Clear vision Clear thinking - a future development of the voluntary sector in the East of England

Commissioned by

Clear vision: Clear thinking- future development of the voluntary sector in the East of England

1

Foreword

The community and voluntary sector faces challenging times. In political terms, there are pressures for

the sector to deliver a greater share of public services, while in economic terms, contracts and tenders

are increasingly replacing grants. Meanwhile, demographic factors are forcing the voluntary and

community sector to reshape itself. By 2020 our region will have grown by another million people, and

our population will continue to get older, frailer, more diverse, and more polarised as the health and

wealth gaps grow. Already one million people in the region live in poverty, and the sector will have to

respond to these changes in terms of our beneficiaries, our mission, developing our workforce, and

organisational and partnership development.

The Clear vision: Clear thinking project is the first stage in the development of a ten year strategy to

help the sector adapt to these changes. A joint voluntary and community sector / public sector

initiative, the report provides us with a starting point and a menu of possible options.

The project, the first of its kind in the region, gathered information on the trends and issues facing the

sector which, together with suggested options for the sector's development, were incorporated into a

three month public consultation. The conclusions from that consultation were then turned into a

series of recommendations specifically aimed at frontline VCOs, VCS infrastructure organisations, and

funders and policy makers, and forms the core of this report.

We urge all those involved in, and with, the voluntary and community sector in the region to consider

the relevance of these recommendations to their own future plans over the next decade. Meanwhile

work will be continuing with the sector to identify, from the menu of possible options, the key drivers

for change. This will lead to the development of effective, sustainable support that enables the VCS to

confront the challenges it faces and to make the most of available opportunities over the next

five years.

Mary Sanders, chair COVER

Andrew Cogan, ceo COVER

2

COVER is a network of networks and partnerships that represents and coordinates a wide range of

community and voluntary groups in the six counties and unitary authorities of the Eastern Region.

These counties are: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk; and the

unitary authorities of Luton, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.

The work was commissioned by the East of England Development Agency, EEDA, and was led and

developed by the Community & Voluntary Forum: Eastern Region, COVER.

The contents of this document are based on extensive desk research, analysis, discussions, scenario

planning workshops and consultation with stakeholders in the region between March and

December 2005.

COVER - Background information

The final draft was written by Jean Barclay and Margaret Bolton, under the guidance of COVER.

We would like to thank all those who contributed to the creation of this report, in particular Tim Allard,

Andy Cogan, Jamie Conway and Mark Freeman, under the direction of Sally Dyson, and the many

members of the voluntary and community sector in the East who contributed their thoughts and

comments.

The report was commissioned by the East of England Development Agency from the Community &

Voluntary Forum: Eastern Region.

For additional copies of the report, please contact COVER at:

Eagle Stile Tel: 01799 532 880

Rectory Farm Barns

Walden Road Fax: 01799 532899

Little Chesterford

CB10 1UD Email: [email protected]

First published in March 2006

While all reasonable care has been taken in preparing this report, the publishers cannot assume

responsibility for any errors or omissions.

This report was made possible by support from:

Acknowledgements

3

This document is in two parts:

Part 1 sets the context, and is designed to help voluntary and community sector, (VCS), organisations

and their stakeholders plan more strategically for the future.

Part 2 sets out an agenda for the future health and development of the VCS in the East of England. At

the end of each section there are specific recommendations for policy makers/funders/service

commissioners, and for voluntary and community organisations, including specific recommendations

for VCS infrastructure organisations.

ContentsExecutive summary of recommendations.................................................................. 4

Part 1 Context

Section 1 About the East of England ........................................................................................ 12

Section 2 About the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) ................................................ 18

Section 3 Support for the Sector - VCS infrastructure ............................................................ 26

Section 4 Environmental Analysis ............................................................................................ 31

Section 5 Surviving the Future - key attributes for VCO survival............................................ 37

Part 2 An agenda for the future development of the VCS in the East of England

Section 6 Governance ................................................................................................................ 40

Section 7 Financing the VCS ...................................................................................................... 43

Section 8 Workforce Development .......................................................................................... 48

Section 9 Volunteering .............................................................................................................. 56

Section 10 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) .............................................. 64

Section 11 Performance Improvement ...................................................................................... 70

Appendices

Appendix I Glossary ...................................................................................................................... 74

Appendix II Questions for voluntary and community organisations to consider .................... 75

Appendix III Key references ............................................................................................................ 76

If you know of anyone who needs this document in another format or language, please contact COVER.

Clear vision: Clear thinking- future development of the voluntary sector in the East of England

4

COVER’s Clear vision: Clear thinking report, commissioned by the East of England Development

Agency, EEDA, in 2005, sets out the importance of the voluntary and community sector, VCS, to the East

of England region in the wider regional context, and highlights key challenges for the VCS in the future.

