Press Release: 12th Jan 2007

Transforming the Third Sector through ChangeUp

A programme of action designed to transform the effectiveness of the voluntary and community sector over the next ten years has been launched by Capacitybuilders, the agency charged with administering the ChangeUp programme.   The vision for ChangeUp is to see a ‘transformed voluntary and community sector by 2014’. 

Recognising the need to develop its role in providing strategic leadership and management of the ChangeUp programme, Capacitybuilders has drafted a strategic framework - Destination 2014 – to identify the priorities it should adopt to meet this vision and its achieve its strategic objectives by 2014.

Chris Pond opened the discussions on Destination 2014 with an informative overview of the document:-  “Capacitybuilders’ are setting out key objectives that we believe should be achieved over the next 8 years;

• to improve the quality and efficiency of infrastructure support for VCOs and social enterprises
• to encourage extra investment in infrastructure through demonstrating its benefits to frontline organisation
• to ensure investments reach diverse organisations
• to address the needs of infrastructure bodies working with socially excluded groups, and
• to influence policy and practice of other funders in this field.

In outline, the draft plan sets out the principal activities that we’ll undertake, in three phases, to achieve these objectives.”

Simon Hebditch went onto report on the key priorities of Destination 2014:- “Capacitybuilders’ job is to try and build the capacity of the sector, whatever the sector is doing and whatever its objectives are. I believe that we have a real opportunity to take advantage of the current commitment from Government and other public sector bodies, and interest from other funders, to try to both bring about radical change and to embed the importance of capacity building as a topic, as a subject, as a way of building the strength and vibrancy and health of the sector.” 

Hebditch went on to say:
“We have a real chance to ensure that decisions are made, that principles adopted by Government actually happen and that action plans, including our own and departmental ones and other those of other organisations, are looked at, measured and monitored.”

Reinforcing the need for long-term sustainable funding, Hebditch supported the Chancellor’s pre-budget announcement that three year contracts with the third sector would become the norm. 

Ed Miliband, Minister for the third Sector told the Conference:

“the third sector can do extraordinary things in terms of the way it reaches out, the way it builds community, the way it innovates in service delivery and elsewhere, but it needs a supportive partnership with Government.”

“One of the reasons for moving the ChangeUp programme from being administered by what was the Home Office and is now the Cabinet Office to Capacitybuilders, is the recognition that the programme, if it was going to work, needed to be sector lead.”

Without being able to give guarantees about the outcome of the Spending Review, the Minister made it clear that he was championing the ChangeUp programme:

“I want Capacitybuilders and the ChangeUp programme to continue through the next spending review.  I understand that if we set out a 10 year programme for you, that simply providing two years funding is inadequate.  The job has been started in terms of strengthening infrastructure, but it is in no way complete.”

Destination 2014 Consultation

Destination 2014 is Capacitybuilders’ contribution to the sector of the future. It will work in consultation with third sector organisations and the public sector before agreeing the final version of the document.  Capacitybuilders wants to listen to the views of the sector and are encouraging involvement in the consultation in a number of ways:

Via the dedicated Blog : www.destination2014.org.uk where visitors to the site are able to find out more about Destination 2014, post real-time comments and  download copies of the consultation document and questionnaire.

Regional Consultation Events: A series of regional consultation events are also being run across England during January, February and March 2007 :

• South East, 30th January
• London, 5 February
• East Midlands, 6 February
• South West, 8 February
• Yorkshire & the Humber, 9 February
• North East, 16 February
• West Midlands, 20 February
• North West, 27 February

Further details of all the events and other ways to feed into the Destination 2014 consultation can be found at www.destination2014.org.uk

LtoR : Ed Miliband / Simon Hebditch / Chris Pond

Consultation on Destination 2014 was launched at the Capacitybuilders’ Vision into Action event on 7 December 2006 at the RAF Museum in London, with consultation activity running until the end March 2007.  The event was attended by up to 200 delegates from across the voluntary and community sector, with the Minister for the Third Sector, Ed Miliband in attendance as keynote speaker along with Capacitybuilders’ Chair, Chris Pond and Chief Executive, Simon Hebditch. 

Catherine Johnstone from RAISE chaired the event, which stimulated lively and informative debate with delegates highlighting key concerns within the sector including sustainability of funding and working partnerships between local authorities and VCO’s.