The National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations West Midlands (NCVCCO), supported by the Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM), drawing on Department for Communities and Local Government (formerly ODPM), ‘Change Up’ funding, has established a short life project to explore how to more effectively engage the voluntary sector in the commissioning of children’s services. The project involves the initiation of what is intended to be a continuing dialogue between local authority lead elected members and directors of children’s services, representatives of the Government Office of the West Midlands (GOWM) and senior managers from children’s voluntary organisations in the region. The objectives of the dialogue are to generate:
1. A greater understanding of each sector’s role, needs and potential added value with respect to commissioning services
2. A greater degree of strategic engagement between the two sectors at a senior leadership level
3. A greater sense of regional identity, scope and possibility with respect to strategic engagement and commissioning
4. A range of practical steps that can be taken to ensure that commissioning is effective for all
5. Practical measures to ensure that effective commissioning is sustained into the future.