Let's get together!

By Theresa Gillard

Head of External Relations, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC)

A programme to help professionals from Voluntary and Community organisations and Local Authorities work together effectively.

In 2007/08 Birmingham City Council and Croydon Council achieved Beacon status for their excellence in ‘increasing voluntary and community sector service delivery’. The award was underpinned by their partnership working with their local Community Voluntary Services – Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) and Croydon Voluntary Action (CVS).

The Birmingham and Croydon cross sector partners were successful in gaining funding from The Beacon Peer Support programme from Communities and Local Government (CLG) and Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA); and are taking this programme forward by inviting other Local Authorities and Third Sector organisations to reap the benefits of partnership and build stronger working relationship between the public and third sectors by:

1. Sharing the Learning

We are delivering presentations and attending network meetings to share with voluntary organisations the learning gained in Birmingham and Croydon by having a partnership approach to working with Local Authorities; with the aim of improving the working relationships between the third sector and their Local Authority.

2. Facilitating Peer to Peer Support.

The aim of Peer to Peer Support is to match in the first instance, Third Sector Chief Executives with a local authority member (with a brief or interest in working with the third sector), to improve working relationships and share leadership skills. This gives you the opportunity to find out more about each others’ work (ranging from day to day responsibilities to the wider contexts within which you operate) and the challenges you face. You can also use the opportunity to ask questions, offer and take advice as well as share ideas on how the Voluntary and Community Sector and Government can work together more effectively.

Why?

Developing and sharing your leadership skills

• Share understanding of the issues you are facing.
• Share best practice.
• Improve local service delivery.
• Foster a better understanding of the issues which impact on your role politically and strategically.
• Learn to add value to the delivery of services to your community and in your area of interest.
  Help you to disseminate good practice.
• Help you contribute to improving delivery against N17 and supporting local indicators within the LAA in Developing a commissioning framework; Relationship management and
  Implementing the compact.
  

If you would like to take part in this programme, please contact us by E-mail: theresag@bvsc.org or by Telephone: 0121 678 8829 or steve.phaure@cvalive.org.uk Telephone: 0208-683-5919.

Ever considered online fundraising?

By Ethel Bangwayo
Strategic Engagement Officer, Herts CVS Group

At a time when traditional sources of funding are drying up, a number of voluntary sector organisations are exploring alternative options. This post is a summarised version of a recent article run by Third Sector magazine outlining the various players on the online fundraising market.

JustGiving
Fundraisers create individual pages with text, photos and videos. These can be publicised via email or the site’s Facebook application. Supporters can make a one-off payment or create a direct debit.
www.justgiving.com

Bmycharity
Charities get a customised website where visitors can fundraise, sponsor, make one-off donations or set up regular payments. Charities can upload videos photos and interactive elements on to the site, which also allows them to sell tickets for events.
www.bmycharity.com

My Charity Page
Charities can promote events on their pages. Fundraisers enter events and set up individual fundraising pages. Charities and fundraisers can blog, join friends’ groups, send messages and upload photos and videos to their pages.
www.mycharitypage.com

Global Giving UK
Individuals give a minimum of £5 directly to vetted grassroots charity projects in more than 70 countries. Projects receive payment when donations reach £250 or more. Donors get regular progress reports from the field by email.
www.globalgiving.co.uk


The Big Give
The site is for major donors who choose from projects uploaded by UK charities and donate online or directly to the charity. Major donors can create match funds so online donors can double the value of their gifts.
www.thebiggive.org.uk

MyGift
Fundraisers set up individual pages on the site to promote their activities and receive donations. Site visitors can make donations directly to the charity. Charities can design their own pages with external links and create news and fundraising updates.
www.mygift.org.uk

Virgin Money Giving
Charities can customise their own web pages and include links to events or information. Fundraisers can set up individual pages with text, fundraising history, photos, information on activities and a countdown calculator to each event; they can also create fundraising teams or groups.
www.virginmoneygiving.com

If your organisation is seeking new funding sources, it may be worth investing a bit of time comparing these sites. Please note that some of them charge a fee and/ or commission for providing the service so you may want to shop around before settling on an option.

Happy fundraising!

Silver linings in the recessionary clouds?

By Chris Lee
Membership and Network Officer, Social Enterprise East of England

For most people the recession is seen as A BAD THING. But there are few situations where no good can come out of them, and I think the financial downturn is one such situation. There are at least three opportunities for third sector organisations offered by the recession:

• People are looking for ‘better ways of doing business’ and want service suppliers that they can trust; which is where we come in!
• This is a good time to buy assets – buildings or land – because prices are deflated. Also take the opportunity to learn how to negotiate lower prices from your suppliers – printers, stationers etc – it’s a buyer’s market at the moment.
• There are a large number of qualified people, many from the private sector, with time on their hands because of redundancy. Some are wanting to keep their CVs up to date, others are taking early retirement and want to put something back into society (better late than never …!) So contact your local Volunteer Centre with your volunteering opportunities.

I believe that surviving the recession is about taking opportunities (such as those outlined above) and it’s also about concentrating on what you do best, and doing it better. It may also be time to drop peripheral activities (those that are off-mission and lose you money) and look for ways to improve the areas you can’t drop, but where you could improve – marketing, financial management etc.

With this in mind, Social Enterprise East of England has launched a series of half and one-day workshops around the theme of ‘Business Skills for Difficult Times’. Ask me for details.

Tel: 01234 834710 Email: chris.lee@seee.co.uk

Herts CABx working to beat the recession

Marian Hurle
Director Stevenage CAB on behalf of Herts CABx

Back in January 2009
The demand for debt advice at CABx across Herts was increasing at an alarming rate. The overall number of enquiries had risen by 28% compared with the previous year and in parts of the County debt enquiries were up 43%.

All through the next quarter it kept rising and we knew that we could not deal with this unprecedented level of demand without additional resources.

We had heard through Citizens Advice (our national body) that Cambridgeshire County Council had given a large lump sum to CAB to help with recession enquiries. From talking to a wide variety of contacts it became clear that now was the time to make a bid to Herts County Council.

We wrote to Herts County Council outlining the evidence that we were getting in the Bureau of additional people needing help. We put forward a County wide solution by pairing CABx across the County and requesting 1 post for each pair of Bureau. This would also enable us to target resources where the demand was greatest.

The second part of the bid was to increase the capacity of our volunteer work force. We recognise that not every client needs to see a specialist and want to train 100 volunteers to give debt advice to those clients who are more able to help themselves.

Success!
After several months, a number of meetings and providing ever more data we heard that we had been successful in getting the funding for the project. The funding is coming from the County part of the Performance Reward Grant. Like most of the voluntary sector we had no idea what “pot” at County we should apply to – we just knew we had to take action.

We are currently recruiting for the paid posts and have had an excellent response. 151 information packs were sent out and 60 application forms returned.

We hope to soon be helping an additional 3000 people across the County with their debt problems – really making a difference.


Remember to visit www.myhertslaa.net!

If support be the food of NI7 .....

By Ethel Bangwayo
Strategic Engagement Officer, Herts CVS Group.

A survey of statutory (Local Authorities, Fire & Rescue, Police, PCT and Probation) support for the VCS has recently been conducted as part of NI7 delivery, and survey responses have been compiled into the Hertfordshire Thriving Third Sector Report. The report reveals good VCS support activity across the county despite gaps in certain areas.

Below is a snapshot of good practice that respondents would like to share with colleagues around the county:

Dacorum: Leasing town centre information centre to the Volunteer Centre. The centre is now used as a collection point for the local Credit Union, a meeting room for VCS organisations, and a place where statutory organisations can run drop-in sessions.

East Herts: Commissioning the CVS to develop a commissioning process for the allocation of small grants for summer activities.

Hertsmere: Providing administration support to start-up VCS organisations.

North Herts: Providing Officer advice, time and support to the local VCS.

St. Albans: Commissioning the CVS to provide conference organisation skills for the LSP as well as working with the private sector in the development of a community use building.

