15.04.16
Cabinet Office Commissioning Academy to be run as not-for-profit
A social enterprise has taken over a Cabinet Office scheme to teach commissioning skills to public sector leaders.
The Public Service Transformation Academy has been awarded a not-for-profit concession contract to run the Cabinet Office Commissioning Academy.
The Academy was founded by former Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude in 2012. Over 1,100 government, local government and public sector leaders have taken part in its three- to six-day courses on public sector service policy and provision.
Rob Wilson, minister for civil society, praised the ‘cutting edge’ use of a not-for-profit approach to deliver the training.
“This new phase of the Academy will mean commissioners can continue to review relevant challenges and opportunities, including closer working with service users and harnessing social action, social value and a diverse marketplace including small and medium enterprises, charities and social enterprises, for the benefit of citizens,” he said.
Benjamin Taylor, managing partner of RedQuadrant and chief executive of the Public Service Transformation Academy, said: “We believe in helping public services to help themselves, and the Commissioning Academy has been one of the most effective ways to spread new thinking to help meet citizen needs in challenging financial circumstances.
“We hope to make the new Public Service Transformation Academy the ‘go-to’ place for real, practical capacity-building for transformation.”
The next programme starts on 9 June, with tailored regional service programmes available from 1 May, and costs £2,000 for every participant.
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