Change Plans
News from Winchester City Council’s Commissioning Team

The Commissioning Team at Winchester City Council are asking for responses to their draft Change Plans. 

The revised Community Strategy provides a vision for the future and sets out how Winchester City Council will work with other organisations to improve the quality of life for Winchester District’s 110,000 residents over the next decade.  The strategy identifies three overarching outcomes – or end results – for the whole District: active communities; prosperous economy; high quality environment.

	Active Communities
	Economic Prosperity
	High Quality Environment

What are the change plans?
The Community Strategy is a high level document and the change plans are its action plan. The change plans set out how the Council and its partners will deliver the strategy over the next three years.

The change plans are the start of a new exciting way of working, moving from the current service-based approach to a commissioning model. In future, services will be delivered either directly by the Council, through partners or contractors or via the voluntary sector.

For example with the Council’s grants budgets, we will see the Councils carious grant streams pooled to form a new commissioning budget. Once the change plans are approved, local groups will be invited to bid for projects identified in the new change plans, to be funded through this new budget. Over the longer term, other Council budgets will be moved into this commissioning ‘pool’ as we choose whether to commission services and initiatives from external organisations.

How do they link to my organisation?
The change plans draw together the most significant projects, programmes of work and initiatives that we and our partners will deliver to change and improve the lives of our residents under the three community outcomes (Active Communities, a Prosperous Economy and a High Quality Environment) and the ‘Efficient and Effective Council’ outcome.

The Commissioning Team is responsible for proposing which activities will feature in the Change Plans, but the general rule is that if they are new or likely to bring about positive Change under an outcome they will be included. And if they are more about ‘business as usual’ they should be in a service plan.

What do I need to do?
Many of our partners have already been involved in conversations with Eloise Appleby, Jen Anderson or Robert Heathcock.  Thank you for your input to date which has been part of this consultation process.  If you have not already given us your thoughts, take a look at the change plans and see how your organisation can contribute towards these outcomes.