Destination 2014
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Objective: To improve the quality of infrastructure support for VCOs
Area based consortia
Q4a Do you agree with the specific activities detailed for 2006 to 2008?
Activity: Consider the Good Foundations report and recommendations on the role of consortia
By: April 2007
Progress: A clear focus for spending on consortia
Activity: Publish material on good practice in consortia working highlighting achievements
By: June 2007
Progress: Spreading good practice information to help consortia develop their work
Activity: Review the effectiveness of ChangeUp consortia delivery
By: June 2007
Progress: A clear remit for ChangeUp consortia in terms of delivery for future years
Activity: Review ChangeUp consortia fund management arrangements
By: June 2007
Progress: A clearer and more consistent approach to fund management and monitoring of consortia
Activity: Publish guidance on the funding policy for support for consortia for 2008–11
By: August 2007
Progress: Enable an application period from September to end November 2007
Activity: Make funding decisions for consortia for the period 2008–11
By: December 2007
Progress: Publish funding decisions re consortia support at least three months before the next financial year and three-year programme period
National support services
Q4a Do you agree with the specific activities detailed for 2006 to 2008?
Activity: Consultation on draft tender documents for provision of national support services
By: January/March 2007
Progress: Sector involvement in defining programme needs across governance, finance and funding, performance, volunteering, ICT and workforce development
Activity: Open tender exercise for the role of the main contractors for the delivery of national support services
By: May/July 2007
Progress: Increased involvement of a range of applicants to co-ordinate national services
Activity: Offer new contracts with the main contractors
By: September 2007
Progress: Agreements achieved and contracts awarded
Activity: Preparation of detailed business plans for all national support services in conjunction with the main contractors. Organisation of a possible transition to new contractor organisations
By: October 2007/March 2008
Progress: Completion of all new arrangements for national support services from April 2008 to March 2011
Activity: Review the Netgain project as a contribution to the national services element of the ChangeUp programme
By: January/February 2007
Progress: Provide a clear indication of the contribution of the Netgain project as part of a national mix of services
Learning and innovation
Q4a Do you agree with the specific activities detailed for 2006 to 2008?
Activity: Office of the Third Sector and Capacitybuilders, working with strategic partners, including local authorities, will support the capacity of the sector to better identify impacts
By: July 2007
Progress: Joint approach from Capacitybuilders, Office of the Third Sector and local authorities on the way forward in measuring impacts
Activity: Review existing quality standards and outcome monitoring systems for infrastructure (NAVCA, PERFORM, etc)
By: September 2007
Activity: Work with key partners to develop and agree plans to refine and develop tools
By: March 2008
Progress: Agreement about the appropriate content of tools/approaches
Activity: Begin a learning and innovation/good practice programme reviewing a range of mechanisms for/approaches to providing infrastructure organisations with intensive support, starting with peer review
By: January 2007
Progress: Gain a better understanding of current practice in peer review and pro bono support and how it could add value to infrastructure provision
Activity: Assess current pro bono activities supporting the sector
By: June 2007
Activity: Start follow-up work on pro bono support
By: September 2007
Activity: Focusing on two English regions/sub-regions, examine what sub-sectors of the third sector are in greatest need of enhanced infrastructure support and make proposals to meet this need
By: January 2007
Progress: Gain a better understanding of the infrastructure support needs of VCOs in particular regions or sub-regions
Activity: Following assessment, start a pilot programme to address some of the identified needs
By: April 2007
Objective: To encourage extra investment in infrastructure by demonstrating its benefits
Learning and innovation
Activity: Amend the Capacitybuilders’ articles of association to
enable the agency to work with private companies and charitable
foundations in building the capacity of the third sector
By: April 2007
Progress: Achieving greater freedom to co-operate with other sectors on capacity building
Activity: Review existing evaluations of ChangeUp funded work, distil learning and disseminate results
By: April 2007
Activity: Develop a database of evaluations of capacity building initiatives, distil learning and disseminate results
By: June 2007
Activity: Develop an evaluation programme based on an outcomes assessment
By: July 2007
Activity: Collate and review guidance material and deliver training for funded consortia/organisations in how to assess the outcomes of their work. Support uptake of best practice in this area
By: March 2008
Progress: For all this work, establish a robust evidence base on the outcomes of infrastructure funding
Objective: To improve the reach of infrastructure services
Equality and diversity
Q4a Do you agree with the specific activities detailed for 2006 to 2008?