Stevenage: Providing the VCS with Communications advice in the form of ‘A guide to Communications for Community Groups’.

Three Rivers: Provision of Council Chamber and office space for use by the Compact working group.

Watford: Joint training, workshops and training days and collaborative VCS health checks.

Welwyn Hatfield: Provision of premises at discounted rentals.

Fire & Rescue: Provision of free meeting rooms and training material.

Herts Probation: Provision of office space to VCS organisations.

Herts County Council: Surplus office furniture given to the VCS for free.

A number of the respondents are also engaging the VCS around LSPs, the Compact and other decision-making channels in their local areas.

The full Thriving Third Sector report is available to view and/ download on the My Herts LAA website.


Remember to visit www.myhertslaa.net!

If at first you don't succeed ......

By Eliud Matindi
Capacity-building and Strategic Development Officer
WHEM Group

As an employee of a voluntary organisation which has extensive links and partnerships with other voluntary groups and local public authorities, I have, on numerous occasions been tempted to either ‘give up’ or, at least, ‘remove all evidence that I ever tried’! However, the optimist in me has persisted and ‘tried again’ and, every now and again, I am pleasantly surprised when my ideas and suggestions are taken on board!

My job, as a Capacity-building and Strategic Development officer for Welwyn Hatfield Ethnic Minority (WHEM) Group, involves working and maintaining relationships with colleagues from other voluntary organisations as well as from the public sector. As we are a small charity (one full-time member of staff i.e. myself and one other colleague who works 10 hours per week!) the only way we can have the most impact for the benefit of our beneficiaries is by working in partnership with like-minded people and organisations. I should like to think that, as any good manager, our key to success is to achieve it through others, (with credit, of course!)

Current and recent partnership projects that I have been involved in include:

a working group that was looking into the setting up of a county-wide Equalities Council. The Project Manager, Faizal Hakim (Faz), has now been recruited to put the project’s proposal into effect;

• the county-wide community cohesion strategy working group (my good friend, Karen, succinctly sets out what this is all about in the August blog)
• representing our group on various boards and working-groups of the Welwyn Hatfield Alliance, the Local Strategic Partnership for Welwyn Hatfield. This has, for example, included working with the local Children and Young People Partnership to inform the borough’s Children and Young People’s Plan for 2009 – 11. I have also been working with local voluntary and community sector colleagues to produce a voluntary and community sector strategy for our borough.
• In the four years that I have been employed by WHEM Group, albeit in different capacities, (my previous role was Development Officer for Hertfordshire Black and Minority Ethnic Partnership) working with others to achieve common objectives has been a key feature. Partnerships, whether in the work-place or out of work, have their ups and downs. In my experience, the upside is when you meet with like-minded people who are equally passionate and motivated to try out new ideas, sometimes in the face of significant odds.

My philosophy in life is that ‘fortune favours the brave’. I also believe in taking reasonable risks to try new things as this is the only way to find out if something works or not. Having said that, I have to constantly remind myself that my approach may not necessarily be shared by others. I therefore know that I may have to make allowance for others in order to keep the partnership on an even keel! The upshot of this need to be flexible is the potential to be frustrated when things don’t move as fast as one would have liked! This is not always easy for someone in my position, especially when dealing with public sector colleagues. With the very limited resources that my organisation has, I have to justify, both to myself as well as to my trustees, that working in partnership is worthwhile to the organisation and our beneficiaries.

Whilst the prospect for ‘jam tomorrow’ is always appealing, I have to be able to show how my involvement in the various partnerships is beneficial to our group in a more tangible and visible way. I am pleased to say that, every now and then, I can point to concrete positive outcomes which have come about as a result of my involvement. An example of this is a recent commission from the local Children Trust Partnership for our group to carry out some consultation with local minority ethnic young people for the area’s Children and Young People’s Plan 2009 – 11. I can only hope that these tangible gains, however small they may seem, continue as they enable myself and other colleagues from the voluntary and community sector to keep our trustees on board when we are involved in partnership projects!

http://www.whemgroup.org.uk/
Email: whemgroup@btconnect.com

Community Cohesion

By Dr Karen Griffiths
Stronger Communities Officer, HCC

Cohesion describes the ability of communities to live and grow in harmony together. It lies at the heart of safe, strong and prosperous places to live. The Local Government Association has defined a cohesive community as a place where:

1. There is a common vision and a sense of belonging to the local community;
2. The diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances are appreciated;
3. Those from different backgrounds have equal opportunities; and
4. Strong and positive relationships have been developed between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and in neighbourhoods.

The Hertfordshire picture of cohesion is a positive one with perception about the extent to which people from different backgrounds get on well together generally high across the county. However, we need to build upon this to ensure we can develop a county where all are valued and included and feel part of a vibrant and healthy community. In the current economic climate local authorities and other partners agencies need to work together with communities to prevent the emergence of any tensions that might be created as a result of competition for shared resources and ensure equality for all citizens.

Community Cohesion has emerged as an important agenda both nationally and locally within recent years. The 2007 White Paper ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’ reinforces the importance of the Place-shaping and Community Leadership role and encourages authorities to work with partner agencies to help people live together within strengthened and developed communities.. This can only be achieved by valuing and supporting community focussed work in our local areas that support different groups coming together to address local issues and deliver tangible outcomes in a practical way. The New Performance Framework for Local Government includes 198 new National Indicators two of which are directly cohesion related measures. These are:

· NI1 – the percentage of people who think their local areas is one in which people from different backgrounds get on well with one another
· NI2 - the percentage of people who feel that they belong to their local area

Hertfordshire Forward therefore recognises the importance of both maintaining and developing Community Cohesion within Hertfordshire’s communities to ensure delivery against NI1 within the Local Area Agreement (LAA). A Community Cohesion strategy group has been established and is tasked with developing a county-wide approach. The strategy group consists of representatives from a wide range of partners including: Hertfordshire County Council, Police, the Primary Care Trust, Districts, a Housing association, an Ethnic minority groups’ representative, a faith groups’ representative and a representative from Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium to give voice to Third sector views. The group has been making good progress in developing a shared understanding of issues and is currently engaged in preparing the draft strategy and actions. The strategy will go out for consultation in September, with final sign-off by December. Some of the key areas that the strategy will address include: Social Inclusion and equalities, Participation and citizenship, promoting good community relations and celebrating diversity.


Inclusion
Being part of a cohesive community means feeling that your contribution is recognised and valued and that you have equal opportunities as those around you, irrespective of your background or beliefs. In the current economic climate, many people may be struggling to access employment and may be disadvantaged by a lack of relevant educational opportunities and skills training. Tackling issues related to social exclusion and deprivation is the key to building and sustaining stronger and inclusive communities. We aim to see a Hertfordshire where all people have similar life opportunities and access to services irrespective of their background and beliefs. Voluntary sector organisations and community groups have a key role to play in this to ensure all in our communities are signposted effectively and have access to locally tailored good quality services.

Participation: The role of volunteering
Promoting a sense of belonging and community awareness is at the heart of developing stronger and more cohesive neighbourhoods. Individuals have a vital role to play in helping to develop this sense of place and community spirit as active participants within their area. Actively participating within the community, for example through volunteering, is an important element of strong communities. Many Hertfordshire residents are already playing their part by giving their time and skills and working to make a real difference in their local area with voluntary and community groups. However there is still scope for more of Hertfordshire’s residents to contribute through participating formally in volunteering schemes and informally through community groups, events and good neighbour schemes. Local authorities working together with the Third sector can help provide encouragement and support for people to engage in this way; they can make opportunities available for residents to have a positive influence within their community and ensure that their contribution is recognised and valued.

Good community relations
In Hertfordshire we aspire to be a place where diversity is viewed positively and all people are respected regardless of their personal background or cultural heritage. A strong and cohesive community is one in which we can appreciate and value others. Our understanding of the views of others can often be based on selective or misinformed reports and experiences. In the worst cases, it can lead to prejudice, discrimination or extremist views. Developing an understanding of people who are different to us can help to breakdown stereotypes, reduce fear of the unknown and can prevent tension from occurring in our communities. Dialogue that is built on shared understanding is often the best tool for addressing issues and resolving conflict. There is a role for individuals and community groups in challenging negative perceptions, correcting misinformation and standing up to discrimination and prejudice.

