Contract and tender opportunities

Our Community Benefits Wishlist is a scheme for local community groups to submit requests for support. It links them with council suppliers who will offer to meet these needs through their community benefits proposals.

These requests may be financial or non-financial, for example, professional advice, staff time or equipment donations, to support community initiatives.

Social, environmental and employability support can be provided by companies who have goods, service and works contracts. This ensures that the impact of them winning that tender gives something back to the people of Dumfries and Galloway directly.

We are committed to securing community benefits from all contracts wherever possible. We require successful suppliers to work with us, as part of the delivery of the services, in transforming the community in a real and sustainable manner.

How to get involved

We invite local community organisations to tell us what type of support you need, which we can help you with through the community benefits process.

This will contribute to our ambition to promote and support community engagement and ensure that the needs of local people and communities are at the heart of what we do.

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How the wishlist process works

The wishlist form is open to any community group, organisation, association, social enterprise or charity within Dumfries and Galloway that would like to request external support. 

A simplified version of the process

There are several steps to the process:

1. The wishes can be submitted using the wishlist form. Once you have completed the form, we will receive a notification and the wishlist will be updated on the last Friday of every month. You may have up to 3 wishes on the wishlist at any one time. Additional requests cannot be added until one of your existing wishes has been completed.
    
2. If the community benefit leads have any questions or need any further information from you, we'll be in touch using the contact details you've submitted. We will only use this contact information for communication regarding community benefits, and you may ask us to remove it, along with any wishes, at any time.
    
3. After receiving your form, we will either:
   a. upload your requests to the wishlist viewable publicly on our website
   b. be in touch to clarify any questions we have about what has been submitted to ensure the wish is as clear as possible for contractors

The wish may take up to 2 weeks to be published. We aim to review all new requests within 10 working days of submission. You should hear back from us within this timeframe to confirm your wish has been added to the benefits wishlist. 

If you have not had your wish added after 2 months have passed:

Email: Community.Benefits@dumgal.gov.uk

There are no guarantees around how long it might take for your wish to be selected, and we unfortunately can't promise that your request will be fulfilled. However, we will do all we can to signpost contractors who work with our council to the requests on the portal and promote the many opportunities to give back to them as part of our procurement processes.

If a contractor feels they could help you with your request, we will put you in touch so that you can work together directly. Support is available if you need it during this phase: your ward officer can signpost you in the right direction.

Once you've agreed the scope and timeframe for the community benefit to be delivered, the contractor will fulfil their side of the agreement and undertake the work, support, donation, or other help they've agreed to. 

Privacy statement and data sharing procedure

As part of the wishlist process, your group or organisation contact details will be shared with suppliers who express and interest in providing your request(s). This will be done following UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and our privacy statement. 

For further information:

Email: community.benefits@dumgal.gov.uk 

By submitting a request for Community Benefit Wishes, you are agreeing for contact information to be shared with council suppliers where they wish to complete your request.

Contact us

Telephone: 030 33 33 3000
Email: community.benefits@dumgal.gov.uk