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RESOLVED:
 
That Cabinet gives approval for the
Council to enter into a Grant Funding Agreement with Allia Impact for the delivery of the Hackney
Business Support Programme under which the Council would provide to
Allia Impact the maximum sum of
£627,971 over a period of 18 months.
 
REASONS FOR DECISION
 
Hackney Council is in receipt of GLA grant funding and has
to deliver on its funding agreement obligations, these include a
range of business support commitments.
A
key decision via Cabinet is required to award funding on a grant
basis when the funding agreement has a value which is significant,
or has a significant  impact on two or
more wards.
 
DETAILS OF ALTRENATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND
REJECTED
 
Do Nothing
 
The Council could opt not to deliver any business support.
However, this would constitute a breach of the funding agreement
resulting in the return of essential funds to the GLA that can be
used to benefit local businesses.
 
Opting not to establish a programme mechanism to deliver
business support would also be a considerable missed opportunity to
support local businesses and deliver the Council’s inclusive
economy commitments at a time when businesses are in great need of
support.
 
Alternative procurement approach:
Procurement  of business support
provider via a services contract
 
The Business Support Programme could have been secured
through a contract for services achieved through a standard
procurement exercise. A traditional procurement approach would have
drawn on the same potential providers and may have resulted in the
same preferred provider. However, a services contract drives
contractual and output focussed behaviour within a supply chain
that most often undermines collaborative and outcomes focussed
approaches.
 
Additionally, a procurement exercise requires the purchaser
to be more prescriptive and stipulate how services are to be
delivered. By comparison, a grant award focuses on outcomes and
impact, while allowing the supplier flexibility in the delivery
approach that enables positive iteration and refinement of delivery
in response to input from partners and feedback from beneficiaries.
A Grant Funding Agreement allows greater flexibility, innovation
and a more responsive approach to achieving the intended
outcomes.
 
The chosen approach draws on experience gained through the
Council’s successful business support programme that utilised
Central Government grant funding to help businesses recover from
pandemic related lockdowns.