Diversity & culture
Hertfordshire hosts a variety of arts, sports and cultural events throughout the year that celebrate both diversity of culture and pride of place. Residents from many different backgrounds have the opportunity to, and do participate in these various events that bring communities together to highlight a shared sense of respect and belonging. The Third sector plays a key role in this to ensure that people have the opportunity to come together and learn from one another, to make best use of community facilities and develop deeper understanding and sense of togetherness.

ICT and a thriving Third Sector

By Richard Ross-Langley
ICT Development Manager
Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium (HIC)

In my previous life as a computer consultant, my job was to make money for shareholders using computer software, networks and the Internet. Since March 2009, there has been a welcome change of emphasis: to help people use technology to help people.

My project is funded through Capacitybuilders to work with 20 voluntary and community organisations per year in Hertfordshire, to develop a 'sustainable and strategic' approach to information and communications technology (ICT).

It sounds boring and geeky, but behind the project is the Government's wholehearted conversion to paperless administration to save money - although I do worry about the trees used up in pursuing that goal! If non-profit groups can achieve cost savings while relieving the social fallout of government policies, everybody wins.

However the workers at the sharp end are usually far too busy to think about ways to achieve more in less time, and if there is any time left over from crisis management, they don't have the energy to go back to basics and plan a long-term strategy.

That's where I come in.

Any one of the five thousand or so Hertfordshire frontline organisations can apply to my project (see http://www.herts-ic.org.uk/) and two or three per month are chosen for my attention.

A day or two is spent with each selected organisation finding out its aims, what is happening now and what is planned for the future. An ICT Health Check is also carried out, and solutions to short-term problems are suggested. You know what I mean: my PC is too slow, I can't get access from home, the phone bill is too high etc.

A strategy is mapped out, discussed and agreed to make the best use of available technology in a sustainable way. Then ongoing advice and support is provided in fixing problems, removing obstacles, finding funding advice and getting external ICT support where necessary.

Finally the progress from beginning to end (excluding any confidential or sensitive information) is published for the benefit of other organisations in Hertfordshire.

The project is certainly contributing to the ‘environment for a thriving third sector’ and we hope that the ultimate result will be to make Hertfordshire a better place to live and work, for you and your clients.

Applications are made on a form available through the website http://www.herts-ic.org.uk/ (print and post, or fill it in online) where you will find more details. Or contact me directly - details below.

Email: ict@herts-ic.org.uk

Mobile: 07552 178113

Web: http://www.herts-ic.co.uk/

Evolving a Thriving Third Sector

I sometimes wonder whether evolution is really all its cracked up to be. Darwinists tell us that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor. Darwin’s theory (if I understand it right!) says that complex creatures evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally over time. In a nutshell, as random mutations occur the beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid survival -- a process known as "natural selection”. Over time, beneficial mutations accumulate and the result is an entirely different organism.

Now, whilst it’s a bit of a jump to link Darwin with some of the work we’ve been doing with the Voluntary Sector at Dacorum Borough Council, there are similarities. Let me explain.

We started with a need to make budget savings (where else do we ever start these days?) and in a spirit of generous even-handedness, decided to share the pain with our Voluntary and Community Sector colleagues. Grants to core funded organisations needed to take a hit but - ever mindful of the need to preserve our reputation (and votes!) we wanted to do it as painlessly as possible. When we’d discounted hypnotism and buying up the entire free press in Dacorum, it became apparent that we’d have to go for the last resort – doing a proper job, involving our partners and being clear about what we were doing.

We visited every organisation and discussed with them their needs, their organisation, their customers and service and what outcomes their work achieves in the community. This gave us a real understanding of the ‘essence’ of each organisation and set us off on a slightly different path. Obviously we still cut their grants!....but at least now we knew that supporting the Voluntary sector was more than just giving funding. (It was interesting to see the range of different biscuits that each organisation provided. I wonder if its any coincidence that those with the smallest funding cuts offered the Marks and Spencer chocolate selection?)

Our Cabinet set up a Task and Finish group to look at other things we could do to support the Voluntary and Community Sector. (See - evolving already!). Cabinet decided that Task and Finish group should be made up of representatives of Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations as well as Councillors (thus breaking with years of tradition and establishing a T and F group that actually F’s something!). The group set itself a nine month work programme to consider three key areas: Partnership Principles; Communications; and (surprisingly enough!) Finance and Resources.

So, amid much furrowing of brows and earnest discussion, we set about the arduous task of deciding what colour our folders should be and whether we’d get our own coffee or ‘order in’. Once these important issues were despatched, we could consider the trivial subject of the future health of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Dacorum. We knew that what we were talking about was a fundamental transformation of the relationship between Dacorum Borough Council and our Voluntary and Community Sector Partners. A transformation that had Councillors genuinely excited and keen to be involved.

What came out of our discussions – and what was approved by our Cabinet earlier in the year – is a recognition that we need to do loads more work on this. A recognition that we need to treat our Voluntary and Community Sector partners as ‘real partners’ – organisations that are mature and respected enough to play a major role in the well-being of our Borough: organisations that have responsibilities, integrity, loyalty and commitment to duty every bit as strong as that demonstrated by the best of local authorities. What Cabinet also demonstrated is that, even though we’re proud of the support we’ve given in supporting the Sector over the past 50 years, there’s still shed-loads of work to do to get anywhere near where we really want to be.

So, what are we going to do now?
We’re going to start with another Task and Finish group! Their remit will be to look at regulation and see if there is any potential for streamlining processes and regulation between the Council and Voluntary and Community Sector organisations. We want to strengthen our Voluntary Sector Compact so it’s a better fit with our Sustainable Community Strategy and Corporate Plan and we’re going to try to develop procurement and commissioning systems that positively contribute to a ‘thriving third sector’.

Other things we’ve been asked to look at are mapping the sector so we understand its extent and complexity and to try and match that against community need. We want to look at new developments around Full Cost Recovery and understand the issues relating to that so that we can make an informed decision when have to.

Finally, we wanted to see what practical help we could give. We’re looking at a number of things such as the possibility of using the Council’s Call Centre and web site as the ‘front office’ for all initial enquiries to voluntary sector organisations. We want to invite all core-funded organisations to contribute to Council publications in the same way as directly managed services and we want to set up a joint training and training-needs programme to improve understanding and joint working between us.

So our work evolved from cutting grants to helping to develop a thriving third sector in Dacorum. Looking at the theory of evolution, I’m still not sure whether the mutations were completely random or whether these ‘beneficial mutations’ have resulted in an entirely different organism. Perhaps not yet but maybe we’re evolving? I hope Darwin would be proud of us!

Groundwork and the LAA

By Steve Harvey
Executive Director,
Groundwork Hertfordshire

I am the Executive Director of Groundwork Hertfordshire - an environmental charity that works alongside the whole community to transform places and lives. Groundwork Hertfordshire is an independent charity which is member of the national Federation of Groundwork Trusts. We will celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2010 and on the basis that we deliver about 150 environmental projects each year...we have a rather large back-catalogue to be proud of!

The Groundwork team in Hertfordshire has grown steadily over the years as the demand for our ability to truly "change places and change lives" has increased. It seems from looking back at the history of the Trust that project initiatives which might have been seen as slightly "wacky" in 1985 are very much mainstream today.

Our staff team of 35 is a highly talented and experienced group who are all motivated by the desire to deliver sustainable environmental improvement projects that make a real difference to people's lives. We work alongside communities, public bodies, private companies and other voluntary sector organisations to deliver projects and programmes that benefit People, Places and Prosperity. We achieve this by working in Partnership which has always been central to the Groundwork approach and is a key element of our success in building sustainable communities.

