Competition launched for
partner to deliver £1.2m programme to help develop Third Sector Innovation
CABINET OFFICE News
Release (CAB/021/07) issued by The Government News Network on 27
March 2007
Ed Miliband,
Minister for the Third Sector, today launched the
Government's search for a partner to deliver a new £1.2m
Innovation Exchange - a programme to support the third
sector's capacity to innovate.
The Innovation Exchange programme - being put out to tender today
by the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in the Cabinet Office -
aims to provide third sector innovators with access to the people
and potential capital they need to make their ideas a reality.
First proposed in last December's Partnership in Public
Services action plan, the three-year pilot programme is a response
to the sector's concern that too often insights that could
transform people's lives are lost because innovators struggle
to find the advice, support and contacts they need to advance and
grow their ideas.
Combining online and offline approaches, the Innovation Exchange
will facilitate peer-to-peer collaboration and offer tailored
support for the sector's ground-breaking innovations and most
promising innovators.
Ed Miliband, Minister for the Third
Sector, said: 'A clear message has come through from the
sector about the need for better mechanisms to ensure peer-to-peer
learning and to connect innovators with appropriate types of support.
'The Innovation Exchange aims to support the sector's
ability to make this happen. We are looking for a partner who can
use these resources to find new and effective ways of connecting,
supporting and developing the best innovators the sector has to offer.'
Tender details, for publication
The OTS is looking for
creative bids for the contract, which will be awarded in June 2007
and is worth a total of £1,225,000. Bids are expected to show
value for money, the capacity to attract and engage the third
sector, the ability to integrate the Innovation Exchange with
existing policies and public services, and to demonstrate
expertise in combining high quality online and offline activity.
This tendering process is an open procedure in which any
organisation from within the EU may submit a bid. The last day on
which Invitation to Tender documents can be requested is 7th May,
2007 and tenders must be received by 14th May, 2007. It is
expected contracts will be awarded during June, 2007.
To request the Invitation to Tender documents, please email John
Craig in the Office of the Third Sector, Cabinet Office at john.craig@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk.
To find a copy of the tender publication, please go to:
http://ted.europa.eu/Exec;jsessionid=CD019BAFC2ED208FE3901114631D32A4.instance_2?DataFlow=ShowPage.dfl&Template=TED/N_one_result_detail_curr.htm&docnumber=73767-2007&docId=73767-2007&StatLang=EN
Notes to editors:
1. Please find the Partnership in Public
Services action plan, launched in December 2006, on the following
link: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/public_service_delivery/
2. In recognition of the increasingly important role the third
sector plays in both society and the economy, the Prime Minister
created the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in May 2006 to drive
forward the Government's role in supporting a thriving third
sector, and join up sector-related work across government (Office
of the Third Sector website).
Cabinet Office Press Office 22 Whitehall LONDON SW1A 2WH
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk