has supported a wide range of social welfare causes over its 30-year life and has a particular interest in advice services and in strengthening the information, advice and guidance service sector. The J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust is closed to applications. Page 2 of 8

3 3. Our support for the advice sector Our support for the advice sector recognises that it has an essential role to play in any effort to address our core purpose of tackling disadvantage and discrimination. Advice agencies help people to secure their rights and entitlements, to resolve disputes and to hold the powerful to account. They offer skilled support in times of the most extreme difficulty and anxiety. We also recognise that advice services have been under pressure for some time. Our 2009 STVS working paper Rights with Meaning, looked at the impacts on advice services of market-based reform, contracting and inefficient public administration that were making it increasingly difficult for agencies to provide the right support at the right time to their clients. The pressure has only become more intense through the cuts to legal aid imposed by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, ongoing cuts in local authority funding and the closure of the grants programmes at the Equality and Human Rights Commission in This has been an exceptionally challenging time for the advice sector and the squeeze on funding is unlikely to change for some time to come. Since the cuts in legal aid in 2013, ten law centres have closed their doors and parts of the country now lack access to even basic advice provision. However, there has also been incredible resilience from those working in the sector and great examples of innovation to overcome the challenging operating environment. The sector is filled with talented, passionate and committed trustees and staff, who believe strongly in the value of advice. We believe that supporting and retaining this talent within the sector is critical. 4. Leadership development We believe that support for ongoing professional development and recognition of the hard work and achievements of those working in the sector are important elements in developing an effective system of social welfare legal advice. Strengthening organisations, adapting to changing income streams and advocating for advice effectively all rely on retaining and developing talented staff and leaders. In the context of small advice organisations, chief executives play a particularly important role. In 2014, the Baring Foundation commissioned the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Cass Business School (Cass) to undertake a scoping exercise that considered the value of a programme to support and develop sector leaders. Cass also considered what form such a course might take. Cass interviewed 24 people to scope a leadership development programme for the advice sector in England & Wales. This focused on three core questions: Page 3 of 8

4 what must leadership achieve for the sector?; what leadership qualities and competencies will achieve this?; and how can the design and structure of the programme best develop these qualities and support the ambition of the sector? The executive summary to the report concluded that: Interviewees strongly welcomed a LDP [leadership development project] specifically for the sector and broadly endorsed the overall ambitions originally drafted for the programme: To boost morale for the sector following a sustained period of funding cutbacks To support the sector to re-invest in leadership and innovation To invest in, retain and develop a talented cohort of senior and emerging leaders To foster inter-organisational collaboration and share innovation and best practice across the sector To provide the creative impetus for innovative and sustainable service models. The ultimate intended impact of the LDP is to support the advice sector to play its full part in enabling better lives for vulnerable people: With stronger advice organisations Making even better use of scarce resources Attracting new income into the sector Building the evidence base for shaping change in the sector Based on a comprehensive understanding of the range of need in the sector, with a strategic and targeted response that integrates direct advice delivery with tactical interventions (e.g. strategic use of the law) and mitigation of need Embedded within the wider fields of health and social care, and legal advice. However parts of the sector feel overwhelmed by the funding cuts and have innovation fatigue, so the LDP needs to be framed positively, appreciative of what the sector has already achieved. To engage the sector effectively in leadership development the LDP will need to: Develop inspirational leadership that aligns the sector around everyone s passionate commitment to using the law to help people, with service users at the heart of delivery Support leaders in the sector to grow further leadership capacity in their organisations to develop more leaders, not create more followers Equip leaders with the tools to lead and change their context as far as possible, and to adapt to the context where it genuinely cannot be changed Build on the strengths, innovations and resources that are there in the sector already, learning from the organisations that have done astonishingly well, to inspire further creativity and tap into any underutilised capacity Understand the personal qualities of those who lead these successful organisations - exploring how these qualities and competencies can be replicated. It suggested the following key outcomes for any successful leadership development programme: Page 4 of 8

