futurebuilders QUESTIONNAIRE

AN INVESTMENT FUND FOR VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SECTOR PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY

Proposals for consultation
Your comments are important. You can complete this form and send it to us or you can email your comments. You do not have to answer all of the questions, but please answer those that are relevant to you.

The questions in this pull out section are also to be found in chapters 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the consultation document.

If you need more space to answer any of our questions, please continue on a separate sheet of paper. Make sure you mark all separate sheets with the number of the question you are answering.

Your comments should be received by Monday 21 July 2003.

Following the consultation period, proposals for the use of futurebuilders will be put to ministers by the Compact Working Group so that the fund can come on stream during the second half of this financial year (2003-04).


CHAPTER 2 - PRINCIPLES FOR INVESTMENT
1. Are the nine principles (listed below) for guiding the use of the futurebuilders fund, the right ones?
i. Aiming high 
ii. Sustainability 
iii. Improving outcomes for users 
iv. Depth of investment 
v. Collaborative working
vi. Investing strategically
vii. ‘Stretching’ the money
viii. A diverse and distinctive sector
ix. Spreading learning and good practice

2. Do these guiding principles meet the three objectives of removing obstacles to efficient service delivery;
modernising for the long term and increasing the scale and scope of service delivery for the voluntary sector?

3. Are there other principles that should be included?

4. Which are the three most important principles?

CHAPTER 3 - PRIORITY SERVICE AREAS
Government departments have provided indicative service areas on which futurebuilders could be targeted, within the four priorities of health and social care; crime and social cohesion; education and learning; and services for children and young people.

5. Should futurebuilders be further targeted on specific areas within the four broader categories?

6. Do you agree with the specific areas that departments and the task groups have identified? Are there any more?

7. How should these priorities feed into the development of specific criteria for the fund?

8. How can the independence of the sector be maintained?

CHAPTER 4 - ASSETS AND FINANCE
ASSETS
futurebuilders can provide finance to acquire physical assets, intangible assets and development funding

9. Will these assets meet the financial needs of service providing organisations?

10. Are there others?

11. Should the balance between the different types of assets be fixed?

SPECTRUM OF FINANCE

12. Does the spectrum of finance proposed, including grants and various forms of loans, contain the right range of financial solutions?

13. Will this range of finance build the capacity of voluntary and community organisations, and social enterprises to deliver services?

14. Do any of these forms of finance present obstacles or difficulties?

15. Are there other forms of finance that might be appropriate?

BUSINESS SUPPORT

16. Is a business support function, to give clear direction about eligibility to access the fund; to advise on appropriate forms of finance; to make an assessment of proposals, and to make recommendations to the fund, a good idea?

17. Are the types of assistance it could provide, the right ones, and are there others?

18. Are there some things it should not do?

19. Should business support be separate from the fund administration?

20. How could a business support function be provided most cost effectively?

CHAPTER 5 - ADMINISTERING THE FUND

21. Are there any particular funding models which have worked well, and which could inform the setting up of
futurebuilders?

22. What can be learnt from them?

23. What features of management and administration are most important when trying to access funding?

CHAPTER 6 - JOINING UP

24. Are there other opportunities to maximise the value of futurebuilders by effective joining up a) within government or b) elsewhere?

Additional comments:

Please provide your name:

Who do you represent?

Have you consulted others in reaching your conclusions? If so, please provide details:


PLEASE RETURN YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE TO:
Helen Horton, Voluntary and Community Sector Team, HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ
or email to voluntarysector@hm-treasury.gov.uk