Procurement – an opportunity for positive change?You might well feel confused by the language of procurement.  Try getting your head around grants, competitive tendering, standing orders, service level agreements, service redesign, waivers and EU regulations! You may however have felt some recent impact in Edinburgh, as grants are changed to alternate procurement processes, and coproduction is an expectation of the sector […]

Person centred support and prevention in partnership – Sara’s blogI am a financial inclusion worker with the Recovery Essentials Project in Edinburgh – we work in partnership with drug and alcohol agencies to provide welfare rights and financial inclusion support to service users. This case study highlights the importance of the work we do to the individuals we work with – it is one […]

Competitive tender 1 – Coproduction 0Before Christmas I wrote a blog, full of hope that the risks of competitive tender were being taken seriously by Edinburgh Council. The decision of whether to award contracts to a UK wide organisation in favour of three local organisations, which had grown up from within their communities over thirty years, was deferred. Another meeting […]

Can Coproduction and Competitive Tender Coexist?Finance and Resource Committee meetings are not known for drama, but last Thursday came pretty close in Edinburgh’s Council Chambers.  Among the agenda items was the recommendation to award 3 of 4 contracts for Adult Community Treatment (otherwise known as Recovery Hub) Services to the large UK charity Lifeline, and one to Turning Point Scotland. […]

Challenging ESA DecisionsEmployment and Support Allowance claims are assessed based on results from a medical assessment carried out by Medical Professionals employed through Maximus and will take place in many locations. You may have found yourself in a situation where you have failed the assessment. Below we will look at challenging these decisions. Top tip: Often we […]

Yes We Can : Building on What WorksThis year’s EVOC AGM & Conference took place on Tuesday 10th November at the Hibernian Stadium. The theme: “Yes We Can: Building on What works” focussed on examples of good practice, and the importance of collaboration, evaluation and keeping things local. Our first speaker Mike Stevenson is well versed in the powers of possibility. His […]

What Matters to You, Matters to UsThe Scottish Government want to hear views on what a fairer Scotland should look like in 2030, and how to make this vision a reality: “By the end of 2015 we want to have created opportunities for the widest possible range of voices to be heard”. Throughout the Scottish Referendum, huge numbers of ordinary people […]

Seeking RefugeThe term may may have been somewhat muddied in recent press, but a refugee is ultimately defined as: “a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.” Currently, there are approximately 19 million refugees globally, with the number seeking sanctuary in Europe almost doubling since last year. A […]