If you are a BME charity or social enterprise interested in public sector procurement opportunities, this webinar is for you!
Are you looking to secure public sector contracts to increase your income and impact?
This 90 minute webinar is the ideal first step towards contract readiness, giving voluntary, community or social enterprises (VCSEs) a solid grounding in the procurement process.
Hear from a Commissioner and a Social Entrepreneur
Get to grips with the fundamentals of public procurement and tendering, and find out where the government offers contracts. You’ll gain insight on the process from the commissioner’s side and understand what they’re looking for in a strong bid, as well as hearing about the experience of securing government contracts from a social entrepreneur.
About the Commissioner – Claire Dove CBE DL
Claire has been a key player in the Voluntary, Charity and Social Enterprise movement since the 1980’s and is the national Crown Representative for the VCSE Sector with the remit of supporting the sector to access government contracts.
Claire nationally and internationally is known for her work in the sector and for ten years chaired Social Enterprise UK. She worked with government and leaders from the sector to create the first strategy for the Social Enterprise movement. She has ensured that we had a voice within Westminster and Whitehall, this included working with the teams to introduce the Social Value Act which is now embedded into many local government frameworks and in the national Crown Commercial procurement service. After stepping down as chair of SEUK Claire was asked and accepted to become a patron to the organisation.
Claire led the highly successful Blackburne House Group, until she retired in July 2020. Blackburne House offers an outstanding educational offer to women alongside running its award-winning School for Social Entrepreneurship and highly successful social enterprises.
Claire has received many awards for her role within the sector, which includes an MBE, OBE and also the Queens Lifetime achievement award for Enterprise promotion. Claire was once again honoured in the 2020 New Year’s honours list with a CBE.
About the Social Entrepreneur – Junior Smart
Junior established St Giles’ SOS Gangs project in 2006 upon his release from a 10-year prison sentence. Initially, a pilot project helping young people in Southwark, with Junior the sole caseworker, it has now grown across the UK and is now London’s largest gangs exit programme, helping hundreds of young people being criminally exploited through county lines. This support is provided by staff trained to provide practical and psychological support and advice, with lived experience of similar situations faced by the young people they assist.
Junior has achieved a First Class degree in Youth Work, an MA with distinction in Criminology, Youth Crime and Justice, both from Middlesex University and has also been included in the Evening Standard’s 1000 Most Influential Londoners List, alongside receiving numerous additional awards for his work.
He is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of West London, centering on violence desistance in all its forms and feeds into public policy through Public Policy Exchange and the Centre for Social Justice and consults with the Metropolitan Police as well as other statutory bodies on best practice. He also spoke recently at the The Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) annual conference on courageous leadership.
This webinar is for you if:
- You are a BME charity and social enterprise interested in public sector procurement opportunities
- You have little or no experience of tendering
- You are based in England
Social enterprises that are unincorporated are also welcome to book, provided that they operate and register in England when they incorporate.
By social enterprise, we mean a diverse range of organisations including (but not limited to) Community Interest Companies (CIC), Community Benefit Society (CBS), Registered Charity, Cooperatives, and in some cases a Limited company.
The deadline to register is 5pm on Monday 9th September 2024.
