Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will explain the way the centre for effective services was established; the public procurement processes that were undertaken; his views on whether a commitment of €5 million of public funds to a body which is largely autonomous and unaccountable is appropriate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23244/10]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Centre for Effective Services (CES) was developed in recognition of the fact that high quality research and data informs good social policy and that the application of evidence-based policy making can make a real difference in the quality of services delivered, and, ultimately, in the quality of beneficiaries' lives. At its most basic, the approach is to seek to provide a means to enable projects to access the expertise that they need on a timely and supportive basis, to be focussed on tangible outcomes, and to lend themselves to robust objective evaluation. The underlying aim is to develop a process whereby programmes and projects can be designed, developed and evaluated on the basis of a 'what works' pragmatic approach.

Against a background of reforms under way by my Department, ongoing concerns to strengthen programme delivery and evaluation, and issues confirmed by a VFM Policy Review of the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP), my Department was eager to access independent international expertise. Separately, one of the issues with the local/community development programmes operated by my Department had been the difficulty in objectively demonstrating whether our programmes are actually working or not. This problem is compounded by the concern that, even when the programmes are independently evaluated, there is a relatively small pool of expertise which can be drawn on locally, which can result in a familiarity between potential evaluators and the operators of the programmes. The close identification of the operators of such programmes with the programmes themselves can make it difficult for detached, objective and critical debate on the overall effectiveness of the programmes, as opposed to their delivery.

It was in this context that my Department, in consultation with the Office of the Minister of Children (OMC), considered the CES as offering a particular opportunity to support programme redesign, while overcoming the usual constraints of local interests and difficulty in accessing international expertise. The CES also offered capability to set out tangible, deliverable, qualitative outcomes for the LDSIP/Community Development Programme (CDP) and wider programmes. In addition, my Department's view was that the CES would be in a position to provide ongoing mentoring on programme efficiency and evaluation over a number of years.

The concept for the CES grew from an idea formulated initially by Atlantic Philanthropies in the context of the provision of children's services – most notably the early childhood intervention project in Tallaght, Dublin. The CES was subsequently established as a joint venture between Government and Atlantic Philanthropies. Accordingly, in 2008 my Department engaged the CES to assist with the redesign of its community development/social inclusion programmes, particularly the LDSIP and CDP. Key outputs agreed with the CES were the review of the design of both programmes, which, informed by good international practice, would specify outcomes at the outset and provide effective evaluation mechanisms. It was also agreed that any proposals put forward should facilitate effective evaluation of the performance of individual local delivery structures and allow for either the re-alignment or merger of the two programmes.

Under the agreement signed in October 2008 between my Department and the OMC with the CES, each will provide c€500,000 per annum to the Centre for 5 years. This amount will be matched by a contribution from Atlantic Philanthropies of c€5m over the period. The agreement, which ends in 2012, sets out in detail deliverables to be provided over this period to each public body, as well as timelines for progress.

The contracted deliverables relating to my own Department include the following: 1. Assist the Department with planning for future delivery and development of LDSIP and CDP by collating and making available international evidence of good practice and 'what works' in similar community-based initiatives, and review the design of the existing programme in the light of this evidence. 2. Inform policy and practice relating to LDSIP and CDP with the aim of maximising programme impact and effectiveness within existing funding parameters. 3. Promote access to expertise (including international expertise) for developing appropriate evaluation methodologies and measures for the evaluation of local services delivered under the programmes, and make recommendations for subsequent evaluation design(s). 4. Assist the Department to build internal and external capacity for evidence-based design and delivery of other related services and programmes.

Given - the unique nature of this project as a joint approach between Government and Atlantic Philanthropies, particularly in the context of Government initiatives on children's services; - the not-for-profit remit of the CES; - the unparalleled access which CES has to international expertise on the design, delivery and evaluation of social programmes; and - the significant support available from Atlantic Philanthropies; it was not considered that a competitive tendering arrangement was appropriate in this case.

I can assure that Deputy that the CES is not unaccountable. As already referred to, my Department has a contract with the CES which lists specific deliverables and timelines. Progress is reported on regularly and all deliverables to date have met the agreed timelines.