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The Contract Readiness Programme (CRP) was launched in 2022, with the aim of enabling VCSEs to compete alongside other organisations, and increase their participation in, public service procurement in England. The programme was funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and supports the Government鈥檚 ambitions to promote the voluntary sector鈥檚 involvement in public sector supply chains, and maximise social value. CRP delivery ended in March 2025.听

The programme was delivered by School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) and Voice 4 Change England (V4CE) and involved 2 complementary delivery pathways:听

• VCSE pathway: made up of 90-minute webinars, one-day online short courses, and long courses delivered over 4 sessions over several months.听

• Commissioner pathway: including analysis of central government鈥檚 departmental spend data to identify existing VCSE suppliers and spend; webinars for commissioners; VCSE-commissioner engagement events; a VCSE champions scheme; and an online resources 鈥楬ub鈥�.听

Evaluation aims and method听

DCMS commissioned Ecorys UK to undertake a process and theory-based impact evaluation of the CRP. The evaluation was delivered from mid-2023 to March 2025. The overarching aim of the evaluation was to assess the extent to which the CRP delivered on its intended aims and help build the evidence base around effective approaches to supporting greater VCSE participation in public sector procurement. The evaluation questions were:听

• How and to what extent did the CRP reach the target audience?听

• How was the CRP developed, delivered and experienced?听

• As a result of the CRP, what measurable outcomes, both intended and unintended, occurred?听

• What longer-term outcomes/impacts has the CRP contributed to?听

The evaluation started with Theory of Change (see Annex 1 of the main report) development which informed the evaluation framework, research tool development and data collection. This was followed by primary data collection and secondary data analysis.听听

The quantitative data informing this report includes:听

• 70 VCSE responses to a 鈥�6-month follow-up survey鈥�, sent 6 months after taking part in the CRP, and 150 responses to a second follow-up survey administered towards the end of the evaluation in December 2024听

• 71 responses to a 鈥榥on-participant survey鈥� with VCSE representatives who signed up for, but did not attend, CRP activities, administered in December 2024听

• Management Information (MI) data collected by the delivery partners听

The research team conducted 3 main waves of qualitative fieldwork. This report draws on the interviews with the following groups:听

• Programme partners including DCMS, SSE, SEUK and V4CE (n=11)听

• Commissioner pathway participants (n=5)听

• VCSE pathway participants (n=30 interviews) including webinar participants (n=6), short course participants (n=7) and long course participants (n=17). 5 of the long course interviewees were interviewed twice as part of a longitudinal case study with interviews carried out approximately 6 months and 12 months after they took part in the long course听

Fieldwork was concluded in December 2024, 3 months before the end of programme delivery in March 2025. As such, this report provides an assessment of programme delivery and outcomes achieved by December 2024.听听

VCSE pathway implementation听

898 individuals participated in the different CRP activities:听

• Most participants took part in a webinar (774) and were generally from smaller, less mature, and less contract ready organisations听

• 163 individuals were engaged through the short course, which offered more in-depth support to slightly larger, more established and contract-ready organisations听

• 122 individuals took part in the long course and were from larger organisations with more pre-existing experience of contracting听听

VCSE pathway reach and engagement

Course	Applications made	Places enrolled	Places attended
Webinar*	1481	1483	774
Short course	239	231	163
Long course	205	156	122

*more webinar places were offered than those applied for 鈥� this is because SSE actively moved applicants from one course to another

129 participants took part in more than one CRP course, and interviewees valued the opportunity to progress through the programme.听

Using delivery partners embedded in the VCSE sector enabled the programme to reach a diverse cohort of VCSEs by advertising the CRP through their own networks. Small-to-medium sized VCSEs were more represented, and VCSEs across a wide range of different thematic sectors and geographies across England were reached. There was also clear demand for the support amongst the sector: 1,925 applications were submitted to the programme, 77% of which were submitted to the webinar, 12% to the short course, and 11% to the long course. The attendance rate was highest for the long course (94%), followed by the short course (71%) and the lowest for the webinar (52%).听

Participant VCSE density by local authority

Experiences of the VCSE pathway听

Overall, participants鈥� feedback about their experiences of the CRP webinar, short course and long course was very positive. Elements of the courses which worked well included:听

• The focus on relationships with commissioners and partners听

• Hearing from guest speakers听

• Emphasis on, and explaining of, social value听

• Training on technical aspects of bidding for contracts in the short and long course听

• Opportunities for networking in the short and long course听

• The long course peer-to-peer learning model听

However, participants felt the content was not always pitched at the right level for attendees, and opportunities for networking could be improved.听

