Independent Sexual Violence Advisor/ Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (ISVA/IDVA) Training and Infrastructure Fund - Early Engagement

(i) Inform the market of a prospective grant opportunity in connection with the competition for the provision of the ISVA/ IDVA Training and Infrastructure Grant (Independent Sexual Violence Advisor/ Independent Domestic Violence Advisor), totalling circa to a maximum of £600,000 p.a. starting October 2023-March 2025.

(ii) give notice of the Authority plans to hold a virtual Supplier Event on Friday 23rd of June 2023 10:30am - 12:30pm.

Suppliers interested in attending the event should confirm their interest by 5pm on Wednesday 21st of June 2023 by sending an email to the ISVA/ IDVA team at [email protected]

The form of response should be limited to the provision of a single point of contact (full name, contact name, job title, e-mail address and telephone number). The Authority will then issue invitations to all interested parties, confirming the timings and location of the events.

Additional information: I am really pleased to share details of the market engagement event for the upcoming commissioning of the ISVA / IDVA Training and Infrastructure Grant.

The Government has committed to increase the number of ISVAs and IDVAs it funds by 300, to over 1,000, by 2024/25 - a 43% increase on the number of ISVAs and IDVAs over this spending review period (2022/23 to 2024/25 inclusive).

An IDVA or ISVA is an independent advisor, who works with people (whether adults or children) who have experienced domestic abuse (in the case of an IDVA) or rape and sexual assault (in the case of an ISVA) by providing them with independent advocacy, support, and advice.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) funds ISVAs and IDVAs through Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and additional advisers are funded locally through local authorities and independent organisations.

The fund will be open to providers offering SV and DA support across England and Wales. Bids may be submitted by individual providers, consortia or partnerships, and joint bids are encouraged. The purpose of this fund is to provide relevant training and infrastructure support to ISVAs and IDVAs. This includes advisors who are not funded directly by the MoJ. Infrastructure support includes providing training for ISVA / IDVA service managers, to ensure that there is effective supervision support for frontline practitioners.

We will be seeking views on how to shape this offer from those involved in training ISVA/ IDVAs and potential providers through this Supplier Engagement Event. The Supplier Event will provide an opportunity for us to hear directly from organisations with an interest in bidding, which will help us shape how we compete this funding.

The session will be held as a virtual event and will take place from 10:30am-12:30pm on Friday 23rd June 2023. We plan to make use of breakout rooms during the event to gather extensive feedback and views on questions we have for the sector, to help shape the fund.

If you wish to attend, please email [email protected]