To coincide with this, Helen Betts, Senior Project Support Officer for the Framework, tells us a bit more about it, outlines some of its successes and talks about plans for the future.

So, what exactly is the Third Sector Framework?

The Third Sector Framework is an innovative partnership approach to distributing funding in the shape of contracts, grants and other financial means to the VCSE sector in Wakefield District. The Framework was launched in January 2021 and has been designed in partnership between Nova Wakefield District, Wakefield Council, Wakefield District Health and Care Partnership and Young Lives Consortium.

Since then, more than £2 million has been allocated to local organisations through 10 diverse funding opportunities that have been channelled through the Framework.

The Third Sector Framework operates on the principle that funding should be distributed in an open, fair and transparent way, and this guides all the work we do. One of the aims of the Framework is to achieve balanced distribution of funding across the district, and a tiered system allows organisations of all sizes to apply.

What is the focus of the Framework?

The Framework focuses on Health and Wellbeing services and activities, linked specifically to the four priorities that have been devised by the Wakefield Health and Wellbeing Board. These four priorities are:

1. Ensuring a healthy standard of living for all
2. Giving every child the best start in life
3. Strengthening the role and impact of ill health prevention
4. Creating and developing sustainable places and communities

How does the Framework work and who can become a member?

Organisations apply for the Framework (free of charge) and, once their membership is approved, they are eligible to apply for any funding that is distributed in this way. Once they are on the Framework, applying for a specific piece of funding is a more straightforward process, as we already hold a lot of information about the organisation through their Framework application.

The Framework operates a tiered system of membership, which means that organisations of all sizes can join and benefit from access to the same funding opportunities. The level of detail that applicants are asked to provide depends on which tier they are applying for, but all organisations on the Framework must fulfil five key criteria. They must:

1. operate in the VCSE sector
2. provide Health and Wellbeing services and activities in line with the four priorities set by the Wakefield Health and Wellbeing Board
3. be ‘locally-rooted’ in Wakefield District. By ‘locally-rooted’, we mean having a strong, sustained track record of local delivery, strong connections with local community organisations, or having your registered office in the district
4. be committed to sharing skills, expertise and best practice
5. be committed to safeguarding

What are some of the Framework’s successes?

We’ve just reached the 100-member mark which, combined with the amount of funding going through the Framework, is a real success for this innovative funding process and something we are celebrating.

Since its launch, a total of 10 funds has been distributed through the Framework, and we’re about to launch our next opportunity. The majority of these have been in the form of grants, but contracts and spot-purchasing funding can also be allocated in exactly the same way. A huge range of project work and provision has been supported through this funding, including open access youth sessions across Wakefield District, science-backed menopause support sessions for local women, specialist support for pregnant asylum seekers and refugees, and community solutions helping people to access mental health support as early as possible.

You can read about just some of the work that has been funded through the Framework here:

• Thinking Differently Development Fund
• Live Well Small Grants
• Prosper and Nova Core Grants

As well as the Framework’s increasing membership and funding successes, Framework applications have enabled us to identify development needs for individual organisations, and this is something that has proved to be invaluable. For example, we’ve been able to help organisations with writing specific policies, provide them with support to register their organisation or ensure they choose the right legal status. We don’t want to create barriers to joining the Framework, so we use any ‘gaps’ in an application to help inform the support we offer.

What does the future hold for the Third Sector Framework?

It’s an exciting and busy time for the Third Sector Framework, and a very good time for organisations to join. Longer-term funding for the Framework has been secured, and we plan to use this increased commitment as an opportunity to develop it further. To facilitate and inform this, work is taking place on a strategic review of the Framework, which will give us a clear direction for the coming years.

This longer-term funding will enable us to dedicate more time and resource to aspects such as co-delivery, supporting member organisations to deliver services in partnership with each other. Another item that is high on our agenda is increasing awareness of the Framework, both amongst potential members and potential funders. We’re also working on a plan to improve communication with our members, and to share and celebrate the invaluable work they do in Wakefield District, as well as working on a series of workshops to enable us to better support our members.

Why is the Third Sector Framework a good way of doing things?

At the heart of the Framework are the principles of openness, fairness and transparency, so for every piece of funding that goes through the Framework, we follow a set of processes that ensure we stick to these. This applies from the very first conversations with funders and commissioners, through to designing the application form, promoting the funding, gathering a Panel to evaluate applications, and reaching final decisions about which organisations will be awarded funding.

There are four key features to the Framework which we call the four Cs, and these bring benefits both for commissioners and member organisations.

1. Co-ordination‍

The Framework aims to provide a single, coordinated approach for funders and commissioners to distribute their funds to VCSE organisations. This also offers a clearer way to identify the impact of funding and of the sector’s contribution to health and wellbeing needs in the district.

2. Co-production‍

The Framework is designed to act as a mechanism for engaging local VCSE organisations and groups in the co-design of services, so that on-the-ground knowledge of VCSE organisations informs commissioners’ objectives. A recent example is the Me and Menopause project, which was commissioned by Wakefield Mental Health Alliance following VCSE consultation by Community Mental Health Builders. This identified a real need for district-wide menopause for local women, which you can read more about.

3. Confidence‍

One of the focuses of the Framework is on quality assurance, and as part of the application process we carry out various checks relating to, for example, safeguarding, governance, financial resilience, and previous experience of delivery. This due diligence gives commissioners and statutory partners confidence in our member organisations. Membership has grown significantly recently, and with this, funders can have more confidence that the relevant knowledge and experience sits within the Framework membership to deliver on their identified outcomes. Equally, Framework members can have confidence that any funding they apply for through the Framework will go through the fair and transparent process that is integral to the way it operates.

This recent commissioner feedback from West Yorkshire ICB perfectly summarises how the Framework can instil confidence:

“The Third Sector Framework and the role you played was really key in making sure that this process was done in partnership, created the conditions to get in some really strong bids from the VCSE sector and was robust and transparent.”

4. Capacity building‍

The Framework aims to support members to develop their organisational capacity and in doing so build the capacity of the local VCSE sector as a whole. Framework members have access to support such as training and workshop sessions, and we also encourage skills, expertise and best practice exchange between member organisations. We recently ran the first Framework-exclusive training day all about becoming contract ready – the feedback we received from this was so positive that we’re hoping to repeat it, as well as offering more workshops exclusively for our members and tailored to needs that they have helped us to identify.

For more information about the Third Sector Framework, visit our webpage.

You can follow us on Twitter @tsframework or email any questions or comments to framework@nova-wd.org.uk