Groundwork's project portfolio spans all of the LAA themes. I hope that a couple of current examples will both illustrate what Groundwork is all about, and bring to life our contribution to the LAA:

Our Green Team initiative
The Green Team initiative is a 16 week full time voluntary training scheme for unemployed young people. Funding has been secured to run 3 Green Team courses per year for 3 years and we are currently working with the 4th cohort. Teams of up to 5 young people aged 16-25 receive training in outdoor environmental work such as landscaping, planting, tree maintenance, coppicing, path building and pond clearance. The course gives young people the skills they need to get a first job in the environmental, landscaping or construction industries. Trainees are also supported to complete a national qualification, a City & Guilds in Land Based Studies.

The Green Team get involved in a wide variety of Groundwork projects, from maintaining cycle paths to building community gardens and trainees are also encouraged to learn more about the environmental sector. The programme gives young people the opportunity to develop both practical landscaping and environmental skills along with developing the other skills which employers demand. Participants receive guidance and support to understand the importance of regular attendance and good punctuality, communication skills, team-working, using initiative and problem solving.

At the end of their course, trainees take part in sessions that help them consider their future options, including CV writing, interview techniques, the availability of jobs in the sector and future training possibilities. Excellent support is provided in this regard by volunteers from the business community.

The project supports several LAA targets including: unpaid work that benefits community safety, community-based projects benefiting from unpaid work, young adult apprentices/volunteers achieving vocational qualifications and increasing the number of young people being trained for the construction sector. In addition, the project helps Connexions with its placement strategies.

The first 3 Green Teams have been extremely successful - in terms of attracting positive feedback (and repeat business!) from partners / customers (including County, District / Borough and Parish councils) and also by way of the number of participants who have moved into further training or full-time employment.

The current Green Team has an extraordinary work programme which includes landscaping work at the Building Research Establishment in advance of the Insite09 exhibition an appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show and a week's work helping to prepare a highly prestigious show garden for the Hampton Court Flower Show! All of which should help compile irresistible CV's!

Mind, Body & Soil programme
The Mind, Body and Soil programme is a series of horticultural therapy projects across the county, run in centres for people with mental health problems, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, the homeless and the elderly. At each project Groundwork sets up a vegetable garden and provides training over the course of a growing season, encouraging the group to learn about growing their own food with all of the health and well-being benefits that entails. In 2008 Groundwork secured funding from the National Lottery to run 3 Mind, Body and Soil projects each year for 3 years. For 2009 projects are underway at the Silkin Court Supported Housing for the Elderly in Stevenage, The Priory Grange – a centre for people with learning disabilities in Potters Bar and the St Lukes Special Needs School & Training Centre in Redbourne.

The Mind, Body & Soil programme is helping to meet a range of LAA targets including those relating to volunteering, physical exercise and rehabilitation.

Mind, Body and Soil has been hugely successful and we were delighted to learn recently that the 2008 project programme had been nominated as a finalist in the 2009 NHS East of England regional Health and Social Care Awards. We will find out at the ceremony on 20 May whether we have been victorious!


Groundwork is also a member of the 'Better Places to Live' partnership, one of the two new countywide LAA/ Sustainable Communities Strategy partnerships in the county.

If readers would like to learn more about Groundwork's activities please view our website and if you would like to discuss a potential project or whether the Green Team could help "change places" in your area (we normally require a contribution towards running costs plus the funding of any materials needed) please contact our Development Manager Cheryl Spain cheryl.spain@groundwork.org.uk Tel: 01707 255189 .

Volunteers' Week and beyond

By Heather Allen
Manager of Volunteer Centre Dacorum

Volunteers' Week is here again! Not just any old Volunteers' Week but the 25th Anniversary! Since 1984 these annual celebrations (June 1st – 7th) have inspired people to volunteer whilst recognising and rewarding those who already help out in a huge variety of ways.
For us at Volunteer Centre Dacorum, the celebrations started a couple of weeks ago and are set to last until mid June! Extending celebrations is no bad thing and recognising volunteers is something that should happen all year round anyway.

This year in Dacorum we are running a creative competition with the title “Volunteering is ...” We have been deluged with poems, pictures and collages representing different aspects of volunteering from people of all ages. Judging took place last week with a local celebrity panel of judges and winning entries will be uploaded to our web site shortly. Winners will receive some fantastic prizes thanks to sponsorship from 10 local businesses including £500 in Dixons vouchers from DSGi. The prizes will be presented on Friday June 5th by Rosemary Mula who has a long association with volunteering in the Olympic Games. She was a protocol co-ordinator at the athletes' village in Sydney and helped guide Kiribati through the International Olympic Committee's application process for Athens. Rosemary, who was born in Hertfordshire, is currently a guest of the Herts Ready for Winners Partnership. The London 2012 Olympics will give us all a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to highlight volunteering. Volunteer Centres in Herts are already working with Herts Ready for Winners to ensure there is a legacy of increased voluntary and community activity in the county. We are particularly lucky to have an Olympic site, the White Water Canoe Course in Broxbourne.

As part of Volunteers Week 25th Anniversary, Volunteer Centre Dacorum has been capturing 25 new images of local volunteering. 2 volunteers, Gita and Stars (yes, Stars is her real name and how appropriate is that!) have been out and about with their cameras snapping some magic moments. These are now on display at the Roundhouse, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead and everyone is invited to pop in and view the photos and the competition entries, and to join us in some light refreshments. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday are the special open days.
The Roundhouse has been recently refurbished, thanks to a grant from Capacitybuilders, and we are keen to show voluntary and community organisations how they can use this great resource.

Last Friday I spent the day with a very special group of volunteers – the Trustees of Volunteer Centre Dacorum. We were hosted for an “away day” by Ashridge Management College to review progress on our business plan and draw up future strategies. Ashridge provides such a wonderful setting and creates just the right atmosphere for creative thinking. We are particularly fortunate to have an especially talented Board of Trustees and the day was very productive and re-energizing. I encourage everyone to look into the possibility of becoming a trustee of a charity. Best choose one that has a particular significance for you. You’ll be amazed how much you’ll learn from the experience, whilst contributing your skills and experience into guiding the development of the charity. Anyone over 18 can be a trustee and organisations will welcome new young blood. Do you have the skills? I bet you do – why not give it a go! Check the Do-it website for current trustee vacancies in your area.

On Saturday June 6th we will be having a Volunteers Week pub outing for our team of staff and volunteers. (We will also be saying a temporary goodbye to Zoe, our marketing and development co-ordinator, who is leaving to have a baby). The small team of Sara, Zoe, Max and the volunteers do a fantastic job in providing local people with all the information they need to volunteer. Just recently, with many people losing their paid work, the team has been inundated with enquiries. Maintaining confidence, morale and a sense of purpose will be important in helping people through the recession and volunteering might also reveal some skills and interests they never knew they had. All good when the job market eventually picks up.

The world of volunteering is affected by many factors – some within its control and some outside, including the current recession. With volunteering high on local, regional and national agendas there has never been a better time to launch a Volunteering Strategy for Hertfordshire. This will provide a framework to ensure that the county as a whole has structures, support and communications in place to guide the development of volunteering. The Strategy will receive its first airing on June 17th at the Open Meeting of Volunteer Centres Herts, before seeking endorsement from relevant county and local networks, agencies and partnerships. The Open Meeting will also be the occasion when the Valuing Volunteer Management in Herts Award will be presented to an organisation which has been nominated by its volunteers for excellence in volunteer management. The nomination extended deadline is 12th June, so please get your entries in ASAPon the Volunteering Herts website for a nomination paper and checklist of winning factors. The website also has details of the June 17th event and how to secure a place.

As you will gather, a busy time lies ahead for me, the rest of the Volunteer Centre team and my colleagues in other Herts Centres. From a personal viewpoint I think I’ll need to pace myself a little better than I have done previously, judging by a recent embarrassing experience. You know you’ve been working too hard when your hairdresser has to wake you up to ask which way your fringe goes! Thanks Freddie for the wakeup call!

