PCD 1519 My Ends 2 Evaluation & extension reprofile 25/26

PCD 1519 My Ends 2 Evaluation & extension reprofile 25/26

Since April 2021, the VRU’s place based MyEnds programme has been providing support and funding for communities to lead and deliver interventions across eight neighbourhoods affected by high and sustained levels of violence across London. 

Following the promising first year of the programme, on 12 July 2022, the Mayor was pleased to announce a further £9 million funding for the VRU flagship community-led programme to tackle violence and deliver positive opportunities for young people. This allowed the VRU to extend the delivery of the MyEnds programme across all eight currently commissioned neighbourhoods for a further 15 months from 1 April 2023 until 30 June 2024. This has been approved via PCD 1149 dated 25 May 2022.  

PCD 1149 also enables us to utilise the learning from the interim process & impact evaluations, as well as feedback from existing MyEnds partners & boroughs to design and commission an evolved iteration of the programme and continue to deliver hyperlocal responses to violence. The current decision under PCD 1149 only approves allocation for one year of MyEnds 2.0. In order for us to implement key activity strands, demonstrate impact and achieve the projected outcomes, we require a minimum of two years funding and therefore request for MyEnds 2.0 to be extended until 31 March 2026. This may also mean extending further into 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 subject to a suitable funding stream being available.  

A portion of the total allocation for the first year of MyEnds 2.0 will be assigned and evenly distributed into sustainability grants amongst the 8 commissioned partners from the original iteration. This is to  

assist partners with sustainability after the decommissioning of the first iteration concluding June 2024.  

The VRU’s commissioning approach is centered on using evidence and intelligence to ensure projects are operating in the areas they are needed most, and that learning is being effectively captured and evaluated for long term change. In accordance with this, the VRU is keen to also commission an external evaluation partner to ensure constant iteration and development is grounded in evidence and dynamic learning for MyEnds 2.0, scheduled 1 April 2024 until 31 March 2026.  

PCD1351 requested a Community Needs Assessment for MyEnds 2.0 which will provide a detailed assessment of local need to support MyEnds consortiums in their strategy development during the programmes mobilisation phase. 

This proposal is to (a) allocate a total of £ 3,000,000 for 2025/2026 to extend  MyEnds 2.0 for two years delivery and (b) fund the evaluation of the intended two-year lifespan of the programme, covering 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to approve:

• The total allocation of up to £3,000,000 per annum from the VRU’s core mayoral budget for MyEnds 2.0 for FY24/25 and 25/26. This is to be proportioned as per below:
  • Up to £600,000 to be allocated equally across each of the original MyEnds 8 consortiums.
  • £2,400,000 to be equally allocated across the MyEnds 2.0 awarded consortiums.

• Approve the competitive tender process for up to six commissioned partners to deliver MyEnds 2.0.
• The total allocation of up to £300,000 from the VRU’s core mayoral budget to deliver the external evaluation of MyEnds 2.0
• The competitive tender process for the external evaluation piece aligned to MyEnds 2.0, scheduled to deliver from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026.
• Approve the option to extend the MyEnds 2.0 programme for 2 years FY26/27 and 27/28 with the budget of £4,800,000 subject to a suitable funding stream being available, noting this is subject to further DMPC approval.
• Approve the option to extend the MyEnds Evaluation for 2 years FY26/27 and 27/28 with the budget of £200,000 subject to a suitable funding stream being available, noting this is subject to further DMPC approval.

• Approve delegating the final contract decision for the MyEnds Evaluation and the MyEnds 2.0 Programme, to the Director of the VRU and CFO following a competitive tender process.

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background 

This decision covers the following programme: 

• MyEnds 2.0 programme 

• MyEnds 2.0 programme evaluation 

MyEnds 2.0 Programme 

1. The VRU developed the MyEnds programme (previously called Community Connectors programme); initially designed as a two-year investment programme where several areas across the capital benefited from a budget of up to £750k to build on their version of a community led collective impact model to reducing violence. 

2. The programme recognises and centers the critical role of local communities in supporting those exposed to the risk of violence. The core model endorsed by the VRU for this programme is based on empowerment of communities and recognises the collective impact community stakeholders have in violence reduction initiatives. Following a competitive tender process, the VRU awarded eight grants to eight networks of high-quality specialist and culturally competent support services in a placed-based context, who have been delivering across the following three strategic aims: 

• Systems change/collective impact across contexts   

• Grant funding Element (onward capacity building grants to grassroots organisations embedded in the local community)  

• Interventions: for young people and families   

3. The MyEnds programme has served a critical role in increasing community involvement, capacity, and resilience in the eight local neighbourhoods in which it operates. Overall, the programme has shown great promise at the end of year two in developing and delivering locally informed and relevant interventions to reduce violence and is becoming a lifeline to many young Londoners. It is very much at the heart of a contextual, public health approach to tackling violence.  

