BIG Assist Supplier Assessment process -key stages [v3]

The process for receiving and assessing applications from potential suppliers to join the Approved BIG Assist Supplier register is outlined below. Supplier applications are assessed by independent assessors and are subject to scrutiny by the BIG Assist Independent Panel. There are three ey stages in the initial application and assessment process followed by appeals and review stages. !ach is described here.

Stage 1 Online application

"etails of the topic areas are posted on the BIG Assist website at www.bigassist.org.u together with the online application form which potential suppliers are re#uired to complete as the first stage in the process. The online application process re#uires each supplier to provide some ey information. There are three levels of information which will affect the li ely success of the application$ 1. Essential re uirements% the lac of any of which will prevent the application from being able to be submitted. !. "ig#ly $esira%le re uirements which will be reviewed by the BIG Assist staff team during the early stages of the assessment process. 3. &eig#te$ evi$ence which demonstrates the e&tent of relevant e&perience and the applicant's approach to #uality.

A. Essential re uirements
The essential re#uirements are$ 1. 'egistration $etails nee$ to %e accurate an$ veri(ia%le. In the case of registered charities or companies or other such incorporated bodies the registered numbers need to be supplied. In the case of sole traders the individual's (I number needs to be provided together with chec able land based address and phone number. !. )ro(essional In$emnity insurance. All BIG Assist suppliers must have Professional Indemnity insurance. "etails of the policy% the areas covered and the amount of cover must be provided. Those with such insurance but with lower cover than )*++ will have the details of their policies chec ed by the BIG Assist staff team to ensure that it will provide sufficient cover for the proposed wor with BIG Assist.

3. Employer *ia%ility insurance. Those applicants who employ anyone must show that they have current employer liability insurance with a minimum cover of ),m. This will not be re#uired of suppliers who are sole traders. +. "ealt# an$ Sa(ety. All applicants -other than sole traders. are re#uired to hold a current /ealth and Safety policy and to submit a copy as part of their application at the re#uest of the BIG Assist team. Sole traders will be re#uired to demonstrate that they are aware of /ealth and Safety re#uirements and that they will follow the guidelines laid down by the BIG Assist programme. ,. E-perience o( provi$ing support to voluntary an$ community organisations. Any applicant who has had no e&perience of wor ing with clients in voluntary and community organisations -012s. will be rejected. The wor may have been paid or unpaid but there must have been at least some. .. *ist o( customers. A list of customers in 012s must be provided. /. 'e(erences. At least 3 recent% chec able references 4at least * from a 01S organisation5 must be provided which are directly related to the topic areas identified. 0. 1A2 registration num%er 34#ere applica%le5. All applicants who should be 0AT registered must provide their 0AT registration number.

B. "ig#ly $esira%le re uirements which will influence the li ely

success of the application. 1. 6inancial track recor$. All suppliers must ideally have two years trac record wor ing as a support provider and be able to provide financial evidence of at least two years of revenue from such wor . Any applicant with less than two years record will have their situation reviewed by the BIG Assist team prior to ma ing recommendations. !. 7re$itor o%ligations. All applicants are re#uired to confirm that they have met their creditor obligations. If they are unable to do this their application will be reviewed by the BIG Assist staff team prior to ma ing recommendations to the Independent panel. 3. Environmental policy. All applicants -other than sole traders. are encouraged to have a written !nvironmental Policy. +. 8iversity an$ E uality policy. All applicants -other than sole traders. are e&pected to have a written "iversity and !#uality policy. Sole traders will

be re#uired to demonstrate that they understand the importance of !#uality and "iversity and that they will follow the guidelines laid down by the BIG Assist programme.

7. &eig#te$ evi$ence. The following criteria relating to #uality and

relevant e&perience will be assessed as follows$ 1.9uality management. Those applicants who do not hold a #uality mar from an e&ternal body are as ed to describe how they manage the #uality of their provision. !.E-perience o( 4orking 4it# In(rastructure organisations. The BIG Assist programme is being designed to deliver support to infrastructure organisations -I2s.6 applications must demonstrate previous relevant e&perience.

Stage ! Assessment
*. 2n receipt of the successfully completed online application the BIG Assist project team will review the information provided and send this off to the assessors on a *78ly basis. 9. The assessors will underta e their assessments% results are moderated and recommendations are provided. 3. The BIG Assist independent panel scrutinise the recommended list of suppliers identified during the recruitment and assessment phase and satisfy themselves that due processes are carried out during the application and vetting stages to ensure that a. #uality standards are met b. suppliers are selected using fair and open recruitment to meet the criteria set 8. Applicants are informed of the outcome of their application via automated email through the BIG Assist site.

'evie4 an$ 'emoval

To ensure #uality is maintained the BIG Assist staff team and independent panel will operate a continuing process of review in order to respond to customer feedbac and any changes in Supplier status. The panel will review recommendations from the BIG Assist staff team to remove any previously approved suppliers following negative customer feedbac or in cases where essential re#uirements such as professional indemnity insurance have lapsed.

Suppliers will be re#uired to notify the BIG Assist staff team of any of the following changes in circumstances$ cessation of trading change of service offered increase or decrease in turnover si:e 1hanges of contact details change of status -e.g. sole trader to company6 merger. lapse of insurance