Participants identified areas of unmet need which were seen as ongoing barriers to participation in public sector procurement. These included:听

• Needing more practical examples to build on听

• Support to address organisation- or sector-specific challenges (such as 1-2-1 mentoring)听

• More advice about social value听

• Further support for smaller organisations not eligible for the longer course formats听

They also acknowledged that demand-side barriers to engaging in procurement were ongoing 鈥� particularly, a lack of suitable opportunities to bid for, and the complexity of navigating tender portals and resourcing the lengthy bidding process.听

VCSE outcomes听

Short-term outcomes

The evaluation provides evidence of improved VCSE outcomes across the range of short-term outcomes that were aimed for.听听

Of the outcomes expected for all respondents, results were very positive. Most survey respondents reported:听

• Improved awareness of current and upcoming public sector contracts (72 of 88)听

• Improved general knowledge and skills around bidding for contracts (79 of 88)听

• Increased use of the main public sector tender portals (52 of 86)听

• Additionally, most webinar participants (27 of 34) reported improved awareness of resources and guidance around public sector contracting听

More advanced outcomes were anticipated for short and long course participants. Those most commonly reported by survey respondents were:听

• Increased knowledge of what commissioners are looking for (31 of 33)听

• Increased knowledge of social value (31 of 36)听

• Improved networks with other suppliers (26 of 37)听

• Increased understanding of supply chains and consortia building (23 of 33)听

• Improved bid-writing skills and experience (long course participants only 鈥� 16 of 18)听

听Short and long course participants were less likely to report on the following advanced outcomes being achieved听

• Registration on frameworks: A third (10 of 37) had gone on to register on frameworks, however half of them (5 of 37) said they would have registered on those frameworks anyway, irrespective of the CRP听

• Networks with commissioners: Almost half (18 of 37) said the CRP had made no difference to their networks with commissioners听

• Networks with support and infrastructure organisations (long course only): Just over half (10 of 18) reported the CRP led them to improve their networks with support and infrastructure organisations. However, 7 of 18 said the CRP made no difference听

Medium-term outcomes听

The evaluation found that by the end of 2024, participants responding to the end of programme survey (n=140) reported that the CRP had made a positive difference across a range of outcome areas:听

• 79% said the CRP increased their confidence to bid for more public sector contracts听

• 73% said the CRP led to increased consideration of public sector contracts in their organisation听

• 72% said the CRP increased their motivation to bid for more public sector contracts听

• 66% said the CRP gave them increased confidence in winning more public sector contracts听

• 51% said the CRP led them to increase their engagement in supplier events

To what extent has taking part in the CRP changed your organisation鈥檚鈥�

Change	Increase	No change	Decreased	Don鈥檛 know
Confidence to bid	79%	16%	6%	0%
Motivation to bid	72%	21%	7%	0%
Consideration of public contracts	73%	26%	1%	0%
Engagement in supplier events	51%	47%	1%	1%
Confidence to win	66%	27%	6%	1%

Bidding for public sector contracts

33% of survey respondents had gone on to bid for public sector contracts after the CRP. They submitted a total of 158 bids, 42 of which they attributed to the CRP.听听

Bids were most commonly submitted to:听

• Local authorities (68%)听

• The NHS or Integrated Care Boards (14%)听

• Central government (13%)听

Around a third of (31 of 62) of survey respondents who submitted bids also reported receiving higher scores.听

However, interviewees highlighted a number of barriers to submitting more bids, including the wider financial context VCSEs were operating in (which affected their risk appetite to invest time in bidding), a lack of suitable opportunities being tendered, and contracts being priced too low.听

Winning public sector contracts

By December 2024, several months before the end of CRP delivery in March 2025, survey respondents (n=182) reported that they had won 53 of the 158 bids submitted. They attributed 18 successful bids to the CRP to a total contract value of 拢2,066,495.听

Number of bids submitted, won and attributed to the CRP by VCSE survey respondents, and the respective contract values听

听	How many bids were submitted?	How many bids were successful?	How many successful bids were attributed to the CRP?	What was the total value of the contracts won?	How much was attributable to the CRP?	Average attributable contract 鈥榳in鈥� value	听
Webinar	79	24	9	拢813,500	拢391, 495	拢43, 499.44	听
Short course	39	7	4	拢167,000	拢131,000	拢32, 750.00	听
Long course	40	22	5	拢13,014,000	拢1,544,000	拢308,800.00	听
Total	158	53	18	拢13,994,500	拢2,066,495	拢114,805.28	听