- part 1 of the main report

In Part 2, six key themes are explored in detail: governance; financing; workforce development;

volunteering; ICT and performance improvement. These are the six themes identified in the Home

Office ChangeUp programme as being crucial for building capacity in voluntary and community

organisations, VCOs. In each section of Part 2, the current situation and issues for the future are

summarised, providing the background to the recommendations under each theme.

Recommendations are aimed at frontline VCOs, infrastructure organisations and funders and policy

makers - these together form COVER’s agenda for the future development of the VCS in the region. Key

regional bodies, both statutory and voluntary, need to recognise the importance of their leadership

roles in supporting these developments.

The report’s recommendations, relating to each of the six themes, are set out in this summary for each

key audience. Some general recommendations are also made which are relevant across all themes. It

is clear from the analysis in the main report that training and development of staff and volunteers,

including trustees, is an overriding issue to be addressed, but issues around short term funding and

full cost recovery create barriers to progress. Extensive consultation was carried out in developing this

agenda and we are confident that there is a strong consensus for this way forward.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FRONTLINE VCOs:Note that some of these will only apply to organisations with paid staff

Governance

• Ensure your trustees/board members have access to the increasingly available information on good

practice in governance

• Identify the key training needs of trustees or directors, and identify practical and affordable ways

of addressing these, eg invite an expert speaker on governance to a board meeting, run a training

course for your trustees, etc

• Keep your governance arrangements under review as the organisation changes its activities, eg if

developing a new trading venture.

Financing

• Be aware of the full range of funding options and sources available in your area and ensure that you

are linked into networks which can keep up to date on funding locally, regionally, and at the

national level, and through the Finance Hub

• Recognise different skills are required for generating income in different ways, and consider how to

develop these skills, eg by seeking training from the local Council for Voluntary Service, CVS

• Develop an understanding and analysis of the full costs of the services or activities so that it can be

built into your fundraising plans / funding applications / pricing of services - this will help you

operate more sustainably.

Executive Summary of Recommendations

5

Executive Summary

Workforce Development

• Consider how to develop the generic skills of your workforce, in particular the benefits of

developing better management, leadership and ICT skills

• When recruiting staff recognise particular skills which those outside the sector may bring to your

organisation

• Consider how to adopt good practice in employment and recruitment in your organisation

• Encourage continuing professional development and consider developing career pathways so that

new staff can plan their futures in the sector (although it is recognised that this is likely to be

difficult for organisations not employing large numbers of staff)

• Consider your role in the Skills for Life agenda - it is a governmental and Learning & Skills Council

priority. VCOs may be in a unique position to identify and work with disadvantaged or hard to

reach groups who wish to improve their skills.

Volunteering

• If your organisation involves volunteers, consider how you recruit and make your organisation more

attractive to a wide range of volunteers, including potential board members, and consider how

barriers to volunteering can be overcome

• If your organisation involves volunteers in working towards your mission, ensure you offer high

quality volunteering experiences and opportunities, based on nationally recognised good practice

• Explore ways in which your organisation can maximise the income it receives to pay for support for

volunteers

• Ensure that volunteering remains independent, while taking advantage of the government’s

interest in encouraging citizenship and volunteering, eg new schemes and incentives to

encourage young people to volunteer

• Consider the benefits there might be to your organisation / to your volunteers in developing ways

to accredit the volunteering experience you provide.

ICT

• Develop a strategy for how you will use ICT in your organisation. Recognise that ICT strategies are

likely to need to be integral to all aspects of your activities - ICT should no longer be thought of as

an add on

• Ensure you plan and budget for adequate access to ICT services and support eg broadband access,

technical support, virus protection, back ups etc, particularly for any activities which are highly ICT

dependent

• Ensure your budgeting allows for appropriate renewing/upgrading of your ICT to meet your

organisation’s needs

• Consider how improving the presence of your organisation on the internet will help you in

achieving your organisation’s goals

• Aim to recruit ICT literate employees - or ensure you can offer adequate ICT training for those who

do not already have strong ICT skills

• Explore how additional use of ICT could benefit your organisation and its beneficiaries, eg use of a

database to manage key information, use of the internet

• Consider whether it is relevant for your organisation to help people cross the digital divide in the

course of its work, including help for people with disabilities around the use of ICT

• Consider the benefits and feasibility of involving more ICT skilled people in your organisation, eg

recruiting young people with ICT skills as trustees or volunteers.

