Consortico
FAQs
If you would like to ask a question, please go to the Contact Us page for full details of how to get in touch.
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Why was ConsortiCo established? |
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ConsortiCo was first registered in May 2009. We succeeded in securing some seed corn funding through the Government’s FutureBuilders scheme. It was set up in response to the change in the way voluntary sector is funded - a move away from grant funding and towards contracting for services. In the current financial climate, local commissioners are rationalising their contracting arrangements, by awarding fewer, but larger, contracts. This produces efficiencies in the contracting process, but can put contracts out of the reach of smaller organisations in particular. ConsortiCo was established to provide a viable route for voluntary organisations to work together in consortia to win and deliver larger contracts. |
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Is ConsortiCo a charity? |
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ConsortiCo is a formal consortium which not-for-profit organisations may join as members. It is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. It is, itself, not for profit, and any surpluses are to be invested in the growth and quality of the consortium. |
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Who are the Directors of the company? |
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ConsortiCo is owned by its member organisations. Any organisation which is a full member (see later section) can nominate a representative to be a Director. All members have voting rights to select the Directors. |
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How many members does ConsortiCo need? |
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Having a broad membership will increase the types of contracts that ConsortiCo can pursue. But depth and specialism are also needed to enable “thematic partnerships” to develop within the membership – ie organisations specialising in a service area which can come together as delivery partners. The wider the membership the stronger and more resilient we all become. |
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How does ConsortiCo work? |
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ConsortiCo provides a single point of contracting between commissioning organisations (such as local authorities, PCTs and Practice Based Commissioning Groups) and the membership of ConsortiCo. In this model commissioning organisations contract with ConsortiCo, which then sets up and manages sub-contracts with consortium members. The benefit for commissioners is that only one contract needs to be let, providing them with efficiencies through reduced transactions. The benefit for ConsortiCo members is that they can participate in delivering contracts which might otherwise be beyond their reach, gain support in contracting and joint delivery, and reduce their business risks. |
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Will organisations have to operate under the ConsortiCo brand? |
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Member organisations are all independent agencies with their own management and accountability structures and with their own unique identity and contribution. The consortium arrangement is designed to protect and strengthen this difference and independence. ConsortiCo encourages members to be strong, vibrant, exemplar organisations in their own right. Member organisations are expected to operate in such a way that promotes and protects the ConsortiCo brand as well as their own. |
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What is the cost of membership? |
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Membership is free! |
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What is the difference between Full and Associate membership? |
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Organisations which are able to meet the entire membership criteria are awarded Full Membership. This means that they are able to agree subcontracts and can nominate a representative to become a director of Consortico. If an organisation cannot currently meet the full criteria they are awarded Associate Membership. This means that they are offered support to become Full Members and can vote at AGM, but cannot contract through ConsortiCo. The expectation is that all organisations are working towards full membership within a reasonable timeframe. |
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Why are the application form and criteria for full membership so detailed? |
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The application process for full membership is designed to ensure the organisation is “contract-ready”, ie that it passes all the tests which would be required to pass the PQQ (pre-qualifying questionnaire) stage of tendering for a contract. It is important that full members, who will contract through Consortico, meet these requirements to protect themselves and the ConsortiCo brand and fellow members. |
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What will the ConsortiCo “hub” do for member organisations? The hub will have a small staff establishment. The hub needs to be sufficiently dynamic to expand and, if necessary, contract in line with fluctuations in the funding market. The hub will have a number of functions, including:
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Can organisations contract independently once members of ConsortiCo? |
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Of course! Being a member of ConsortiCo does not prevent you from pursuing contract opportunities independently. We only ask that you do not bid independently as well as part of a consortium bid for the same contract. We also encourage you to carry on business as you normally do – raising funding applications, raising charitable funds and trading. |
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Are there any other benefits in joining ConsortiCo? |
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Yes, it can also help you buy goods and services more cheaply now as it has established joint purchasing arrangements using the government’s CATALIST buying system (an OGC mechanism which we can access now that ConsortiCo is government funded). This helps us to keep our costs down and win, hopefully, more contracts as a result. We are also keen to explore what appetite there is amongst our members for developing shared services, eg for expensive and infrequently used services, such as marketing, HR, legal advice or audit. |
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How will organisations be selected by ConsortiCo for consortium bids? |
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Our aim is to be “upstream” of contract opportunities, so that we have as much preparation time as possible. We will do this by using our collective knowledge and contacts, and by developing strong and co-operative relationships with the network of commissioners. Once a contract opportunity arises the hub will liaise with members to see who is interested in contributing to the delivery of the contract. This “thematic partnership” will work together to build the bid, agreeing the individual contribution of each organisation in the process. If there is any dispute between members about the delivery of a contract, it may be necessary to operate an internal tendering process, using the same criteria and appraised by members who are independent of the services being tendered. However this is seen as a rare occurrence and a final resort |
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How is the hub funded? |
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It is important to state that an underlying principle of the resource allocation is that the majority of funding is invested in delivery The hub is resourced through a true-cost build up to reflect the costs of the hub functions. We do not use a “topslice”, but instead cost out what the hub needs to do its work and cover its risk. It has been estimated that the cost of running the hub will vary between 5-10% depending on the contract. |
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What are the liabilities if either ConsortiCo or any member organisation fails? |
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As ConsortiCo is a company limited by guarantee the Directors and its members are limited to £1. If a contract is held by ConsortiCo Ltd at the time of its closure the contract will need to be reallocated or re-tendered. There will be no liability placed on its sub-contracted members. If a sub-contracted member organisation goes into liquidation the sub-contracted service will be either re-allocated to another member or ConsortiCo itself may, as a last resort, deliver the services. |
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Will I need to make any changes to my Memorandum and Articles of Association to be a member? |
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Most probably not, but you should check that your M&As allow you to: · Trade · Work in partnership · Work within the Bedfordshire and the sub-regional area |
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How can I promote this to my Board? |
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We hope your Board will see the opportunity afforded by Consortico membership. Benefits include:
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No questions found