Wider outcomes听

Whilst the core focus of the CRP was to increase VCSE participation in public sector procurement, VCSE interviewees shared several wider outcomes, unintended from the ToC. These included:听

• Bidding for grants, social investment, and commercial contracts听

• Assessing the current stage of their organisation听

• Reviewing internal policies and procedures听

• Developing funding strategies听

• Passing on knowledge to other VCSEs

Commissioner pathway implementation听

The commissioner pathway design and timescale were adjusted to align with the VCSE Task Force, which led to delays to activities launching, but was instrumental in engaging the departments and disseminating information about the commissioner pathway activities.听

Programme stakeholders reported that initial engagement with the CRP support offer was slow, which they perceived to be due to the voluntary nature of engagement. Levels of commitment, and the extent to which those with commissioning responsibilities, beyond the procurement team, were involved in CRP activity varied across the departments. However, engagement reportedly increased with the introduction of the Procurement Bill being developed by the Cabinet Office in September 2023 which participants believed mandated further consideration of working with VCSEs.听

By December 2024, SEUK delivered:听

• Baseline analyses of VCSE spend in 10 departments鈥� supply chains听

• 5 webinars to an audience of 6 departments听

• 1 commissioner-VCSE engagement event for 1 department听

• A Public Services Hub of online resources听

Overall, commissioner pathway participants had mixed views on the activities. Whilst some found the activities engaging and useful in increasing awareness and knowledge of the VCSE sectors and informing Action Planning, others highlighted opportunities for improvement. This included improving the engagement with the departments鈥� commissioning teams rather than just their commercial teams and providing departments with tools to monitor the spend on VCSEs in their supply chain internally.听听

They also suggested that departments could have made more of the activities if they knew the support options available via the CRP and the delivery timelines from the beginning. Feedback on the Public Services Hub suggests there is limited demand for and use of the resource, suggesting the Hub could be better promoted or pivoted in focus.听

Commissioner pathway outcomes听

Interviewees reported that the commissioner webinars and baseline analyses contributed to:听

• Increased awareness of VCSEs鈥� value听

• Motivation to engage VCSEs across their teams听

There was a general consensus that these outcomes were not solely attributable to the CRP, as interviewees reported that other government initiatives, especially the cross-government VCSE Task Force, also contributed to these changes.听听

Participants agreed that observing system-level outcomes which could increase VCSE engagement in public sector procurement 鈥� such as more tenders/specifications being informed by VCSEs, and increased transparency around government鈥檚 intent for VCSE procurement - would take a lot more time.听

Conclusions and recommendations听

The following recommendations have been guided by the learning presented throughout the main evaluation report. A more detailed description of these recommendations can be found in Chapter 8 of the main report.听

Recommendations for partnership working听

• Adopt a co-design phase as used at the start of the CRP, in future programmes听

• Changes made to programme delivery should be agreed in-writing to ensure accurate record-keeping and maximise learning opportunities听

• DCMS should provide upfront information (for example, in invitations to tenders), regarding central government processes, particularly for signing off on communications and materials听

Recommendations for similar VCSE contract-readiness support offers

• Use delivery partners with strong links into the VCSE sector to reach diverse groups of VCSEs听

• Consider how VCSEs can be supported to overcome capacity and resourcing constraints to accessing support programmes, including funding to backfill the time for staff to attend training听

• Further targeting resources to the VCSE audience by curating invitee lists to maximise the potential to share specific information related to VCSE sectors, set-ups or maturity听

• Provide more detailed information at the beginning of training sessions to support VCSEs to self-select opportunities most relevant to them听

Recommendations for similar commissioner support offers听

• Invest time in defining the target cohort for commissioner support activities (for example, specifically targeting those with commissioning responsibilities) and promote the support offer widely within central government departments听

• Share practical tips and tools for commissioners to use in their day-to-day work听

• Scope the demand for online resources before delivering them to define their purpose and maximise their use-potential听

• Take a phased approach to delivery with commissioners to build on 鈥榳hat works鈥櫶�

Recommendations for wider systems听

• Central government departments could consider taking a joined-up approach to sharing VCSE supplier networks and engaging VCSE suppliers collectively听

• Simplify bid requirements and make tender portals more VCSE-friendly by introducing new filters, based on what would be helpful for VCSEs to navigate them more easily听

• Ensure senior-level stakeholder engagement in cross-government initiatives focused on increasing engagement with VCSEs听

• Introduce a way of monitoring government spend on VCSEs internally