Innovation

The DWP announced last week that they would be providing £10m a year for three years to delivery organisations to develop new and innovative methods to support it most disadvantaged customers. Delivery organisation will partner with financial backers to develop a proposal, with the DWP paying the financiers an agreed amount when specific objectives are agreed.

The details seem a little sketchy at the moment, so was just wondering if anyone had heard anything in any more detail about this (time-scale for procurement process, delivery areas etc)?

In an unsurprising but, in my opinion, very disappointing move, DWP have cancelled Right to Bid with immediate effect. Any provider who has a pending application can now safely assume that it's dead in the water.

As you'll see from the below link, it has been justified by claiming that the Work Programme is designed to allow innovation, but I can't help but feel that this is a major blow to the smaller provider. R2B was a great opportunity for niche organisations to test new methodologies without having blanket targets attached, or risky payment structures, but alas, it's RIP R2B.