United States Agency for International Development. In keeping with USAID`s WPS Implementation Plan commitments, USAID intensified its efforts to consult with local women leaders, civil society, including faith-based organizations, and academia in countries affected by crises and conflicts. In FY2021, USAID supported the participation of more than 77,000 women in leadership, conflict mediation, legal, political, and peacebuilding processes, providing essential health care, psychosocial support, legal assistance, and economic services to more than 5.3 million survivors of gender-based violence. In FY21, USAID invested more than $243 million in programs to empower and protect women and girls in countries affected by crises, conflict, violent extremism, and natural disasters. The renewal programme of the CCS, which aims to replace this framework, comprises three separate bodies for central government and other specific bodies, all developed in collaboration with the Government`s legal department, as well as this fourth body for the wider public sector. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Department continued to focus on WPS implementation through monitoring, evaluation and learning exercises, and increased engagement with key partners such as civil society leaders. During the FY 2021 reporting period, the Division continued to work with civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and partner governments; strengthened staff training in the area of women, peace and security; and increased use of gender-based analysis in projects and policy framework conditions by 25% compared to FY 2020. In addition, WPS programs, training and funding were increased from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021.

During the reporting period, the Department invested approximately $110 million in programming support programs to advance women, peace and security. The Department has also integrated WPS principles into its internal processes, including 231 Notices of Application for Funding (NOFO) and Tenders (RFPs) that require gender-based analysis – up from only 12 in fiscal year 2020. As part of the ongoing internal review of the WPS call and to streamline reporting, the Department revised or removed certain indicators for this reporting period (fiscal year 2021). This panel consists of four lots that provide general and more specific legal services. This collaboration with potential public sector user groups has really helped us understand their priorities, how they currently use legal services, and the key areas of expertise they need support for. The resulting lots were regional services, real estate and construction, railways and separate full-service lots for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We have also adapted the legal specializations available through the panel based on user feedback. As a result, we have facilitated extensive specialisations such as licensing, education, social housing and primary care law for various parts of the wider public sector such as local authorities, education authorities, housing associations and NHS trusts. The company was integrated with its predecessor as part of CSC and has extensive experience in supporting a wide range of public sector clients. We included 71 providers in the broader public sector legal services panel, nearly one-third of which are small and medium-sized providers.

We have allowed suppliers to apply for a place in Lot 1 (Regional Service Delivery), provided they are able to specialize in at least one specialization and one region, opening the panel to regional and specialized companies. This approach ensures that clients have access to a wide range of organisations, regardless of where legal assistance is needed in the UK. All organisations benefit from the opportunity to manage their risks and avoid costs – the wider public sector is no different and providing a framework for appropriate legal services in this area is potentially complicated. Our legal team remains focused on improving the panel and is currently digitizing the screening and selection processes to make it even easier to use. This body was created to provide an easy and market-compliant pathway for a range of legal service requirements primarily for the wider public sector. This is part of the broader strategy for the provision of legal services, which includes three other panel agreements; General legal advice (RM3786), rail law advice (RM3756) and financial and complex legal services (RM3787). With the new digital filtering tool, you can find suitable suppliers among the lots of this agreement. The CCS`s Public Sector Legal Services Expert Group covers a wide range of legal services, including trade, corporate, non-complex finance and investment, real estate and construction, information technology, data protection, employment, litigation and procurement. We only recruit experienced lawyers of excellent calibre. As a result, our legal team of over 40 lawyers has an average post-qualification experience of over 20 years. Most came to us from other municipal companies, internal services and/or management positions.

Our lawyers have advised some of the UK`s largest landowners, including Barclays Bank, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Rolls Royce, The Royal Parks, The Cabinet Office and The Crown Estate. This focus on quality resulted in only a 50% rate of male and female partners. The CCS customer service team is available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The firm is recognized for its high quality legal work and service. We reviewed all the evidence we had produced and decided to divide the group into lots and sublots, which would cover the sectors, geography and three jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. To facilitate access to the panel agreement, we have compiled a library of documents and templates in the Documents tab. Read the customer manuals before using the framework. Then use the new digital filtering tool to find suppliers tailored to your needs.

The four-year contract will enable the company to provide services to public sector clients in England and Wales, including health, education, local and regional government, emergency services and service sector organisations and social housing. WBD is one of the top 20 law firms in the UK, providing legal expertise from seven UK offices, including London and 23 offices in the US. The firm has extensive experience in the public sector and advises numerous UK government departments and agencies offering a wide range of legal expertise across a wide range of disciplines. Like any other organization, public sector actors sometimes need legal support and should be entitled to efficient and cost-effective options. That is exactly what we think this group of experts. Kevin Robertson, partner responsible for this CSC framework at Womble Bond Dickinson, said: “The law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) is proud to have been appointed to Crown Commercial Services` (CCS) new Public Sector Legal Services Framework. Only by approaching the task in this open manner can we confidently provide a wider range of public sector legal services that successfully ensure a minimum level of quality and maximum price for the services offered. WBD has been designated for two lots under the framework agreement, including lot 1a Full Service Provision (England and Wales) and lot 2a General Service Provision (England & Wales). CSC helps the public sector achieve maximum commercial value in the procurement of common goods and services. In 2021-2022, CCS helped the public sector generate £2.8 billion in business benefits and support world-class public services that deliver best value for taxpayers.

At a recent webinar hosted by Crown Commercial Service (CCS), Madeleine Davitt, Senior Partner, was invited as an executive provider and guest speaker to discuss her RM3788 framework for the broader public sector (WPS). With 15 years of experience working with CCS and our public sector clients, Madeleine demonstrates the key benefits of the framework in general and during the current pandemic. In this way, we hope that the integrated price-performance ratio of the panel will shine through. “We are delighted to have once again been appointed by CSS to this prestigious organization. This not only strengthens our ongoing relationship with CCS, but also puts us in a stronger position to expand our work in the public sector. “This was a company-wide effort to secure this nomination and is a testament to the hard work of many of our teams and offices, as well as the demonstration of our significant expertise in the public sector.