Wakefield & District Health and Community Support (WDHCS) is an independent grant making charity based in Wakefield.  The charity has a long tradition of supporting health and wellbeing primarily through making grants to third sector organisations so that they can better support people and communities with the greatest health inequalities.

The Wakefield District has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country, and it is widely acknowledged that these communities have faced some of the greatest health and income inequalities since the 1980’s.  The impact of Covid-19 has only worsened these layers of disadvantage and has the potential of creating even more significant issues for future generations.

When undertaking research to help us determine the priorities of our grant-making, we found that a wealth of data is gathered and shared by public sector organisations in key areas such as health, employment, deprivation and housing, for example.  There seems to be a significant gap, however, in information about the current and potential future role of the third sector in the Wakefield District.

Tender Background:

WDHCS and a range of public and third sector partners believe that it is vitally important for us to gain a better understanding of:

• the breadth of the third sector – where the community organisations and charities are based and what issues they are tackling; where there may be cold spots in provision in terms of geography and theme (i.e. young people, homelessness etc)
• the strength of the sector – the level of resilience (particularly following the pandemic), information about income and levels of reserves.
•  What capacity gaps may exist in key areas such as leadership, fundraising/bid-writing and governance.

The active engagement of local people in local communities is a key but often over-looked factor in addressing entrenched inequalities and driving inclusive growth.  However, if we don’t have sufficient knowledge about its “needs”, how can we determine what actions we need to take to further strengthen the sector so that it can continue to deliver on health and wellbeing outcomes?

Tender Applicant:

WDHCS is looking to commission some research and is looking to secure a partner to work with.   We anticipate the successful applicant will use a range of methodologies including:

•  analysis and interrogation of existing data
• data and information collection through surveys, 1-1 interviews, group discussions and other methods of stakeholder engagement
• ethnographic research so we can see the human stories behind the data

Tender Deadline:

We are inviting individuals and organisations from public, private and third sectors to tender for this piece of exciting work, with a deadline of 12 noon on 25th May 2021 with a view to the contract starting in late June / early July.

How to Apply:

To receive a copy of the full tender document,  please email Sally-Anne Greenfield on sally-anne@thegreenfieldconnection.co.uk

Voluntary Action Leeds