Bristol Ageing Better - Community Development for Older People
Bristol Ageing Better
Strategy, Organising and Coordination Project
Invitation to Tender
Bristol Ageing Better is inviting tenders for providers to deliver this Strategy,
Organising and Coordination project across Bristol
This project will provide coordination and support for Community Development
projects for older people across Bristol. It will also take a strategic role, encouraging
collaboration and being a clearing house for best practice.
Invitation to tender released: 29 September 2016
Submissions received by: 11th November 2016 (12 noon)
0117 928 1539
www.bristolageingbetter.org.uk
Bristol Ageing Better - Community Development for Older People
About Bristol Ageing Better
Introduction
Bristol Ageing Better (BAB) is a partnership of individuals and organisations working
together to reduce isolation and loneliness among older people in Bristol. We create
an environment in which our partner organisations can deliver effective services,
share their knowledge of what works, and be noticed by decision makers.
BAB has developed a strategic programme comprising 16 distinct but interconnected
initiatives, which together aim to make a real difference to the lives of older people in
Bristol. The programme was submitted to the Big Lottery Fund’s Fulfilling Lives;
Ageing Better Programme in April 2014, and BAB was successful in securing funding
for a five year programme to be implemented from April 2015.
Programme Outcomes
All Projects are required to contribute to helping BAB meet the four Programme
outcomes by March 2020:
Outcome 1: A 20% increase in the number of older people who report that they have
the amount and type of social contact that they want to reduce isolation and
loneliness.
Outcome 2: A 20% increase in the number of older people who report that they can
influence decisions that affect their local area and how services are designed and
delivered.
Outcome 3: A 30% increase in the number of older people who are able to
contribute to their community through such mechanisms as volunteering, belonging
to a forum, steering group or other activity.
Outcome 4: Building an evidence base to ensure that future services in Bristol are
better planned and more effective in reducing loneliness and social isolation.
0117 928 1539
www.bristolageingbetter.org.uk
Bristol Ageing Better - Community Development for Older People
Service Values
The overall vision of BAB is to improve the quality of life of older people. All projects
should be designed and delivered to reflect a coherent set of values to include:

Positive Attitude: the service will promote a positive attitude towards older
people. It will actively challenge ageism and actively promote positive images
of older people.

An Asset Based approach: the service will adopt an asset based approach
which seeks wherever possible to focus on the strengths and experience of
individuals and communities and enables older people to make a positive
contribution.

Valuing the voice of older people: the service will put in place structures to
involve older people in decision making about how and what activities are
undertaken.

Sustainability: the service will recognise the need to plan and deliver
activities in such a way that they are sustainable over the long term.

Alignment of services: the service will support and enhance the
development and implementation of the BAB initiatives framework