HAPPY VOLUNTEERS WEEK AND HAPPY VOLUNTEERING!

Keeping up with the Joneses

By Ethel Bangwayo
Strategic Engagement Officer,
Herts CVS Group

….. need not be a bad thing. Not if it keeps us on our toes, anyway.

This week we take a whistle stop tour of NI7 activity around the country. I have selected interesting snippets from various action plans to give us a flavour of the possibilities of NI7 and to highlight the different ways in which the statutory sector can meet their duty to involve/ co-operate while providing that seemingly elusive ‘environment for a thriving third sector’.

Essex’s county LSP has agreed to allocate £2 million of the LAA1 reward funds to an endowment fund that is specifically for the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS). It is envisaged that the fund will help develop the capacity of the sector to deliver LAA targets. The fund also aims to “create a reliable and sustainable source of funding to help transform the capacity of the sector”.

Sefton proposes to conduct a full review of Third Sector seats within the local decision-making bodies. This will be jointly led and co-ordinated by the LSP managers and the CVS. Sefton will also monitor the effectiveness of consultations involving the Third Sector.

Norfolk will be working with public sector bodies to increase knowledge of the public service potential of VCS organisations. This includes the publication of The Third Sector Guide for Public Service Commissioning.

Cambridgeshire plans to empower communities to take a more active part in the design and delivery of local services, through VCS capacity building. Huntingdon District Council also plans to move to a five-year funding programme (commissioning) for voluntary organisations providing strategic services. It is envisaged that six commissioning agreements will be established each year.

Haringey will be commissioning a mapping exercise to help them develop an understanding of their Third Sector organisations and to develop data that allows them to monitor and evaluate performance in relation to NI7.

West Sussex plans to raise awareness of NI7 and conduct workshops in all seven districts to establish what statutory and voluntary sector colleagues understand by ‘environment for a thriving third sector’.

Hounslow has recently recruited an Engagement/ NI7 Officer whose remit is to undertake, amongst other things, capacity building for a thriving third sector.

Staffordshire’s NI7 action plan comprises three main strands, one of which is the development of the Staffordshire Third Sector Network.

Solihull is considering health check processes to establish development and support needs in individual voluntary sector organisations. They also plan to review and develop support to funding of Voluntary Sector organisations.


A significant number of LAA areas across the country have selected NI7 as a target and it appears that there are a number of elements that are common to most NI7 action plans:

· Creation of VCS strategies
· Creation of posts to support and co-ordinate engagement
· Strengthening commissioning relationships and strategies
· The development of sustainable funding arrangements
· Refreshing Compact arrangements
· Awareness-raising to ensure that NI7 is understood by all relevant stakeholders.

In Hertfordshire, a number of statutory agencies are already supporting the VCS and setting in place mechanisms to deliver NI7-type activity. A few examples:


· Hertfordshire County Council’s Children Schools and Families (CSF) has set up a VCS Strategy Group made up of CSF and VCS representatives. The main focus of the group is the delivery of the VCS Engage Action Plan, which has been designed to support the Herts Children’s Trust Partnership’s contribution to the ‘environment for a thriving third sector’.

· The East and North Herts PCTs are working on introducing a VCS page to their website to showcase their partnership working with the sector. The PCT also conducts regular meetings with their VCS providers.

· Dacorum Borough Council (DBC) provides many VCS organisations with premises at a ‘peppercorn’ rent. DBC has also set up a Task and Finish group to explore better ways of working with the voluntary sector.

· The VCS has now got a formal representative on the Interim Delivery Group of Hertfordshire Forward, the county LSP.

NI7 is the shared responsibility of statutory and voluntary sector colleagues who are currently working hard across the county to set systems in place to ensure success. When complete, Hertfordshire’s NI7 action plan will include, among other things, the continued funding of VCS engagement activity; this blog, and the http://www.myhertslaa.net/ website to aid the flow of information. A countywide volunteering strategy is also in the pipeline.

Methinks, the Joneses will soon be trying to keep up with us!


For information about the national NI7 results, please see http://www.nstso.com/

Funding Advice in Stevenage

By John Pye
Funding Advisor,
Stevenage Borough Council

I am the External Funding Officer for Stevenage Borough Council. I identify and apply for funding to support Council projects. I do a lot of work with voluntary and community sector organisations in Stevenage helping them identify and apply for funding. Working with Voluntary and community groups requires a different approach as a lot of them come with an idea which they need help working up into a project. I end up doing a lot more development work with them identifying partners, strengthening the project idea, costings etc. If they are a newly formed organisation, they usually require help with governance and structure, at which point I refer them to Stevenage CVS for assistance. On a reciprocal basis, Stevenage CVS refer voluntary organisations requiring funding advice and support to me. In recent weeks, I have supported a number of organisations with applications for the Grassroots Fund.

In 2008-9, I advised 74 groups on 107 projects, submitted 33 funding applications. 7 were unsuccessful, 12 were successful, 12 are still pending and 2 are stage 1 passes being worked into full applications. In total, I brought in £1.99 million (including SBC projects).

Composite week – it’s all true. This is a selection.

Monday

A really bad start to the week – a complaint. An applicant to a trust whose grants panel I sit on, complained that I hadn’t helped them with their application. As they hadn’t told me they were applying or asked for my help, I was somewhat baffled, (Note to self, go out and buy crystal ball or take up mind reading!!). Had a meeting with a young people’s theatre group who want funding to run more workshops. When I asked what type of organisation they were, they weren’t sure. We discussed Awards for All and Grassroots Grants and they went off to find their governing document. I visited a Primary School who would like to develop a project to get more parents into the school and develop a book club for parents and children. Suggested the PTA (which is a separately constituted body) make the application on their behalf.

Tuesday

Went to a Helper Agency briefing run by the Lottery Distributors to explain the changes that the closure of Awards for All would mean for their programmes. Very informative. Met a number of colleagues from across the region that I hadn’t seen for a while. It was good to catch up.

Wednesday

Met with a local organisation that wants to make an application to the Stevenage LAA1 Performance Reward Grant (PRG) to continue an existing young people’s project in Stevenage. I explained that the PRG was looking for additionality, that little “extra”. After discussing the project, I made some phone calls to a couple of other organisations and came up with a partnership project which will provide a programme of interventions for several cohorts of young people over two years. All we have to do is write it! I have arranged several meetings with them over the next few weeks. Had my bluff well and truly called! Met with a voluntary group to discuss a Grassroots Grants project. They couldn’t agree when to meet up and write it. “Let’s do it now” said I. Two and a half hours later it’s done, signed and awaiting the supporting documents – not bad!

Thursday

Met with a recently formed self-help organisation referred by Stevenage CVS. We discussed their aspirations and ambitions and I suggested that they go back to CVS and agree on the best structure for the organisation. Then went to a grants awards ceremony held by the Stevenage Community Trust, where all the recipients had their photograph taken with the Mayor of Stevenage.

Friday

Met with a Social Enterprise/ Registered Charity who want to make an application to EEDA for the next round of European Social Fund (ESF) funding. Mapped out an outline of a project and suggested a number of partners and geographic areas to look at. Have arranged further meetings to write the application.




Remember to visit www.myhertslaa.net!

Training and Skills Development in the VCS

By Sarah Elliott
Development Worker,
Herts Training and Development Consortium

I am the Development Worker for Hertfordshire Training & Development Consortium (HTDC). Around 100 organisations have now joined the consortium – a wide mix of voluntary sector groups interested in workforce development for their own staff and volunteers, for the sector generally or in the provision of training for the community, or both. And importantly, there are a number of statutory agencies and all the Hertfordshire FE colleges. The impetus for developing consortia has come from the Learning & Skills Council via their Working Together strategy, and it is thanks to the support of the LSC in Hertfordshire and regionally that HTDC exists.

It’s now Friday afternoon, and looking back at what I’ve done this week will give you a flavour of how HTDC embodies the Thriving 3rd Sector objective, and how our relationships with the statutory sector are fundamental to achieving this.