Activity: Review the initial outcomes of the Improving Reach pilot programme and make proposals about any future funding rounds
By: July 2007
Progress: First assessment of the success of the initial pilot programme and the issues identified
Activity: Assess the viability of opening the Improving Reach programme to all socially excluded groups
By: July 2007
Progress: Potential to open the programme to all socially excluded groups
Activity: Following assessment, launch the application process for the new Improving Reach three-year funded programme
By: September 2007
Progress: Consultation and application window from September 2007 to December 2007
Activity: Reassess the recommendations on equalities and diversity made to Capacitybuilders and the Home Office in 2006 and plan the next steps
By: April 2007
Progress: To be in a position to disseminate a series of decisions on equalities and diversity work to be incorporated in both national support services and ChangeUp consortia by June 2007
Objective: To develop capacity building funding sources
Influence and joint working
Q4a Do you agree with the specific activities detailed for 2006 to 2008?
Activity: Map the support for third sector capacity building provided by government departments and other national public sector agencies
By: July 2007
Progress: Provision of baseline information to inform discussion
Activity: Examine the role of local authorities in supporting third sector capacity building
By: January 2007
Progress: Learning about how best to encourage local authorities to support third sector capacity building
Activity: Identify four or five local authorities, in association with the Local Government Association (LGA) and key third sector agencies, to take forward joint work and examine ways in which local area infrastructure agreements could be developed
By: June 2007
Progress: Building a working coalition between Capacitybuilders and local authorities on capacity building initiatives
Activity: Where they don’t already exist, examine the potential for the development of regional or sub-regional funder coalitions to support capacity building
By: March 2007
Progress: Gain a better understanding of the likely potential for such coalitions and how they might be developed
Activity: Develop a work programme to follow up on this work
By: April 2007
Activity: Develop relationships and liaison arrangements with key players, for example the LGA, IDeA, the Learning and Skills Council, etc
By: Ongoing
Progress: Better intelligence
Activity: Develop proposals for further joint initiatives with one or two key players
By: September 2007
Progress: New collaborative working arrangements
"By: January 2007
Progress: Gain a better understanding of the infrastructure support needs of VCOs in particular regions or sub-regions"
Seems just a little bit late for this. Isn't this where we should have started 3 years ago?
The rest is more than suitable for Mars - just glad I don't live there.
Posted by: John Baxter | December 14, 2006 at 03:22 PM
Re: Deadlines for all activities under Equality and Diversity
I am concerned about the deadlines set for assessing the success of the Improving Reac pilor progrmmes (by July 2007). Is there really enough time to make a workable assessment of what the issues are?
Also, for the sanity of those who need to plan for 2008 onwards, perhaps there should be more detail on the 'consultation and application window' for the 2008-2010 3-year programme.
Posted by: Priscilla Hon | March 26, 2007 at 04:43 PM
Despite the recognition that faith groups and faith-based projects are not linked to mainstream infrastrucuture bodies very well and need expert help from faith aware or faithbased infrastrucutre bodies who can target help directly (in improving reach) this isnt featured in the destination 2014 doc. So - how can we develop our medieval church to work with the homeless? how can our gurdwara get help with our work with the elderly - lunchclub and aerobics - as I have heard about policies working with vulnerable adults but dont know what they are? need specific help and targetting, as they have specific needs. This is nowhere mentioned in the document as a group needing expert help - infrastructure bodies who do this need funding to to improve the delivery of frontline organisations. faith groups like these are often not on the radar of CVSs etc. and visa versa.
Posted by: liz carnelley | March 27, 2007 at 01:44 PM
I entirely agree with Liz's comments above. The need is compounded by the fact that many churches and small faith groups are in remote rural areas where their ability to access support is inhibited by poor transport and links and in some cases a lack of access to web-based resources, or a lack of IT equipment and skills. Specialist (faith-based or faith aware) Infrastructure organisations can bring such groups and individuals together to enable them to network and share good practice, improving the quality and reach of their activities.
Posted by: Heather Pencavel | March 29, 2007 at 02:36 PM