The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) has published an evalaution of their tender support project. The tender support project is part of a wider programme of support and aimed to improve bidding practises of third sector organisations.  The report sets out the impact of support offered by the project to 148 voluntary and community groups.

Organisations accessing the project were said to lack confidence in the bidding process, and also found it difficult to invest time in developing skills in this area because of the risks associated with an unsuccessful bid. NAVCA appointed consultants to deliver the support, which was used to increase basic knowledge and awareness of tendering processes, help organisations to prepare for the process of developing a tender and helping organisations to take a more strategic approach to the whole process.   

The evaluation found that all of the organisations that received support from NAVCA said that their bidding processes had been improved as a result of the support received. The vast majority (97%) of organisations also said that they would like support in the future in particular at the time of completing a tender.

The full report can be read here

The Government hopes to start a national debate about the time, money and mutual support that people give to their local community and hope to foster a culture change in Britain. As such, the Government has launched a Giving Green Paper which sets out ways to support building the Big Society through encouraging social action. The paper sets outs plans to nurture a more giving society and looks at how and why a culture change can be achieved. The paper sets out ways to engage people to give more, highlighting the following areas for action:

• Great Opportunities
• Information
• Visibility
• Exchange
• Support

The Giving Green Paper can be accessed here