Monday:
Breathed a sigh of relief having submitted a tender last week to Herts County Council for the Economic Participation Programme – now have all my fingers & toes crossed!
An interesting morning at The Stakeholder Event run by the CVS for Broxbourne & East Herts – where I participated in group sessions focussed on updating their strategic plan. Great enthusiasm and involvement from their statutory partners e.g. Broxbourne Council as well as their VCS members.

Tuesday:
Went through e-mails from Citizens Advice Bureaux – confirming the details of a regional bid they have won via EEDA for delivering financial inclusion training. HTDC’s role will be to set up and run a Hertfordshire Forum and organise training courses for front line workers in voluntary sector groups. Clearly a hugely topical area, however not much funding for delivery, but hoping we can build on this via the Forum.

Met with Mark Mitchell from Community Action Dacorum to discuss how we work together to deliver skills advice and training courses for groups working with children and young people via some funding from Hertfordshire County Council’s Children Schools and Families unit.

Wednesday:
Today we interviewed candidates for a part-time administrator position. This role will be essential to our member communications and to running the administration for our joint delivery contracts. This will include the provision of a wide range of training courses for voluntary sector organisations – funded by Hertfordshire County Council’s Adult Care Services.

Thursday:
I went to the Pastoral Centre at London Colney for the Volunteering Strategy Workshop. It was interesting to meet a number of statutory sector organisations there – I was surprised at the extent to which the public sector is looking to involve volunteers in their activities. The edges are definitely blurring!

Friday:
Normally my day off – I squeezed in a couple of sets of tennis, wrote this and I also had to prepare for another day of interviewing next week. This time for a Skills Advisor to work with voluntary sector organisations across the county to help them identify the training needs of their staff and volunteers and to help them access provision. I’m now looking forward to meeting the candidates next week.

If anyone reading this would like to find out more about HTDC – the website is http://www.htdc.org.uk/. Membership forms can be downloaded from the Members area.

A day in Dacorum

By Victoria Griffiths
Stronger Communities Officer,
Herts County Council

On Monday 2nd March I spent the day in Dacorum, visiting both the local CVS, called Community Action Dacorum, and the Volunteer Centre. As a Hertfordshire County Council employee seconded to work on a review of our relationships with the Third Sector, this was an invaluable opportunity for me to experience the day-to-day workings of such organisations and to ask all the questions I could get into 7 hours!

I began the morning at the ‘Community Action Dacorum’ (CAD) building, located in the old town in Hemel Hempstead. When I arrived, Mark Mitchell, Chief Executive, was in a meeting regarding the proposed rental of a property in Tring for use as a charity shop that would give CAD a stronger presence on the High Street. It was interesting to hear that charity shops of this nature have an estimated income of £300 a day and to hear that all sorts of high quality things get brought in, including unwanted Christmas presents that have never been used.

Following the meeting, Mark talked to me about the history of the organisation, which originates from the 1940’s when Hemel was a new town. It has seen significant growth during the 1980’s- 90’s and now has a £1.5 million turnover per annum and a total of 180 part and full time staff on the payroll. As well as Hemel Hempstead, it has branches in Kings Langley, Berkhamstead and Tring.

CAD is what is called a local umbrella organisation which provides support to voluntary organisations, often in the form of governance advice and equipment. It is one of nine such organisations across the County, although they all vary in funding and size. In Dacorum, 270 organisations based in Dacorum, or serving the people of Dacorum are members of their local CVS and CAD engage regularly with their Members through community lunches, member surveys and their annual general meeting.

In addition to this work with VCS organisations, CAD also deliver a number of services that support identified needs within the community. This includes
Supporting private and voluntary sector providers of services to children and young people to improve the professional status of their workforce and volunteers
Provision of nine mini buses that are available for hire by community groups
A volunteer car scheme to help residents unable to use public transport or taxis
A project called ‘Connect Dacorum’ which enables private sector businesses to fulfil their Corporate Social Responsibility by linking with community good causes
Community based learning work targeted at black minority ethnic communities
Arranging work placements in socially worthwhile settings for people who have been out of work for 12 months.

CAD are also a registered exam centre for the Institute of Linguists and run an interpreting and translation service for a range of public authorities, a service which amounted to 5,500 assignments in 2008. On top of this their ‘Paradise Furniture and Training’ outfit operates a furniture reuse service as well as delivering a range of training courses aimed at improving employment and skills, while their ‘Shopmobility’ service hires electric scooters and wheelchairs to assist people with mobility difficulties to access town centre shops.

From a County Council perspective, it was exciting to hear about such a range of services provided in response to real needs across the community. It demonstrates how the voluntary and community sector plays an absolutely vital role in providing services that the Council cannot stretch to, often because of resources, and it highlights how we share some of the same ambitions, such as creating equal opportunities for people to access jobs and develop skills. It also struck me that the voluntary sector have important links to a wide range of individuals and groups, as well as to businesses in the private sector, the latter being an area that the statutory bodies have traditionally found difficult to engage. Mark also told me that CAD have been able to establish a number of links with European and trans-national work since 1997, including contributing to research into the impact of migration, exchange of good practice relating to management and the delivery of European Structural Funds and sharing of expertise relating to Corporate Social Responsibility.

Following our discussion, Mark showed me around the building so I could see some of the pictures of their work in action and meet some of the staff based there. I saw where their interpreting and translating team are based and met Loretta, who runs a lot of their key events throughout the year, including their annual Victorian Evening and Halloween event in Hemel. Loretta is also currently working hard to help smaller voluntary organisations access Grassroots funding. I was impressed by Loretta’s passion for the work and her commitment that leads her to go out to find groups, meeting them in the places in the community where they are based.

At lunchtime I walked into Hemel town centre with Helen, the Deputy CE, who has recently been working to help the organisation achieve its ‘Investors in Diversity’ standard. We headed for the Roundhouse, a building that lives up to its name, a round structure which used to be an information centre in the town until the Volunteer Centre took it over in March 2007 giving them a prime spot among the major high street shops in Hemel.

At the Volunteer Centre, we attended the Community Involvement Forum, one of 10 themed forums that support the Dacorum Sustainable Community Strategy. As part of this meeting I was able to give an update on some of the work we are doing at a countywide level to promote community cohesion and support the Third Sector and to receive some local feedback about the current impact of the recession. Receiving this sort of information from people living and working in local communities is critical in informing how we shape the strategic direction of the work of the council and other statutory partners. I was able to hear from agencies working with local residents such as Age Concern, Home Start and an Interfaith group.

Afterwards I concluded my day with a chat with Heather Allen, Manager of Volunteer Centre Dacorum and Chair of Volunteeting Herts. Heather and I are working together to organise a Volunteering Strategy Workshop on the 26th March to develop a Volunteering Strategy for Hertfordshire. It was good to visit Heather where she is based and to see the database, called V-Base, used by all the Volunteer Centres to match volunteers to appropriate volunteering placements within a wide range of organisations. Local versions feed into the National Volunteering database on www.do-it.org.uk. We will be using V-Base to access information about the activity going on across all 9 of the Volunteer Centres in Hertfordshire to inform the volunteering strategy. It will tell us how many enquiries the centres receive, the types of volunteering people do and the kind of people who are getting involved. Heather told me that part of the challenge for the Volunteer Centres is getting people to understand the broad variety of volunteering activities that they can take part in beyond the traditional ideas that volunteering conjures up.

This experience was of real use to me in understanding the sector better and how it supports some of the key agendas that my work covers at the County Council. Partnership working between the VCS and public sector is so important for building stronger and more cohesive communities, where people from different backgrounds get on well together (National Indicator 1) and where people feel they can influence local decisions (National Indicator 4). Not to mention other areas such as supporting people into jobs, and providing volunteering opportunities. We also need to work together to ensure that there is a continuing and improving environment in which the Third Sector can thrive (National Indicator 7) and go on playing their important role within communities.

