Specification for Ambition for Ageing's 'Working Potential' programme enclosed for background information

Ambition for Ageing

Scaled Programme 4

Working Potential Specification

Scaled programmes are projects which have been designed after consultation with older people from across Greater Manchester.

Project Requirements / GMCVO is looking for a provider/s to deliver an action research project supporting people over 50 who are currently caring and not in work and would like to explore employment opportunities.
We recognise that there is a shortage of successful approaches in supporting carers over 50 into employment. We are looking to work with partners with the ability to engage this group of people and work with them to explore and develop new approaches.
We are looking for a provider with local links and reach into communities to find out how best to support carers into employment. We are interested in finding out the journey that carers undertake on their way to employment and the barriers and challenges that they face.
This work will be in the following three target areas:
·  Lot 1 – Bolton MBC Authority Area
·  Lot 2 - Salford City Council Area
·  Lot 3 – Wigan MBC Authority Area
Providers will employ and manage two named members of staff who will be designated as the ‘Coaches’ within their organisation and who will provide intensive, personalised support and advocacy. Coaches will be skilled in community outreach and will have the capacity and capability to support people and capture learning. We are interested in finding out how many people a coach can support sustainably and how intensive the work needs to be. However, our experience from the GMCVO Talent Match Programme is that a coach should be able to support a minimum of ten carers at any point in time for up to two years.
Providers will be expected to explain how they will promote the project and engage people with the process. Providers will give details of the approach used to refer and signpost people into other services as appropriate.
It is anticipated that the provider will work with people to help them to become job ready and will continue to provide them with support for a period of time should they move into employment. We understand that individuals will require different approaches based on their needs and the length of time will differ from person to person. The provider should reflect some of the potential methods to respond to this, taking into account demography and context of individuals requiring different support needs, in their submission.
We are interested in exploring opportunities for carers to work as co-researchers in the project.
It is important that the provider engages positively with employers, helping them to understand the barriers that potential workers might face which will enable them to develop carer friendly employment.
More detail can be found in the Supplemental Information on the Project Requirements document.
Contract size & duration / The contract period will be April 2018 - March 2020.
The total contract value is £140,000 over 2 years for each target area (£420,000 in total). This will cover the cost of employing and managing the coaches as well as operational costs.
The contract is being broken down into 3 ‘lots’, with each target area considered as 1 ‘lot’. Providers can bid to deliver the service to 1, 2 or 3 areas.
For each lot, we estimate that providers will be able to support 80 people throughout the two year delivery period. This is based on an existing coaching approach to support younger people. We recognise that people will be at different points in their journey into work and so it is given as an indicative figure to aid project design and is not a target.
Anticipated
Outcomes / Ambition for Ageing’s intended programme outcomes are to:
·  Understand the barriers that older carers face when returning to work;
·  Understand how best to support older carers to be job ready;
·  Helping employers to understand the barriers that potential workers might face;
·  People accessing the service are better connected and less socially isolated.
Additionally:
·  Wider organisations and strategic partners across Greater Manchester have a greater and improved understanding of these challenges, and how to respond to them in mainstream delivery.
GMCVO is committed to developing social value through our work and this has been built into the design of the project.
Monitoring & Evaluation Requirements / Full details of the evaluation will be shared with the successful provider at the earliest possible opportunity, and GMCVO and the GMCA will support the provider to adhere to requirements. The evaluation will be designed in response to the provider’s proposal.
The provider will be required to, at the very least, collect and submit data to GMCVO and the GMCA via the Ambition for Ageing database in adherence with deadlines to be specified.
This will be comprised of, as a minimum:
·  Gathering data specified by the programme evaluator at events, activities, and any other public meetings deemed as appropriate;
·  Gathering demographic data from those engaged with the programme; and
·  Supporting those engaged with the programme to complete a full questionnaire that meets the requirements of the national and local evaluations.
Evaluation materials will be provided by the programme evaluator to enable the provider to meet these requirements.
Engagement of users in the evaluation is voluntary but we anticipate an 80% completion rate.
The provider may be required to allocate resources, staff time and budget to deliver and meet the requirements of the evaluation. Where this is applicable, GMCVO and GMCA will work with the successful provider to ensure that this is apportioned appropriately.
Providers will be asked to identify and report on challenges faced by older carers on their journey into employment.
The provider will be required to fully engage with the Common Measurement Framework as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s national Ageing Better programme.
Bidders can see examples of data collection tools used as part of existing Ambition for Ageing Delivery through the bidding portal for an indication of what will be expected.
It is important that any bidder takes into consideration the information contained within the Project Requirement document when submitting a bid.

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