6

Executive Summary

Performance Improvement

• Ensure you are aware of the different tools and techniques that your organisation might use to

manage and monitor its performance, eg outcomes assessment, strategic planning etc

• Consider whether your organisation needs to develop work in this area

• Periodically ask key stakeholders, including service users, what they think of your VCO’s performance

• Include in funding bids an element of funding for the evaluation of funded programmes

• Nominate a board member, or sub group of the board, to consider organisational performance and

how it might be improved

• Keep your arrangements for managing and monitoring performance under review and ensure they

are adapted appropriately as things change

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VCS INFRASTRUCTURE ORGANISATIONS:

Governance

• Research the advice, information and support available to VCOs in the region on governance and

how provision might best be developed in the future

• Specific attention should be paid to recruitment, and an initiative developed to help VCOs recruit and

retain trustees with the right skills and experience, and from diverse communities

• Specific attention should also be given to the development of trustee networks offering peer support

• Promote information on good practice in governance, eg The Code of Governance, in a way that

meets the needs of different types and sizes of VCOs

• Offer services to organisations in their start-up phase. Governance support in the early stages can

make a big difference to the success or failure of an organisation

• Ensure training in aspects of governance is available throughout the region for trustees, staff and

other stakeholders

Financing

• Build on existing material to develop more comprehensive information about levels and types of

funding available, from loan finance to grants, support services and training which can help VCOs

secure and manage funding. Note that small community groups will have different information

and support needs from bigger VCOs

• Connect to the Finance National Hub, and coordinate best practice information and resources in

the region/local area around funding and investment policy, advice and guidance

• Information about tender opportunities, advice and guidance, ideally in a standardised format for

all local authority contracts, to be made available on a centralised VCS website

• Develop training to prepare organisations for tendering and contracting

• Provide practical support and leadership to Local Strategic Partnerships, including joint work on

procurement issues, as well as promoting partnership working across economic and community

development and procurement departments of local authorities

• Compile a digest of joint working and partnership toolkits. Partnership development was a key

recommendation of the EEDA report Beyond Grants; and joint working, ie sharing facilities and

resources, can reduce costs

• Secure funding to re-establish the Business in the Community Partners in Leadership with

Community Enterprise programme, since appropriate pro-bono assistance can help VCOs

develop income generating ventures

7

Executive Summary

• Gather and promote case studies of successful regional social enterprises to highlight the benefits

of social enterprise activity to the VCS

• Raise awareness among VCS stakeholders of the scope, potential and possible limitations of social

enterprise activity in the VCS

• Sign-up to implementing the new National Occupational Standards in social enterprise, and offer

a programme of accredited training in social enterprise development

• Ensure support for VCOs involved in social enterprise is offered in the context of other VCS support,

eg integrate this support with other CVS services.


• Promote the sector as a place to work, including generating more opportunities for relevant work

experience in the VCS and highlighting potential career pathways

• Ensure workforce development needs of the VCS are given consideration in the development of

Local Area Agreements, and Community Plans

• Promote and facilitate the development of career pathways within the sector, so that existing staff

and new entrants can plan their futures

• Promote the recognition of key transferable skills that those from outside the VCS can bring to it

• Develop and disseminate good practice in employment and recruitment to the sector

• Ensure the sector has access to affordable, appropriate and timely employment / human resources

management advice

• Develop systematic ways of spreading good practice in all aspects of workforce development,

between county, regional, and national levels

• Promote the use of appropriate quality frameworks/systems in relation to all aspects of VCS

workforce development, taking into account the varying needs within the VCS

• Ensure a wide range of affordable training is on offer to meet the needs of VCOs, including

community based organisations and those with no paid staff (see also Section 9 - Volunteering)

• Identify and implement ways of increasing the provision and take-up by VCOs of generic training in

management, leadership and ICT skills

• Compile listings of appropriate accredited training and train the trainer courses and promote VCS

take-up of these

• Explore models of accreditation for VCS training which do not result in a loss of the uniquely

successful nature of existing training

• Explore the role of the sector in the formation of the National Occupational Standards. These are being

promoted by the new Workforce Development Hub and by the Sector Skills Development Agency

• Support the development of training consortia where this could add value in meeting either the

VCS’s own workforce development needs or VCS service delivery to other individuals and

organisations

• Develop and promote more equal partnership working in training, and ensure that the role of the

VCS is recognised and rewarded. This is especially important when working with traditional

training providers

• Develop and promote models of full cost recovery in relation to training. This includes work to

calculate the cost of supporting disadvantaged clients into training

• Explore and promote new modes of delivery, eg how to use new technology to ensure training can

be more widely accessible

• Develop and promote mechanisms to enable more VCS organisations to sell training to generate an

income, while furthering their mission

8

Executive Summary

• Develop communication channels within the VCS and with other bodies to build on the VCS’s ability to

reach large numbers of individuals who other organisations classify as hard to reach. This could be

promoted carefully and charged for where necessary, as a means of supporting government

objectives - but it is essential that this is carried out without losing the trust that the sector has with

its clients, and without becoming the mouthpiece of government

• Promote and offer training to ensure that staff in the VCS have literacy, language and numeracy skills to

carry out their roles, and access to advice and training in the Skills for Life area where appropriate.

Volunteering

• Ensure coverage in the region is addressed so that a sustainable volunteer brokering service is available

in all local areas

• Promote the benefits of volunteering and promote volunteering opportunities, as well as related

schemes and incentives available

• Identify and promote good practice in involving volunteers, overcoming barriers to involvement and

case studies demonstrating innovative ways of involving volunteers

• Promote appropriate ways of accrediting the volunteering experience and the benefits this might bring.