I would like to particularly thank Mark and Heather for hosting me for the day and allowing me to gain a real insight into the valuable work that they do.


Websites containing lots of useful information:
Herts CVS Group- http://www.hertscvs.org.uk/
Herts Volunteering Strategy- http://www.volunteeringherts.org/valuing.htm
Dacorum CVS – http://www.communityactiondacorum.org.uk/
Volunteer Centre Dacorum- http://www.volunteerdacorum.org/
Connect Dacorum – http://www.connectdacorum.org.uk/
HITS – http://www.hertsinterpreting.org/
Paradise Furniture and Training - http://paradise-furnitureandtraining.co.uk/index.htm
Corporate Social Responsibility- http://www.championingcsr.co.uk/index.htm

Happy birthday?

By Bob Jones
Chief Executive of Watford CVS

Hertfordshire is approaching its millennium: the first recorded use of the word “Hertfordshire” is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of 1011.

From one perspective, the LAA provides a framework for Hertfordshire’s communities and partners to come together and pool their knowledge and resources to lay plans for the County’s future. Surely this is A Good Thing?

Seen from another perspective, the LAA process creates a monolithic structure that undermines pluralism and places the county’s fate in the hands of unaccountable market researchers and statisticians with mysterious rituals and practices.

I suspect that the voluntary sector will always have mixed feelings about any central government attempt to structure local democracy.

In the LAA process, there are 198 National Indicators. The voluntary sector can play a role in the delivery of all of these, but here I want to focus on just National Indicator 4: the percentage of people who feel they can influence decisions in their locality.

This is an important issue: if people feel excluded and powerless, then democracy is in serious trouble. In a healthy community, people must feel empowered and engaged in democratic processes.

But many people see this as a “zero-sum transaction”: that if power increases in one place it must necessarily reduce elsewhere. This model of empowerment concerns me as I believe it is flawed and is doomed to failure.

The model is flawed because “empowerment” is not a scarce physical resource like oil or gold. “Empowerment” is an abstract concept and (as with “love” or “goodwill”) there are infinite and limitless reserves of empowerment. In any given community at any given time, it is perfectly possible for everyone to feel they can exercise greater control over the decisions that affect their lives.

The “zero-sum” approach is doomed because it is an adversarial model that invites people to compete over who gets the biggest slice of pie. It would be naive to ignore existing power structures and vested interests, but it is surely self-defeating to build an empowerment strategy around these competing interests.

It is all a question of balance, proportion and partnership. The fundamental question is: what sort of community do we want?Do I want to live in a society in which everyone participates in democratic processes, respects those processes and respects the rights of their neighbours? That sounds pretty good. Even better if there is a strong sense of community cohesion, a commitment to equality, a focus on individual freedom and responsibility and a systematic approach to protecting the environment and fighting poverty and ignorance. Yes! Sign me up! I want to live there!

Do I want to live in a society in which different interest groups compete daily to assert their entrenched views and impose their wills? Do I want the agenda set by powerful media barons and unaccountable political strategists? Do I want to live in a society where people are segregated and defined by their religion, class, race, salary, sexuality, age, health, postcode? Where success and failure is measured by public opinion polls? No, I don’t. It sounds like a living hell. Count me out.

In the LAA, so much seems to rest on a knife edge and the only way to influence things is to get involved.

Let’s all hope we have some real successes to celebrate in 2011!

Commissioning Children's Services

By Frances Coupe
Head of Partnership Commissioning
CSF, Herts County Council

I was at an event recently when someone asked me “ why is everyone talking about commissioning?” and it made me think about how far we have come in recent years in terms of developing commissioning and raising awareness about what effective commissioning really is. In the olden times we simply talked about contracts – purchasing services and products and focussing very much on the contracting part of the process. I don’t think many people were very interested in what we did. The team that I now sit within – the Strategic commissioning team – used to be the Contracts Unit and I guess we did what it said on the tin.

Then came Every Child Matters, Children’s Trust arrangements and a much greater focus on outcomes rather than inputs and outputs. Commissioning is not simply about spending money, it’s about making real investment in services that will bring about long term change in our communities.

To achieve the outcomes required, we have had to get much better at needs analysis, using up to date data to shape services and listening to children, young people and their families to ensure we put public funding where it can have the greatest impact. This often means challenging the way things have been done in the past, trying out new and innovative approaches, and putting the needs of children at the heart of our planning process. It’s the commissioning bit that gets us there.

In my role, I lead on the development of commissioning with the voluntary and community sector (VCS) and the Primary Care Trusts (PCT’s). Most recently this has involved developing the Prevention 513 funding process and commissioning Phase 3 children’s centres. I work closely with the PCT to develop joint monitoring and funding arrangements where possible.

I also work with colleagues across CSF to support them with their commissioning of services ranging from parenting, childcare provision, healthy eating programmes and counselling services. My work has a real focus on preventative services and it is encouraging to see so many VCS providers represented within our commissioned services. In recent years the funding that CSF has committed to the VCS has increased (now approx £5M) and at a Children Matter East event this week this trend in our commissioning was highlighted. I think this is a result of our close working partnership with the VCS and recognition that the VCS are pioneers in preventative services and their application forms and tenders reflect this. In the Prevention 513 process 62% of overall funding went to the VCS – this is a 20% increase from the Children’s Fund (P513’s predecessor). Similarly in the Phase 3 children’s centres commissioning process 63% of lead agencies commissioned are VCS organisations (compared to 20% from Phase2). I think promoting Compact principles has also helped achieve these outcomes – we endeavour to ensure a 12 week application window, hold Briefings and workshops to explain the commissioning process, and ensure tendering and application opportunities are advertised as widely as possible. We also ensure we have VCS representatives on the assessment panels and this has brought huge benefits to the overall assessment process. Our work does seem to be paying off and I believe that children and young people are the real winners here.

This month sees the launch of the Compact Commissioning Guidance, and I have to say its pretty spot on in describing what commissioning is and how Compact can make it a better experience for the voluntary and community sector. So if you have a few minutes to spare take a look at it at http://www.thecompact.org.uk/


Finally another part of my job is chairing the recently formed HCTP VCS Strategy Group – this is a very positive forum where VCS reps and statutory sector reps are working together to take forward key areas such as communication, commissioning, training and development for the VCS. Regular updates about this group appear in Children’s Partnership News, the HCTP news letter.

So I enjoy my job, despite its many challenges. I work in a team that is passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people and I think that is reflected in our day to day work. If I could change two things it would be:

Making it easier to monitor preventative work – we are getting better at this and are thinking creatively about how we can demonstrate the long term impact of preventative services but there needs to be a huge cultural shift at a national level to make a real difference
I would like to get out more and meet the children and young people whose services I help commission- there’s some really good work going on in children’s participation and we aim to involve children and young people much more in our future commissioning processes


Can I also use this blog to blatantly advertise the launch of the next round of the Children’s Targeted Services Fund? This is CSF’s discretionary fund for the VCS and details can be found at www.hertsdirect.org/funding. The fund will be launched on 16th March.

A week in the life ...

By Ann Jansz
Chief Executive of Stevenage CVS

Monday
Task of the day – kill some of the emails in my inbox. Most of the outside world’s demands for CVS’s (or Ann Jansz’s) input come in this way and I have far too many old messages festering in my inbox labelled ‘pending’. Clearing out these reminds me of some uncompleted tasks – a query about pensions from one organisation and a request for sources of first aid training from another.

Tuesday
Today I have a phone call booked for an Audit Commission consultation on partnerships – the phone rings promptly at 10am and I am taken through some pre-set questions about the two local strategic partnerships I attend – Hertfordshire Forward and SoStevenage. While I think our Borough partnership is pretty well-represented by the voluntary sector, I am conscious that I am the only VCS person on Herts Forward and so I confess the loneliness of the solitary rep in what turns out to be an hour’s feedback. I have a hot ear.