5 Even greater sector and individual organisational capacity through: Innovation, analysis and improvisation across the sector as knowledge is shared, ideas are tested, changes are implemented effectively Collaboration across the sector Greater impetus for sustainable business models Improved morale as a result of: Greater appreciation of the strength and power of the sector to create positive change, and of the levers to bring about this change Motivating, values-based leadership steering change effectively Reduced isolation with strong peer networks across a wider geographical spread Increased confidence and resourcefulness in tackling difficult situations Greater influence on external environment Meeting demand more effectively Greater clarity about the future direction of the sector. We agree broadly with Cass conclusions and key outcomes and are keen to test how these outcomes may be delivered through different forms of a leadership development programme. B. Call for tenders for a leadership development provider This is a call for tenders from organisations to administer, run and evaluate a leadership development programme for the advice sector. A grant of up to 238,000 will be awarded by the Baring Foundation to fund the programme. 1. Expectations for the programme We expect the available budget to fund a leadership programme for advice sector chief executives and senior leaders per year for a minimum of two years. In other words, at least chief executives and senior leaders over the course of the programme. The programme should commence in the first half of 2016 and activity is expected to include: recruitment of participants preferably using established sector leaders as part of the process; at least two cohorts of leaders undertaking 12 month leadership programmes. The programme will be structured to include regular activity throughout the year and is likely to include residential events. Possible interventions include (but are not limited to): o 360 degree profiling and personal development planning; o executive coaching; o high level theoretical input and teaching; o external speakers; Page 5 of 8

6 o elective structured learning; o residential events; o simulations and experiential learning scenarios; o action learning sets; o think tanks / thought leadership; o structured networking opportunities; o mentoring scheme; o consultancy support; o shadowing scheme; and o visits to other organisations; and evaluation of the design of the programme and the impact on participants and broader sector. The available budget is also intended to cover the expenses of participants (including travel and accommodation) and all administration of the programme. Our expectations are informed by the conclusions of the scoping exercise undertaken by Cass, including what is affordable using the available budget. It is important to note that we are keen to receive applications that take different approaches to leadership development. Our expectation on the minimum number of participants is fixed, but we welcome different: approaches to leadership development; interventions; and timescales (subject to a minimum two year period). We are also aware that many leadership programmes are dynamic and that your proposed interventions and timing may develop and change over time. We are keen to see this type of ongoing development. You may also wish to consider how a leadership development programme could be continued through other funding at the conclusion of this grant. Finally, we know that leadership development alone will not preserve or transform the sector. To be successful, any leadership development programme must be closely aligned to other capacity development programmes for the sector and the significant amount of ongoing activity around sustainability through funders, sector umbrella bodies, specialist trainers and frontline providers. The successful tender will demonstrate a clear connection between the proposed programme and this ongoing activity. 2. Eligibility to tender We welcome tenders from any qualified organisation, including not-for-profit organisations, companies and universities. Page 6 of 8

7 3. Timetable Call for tenders 1 October 2015 Deadline for tender submissions 5 November 2015 (9am) Notification of shortlisting 9 November 2015 Interviews for shortlisted tenders 12 November 2015 Grant awarded 13 November 2015 Full details of the conditions attached to any grant will be provided following its award. 4. Tender All tenders must be factual and written in plain English, avoiding jargon and rhetoric. In order to consider your tender, we must receive the following by 9am on 5 November 2015: i. A completed grant application form (to be completed online here) ii. Proposal Proposals must be no more than 3,000 words (excluding appendices and supporting documentation). They should be presented under the following headings: Executive summary a concise summary of the proposed leadership development programme that should be no more than one A4 page in length. Within this summary, you should list the three key things participants should gain from the programme; Details of the organisation a brief summary of your organisation and its key personnel, its experience with or in the advice sector and track record in leadership development; Details of third party providers a summary of any other organisations or individuals you will use to deliver the programme, their experience with or in the advice sector and track record in leadership development; Approach to leadership your view on (a) the purpose of a leadership development programme for the advice sector, (b) the defining characteristics of good leaders in the sector and (c) the key skills to be developed; Page 7 of 8

8 Recruitment your process for recruiting senior leaders and chief executives to the programme, with particular reference to how this might include established sector leaders; Programme content a full description of your approach to the programme, including the length of the full programme and proposed interventions. A draft schedule for year one should be included as Appendix 1; How the programme relates to ongoing activity your plans for how the programme will be aligned to other capacity development programmes for the sector; Budget a full budget for the programme, including (but not limited to) staff and management costs for your organisation, venue hire (if any), third party contractors and expenses. Assumptions used to calculate the budget should be explained. A budget in tabular form can be included as Appendix 2; and Evaluation your evaluation procedures to monitor design of the programme and the impact on participants and the broader sector. Key success indicators should also be included. iii. Financial information The audited accounts of your organisation in the last complete financial year. All the documents required for this application should be submitted through our online applications portal. You will be able to upload your attachments at page 3 of the form. 5. Contact If you are interested in tendering you are strongly advised to discuss your proposal with David Sampson at the Baring Foundation well in advance of the deadline. David is available by at david.sampson@uk.ing.com or by telephone on September 2015 Page 8 of 8