Partnership and Procurement

HAVCO has introduced a service to help local community groups and voluntary organisations manage the shift from grant-giving to commissioning. Grants continue to be very important for many groups and HAVCO continues to provide a Funding Advice service for those seeking help with grant-funding. All organisations, but particularly those interested in delivering commissioned services, are recommended to look at HAVCO's Quality Programme.

If you are unfamiliar with some of the 'jargon', please download our Jargon Buster (pdf). We aim to communicate in plain English but will need to use some bespoke terms to ensure accuracy. 

Our service will support community groups and voluntary organisations by:

  • helping them to assess the benefits/disadvantages of working in partnership
  • enabling local groups to form partnerships which bid for public service contracts
  • disseminating information about local commissioning opportunities
  • providing workshops to improve understanding of commissioning/procurement processes and how to bid successfully
  • working with commissioners in statutory agencies to ensure that they are kept well-informed about the community/voluntary sector and what it can offer

Our service will include:

  • An electronic newsletter (COllaborate!) providing up-to-date information, details of events etc.
  • resources for those interested in partnership and procurement on HAVCO website
  • one-to-one help for community/voluntary groups with partnership and procurement 
  • workshops for local groups interested in partnership and collaboration
  • opportunities to find out more about procurement and commissioning and what it means for your organisation
  • practical help for groups bidding for public service contracts

All registered charities considering involvement in partnership working and/or public service delivery are strongly recommended to review the guidance provided by the Charity Commission and look at our Bidding checklist:

CC34 - Collaborative Working and Mergers (pdf)

Working with other Charities (webpage)

CC37 - Charities and Public Service Delivery (pdf)

HAVCO is committed to developing its service to meet the needs of community groups, voluntary organisations and commissioners and welcomes feedback at any time.

Please contact me:

Robin Charnley
020 8880 4089
rc@havcoharingey.org.uk