ICT

• Ensure VCOs have access to training in how to use ICT to benefit their work - this should address the

needs of a wide range of organisations, including those working with people with disabilities and

those without paid staff

• Ensure VCOs have access to appropriate training in a wide range of specific ICT skills at affordable cost

• Promote ways the VCS can help people cross the digital divide and the benefits of this, eg promote the

range of information available on the internet

• Ensure VCOs have access to information about sources of funding for ICT related expenditure, eg

training, database development, hardware

• Consider offering a low cost, easily accessible ICT support service to the VCS as a social enterprise

• Promote the benefits of ICT to VCOs by highlighting real examples of how it has been used effectively,

eg video/voice conferencing to save time travelling to meetings

• Promote good practice in making websites accessible/appropriate for particular sections of the

community, eg people with disabilities

• Ensure that good practice and learning from the ICT National Hub is disseminated appropriately, in

particular encouraging better use of existing ICT.


• Examine the advice, information and support available to VCOs in the region about performance

improvement and how provision might best be developed in the future

• Develop peer to peer support schemes

• Promote and develop pro-bono support schemes

• Promote information on performance improvement, eg that developed by the Performance

Improvement Hub, in a way which meets the needs of the wide range, types and sizes of VCOs

• Offer diagnosis services and support through the performance improvement process - this is regarded

as key to helping organisations work through the options and successfully implement improvement

programmes

• Ensure training in different performance improvement tools and approaches is available throughout

the region for trustees, staff and other stakeholders.

9

Executive Summary

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDERS AND POLICY MAKERS:

Governance

• Recognise the need for funding for VCOs to support governance development, eg funding for

trustee training

• Follow good practice in funding governance development (the Governance Hub is planning to

define and promote this)

• Fund a review of information, advice and support on governance for the VCS in the region, which

should include an assessment of gaps in provision.

• Provide funding for provision which fills the service gaps identified above.

Financing

• Join the Finance National Hub to keep up to date with developments in good practice in financing

and financial management in the VCS

• Sign up to the Compact Funding and Procurement code and implement its recommendations

in full

• Raise awareness and provide a training programme for local authority procurement officers on the

added value, benefits and obstacles faced by VCS and Social Enterprise organisations in accessing

and bidding for contracts

• Accept full cost recovery in your financing of VCS services, including those provided by VCS

support agencies

• Consider funding co-located sources of support to the VCS and social enterprises eg such as the

proposed Cambridge Community Innovation Centre or other models of network or cluster

development in the VCS.


• Statutory and charitable funders, including government departments and purchasers of the

activities of VCOs, should invest in the skills and learning activities and good employment

practice of VCOs - particularly to address specific skills gaps identified in the region, eg generic

management and leadership skills. This will enable VCOs to continuously improve their

performance and deliver good value for money

• When funding staff posts or volunteering opportunities, funders should ensure that money for

training is built into the cost and that the funding covers this cost

• Ensure that funded organisations have appropriate HR and workforce development policies and

procedures in place to support staff and volunteers, and that they are meeting minimum

standards

• Ensure that organisations are taking account of the full cost of training and support, and that all

this is covered in the amount awarded

• Work with funded VCS organisations to draw on their expertise to support the development of

good practice around workforce development.

Volunteering

• Recognise that involving volunteers is not free - support is needed for volunteer activity and there

are associated costs

• Provide secure and sustainable funding for volunteering infrastructure, eg volunteer centres, at a

local level

10

Executive Summary

• Recognise the need for organisations involving volunteers to invest in promoting the benefits of,

and opportunities for, volunteering

• Recognise the need for investment in enabling organisations to exploit new technological

platforms for recruiting volunteers

• Recognise the importance of informal volunteering as well as formal volunteering - and recognise

where these need to be handled differently

• When involving volunteers in the work of public sector organisations, be aware of good practice in

volunteering - but recognise that the motivations and limitations of volunteers in such cases may

differ from those of volunteers involved with VCOs

ICT

• Encourage better use of ICT, eg by promoting examples of the benefits of its use

• Offer funding for equipment, software renewals, upgrades and support services - ensure this covers

the full cost of ICT use

• Offer funding for ICT training in the VCS, including the strategic use and planning of ICT

• Offer funding for ICT training and development in the VCS which meet diverse needs of groups who

are experiencing digital exclusion, eg rural communities, elderly people, disabled people.

Performance improvement

• Fund a review of information, advice and support on performance improvement for the VCS

• Recognise the need for funding to VCOs to enable them to improve their performance, eg by

developing improved information systems, implement outcomes monitoring systems, etc

• Allow passporting between different quality standards and systems. VCOs are often required to

implement a new standard for a particular funding stream regardless of the fact that they have

already achieved a standard with most of the same elements

• Fund a programme of work examining how VCOs, in particular sub sectors, can demonstrate the

benefits of the VCS and the added value of their work (see discussion of added value in Part 1).

