In the spotlight: Can the third sector deliver on large scale?

Eastside Consulting, Futurebuilders and The Social Investment Business have spent the summer developing 3SC, a new consortium for the third sector that will bid for large public sector contracts in education, healthcare and welfare.

3SC is now legally established and more importantly has bid and won a large contract as part of DWP’s Future Jobs Fund to create 3000 new jobs for the long-term unemployed. This contract is worth some £20million to the sector.

In the last few days, I have been on the road visiting cities around the UK to brief the many charities and social enterprises that are creating jobs as part of 3SC’s Future Jobs Fund. The range and diversity of organisations that will be creating these jobs is exciting - from small to large, spanning all regions and working with many different types of disadvantaged groups.

I learned a lot from being on the road and hearing people’s stories. Screenreader - an organisation working for blind people – told us that unemployment rates among the blind is as high as 70%. And from our work at Eastside we know that other disadvantaged groups experience very high levels of worklessness. The Future Jobs Fund then has great potential to support the transition into paid work for many people who would not otherwise be able to find employment right now.

What is also exciting is that the consortium model is new and DWP - not known for risk taking - has taken something of a risk by entrusting 3SC with the delivery of a project of this scale. The consortium has an opportunity to show that the third sector can come together and can effectively deliver. If we do get it right then we create a bright future for the third sector to win a larger share of public sector contracts. And of course if we dont get it right, then the opposite will be true. The challenge starts now!

Richard Lichfield is the Managing Director of Eastside Consulting, which has been working with The Social Investment Business to set up 3SC.

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