On Thursday 3 October 2024, NCVS visited The Vine Community Centre to join Nottingham City Council and representatives from the voluntary sector to talk all things commissioning.
Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer; Davia Mckoy, Projects Support Administrator; Billie Ault, Communications and Marketing Coordinator; Chris Hill, Social Enterprise Development Coordinator; and Jules Sebelin, CEO, represented NCVS as collaborative partners in organising the workshop. We turned up early to get our stall all set up ready to start signing people in; we were soon rushed off our feet as people started to turn up. Dave, Davia and Billie set up a conveyor belt to get people through as quickly as possible. Davia would check off their names before moving them on to Billie and Dave, who distributed strips of paper with different table numbers written on them. Attendees would start at the first table number and then follow the numerical pattern on their own paper strip.
The tables soon started to fill up, and after a few words from Jules and representatives from Nottingham City Council, the conversations started flowing. The event was a great chance for voluntary sector groups to talk to local authority commissioners directly (some of them had never had the opportunity before) and really get their voice heard. It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout from our local VCSE sector, and we appreciate the sector's willingness to share its experiences in supporting vulnerable people and its valuable contributions towards designing future services. This input will be instrumental in creating more effective community support systems in collaboration with local authority commissioners.
During the workshop, a survey was shared using Mentimeter. But due to some technical difficulties, not everyone was able to participate. If you attended the event and couldn’t take part in the original survey or if you're a voluntary sector organisation who wasn't able to attend, there’s still a chance to share your thoughts. Please click here to access a Microsoft Form, where you can voice your suggestions on the priorities for adult and children’s services and support in Nottingham.
Finally, Chris and Julia Cook, Nottingham Trent University, representing the Social Enterprise Accelerator (SEA) programme, spoke to the room about the programme and registering for the 'Tender Readiness' training. Read more about SEA and register for the training here.
Karla Banfield, Acting Deputy Director of Commissioning and Partnerships, shares her views on the event:
‘We are delighted to share that our recent collaborative event with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) was a great success. The event was well attended by a diverse range of organisations working across both children’s and adults’ services, showcasing the breadth of passion and commitment to supporting our local communities. The insights gathered will play a crucial role in how we plan and commission services going forward.
The next steps will involve analysing all the valuable insights and information gathered during the event. We will be working closely with NCVS to identify key themes and decide on the most impactful next steps to ensure our ongoing collaboration continues to thrive. This is just the beginning. We look forward to building on the strong foundations set at this event and continuing our partnership with the sector.’
Jules Sebelin, NCVS CEO:
'I would like to thank all of the voluntary organisations that took part in the commissioning event for giving up their time and expertise to contribute to this important work. Please do stay involved with the process as it develops. I would also like to thank City Council colleagues for their openness to listening to different voices. We are all working toward making life better for the people we serve. True partnership will make that work stronger and more effective.'
If you’d like to keep involved in future workstreams or receive updates, please complete the form (as above) to let the Commissioning Team know how you’d like to stay connected.
If you have any enquiries about the Social Enterprise Accelerator, please reach out to their team by emailing vcseobservatory@ntu.ac.uk.