CROSS CUTTING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VCS INFRASTRUCTURE ORGANISATIONS,FUNDERS AND POLICY MAKERS:

• The issue of coverage throughout the region needs to be addressed. Current provision is patchy.

Despite the large number of different organisations involved in the provision of support there are

concerns that this is not sustainable and resources could be applied more effectively

• In taking forward this agenda for support for VCOs the differing requirements of different types of

organisations needs to be taken into account, including those of community groups, rural

organisations, BME and faith based communities

• There is an ongoing challenge to support the sector by finding ways to demonstrate clearly the

value added by the VCS in the region

• Recognise the importance of physical infrastructure in community development and VCO activities,

and support the need for capital and revenue investment in vital resources such as village halls

in rural areas.

11

Part 1

Context

Section 1 About the East of England .......................................................................................... 12

Section 2 About the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) .................................................. 18

Section 3 Support for the Sector - VCS infrastructure .............................................................. 26

Section 4 Environmental Analysis .............................................................................................. 31

Section 5 Surviving the Future - key attributes for VCO survival.............................................. 37

12

1.1 Population statistics1

The East of England covers an area of 19,110 square kilometres and encompasses the counties

of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and the unitary

authorities of Peterborough, Luton, Southend on Sea and Thurrock.

Most recent population figures (for 2003) give the population as 5.46 million, which represents

9.2% of the population of the United Kingdom of 59.55 million, and an average population

density in the region of 286 people per square kilometre. Population density was highest in

Luton Unitary Authority, with 4,271 people per sq. km, one of the highest densities outside of

London. The local authority districts of Breckland, and King’s Lynn and West Norfolk had the

lowest population densities with 95 and 97 people per sq. km respectively.

The population in the East of England increased by 12.5% between 1981 and 2003. The largest

population change was in East Cambridgeshire where there was an increase of 44.5%. Half the

population live in rural areas of the region, which represents 45% of the total region.

The region has no major conurbations, but encompasses a variety of new and historic towns

and cities, together with extensive rural areas. It has an attractive and high-quality

environment, including areas of unspoilt countryside and coastline, attractive villages, market

towns, and distinctive historic cities such as Cambridge and Norwich.

Section 1. About the East of England

Table 1: Population, by county, within the East of England

COUNTY OR UNITARY POPULATION AREA DENSITYAUTHORITY AREA (thousands) (sq km) (people per sq km)

Bedfordshire 389 1,192 326

Cambridgeshire 571 3,046 187

Essex 1,324 3,465 382

Hertfordshire 1,041 1,643 634

Norfolk 811 5,371 151

Suffolk 678 3,801 178

Luton UA 185 43 4,302

Peterborough UA 159 343 464

Southend on Sea UA 160 42 3,810

Thurrock UA 145 163 890

Total for region 5,463 19,109 286

1. All figures in this section taken from Office for National Statistics 2005. You can find linksto figures for the East of England via www.eastofenglandobservatory.org.uk

13

About the East of England

Table 2: Percentage of population who are elderly, BME

or have a disability or a limiting long term illness

AREA % OF PENSION % OF NON-WHITE % WITH LIMITINGAGE OR OVER ETHNIC GROUPS LONG TERM ILLNESS

Bedfordshire 16.7 6.7 14.3

Cambridgeshire 17.3 4.1 14.6

Essex 19.7 2.9 16.4

Hertfordshire 17.6 6.3 14.1

Norfolk 23.3 1.5 19.4

Suffolk 21.4 2.8 17.1

Luton UA 14.3 28.1 15.3

Peterborough UA 16.3 10.3 16.8

Southend on Sea UA 21.4 4.2 19.1

Thurrock UA 15.3 4.7 16.1

Average for the region 19.2 4.9 16.2

As Table 2 shows, there is considerable variation in key characteristics of the population, both

between and within the local authority areas:

The percentage of people of pensionable age or older averaged 19.2% overall (compared with

18.5% for the UK as a whole), ranging from 14.2% in Cambridge, to 29.6% in Tendring in Essex.

The proportion of the population who were from non-white ethnic groups was 4.9%, but this

varied from just 0.8% in North Norfolk to 28.1% in Luton. A total of 16.2% of people had a

limiting long term illness compared with 18.5% for the UK as a whole, but within the East of

England region this varied from 12.4% in East Hertfordshire to 24% in Tendring.

1.2 Economic characteristics of the region

The lack of major conurbations, like those of Manchester, Birmingham or London, and of other

post-industrial areas experiencing intense deprivation and poverty, means that the region is

assumed to be affluent, and averaged data reinforces this view.