4. The programme is now further extended for 15 (fifteen) months following a Mayoral announcement on 12 July 2022 up to 30 June 2024 and following approval through PCD 1149 dated 25 May 2022.  

5. Evaluation  

6. The VRU takes a public health approach to reducing violence, which is rooted in good multi-agency working and close working with communities, focused on prevention, and informed by the systematic use of evidence. 

7. In order to demonstrate and robustly evidence the impact of the VRU’s investment in communities and across our violence reduction initiatives, the VRU’s commissioning approach priorities evaluation in order to understand ‘what works’ and to drive future strategic commissioning and targeted investment. This in turn informs the VRU’s policy development and advocacy activities and positions the VRU as a first port of call for learning and best practice in violence reduction. 

8. Through ongoing evaluation and by endorsing dynamic learning approaches the VRU also empowers local communities and grassroots organisations through sharing best practice, upskilling & capacity building​. 

9. Evaluation has therefore been and continues to be a core component of the VRU’s plans for MyEnds. It has been vital for highlighting the strengths, barriers and key lessons from the programme. The VRU has commissioned an evaluation partner Cordisbright to work with the successful networks across the two years towards three main aims:  

• Process evaluation – which has already (a) examined the nature and quality of the MyEnds programme and (b) highlighted borough specific implementation, successes and learning. This has helped shape the future delivery and implementation of the programme in year 2 and beyond.  

• Impact evaluation – which provided site reports for each MyEnds network and in-depth case studies of specific interventions.  

• Extended impact evaluation – to run contemporaneous to the programme extension from April 2023 to June 2024 (approved via PCD 1318) 

5. Given that MyEnds is a unique model which is adapted to the local context, there is a benefit to continuing to evaluate the second iteration of MyEnds.  

6. Issues for Consideration 

MyEnds 1.0 Grant Award  

1. As we decommission the first iteration of MyEnds concluding June 2024 and commission MyEnds 2.0 April 2024, we recognise our duty as commissioners to assist in the sustainment of the eight commissioned partners from the first iteration of the programme. Therefore, we will assign up to £600,000 out of the £3,000,000 total yearly allocation of MyEnds 2.0 towards sustainability grants of £75,000 each. The remaining £2,400,000 will be used to award contracts of up to £400,000 each to a total of six newly commissioned partners for MyEnds 2.0. 

2. As we will have approximately 6 new commissioned partners for MyEnds 2.0 the sustainability grants to the original 8 consortiums will aid them in the continuation of network activity and allow them to continue to work closely as VCS-led consortiums, focusing on key priorities of the MyEnds model, including partnership working, capacity building and community engagement with a place based approach and hyperlocal focus. Sustainability is intrinsic to the ethos and core values of London VRU. Awarding sustainbility grants to the first cohort of MyEnds commisoned partners aligns with our commitment to increasing sustainment and longitudinal impact of the VCS sector, and ultimately enhancing the legacy of the MyEnds programme. It also demonstrates good practice when decommissioning one programme before commissioning the new evolved iteration.  

MyEnds 2.0 Commissioning  

3. MyEnds 2.0 will be an evolved version of the flagship VRU MyEnds programme. Using the learning from the interim process and impact evaluations in the first two years of the pilot programme, as well as feedback from existing MyEnds partners & boroughs, we will design and commission a new programme to continue to deliver hyperlocal responses to violence. This is the only programme that is taking a neighbourhood approach and one that has at its heart in community leadership, participation and engagement. Initial findings from the process report show that the consortia approach supports better working together and information sharing locally, impacting positively on the needs of children & young people but there will also be a need to further define the needs of the grassroots sector prior to award & resource this accordingly. This new iteration will allow us to implement key learning from the original MyEnds programme and strengthen the key components of the overall programme design, optimizing innovation with more targeted strategic alignment.  

MyEnds Evaluation 

4. The VRU is seeking approval to competitively tender an evaluation partner for MyEnds 2.0. This evaluation will aim to support delivery partners to learn and iterate their delivery to improve performance and will allow the VRU to further understand the highest impact activities and the core mechanisms through which change occurs at a local level. Further, the RMEL team is considering the potential for a longer-term quasi-experimental impact evaluation that will consider the use of synthetic controls to look at the impact on violence both for the networks involved in original MyEnds & MyEnds 2.0. 

