Delivered by Co-operatives UK in partnership with The Co-operative Bank
The Hive: Support provider specification
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Delivering support

Roles and responsibilities

Co‐operatives UK created and manages The Hive and is the purchaser of the services described in this document.

Organisations who apply to join Co‐operatives UK’s preferred provider list will become support providers of the services described in this document.

When delivering the services described, support providers are doing so on behalf of Co‐operatives UK and should deliver this support in line with our Code of Conduct and standard terms and conditions.

In addition, when working with clients, providers should be clear and clients should understand that this work is being made possible because of The Hive – a support programme for co‐operatives delivered by Co‐operatives UK in partnership with The Co‐operative Bank.

In particular, when delivering The Hive support, providers will be expected to include any relevant (as determined by Co‐operatives UK) branding and messaging related to the programme in their communications with clients.

The services described will be delivered to clients. These clients will be determined by Co‐operatives UK and will have been assessed as being in a position to benefit from the services provided through an application process: http://www.thehive.coop/apply

The timing for the delivery of all elements of the blended support package will be flexible depending on the needs of the client.

If successful, applicants should be in a position to accept the support and immediately progress the plans outlined in the application. We ask that the support can be delivered and completed within a six month timeframe.

Allocating support packages and service agreement

Support providers will be matched to client groups based on:

  • Which providers have been approved to provide the particular service required.

  • Relevant experience and business sector knowledge which will be useful to that particular group.

  • Pre‐existing relationship, for instance where there is already an informal relationship.

  • Geography.

  • Fairness of distribution across support organisations.

  • Availability and capacity.

You will be notified that we wish you to deliver the support to the successful organisation and, subject to receiving confirmation that they would like to proceed with the support, we will then formally engage you to deliver the agreed support package.

The provider may decline to deliver, although this will be noted by Co‐operatives UK. If the work is accepted,
a service agreement will be prepared. This will detail the the support package to be delivered, including client information, number of days, daily rate and standard terms and conditions including a Code of Conduct (see below). You will also be advised of the specific outcomes or outputs that are expected to be delivered as a result of the support provided.

Co-operatives UK will make every effort to ensure that clients receiving support are in a position to achieve
the desired service outcomes. However, in the event that the provider ascertains part‐way through delivering a package that the client is not at the right stage of development to achieve the outcomes, or that circumstances have changed significantly since the award was made, the provider should raise this with Co-operatives UK and work together on signposting to alternative support and/or identifying a suitable time for the client to reapply for the support. Providers should not continue delivering to a client who they judge are not ready or progressing against the agreed objectives with the support.

Co‐operatives UK welcomes continual feedback from providers on the clients they are being matched with in terms of suitability for the services received and welcome feedback on process, allocation, The Hive website content, resources etc. Please share any feedback with [email protected].

You will be asked to demonstrate that the support you have given has helped the client to achieve specific outcomes and outputs as determined at the beginning of the support.

Volume

Being accepted onto the preferred provider list does not guarantee any work due to the demand led nature of the programme.

Fees and travel expenses

The day rate for provision of all services outlined in this specification will be £500 + VAT per day for contracts agreed from 1 January 2021.

We will aim to match you with groups that are geographically close. However, due to budgetary constraints, we anticipate that the majority of support will be undertaken via telephone, video calls or email. The number of face to face meetings or sessions will be dependent on the client and the nature of services being delivered (e.g. number of days of support) however, we will pay a maximum of £200 travel expenses for each support package delivered.

Of course opportunities for face to face support is limited or zero until Covid restrictions are lifted.

We require evidence of expenditure, except for mileage where we require the number of miles driven and offer 45p per mile.

Reporting and payment

Co‐operatives UK will agree milestones for the support delivery based on the agreed outputs and will contact support providers at regular intervals to check against progress.

When you have completed the support package with your client, please let us know. You will be sent an email containing a unique URL to complete an online survey. This is your opportunity to advise how the support was delivered, what went well, what could have been better and the impact of the support including reporting against agreed outputs.

Once you have submitted your completed report you will be sent an automatic link to submit your invoice for the work undertaken, you should therefore prepare invoices for the work in advance of completing the form and have it to hand.

At the same time, your client group will also be sent a report to provide feedback on the support received and specific impacts. Please encourage the client to complete this survey as quickly as possible.

In exceptional circumstances where you are delivering a number of support days over a long period, we can agree to make an interim payment.

Payment terms

30 days from receipt of invoice.