However, the regional economy has undergone significant structural change in recent years,

including the loss of an estimated 60,000 jobs in agriculture, the closure of important

industries, including car making in Luton, and the decline of seaside towns like Great Yarmouth,

which is in the top ten of the most deprived places in Britain. Parts of the region suffer from the

London effect, which can have damaging consequences, including a lack of social cohesion and

insufficient affordable housing. Other parts of the region, particularly Norfolk and Suffolk, face

problems associated with remote, peripheral areas, ie few employment opportunities, low

wages and limited access to services. Overall, however, as Table 3 shows, unemployment at

4.2% in 2003 was lower than the UK average of 5.1%.

14


Table 3: Key statistics for the East of England2

EAST OF UNITED ENGLAND KINGDOM

Population, 20031 (thousands) 5,463 59,554

Percentage aged under 16 19.7 19.7

Percentage pension age and over 19.2 18.5

Standardised mortality ratio (UK=100), 2002 92 100

Infant mortality rate,2 2002 4.4 5.3

Percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more grades A*-C

at GCSE level or equivalent, 2001/0255.3 52.5

Economic activity rate - spring 2003 (percentages) 81.9 78.8

Employment rate, spring 2003 (percentages) 78.5 74.7

Unemployment rate, spring 2003 (percentages) 4.2 5.1

Average gross weekly earnings: males in full-time employment,

April 2002 (£)506.3 511.3

Average gross weekly earnings: females in full-time employment,

April 2002 (£)375.1 382.1

Gross value added, 2001 (£ million) 85,775 874,227

Gross value added per head index, 2002 (UK=100) 110.1 100.0

Total business sites, 2002 (thousands) 248.0 2,538.1

Average dwelling price, 2001 (£) 160,495 145,320

Motor cars currently licensed, 2002 (thousands) 2,694 25,782

Recorded crime rate, 2002/03 (notifiable offences per 100,000 population) 9,084 11,327

Average gross weekly household income, 1999-2002 (£) 538 510

Average weekly household expenditure, 1999-2002 (£) 400.5 379.7

Households in receipt of Income Support/Working

Families Tax Credit, 2001/02 (percentages)12 17

2. Notes to Table 31. Population figures for 2002 are mid- year population estimates and include

provisional results from the Manchester matching exercise. Pension age is men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over.

2. Deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births.

1.3 Deprivation

As the figures in table 3 show, overall the East of England is a relatively affluent region

compared with the rest of the UK. While this is clearly a good thing for the region as a whole, it

means that the East of England has access to fewer area based funding sources than other

regions. However, within the East region, there are significant localised areas of deprivation and

a large number of people in poverty.

15


3. www.eastofenglandobservatory.org.uk The main OSEP partners are the East of EnglandRegional Assembly, the East of England Development Agency, the Government Office forthe East of England, the Eastern Region Public Health Observatory and COVER,representing the Community and Voluntary Sector Eastern Region.

4. Sustainable Communities: People, Places and Prosperity: A Five Year Plan from the ODPM- January 2005

According to the Observatories Social Exclusion Project (OSEP)3, it is estimated that 22% of

children and 25% of pensioners live in poverty. Despite relatively high employment rates, in

2001 7.5% of working age people were living in workless households. OSEP also points out that

there are high numbers of people with poor skills, eg around 700,000 people have poor literacy

and numeracy skills, and in certain districts the percentage of the working age population with

no qualifications is over 20%.

OSEP highlights a wide variation in deprivation levels across the region: “Ninety two wards in

the region fall within the 20 per cent most deprived wards in England. Among these, Regent and

Nelson wards in Great Yarmouth (ranking 19th and 37th respectively), Central in Peterborough

(99th), Lynn North in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (139th) and Golf Green in Tendring (161st)

are the most deprived. At district level, Great Yarmouth, Peterborough, Tendring, Waveney,

Norwich, Luton, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, Thurrock, Basildon and Bedford have the highest

local concentration scores. Great Yarmouth is ranked as the fifth most deprived district in the

country on this measure”. Identification and understanding of such areas is important as

regional development agencies in each region are encouraged to focus their investment on the

most deprived wards.

1.4 Looking ahead - the East of England 2020

According to Office of National Statistics estimates, the regional population is expected to grow

to 5.95 million by 2011, and to 6.14 million by 2021. The region is currently facing a huge

challenge in terms of growth. Within the government’s Sustainable Communities Plan4

provision has been made for a further 23,900 homes to be provided by 2016, which are in

addition to current plans, taking the total for the region to 478,000 new homes.

Three of the four National Growth Areas identified in the Plan are within, or encompass, parts

of the East of England. They are: the Thames Gateway (South Essex); the Milton Keynes/ South

Midlands conurbation (encompassing parts of Bedfordshire); and the London-Stansted-

Cambridge-Peterborough corridor. In addition, the Plan envisages 420,000 more jobs in the

region, and those workers and their families will need affordable housing. This provides a

serious challenge for health and care services, and the economic and environmental

sustainability of the region - and as a consequence for VCOs within these areas. Engagement

with growth plans is made more challenging by the fact that these growth areas are defined in

a way which does not follow current administrative boundaries.