Sharing of learning: the delivery partner will participate in and contribute to
sharing of learning to refine and share practice improvements across BAB
projects and delivery partners.
0117 928 1539
www.bristolageingbetter.org.uk
Bristol Ageing Better - Community Development for Older People
About the Strategy, Organising and Coordination project
Introduction
Community Development for Older People has always been one of the core
elements of the Bristol Ageing Better bid. With a budget of £1.5 million, this is one of
the largest projects within the programme and it has been important to ensure that
we use this funding well to create effective and sustainable change in communities
where older people are at risk of isolation and loneliness.
History
The original Community Development for Older People business case proposed to
deliver 14 interventions across the city to develop communities with a budget of up to
£33,000 a year.
BAB commissioned one Community Development Project in Greater Bedminster in
2015, and by working with these delivery partners it was identified that the future
funding should be used more strategically and to address specific need.
In April 2016 we commissioned an academic at University West of England to review
the original commissioning plans and the landscape of Community Development in
Bristol.
Overarching Factors
Through the review, a number of overarching factors were identified as:
a.
One size does not fit all – It was clear from conversations across the City that
there is a need for different and distinct areas of focus and delivery models
should also be different and distinct.
b.
Asset Based Approach – All projects commissioned should identify
resources/assets within the community and put these at the centre of all work
that is to be done. Work should come from the bottom up.
c.
All projects should recognise the changing needs of older populations
d.
Clear and Measurable Outcomes – Outcomes should be tied to engagement
with older people in terms of creating activities that are built from the bottom up
and should demonstrate that the organisation followed the basic parameters of
asset-based community development work and that has led to agency and
empowerment in the target population. Additionally, projects should
demonstrate a shift within the community that evidences community
development.
e.
Sustainability – Projects should have a strong sustainability plan that
includes building on, not just the needs of the service
provider, but the community partners /assets (older people)
0117 928 1539
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Bristol Ageing Better - Community Development for Older People
that have been discovered or developed during the duration of the project.
About the Strategy, Organising and Coordination project
Bristol has a diverse population with many needs. Of course, no one agency can
address this on a full-scale but strategic coordination is possible.
During the review of BAB community development commissioning, it was identified
that while some areas lack any services or community development capacity, other
areas see a number of duplicating and competing services.
It was also noted that some organisation also assume that older people were only
interested in traditional services like lunch clubs while other groups were seeing
dwindling numbers in those services and were seeking other solutions. In general,
there was a lack of coordination of services on a city-wide level.
It is vital that a clearing house for best practices be established to support the
network of community development for older people projects. Strategic coordination
of the network will ensure a distribution of services and projects.
Aim of the Strategy, Organising and Coordination project
The aim of this project is to offer a city-wide approach to organising and supporting
organisations, groups and activities that work with older people to develop their
communities and improve the level of local decision making.
Strategic coordination, organising and the ability to link together existing service
providers, and analyse any given area’s assets and possible needs, are just a few of
the functions of this project.
BAB expects the successful provider to have identified points of contact for each
region of the city and for these to contribute to a city-wide coordination.
Project Specification
Bristol Ageing Better is inviting tenders for a provider to deliver the Strategy,
Organising and Coordination project across the whole of Bristol. Successful bids will
demonstrate how they meet the following project specifications:
1. An identified approach to supporting and developing organisations providing
community development for older people.
2. A proposed mechanism for involving older people in the design and ongoing
development of the project.
3. Respect and representation of the diversity of the city (including gender,
ethnicity, disability and sexuality) in engagement processes and participation
in activities.
4. A coherent and consistent approach to coordinating and sharing intelligence,
evidence of need and lessons learned across partners
5. Connecting and networking existing services
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Bristol Ageing Better - Community Development for Older People
6. Knowledge and experience of Asset Based Community Development and an
understanding of how to champion it across Bristol.
7. Connections and constructive relationships with other local organisations and
a commitment to identifying and building a network of organisations.
8. Horizon Scan for funding opportunities and coordinate collaborative bids
9. Using the Bristol Ageing Better Common Measurement Framework as the
minimum form of evaluation (project entry, exit and 6 month follow up)
Project Beneficiaries
The Strategy, Organising and Coordination project will demonstrate how they will
engage with isolated and/or lonely people aged 50+ but projects are encouraged to
consider the particular needs of our identified ‘At Risk’ groups:
a) People over 85
b) Black and Minority Ethnic People
c) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people
d) Carers
e) People who have been bereaved
f) People with sensory loss
g) People with alcohol and substance misuse issues
h) People in care homes.
Project Partners
BAB actively encourages partnership working and collaborative delivery of contracts.
BAB will contract with a lead delivery partner to deliver the Strategy, Organising
and Coordination project (see Appendix 4 – BAB Delivery Partner Contract), who
will in turn be responsible for ensuring that formal agreements are in place with other
partners involved in the project.
BAB can provide support to delivery partners to enter into a more formal agreement
with a partner(s) should funding for the project be agreed by the selection panel.
Contract value and duration
This invitation to tender is for a 3 year period for which there is in total £480,000
available. The duration of the contract is up to 36 months and includes a period for
service evaluation.
Providers will be expected to work with BAB to share the learning from this Test and
Learn project.
0117 928 1539
www.bristolageingbetter.org.uk
Bristol Ageing Better - Community Development for Older People
Timescale for the bidding process
STAGE
Invitation to provide a quote for the
service
DATE
29 September 2016
Clarification questions period begins
29 September 2016
Clarification questions period closes
Closing date and time for receipt of
completed bids
Bid evaluation period
Notification of bidders shortlisted for
interview
Interviews with shortlisted bidders
Notification of selected provider
Request for provider de-briefing
Friday 4th November
2016 (12 noon)
Friday 11th November
2016
(12 noon)
w/c Monday 14th
November 2016
Monday 21st November
2016
Tuesday 6th December
2016
Monday 12th December
2016
Monday 12th December –
Friday 23rd December
2016
BAB reserves the right to revise the timescales and in the event, will notify
potential bidders as soon as practicable.
See also Appendix 1: BAB Commissioning Terms and Conditions.
Evaluation of the Strategy, Organising and Coordination project
As a minimum this project will use the Ageing Better Common Measurement
Framework (CMF) for monitoring and evaluation, and provide two case studies to the
BAB Programme Management team to illustrate the outcomes of the work
undertaken. Further monitoring and evaluation information may be requested by the
BAB local evaluation team or Ageing Better national evaluators Ecorys.
See Appendix 3 – BAB Common Measurement Framework CDOP.
0117 928 1539
www.bristolageingbetter.org.uk