Commissioning Strategic Investment Plans will articulate investments as either procurements or grants, or a combination of the two.
ACT Health has commenced the development of a whole-of-directorate grants guideline and a grants management process that can support the next tranche of commissioning cycle investments.
For sector partners tendering across multiple cycles and Directorates, ACT Health and the Community Services Directorate are also looking to streamline processes and ensure consistent approaches, such as a common set of tender and grant questions.
Where possible, both Directorates will identify ways to minimise application burden and coordinate the different investment pathways selected by Commissioners.
During the INVEST phase Commissioners, in consultation with key internal stakeholders, define their approach to market and identify the specific investment pathways that will be undertaken.
An investment pathway can be different for each commissioning cycle and could include:
A direct grant
- Government directorates will approach specific providers for specialist services for which there is not a competitive market.
- The market assessment reveals that an organisation provides specialist services that are regulated or complex and it is unlikely other providers would tender for this service or enter the ACT market. Organisations will still need to provide a response that meets the funding/service/contract agreement terms.
A select grant or tender
- Government directorates will approach a small set of providers for specialist services for which there is not a competitive market.
- The market assessment reveals that there is a small number of organisations providing specialist services or that are networked formally or informally to provide an integrated service response in the ACT. It would be unlikely that other providers would tender for this service or enter the ACT market. Organisations will still need to provide a response that meets the funding/service/contract agreement terms.
An open grant or tender
- Government directorates will provide a public market opportunity for providers seeking to deliver the specified services.
- The market assessment reveals that there are multiple organisations that could provide the service and others that could enter the ACT market. Organisations will need to provide a range of documentation to respond to the grant application or tender process.
A combination of the above
When a Commissioner chooses an investment pathway several factors are considered, such as:
- history or outcomes of market testing
- Potential or need for service innovation
- investment or procurement thresholds
- delegate decision-making
- how we can best meet the needs of clients
- the impact on clients of potential interruption to service provision
- the size of the organisations and the type of services they provide; and
- risks to government.
What is the difference?
The investment pathway – if a grant or procurement, or a mix of both – involves several differences for both government and non-government organisations.
Procurements are underpinned by the Government Procurement Act and other key legislation. They are also centrally supported by Procurement ACT and are scrutinised by the Government Procurement Board. Procurements usually take longer to assess and require a significant level of detail from responding organisations to satisfy legislative requirements, the ACT Procurement Values, and value for money principles.
Grants are developed under a broad Grants Guideline and are often managed internally within Directorates. Grants are typically less administratively burdensome and enable a greater degree of flexibility in terms of capacity to innovate and respond to meet new and emerging community need. Similar to procurements, grants also enable the Territory to satisfy value for money principles.
A bit of background...
The Government Procurement Act 2001 (Act) defines a procurement as “the process of acquiring goods, services, works or property by purchase, lease rental or exchange. It also includes the disposal of goods, works or property including by sale”. A grant however is an “arrangement where money is provided to a recipient as financial assistance by the Territory for a specified purpose that enables the recipient to achieve goals and objectives that are consistent with Territory policy”.
Find out more: procurements vs grants factsheet
; understand the investment pathways ; understand the invest phase ; get tender or grant ready
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Page updated: 28 Feb 2024
