1. Moving ahead

  Comment on this chapter

1.1 Capacitybuilders was established in April 2006 to undertake the management and administration of the ChangeUp programme and to work with other funders to influence policy on building the capacity of the third sector.

1.2 This strategic framework reflects a new way forward for the programme. It is a draft document. The Board wants to hear the views of the third sector and other stakeholders, especially on the priorities Capacitybuilders should adopt in meeting its vision and strategic objectives for 2014. The overall vision for the ChangeUp programme, launched by the Home Office in 2003/04, is to see a transformed third sector by 2014.

1.3 The contribution of the third sector is crucial to economic prosperity and social well-being, and Capacitybuilders is dedicated to ensuring that voluntary and community organisations (VCOs), social enterprises and not-for-profit social companies operating for the benefit of local communities and interest groups have the support they need to be efficient and effective.

1.4 Capacitybuilders is committed to:

• improving the ability of the third sector to play a full part in economic and social development
• working with the growing social enterprise movement;
• enabling the ‘voice’ of the third sector to be heard nationally, regionally and locally;
• engaging with local authorities, primary care trusts, local strategic partnerships, government departments and others to forge closer partnerships at a local level for the benefit of front-line organisations providing services to individuals and communities in need;
• ensuring that the diverse organisations that reflect the various communities in the country are strengthened;
• working with the huge range of specialist organisations in the third sector that provide services for specific groups, campaign with them to improve their participation in society, and act as advocates on behalf of their client groups – for example for older people, the mental health movement, sports and recreation, etc;
• promoting equalities in all aspects of our organisational delivery; and
• identifying changes on the horizon that will have a major impact on society and working to build the capacity of the third sector to respond to these challenges – for example, the ageing population and the digital divide in society.

1.5 This strategic framework relates particularly to the ChangeUp programme, but Capacitybuilders has a wider remit in focusing on building the skills and resource base of the third sector. The agency can invest in strengthening the capacity of any infrastructure organisation providing services to front-line groups, and Capacitybuilders will be working with other public sector agencies, the private sector and charitable foundations to continually identify new ways in which resources can be brought together to improve the effectiveness of the sector.

Comments

[Mark Reading]

1.5 This strategic framework relates particularly to the ChangeUp programme - Good!! Nothing worse than an 18 month investment for a 10 year plan. :)

[Mick Smith]

Is the investment offer to Infrastructure groups open to new projects or yet again simply continuing those projects already funded? They were supposed to be sustainable :)

[Mark Reading]

Investment offer??? Implies that it is a funding stream (or was). Projects need to be part of sub-regional investment plans. We are currently engaged in year two delivery. Not sure about project sustainability - when many projects were either task and finish or attempting to achieve step change in order to reach the ChangeUp Higher Level Objectives. Year Three funding will be aimed at Consortium Development and will be subject to progress (in Consortium Development).

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[Mujahid Ali (Mujee)]

TENDER EPISODE provides Visual & Performing Arts and event creation with a wealth of proven expertise in exhibitions, seminars, workshops, education training, theme functions, activity programme, entertainment/social programme, corporate theatre, audio-visual productions.
Tender episode is pleased to submit this request for your review. We look forward to your partnership in our cooperative efforts.
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[Rachael Lawrence]

Dear Mujahid

The best place to monitor funding available is on the Capacitybuilders website at http://www.capacitybuilders.org.uk

If you also want to be added to our mailing list I will do that and you will be notified of any funding programmes which are available?

Thanks
Rachael Lawrence
Marketing & Communications
Capacitybuilders

[guy nokes]

Re 'volume' this is fine in principle for capacity builders to support so good, but the sector(s) needs support in generating 'definition and clarity' behind the volume, and a strong evidence base on whatever is being 'turned up'. My experience is that government and RDAs are willing to listen to the sector if it can assist with their targets and until we are good at strongly evidencing what we achieve and who we are, we're going to do little "moving ahead."

[stephen woollett]

2. An overview
2.1 We welcome the opportunity to comment on Destination 2014. We also welcome the fact that through this document CapacityBuilders is setting out a long term framework for achieving the overarching ChangeUp vision.

2.2 We hope that Destination 2014 represents a genuine commitment by CapacityBuilders and the government for a more stable long term investment programme for infrastructure. The ChangeUp programme to date has been be-devilled by a stop-start approach, tight deadlines, lack of clear and consistent guidance and processes that have not been proportionate to the resources involved. All of these difficulties have served to reduce the impact and effectiveness of the investment that has been available.

2.3 Destination 2014 refers throughout to the third sector and indeed states (inaccurately) that The ChangeUp programme was "established to invest in building the effectiveness of the third sector…" In fact the central aim of the ChangeUp Framework relates to "meeting the needs of front line voluntary and community organisations" not the wider third sector. This shift of focus needs much more explicit recognition. There needs to be recognition too that the concept of a single "third sector" is by no means universally supported amongst voluntary and community organisations.

2.4 Destination 2014 appears to refer to VCOs and "third sector organisations" interchangeably. They are not synonymous. It is crucial that CapacityBuilders demonstrates that it clearly understands what are the common and what are the distinctive features of voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises. This is essential in promoting collaboration rather than competition between infrastructure for VCOs and social enterprise support organisations at local level. (A draft statement of intent between South West Forum and RISE, the regional social enterprise network, enclosed, illustrates this.)

2.5 We think it might be helpful for Destination 2014 to refer to organisations (VCOs and social enterprises or, perhaps better, social purpose organisations) rather than a sector. This is well illustrated in the Achieving Change section where we would argue that the vision should be about organisations rather than a whole "sector" achieving their "full potential".

2.6 There needs to be explicit recognition in Destination 2014 of the particular challenges relating to the development of infrastructure support for BME organisations in regions, such as the South West, which have big variations in the scale and make up of the BME population, where there are substantial intra regional differences in the nature and capacity of the BME voluntary and community sector and BME infrastructure, where it exists, has limited capacity.
It should be noted too that the diversity of the population of the South West (and no doubt other regions) is changing rapidly, especially in relation to migrant workers locating in areas where their ethnicity, culture and/or faith may have had little representation previously.

2.7 These capacity and demographic issues should be addressed by appropriate resourcing to ensure the necessary skills and infrastructure are available that reflect the demographics and geography of the South West BME population.

2.8 We need CapacityBuilders to enable and support regional and local infrastructure partnerships and consortia to develop clear strategies for supporting BME VCOs. Such strategies must provide a clear framework which recognises the need for both dedicated BME services and organisations and for mainstream providers to ensure their services engage with and meet the needs of BME groups. It must be explicit in CapacityBuilders strategies and policies that the existence of (or plans for) specialist BME provision must not be used by mainstream organisations as a reason or excuse for not engaging with and serving BME VCOs.

2.8 CapacityBuilders should adopt and promote enabling processes that ensure capacity is built within the BME voluntary and community sector. In the South West the engagement of the regional and sub regional BME infrastructure framework is seen as essential in overcoming the barriers faced by BME people, communities and voluntary and community sector

[Barbara Musgrave, Surrey Compact]

Re 1.4: It is important that the public Sector fully engages, communicates and consults with the VCS. A proper implementation of the Compact as the tool to improve partnership work will assist this work. A number of public sector organisations have ticked the Compact box but have not ensured that it is rolled out through their organisations. Failure to use local agreed best practise is indicative of poor partnership and local engagement. Failure to operate the Compact is a useful performace indicator of the health of the relationship between the public and VCS organisations.

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