By 2020, the region’s population will not only have grown to over 6 million, it will also be getting

proportionately older. By that time 50 percent of the population will be over 50 years old (Essex

has already reached this proportion and is a foretaste of things to come). The population will

also be frailer - the percentage coping with a long term illness, disability or not enjoying good

health is likely to increase significantly as the population ages. The population is also more likely

16


to be single, with 40 percent of adults over 16 currently single, and this is a trend that is

growing. The population will also be more diverse. Currently less than 5% of the region’s

population come from black or minority ethnic groups, but that could grow to 9%. All these

demographic trends provide challenges for the VCS in terms of beneficiaries, activities,

structures and partnerships.

1.5 General regional infrastructure

Within the East of England there are several key statutory bodies with an interest in strategies

for the future which are particularly relevant to the VCS in the region:

East of England Regional Assembly, EERA

The East of England Regional Assembly exists to promote the social, economic and

environmental well being of the region through a partnership of elected representatives and

other regional stakeholders. The Integrated Regional Strategy, IRS, is an EERA led strategic

initiative, the vision for which is: ‘to improve the quality of life for everyone who lives or works

in the East of England’. The IRS tackles the critical issues facing the region, for example housing,

transport, health, skills and the economy. It combines a strong strategic vision for the region

with the necessary co-ordination framework for all other strategies, regional partnership bodies

and delivery mechanisms. EERA works closely with the Government Office for the East of

England and the East of England Development Agency5.

East of England Development Agency, EEDA

EEDA is a government-funded organisation sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry,

DTI. It is one of nine regional development agencies, RDAs, created in 1999 to transform

England’s regions through sustainable economic development. EEDA’s key task is to improve the

region’s economic performance. EEDA places emphasis on its role as a regional leader and

catalyst, and aims to influence the £25 billion of public spending in the East of England. As the

EEDA website6 highlights: “With a budget of £90 million in 2004/5, EEDA’s challenge is to

deliver sustainable economic growth with a budget that equals only 0.1 per cent of the region’s

gross domestic product.” Its roles encompass:

• Principal advocate - for the development of the region

• Strategic navigator - influencing major strategic change

• Convenor - facilitating key regional partnerships

• Expert - consulting, advising and problem-solving

• Mental adventurer - innovator of changes that others could not undertake

• Commissioner - of investment programmes, joint ventures and sister organisations

• Delivery manager - of projects and programmes in pursuit of the roles above.

Government Office for the East of England, GO-East

The Government Office for the East of England brings together the varied regional activities of

a range of government departments. Regional government offices are part of the Office of the

Deputy Prime Minister, which covers regional and urban policy, local government, planning,

5. The leaflet "Working together for the East of England " Is available from www.eera.gov.ukprovides some information on how these three organisations work together

6. www.eeda.org.uk

17


housing and regeneration. Other departments with a stake in GO-East are:

• Department for Education and Skills, DfES

• Department for Work and Pensions, DWP

• Department of Trade and Industry, DTI

• Department for Transport, DfT

• Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, DEFRA

• Home Office, HO

• Department for Culture, Media & Sport, DCMS

• Cabinet Office, CO

GO-East also works closely with the public health teams from the Department of Health. In

addition GO-East works with a range of regional and local bodies, including local authorities,

businesses, local education authorities, voluntary organisations, the health service, and local

people to help create sustainable communities and to maximise competitiveness and

prosperity in the region.

All the above bodies work closely together and relevant information about the region can be

found on the EEDA maintained website: www.eastofenglandobservatory.org.uk.

18

2.1 What is the voluntary and community sector?

The VCS is extremely diverse. It is made up of a range of organisations with different purposes,

ways of working, types of beneficiary and size. In developing this strategy we have adopted the

following definition:

The VCS is sometimes seen as comprising two overlapping segments:

• The voluntary sector, of which the key characteristics are that organisations are governed by

volunteers (trustees) and that there are no profit distributions to external shareholders.

• The community sector comprises voluntary organisations rooted in their local community.

Many rely solely on volunteer effort, without paid staff.

It should be noted that there is a lack of consensus on precise definitions and blurred

boundaries exist between these segments.

VCOs can have differing status and legal structures. Some are charitable and registered with

the Charity Commission. In order to be recognised as a charity an organisation needs to have

charitable objects, ie relief of poverty, advancement of education, promotion of religion or other

purposes of benefit to the community. And any private benefit deriving from their activities

must be purely incidental. Charities benefit from particular tax reliefs, including relief on

individual donations and rate relief. Generally speaking all but the smallest charities are

registered with, and report to, the Charity Commission.

Charitable status does not provide an organisation with a legal personality, ie enabling it to be

sued and to sue. Some charities are unincorporated associations, which means that all the

trustees and board members are personally liable. Many charities incorporate as companies

limited by guarantee. This means that their board members are company directors and trustees.

These organisations report to Companies House as well as the Charity Commission.

