Procurement Case Study
Cynon Valley Crime Prevention Association Ltd
(Incorporating Cynon Valley Crime Reduction Services Limited)
Location: Aberdare, South Wales
History
Cynon Valley Crime Prevention Association Ltd started life as Cynon Valley Crime Prevention Panel – a local crime prevention partnership located in the South Wales valleys. In 1997 the Panel obtained Charity status and then became a company limited by guarantee – Cynon Valley Crime Prevention Association Limited.
It soon became apparent to the organisation that in order to secure its future, the development of trading activity to supplement the services supplied through grant funding could be an answer. A trading arm of the charity was established as company limited by guarantee in 2001 as Cynon Valley Crime Reduction Services Limited – CVCRS by ex-policeman, Vince Price, and one apprentice.
Development
An alarm engineer was employed to help develop the security alarm fitting service, and soon a range of products and services were developed such as: key cutting, lock systems and fitting, gas fitting, PAT testing, carpentry and even chimney sweeping. Buying the rights to lock systems also meant that international sales orders have also been won. The staff team has now reached 25 in number and support sales to business, public sector and private households, delivering services and supplies across Wales as well as the West of England and Birmingham.
Procurement
Winning competitive tenders has been a target of CVCRS since it started to first bid for contracts in 2003. The company has also been involved in sub-contracting for some of the tenders it didn’t win.
Long-term involvement in local business and community enterprise networks enabled CVCRS to build its case and knowledge of the procurement process and also to develop a network of useful contacts.
Getting onto tender lists involved a big investment in systems and training development and quality accreditation inclusing– NSI NACOSS Gold, BS.EN ISO 9001/2000, Corgi registration Master Locksmiths and National Association of Chimney Sweeps.
The company was invited to attend ‘Meet the Buyer’ and ’How to Tender’ workshops organised by the WDA (now DEIN) and Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority, and gained further advice from Contract Shop’s ‘Supplier Champion’ for the area.
In 2006 CVCRS won a competitive public sector tender worth at least £300,000, to deliver security and smoke alarm services in South Wales.
Social and Economic Impacts
CVCRS has a policy of recruiting people who are unemployed and providing training to all staff, which includes business and administration NVQs for office staff in addition to the array of technical qualifications gained by previously unqualified service team members. 9 people have gone on to self employment or other jobs as a result of their development through CVCRS providing strong economic benefits for an area with low skills but high levels of worklessness.
Not only does it bring jobs to deprived local communities but the profits CVCRS makes through its business arm are gifted back to the charity CVCPA that runs award–winning community projects aimed at tackling crime by involving citizens of all ages to work together to understand and tackle the issues.
The charity is also directly involved in and advises a number of Community First Partnerships in the area.
Further to this, there is evidence to suggest that; the combination of services to reduce the opportunities for crime, combined with jobs and training that open up employment opportunities as well as its charitable projects, has contributed to a significant reduction in the crime statistics of the Cynon Valley.