5. PCD1351 requested a Community Needs Assessment for MyEnds 2.0 which will provide a detailed assessment of local need to support MyEnds consortiums in their strategy development during the programmes mobilisation phase, supporting networks to identify local strengths, resources, partners and focus areas they wish to further develop.  

6. Financial Comments 

7. The financial impact of the proposal is £6.3m over the two financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26.  The extension in 2026/27 and 2027/28 of £5m is subject to confirmation that funding is available.  Details are set out in the table below.  

4.2 MyEnds 2.0 £6.000m in 2024/25 and 2025/26 is to be funded from the Mayoral core funded budget. The 2024/25 evaluation is assumed to be funded from the Home Office grant, this grant ends at the end of 2024/25, if this grant wasn’t extended then the evaluation spend in 2025/26 would need to be funded from within the Mayoral core funded budget. 

4.3 The optional extension would be subject to appropriate funding being identified and further DMPC approval.  

5. Legal Comments 

1. Paragraph 4.13 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve all requests to go out to tender for contracts of £500,000 or above. 

2. The Mayor's Office for Policing Crime is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations"). All awards of public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £181,302 or above will be procured in accordance with the Regulations. 

3. Under MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation the strategy for the award of individual grants or the award of all individual grants is reserved to the Deputy Mayor for Policing And Crime. This includes the responsibility for signing the grant agreements. 

4. Officers can confirm that the DMPC has the legal authority to agree this decision in Accordance with the legal framework.   

6. Commercial Issues 

1.  The VRU is seeking approval to allocate funding towards the MyEnds 2.0 Programme and the MyEnds Evaluation Partner. Both services will be competitively tendered in line with the procurement regulations. The MyEnds 2.0 Programme will be subject to the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (as amended) (“the Regulations”); specifically, those applying to social and other specific services as contained in Regulation 74 of the Regulations, the so called “Light Touch Regime”. 

2. The report proposes using the Open Procedure to tender on the basis that the market for this type of service is relatively small it is proposed that the opportunity will be published on an open basis without the need to shortlist organisations to proceed to the tendering stage. The author of the report has demonstrated clear rationale for the proposed procurement route and contracting arrangements. 

3. As stated in MOPAC Contract Regulation, all tender documentation shall include as a minimum the following: 

4. A specification that describes the MOPAC’s requirements in sufficient detail to enable the submission of competitive offers. 

5. A requirement for tenderers to declare that the Tender content, price or any other figure or particulars concerning the Tender have not been disclosed by the tenderer to any other party (except where such a disclosure is made in confidence for a necessary purpose). 

6. A requirement for tenderers to complete fully and sign all Tender documents including a form of Tender and certificates relating to canvassing and non-collusion. 

7. Notification that Tenders are submitted to the MOPAC on the basis that they are compiled at the tenderer’s expense. 

8. Following the evaluation of the tender responses and the relevant compliance checks the approval to award the contracts will be sought from the VRU Director in line with the delegated authority. 

9. This report is seeking approval to include total costs including any future extensions in the tender documentation in order to avoid any unforeseeable extensions to contracts. Once the VRU has confirmed funding and is ready to utilise the optional extensions to both services the VRU will seek DMPC approval before the funding is allocated. 

7. Public Health Approach 

1. The spend plan takes a public health approach to tackling violence, which means at violence not as isolated incidents or solely a police enforcement problem. Instead, this approach looks at violence as a preventable consequence of a range of factors, such as adverse early-life experiences, or harmful social or community experiences and influences. 

2. Evaluation of good practice to answer the question ‘what works and for whom?’ which must also happen before policy and programmes can be effectively scaled up and sustained to contribute to population level outcomes (a core requirement for public health programmes). 

8. GDPR and Data Privacy 

1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities. 

2. All contracts will include clear provisions relating to compliance in this area, and in relation to the processing of personal data. These terms have been drafted following consultation with MOPAC’s GDPR Project Manager. 

9. Equality Comments 

1. s.149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act), as a public authority the Deputy Mayor/MOPAC must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act; and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics under the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only). 

2. An understanding of the communities most affected by violence and the importance of cultural competency and local context, as well as the proven ability to build strong trusting relationships with communities, will be a key requirement in the tender process for the evaluation of this work. The VRU are also commissioning a specialist provider to undertake a community needs assessment to inform the recommissioning of the MyEnds programme from April 2024. This will ensure the VRU is led by the most updated information on local needs, gaps in support and drivers of violence, in keeping with the hyper-local approach of the programme.