Wednesday
I know what date it is as my sister gave me a calendar for my office wall. It is a food calendar with photos of fair-trade food. I notice that the pear depicted for January is fairly suggestive – but not as erotic as the chillies depicted for March. Will my chairman notice when he comes for a planning meeting to set out our Strategic Plan for CVS?

We spend an hour going through our objectives for strengthening Stevenage CVS, working more closely in collaboration with local CVS in Herts (he is leading a new Chairs Network) and developing new social enterprise streams.

My trustee board is about to start some research visits to other CVS to pick their brains on successful expansion and project ideas, so I am lining up some potential hosts for study visits. My Board can be let out on their own now and I’m looking forward to hearing their stories when they report back.

Thursday
I meet with colleagues and discuss some issues with VCS representation. We have planned an event for VCS colleagues working with children and young people, but booking is slow. We have to rethink as too few have signed up to come. We will run a smaller scoping meeting instead.

In my more negative moments I think, ‘why does the VCS complain that no one listens when they won’t engage?’ Then I realise we need to be more clever about offering different ways to engage.

But I am worried by the silence out there. What are you all doing? Looking for funding in these desperate times? Too busy with the day job? Not sure what value engagement brings if it doesn’t bring money? I’d love to hear from you out there – some constructive thoughts please, not just complaints about lack of funds. We all share those. I am now quoting Star Trek to statutory colleagues and funders – “We’re diverting all power to life support”.

Friday
I finish more drafting of the Strategic Plan, chat to a colleague about the minutes she’s preparing from our previous Board meeting, and prepare for a meeting with my Chairman – this time we are working with my colleague Laura Cronshaw from St Albans CVS to develop a Herts CVS Chairs network.

This week has been typical – a balance between external demands and internal necessities.

A final tip from a friend on that overflowing inbox – if you haven’t answered an email in a week, delete it, it’s not important to you. If your answer is essential the sender will resend!

My role as a Commissioning Officer within Adult Care Services (ACS)

By Susan Street
VCS Commissioning Officer
Adult Care Services, Herts County Council.

Writing a blog is not as easy as I thought. After a sleepless night worrying about how I am going to get across all the complexities of commissioning in just a few paragraphs, I decided just to go back to basics. I re-read the ‘specification’ and it said ‘something light-touch’ maybe outlining do’s and don’ts, as well as highlighting the support ACS gives to the third sector. I think my overnight worries simply highlights some of the problems we all face when attempting something new and what might seem quite onerous! I am told some of you feel like this when working with commissioners!

As a Commissioning Officer, one of my main tasks is to make sure that the services people want and need are available where and when they need them.

In the main, I work with community and voluntary organisations that provide services to support adults, older people and those with a physical disability, enabling them, for example, to live independently, stay active and healthy, and recover quickly from illness. Many services have simple, but vital outcomes, e.g. to alleviate loneliness, share experiences, help with shopping etc. Services range from daycare to carers support, befriending to handyperson schemes and funding/contract values range from £100 to £1m+.

ACS currently invest approx. £9.09m in these “preventative” and early intervention services. I work with about 80 organisations – both local and national. ACS also work in partnership with PCTs and District Councils. Information about these and other services can be found on the Hertsdirect website.

I ensure that providers have a three year contract and I am currently reviewing all of the ACS Elderly and Physically Disabled (E&PD) Preventative Strategy contracts which are due to expire on 31st March 2009. I have/am visiting all of these providers to discuss their needs and intentions etc. for the future and to provide support as appropriate. I always ask about service user feedback and ensure that their views have been taken into consideration for the design and delivery of the service being offered. I also check that appropriate volunteers and staff have the CRB checks as required within the HCC contract. All of these contracts will also be registered on the HCC Contract Register, again details can be found on Hertsdirect.

In brief, I am also involved in writing tender specifications, reviewing applications, awarding panels, drawing up contracts, supporting various ACS strategies, and I am an active member of both the COMPACT and HERN groups.

Within ACS, we try and establish a supportive relationship with the voluntary sector, recognising the value that many groups deliver in terms of volunteering and community engagement. At the regular contract management meetings with the provider, I would provide advice and information on funding, sustainability, HR, and improving the quality of services. I also remind providers that, as they have a contract with ACS they have access ACS training, free of charge, HCC personnel for CRB checks (minimal charge), automatic payment system (no need to send an invoice) and promotion on Hertsdirect.

This is just a very brief outline of some of the tasks I undertake as a commissioning officer, I guess though you probably just want to know how you can obtain funding for services that you know people need in your community, or you might be interested in delivering a service on behalf of Adult Care Services.

HCC’s funding opportunities are advertised on www.hertsdirect.org, where you can also register for email alerts about up and coming tender/funding opportunities. You can also get funding advice from your local CVS or visit the CVS Herts website (www.hertscvs.org.uk)

I really enjoy my job and in particular, working in partnership with the various voluntary and community groups. On a daily basis I meet people who are passionate about their local communities and who genuinely and sincerely care about people. On more than one occasion I have been in meetings with a voluntary/community group and have felt quite uplifted because of what they are achieving. Hopefully, it will come as no surprise that I also feel passionate about people and communities and maybe the above information will enable some of you to feel a little more comfortable when working with commissioners!

Do’s and Don’ts (just a few)

Do make sure that you are seeking funding for those services which meet either ACS’s or CSF’s priorities. There is no point in applying ‘just in case you are lucky’ as your time is valuable.

Do make sure you are a legal entity and that you can meet the minimum contract requirements.

Do ensure that your application covers both the direct costs of service provision and any overhead costs incurred in support of the service. We do understand the financial constraints within which you are operating.

Do consider working in ‘partnership’ with other providers, where you deem it appropriate. Sharing good practice, sharing costs and expertise can be of benefit.

Do provide all the information asked for in the application. You would be surprised at the number of applications that do not provide financial information even when requested to do so.

Do check what monitoring information will be required and make sure you have systems in place to monitor your services.

Do not ignore what your users and carers say they want from your service, we always ask for feedback from Users and Carers and our priority is to ensure we are providing what people need.

Do not ignore the requirement to undertake appropriate CRB checks. We can provide advice and support in this respect.



Susan Street
Voluntary Sector Commissioning Officer
Adult Care Services


ACS Call Centre 01438 737400
Hertsdirect website http://www.hertsdirect.org/
Hertfordshire External Resource Network (HERN)

Welcome!

By Ethel Bangwayo
Strategic Engagement Officer, Herts CVS Group.

Welcome to the My Herts LAA blog, where we, Hertfordshire's voluntary and statutory sector colleagues, can (hopefully!) let our guard down and really get to know each other. This is an opportunity for us to contribute to an environment for a thriving Third Sector. "They don't really understand the way our sector works" .... "All they do is demand money that isn't really theirs ..". Sound familiar? Drives you crazy after a while but the bottom line is, we all want to work better together and ultimately, we want to add value to the work that we do on a daily basis. Why else do we get up in the morning and subject ourselves to the nightmare that is the A1, the A414, the A10, the A505, public transport ... the list goes on ....

In the coming weeks and months, voluntary, community and statutory colleagues will get a chance to air their views about partnership working in Hertfordshire, we will (try to) break down some common myths and barriers that have plagued VCS/ statutory relations - commissioning is a 'biggie'. We will celebrate successes and good practice - yes, we do have a lot to celebrate! I encourage us all to be open and transparent in our discussion - seeking to build relationships rather than damage the ones that we already have.

This month we invite you to make suggestions about topics that you would like to see covered in the blog. You might want to hear from a particular organisation or maybe you would like to write for the blog - let us know via email laa@stevenagecvs.solis.co.uk. Please also feel free to share the 'hidden successes' that the outside world never gets to hear about. A new article will be posted every fortnight in order to give everyone a chance to comment on, and discuss each entry. We will also alternate between VCS and statutory sector contributors.

Later this month, we will be hearing from Susan Street, Voluntary Sector Commissioning Officer for Adult Care Services. Be sure to come back on the 19th of January for that. If you’d like a reminder, please email us and we’ll send you an email each time the blog is updated.



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