Case Study

FLOW HEALTHCARE LTD Hampshire County Council — Hampshire Accommodation Development and Support Options (ADSO) Open Framework, Stream 1: Support and Care

Tender Overview

Hampshire County Council has run its Accommodation Development and Support Options framework, known as the ADSO Model, for a number of years. It is one of the more established adult social care commissioning vehicles in the South of England, covering a range of accommodation-based support and care services for adults across the county. The framework operates on an open basis, meaning it does not close to new applications after an initial window. Providers can apply to join at designated points, and those that pass the enrolment assessment are awarded an Open Framework Agreement that gives them access to mini competition call-off opportunities as they arise.

Stream 1 of the ADSO Model covers Support and Care. This is the stream through which Hampshire commissions support services for adults in accommodation-based settings, covering a wide range of need types including mental health, learning disability, physical disability, and older people requiring care. It is a substantial commissioning programme in one of England’s larger county authority areas.

Flow Healthcare Ltd applied to join Stream 1 under the ADSO framework. AssuredBID prepared the enrolment application. On 18 March 2026, Hampshire County Council’s Adults’ Health and Care Procurement Team confirmed that the application had been evaluated and that an Open Framework Agreement had been awarded to Flow Healthcare Ltd.

The Brief

Client	Flow Healthcare Ltd
Commissioner	Hampshire County Council — Adults’ Health and Care Procurement Team
Framework	Hampshire Accommodation Development and Support Options (ADSO) Model
Reference	AS10870
Stream	Stream 1 — Support and Care
Framework Type	Open Framework Agreement
Portal	In-Tend
Award Date	18 March 2026
Result	Open Framework Agreement Awarded

Key Challenges

Hampshire is a large and experienced commissioning authority. Its Adults’ Health and Care Procurement Team has been running this framework through multiple cycles and evaluates enrolment applications with a clear sense of what a credible support and care provider looks like on paper. That experience means the bar is set by commissioners who know the sector well and who are not easily impressed by responses that use the right language without demonstrating genuine operational substance behind it.

The ADSO framework covers a wide spectrum of adult care needs under Stream 1. A provider applying to this stream is not applying to deliver one defined service to one defined cohort. They are applying to be considered across a range of accommodation-based support and care types as mini competition opportunities come forward. The enrolment application therefore has to establish broad credibility across that range while also being specific enough about the applicant’s own capability to be convincing. That balance is harder to strike than it sounds. Organisations that write broadly to cover every possibility tend to produce responses that feel thin. Organisations that write too narrowly risk looking limited in scope. Our adult social care framework bid writing service is built around exactly this kind of challenge.

The open framework model also creates a specific dynamic for applicants. Because the framework does not close, providers that are already on it have a head start in commissioner relationships and familiarity with how call-offs work. A new entrant joining mid-cycle needs to make a strong enough impression at the enrolment stage to be taken seriously when mini competitions are issued, and that starts with the quality of the enrolment application itself.

The In-Tend portal was used for submission. Getting the documentation right, matching supporting evidence to the correct sections, and ensuring the application was complete and correctly formatted before submission was part of the work, not an afterthought.

Our Approach

The enrolment application for an open framework of this type requires a clear and honest account of what the provider does, who they support, and how their operations are structured to deliver care and support in accommodation-based settings to the standard Hampshire expects. AssuredBID built the application around Flow Healthcare’s specific service capability rather than producing a generalised picture of what a good support and care provider looks like.

We began by understanding Flow Healthcare’s operational model in detail. Who do they currently support? What types of accommodation-based settings do they work in? How is care and support planned and reviewed? How are staff recruited, trained, and supervised? What quality assurance arrangements are in place? What does their management structure look like and how does oversight of service quality function day to day? Those answers formed the raw material from which the written responses were developed.

Hampshire’s enrolment criteria for Stream 1 covered organisational and financial standing, regulatory compliance, safeguarding, workforce management, and service delivery capability across the support and care spectrum. Each area was addressed in Flow Healthcare’s own terms. The safeguarding section described their specific policies and staff training arrangements. The workforce section covered recruitment, induction, ongoing training, and how performance is managed within the team. The service delivery section explained how Flow Healthcare approaches care and support planning, how they work with individuals and commissioners to review and adjust support over time, and how they maintain quality across their service.

Supporting documentation was compiled and checked throughout the process. Financial records, insurance certificates, regulatory documentation, and policy evidence were all verified and uploaded to In-Tend against the correct sections of the application before submission. Nothing was left to be resolved at the last stage. Providers preparing for their first open framework application can find a helpful guide to the process on our open framework enrolment page.

Results

Hampshire County Council’s Adults’ Health and Care Procurement Team notified Flow Healthcare Ltd on 18 March 2026 that their enrolment application had been successful. The Authority confirmed the decision to award an Open Framework Agreement to Flow Healthcare Ltd. Execution and formal completion of the agreement was to follow through the Authority’s standard process.


Enrolment Application	Hampshire ADSO Model — Stream 1: Support and Care
Evaluation Result	Successful
Framework Agreement	Open Framework Agreement Awarded
Notification Date	18 March 2026

Conclusion

An Open Framework Agreement with Hampshire County Council is a significant addition to any adult care provider’s commissioning portfolio. Hampshire is one of the largest county authorities in England, with a substantial adult social care budget and an active programme of mini competition call-offs through the ADSO framework. Being on the framework puts Flow Healthcare Ltd in the pool of approved providers considered each time a Stream 1 opportunity is issued across the county.

Framework enrolment is also the point at which a long-term commissioner relationship begins. The Adults’ Health and Care Procurement Team runs a contract performance management programme once providers are active on the framework. Providers that deliver well in mini competitions, maintain their documentation, and engage constructively with performance management processes build a track record with Hampshire commissioners that strengthens their position for every subsequent call-off opportunity.

Flow Healthcare Ltd is now positioned to compete for support and care contracts across Hampshire as they arise. The enrolment application that secured their place on the framework is the foundation on which that work begins.

If your organisation delivers adult care and support services and you want to get onto a county council or NHS framework, visit www.assuredbid.co.uk or explore our case studies to see how we have helped providers across England secure framework places and win contracts through competitive procurement processes. You can also speak directly with a bid writer by getting in touch through our contact page.

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FLOW HEALTHCARE LTD Hampshire County Council — Hampshire Accommodation Development and Support Options (ADSO) Open Framework, Stream 1: Support and Care

Tender Overview

The Brief

Key Challenges

Our Approach

Results

Conclusion

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