Voluntary and Community Sector - invitations to bid

Overview

Rotherham MBC is seeking to appoint a lead organisation (charity/non-profit) or partnership to develop co-designed crisis support provision in Rotherham for a three-year period starting from April 2027. In line with current provision, this will offer emergency food parcels and crisis loans, as well as ensuring that people receive support to help address the underlying causes of crisis.

The successful co-production of crisis support requires partnership working across a range of activity and organisations in order to develop and deliver a holistic model. To this end, it is critical that commitment of the range of partners needed to co-design and deliver is demonstrated at this stage in the process. To achieve this, the Council is seeking either a lead organisation with identified partners for the co-design or a partnership approach.

The core services to be provided will include:

• Interest free (crisis) loans to those in need.
• Provision of food and non-food items to food banks/community food organisations, ensuring they have sufficient supplies to provide emergency food parcels to those in need.
• Support for a partnership of ‘food in crisis’ groups/organisations, ensuring a collaborative approach to addressing food poverty.
• Implementing and overseeing an effective referral system to ensure people receive timely, accessible and appropriate support. This includes liaising with relevant organisations/services/frontline staff to ensure support pathways are in place.
• Provision of monitoring data, including – as a minimum – the number of people receiving support, the total number of loans/parcels provided each month, and the reasons people need crisis support.

A budget of £104,000 per annum is allocated for the delivery of the service level agreement. An increased budget option will also be explored during the co-design process, which will then be considered (relative to service delivery), and subject to confirmation of appropriate funding at a future date.

Specifically, the bid to lead the co-design needs to demonstrate:

1. The organisations’ legal status and related governance structures
2. The latest annual accounts to evidence the good financial health of the organisations
3. Appropriate quality accreditation
4. A timetable outlining key steps for the co-design process, which should be completed by the end of August 2026
5. A methodology for how the organisation will engage with community food organisations and other relevant stakeholders in the co-design
6. Appropriate organisational experience, skills and expertise in this area of work
7. Management and organisational capacity to manage funds, initiatives and complex delivery partnerships/consortia
8. How a commitment to support equalities across all communities (including protected characteristic groups) will be implemented in practice

Bids should be sent in a letter format by email, clearly addressing the points above. The co-design process will be carried out in line with the principles and provisions of the Rotherham Compact, which sets out the relationship between the Council and voluntary and community sector in Rotherham.

The deadline for bids is 5pm on Monday 29 June 2026. Bids should be sent to michael.holmes@rotherham.gov.uk.

To arrange an informal discussion, please contact Fiona Boden, head of policy, performance and intelligence, or Michael Holmes, policy and strategy officer.

Email: fiona.boden@rotherham.gov.uk and michael.holmes@rotherham.gov.uk