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.



A few things to keep in mind:

This is a moderated blog.

It is intended to be positive, therefore negativity, particularly in the form of complaints, is discouraged. If you have a complaint about something, please contact the relevant organisation or individual directly. The moderator reserves the right to delete posts that compromise the spirit of this partnership.

Opinions expressed are those of the person expressing them, they have nothing at all, to do with the Herts Infrastructure Consortium (HIC), Herts County Council, the Herts CVS group, or any other organisations that are associated with this blog.

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If you have any comments or queries, please direct them to laa@stevenagecvs.solis.co.uk. Thank you for visiting our blog.