Non-charitable VCOs have three main incorporated structures to choose from: company limited

by guarantee; industrial and provident society; or community interest company (recently

introduced). The last of these is a legal form based on a membership or mutual structure and is

common among housing associations.

Within the East of England there are currently more than 14,000 charities registered with the

Charity Commissioner. Note that this will include some organisations who consider themselves

part of the community, rather than the voluntary, sector. It is estimated that there are, on

Section 2. About the Voluntary and Community Sector

VCOs are independent, not for private profit, mainly charitable groups, run by boards or committees

of volunteer trustees. They provide services to a wide range of communities of need, place and

interest. They are often value based organisations, for which the principle of how a service is provided

is as important as the kind of work undertaken.

19

About the Voluntary and Community Sector

average, at least three community groups for every one registered charity. This means that there

are likely to be just under 45,000 community organisations operating within the East of

England. As a measure of their significance, this represents one organisation for every 90

members of the population7.

It is sometimes assumed by those outside the VCS that all VCOs rely solely on volunteer effort

to deliver services. Voluntary organisations can be big businesses, employing hundreds of staff

and earning substantial amounts of income, which is used to further their purpose. While some

organisations, particularly in their early years, are largely reliant on volunteers to deliver their

activities. So, governance by volunteers aside, VCS organisations will involve volunteers to very

varying degrees, as Figure 1 shows:

Income sources

VCOs fund their activities by raising income from a wide variety of sources. Some provide

services under contract to local authorities or central government agencies. Some charge fees

to service users, while others generate income from public donations, subscriptions or grant aid.

Funding is often short term and designated for new projects only, which makes forward

planning and sustainability difficult.

2.2 Why is the VCS important

It is accepted by government that the VCS has an important role to play in: helping deliver

public services; contributing to building stronger, more cohesive communities and creating

employment and helping people back into work8.

As the Treasury says:

“The third sector can offer a superior alternative to both the private and public sectors in the

delivery of public services in certain circumstances. This is particularly true when government

failures exist, and neither the state nor the market can respond and deliver in an equitable or

efficient manner”9.

7. Involvement is by no means uniform and one individual may well be involved in manydifferent organisations, while another will not be involved at all.

8. Exploring the role of the third sector in public service delivery and reform: a discussionpaper (Treasury 2004)

9. See last note.

Figure 1: Types of volunteer involvement in the VCS

TRUSTEES

ONLY

VOLUNTEERS

ONLY

MAINLY

VOLUNTEERS

WITH SOME

PAID

WORKFORCE

MAINLY PAID

WORKFORCE

WITH SOME

VOLUNTEERS

PAID

WORKFORCE

ONLY

TRUSTEES

20


VCOs are identified as having a number of specific advantages. These may include:

• a strong focus on the needs of service users

• knowledge and expertise to meet complex personal needs and tackle difficult social issues

• an ability to be flexible and offer joined-up service delivery

• the capacity to build users’ trust

• the experience and independence to innovate.

VCOs work can also provide a range of wider benefits:

• involving local people to build community ownership

• building the skills and experience of volunteers - especially the young

• increasing trust within and across communities, thereby building social capital.

The importance of building social capital is echoed within EEDA’s Economic Strategy for the East

of England:

“[that the way to] build social capital [is] by strengthening links between people within and

between neighbourhoods, and promoting community leadership. This in turn allows people to

contribute to economic prosperity”

Taking the distribution of charities across the region we can observe that the more densely

populated urban districts of the region have significantly fewer registered charities than rural

districts.

VCOs also help to improve public services by getting involved in service design, commissioning

and evaluation.

Watford YMCA provides housing, training, recreation and other services, as well as being proactive in

community development. Recently an analysis was carried out using the 'Social Return on Investment'

model10. This aimed to identify and measure the added value created by the organisation as a result

of its housing intervention for people who are in need either because of social or behavioural

problems. Using this model, it was estimated that for every £1 invested in the YMCA hostel operation,

there was a return of £5.36 to the economy. This includes estimated social benefits such as savings to

the public purse in reduced mental health costs, dealing with addictions etc.

SNAPSHOT 1 - Watford YMCA and added value

Speaking Up runs a project in Cambridgeshire which provides a forum for representatives of people

with learning difficulties to engage with senior managers of services. The aim is to influence positive

changes to these services in line with the wishes and needs of the people with learning disabilities

who use the services.

SNAPSHOT 2 - Speaking Up, Cambridge

10. Watford YMCA Social Housing Project SROI Report September 2005

21


Chart 1: Number of registered charities by district within the East of England.

Babergh

Basildon, Billericay & Wickford

Bedford

Braintree

Breckland

Brentwood

Broadland

Broxbourne

Cambridge City

Castle Point

Chelmsford

Colchester

Dacorum

East Cambs

East Herts

Epping Forest

Fenland

Forest Heath

Great Yarmouth

Harlow

Hertsmere

Huntingdonshire

Ipswich

Kings Lynn & West Norfolk

Luton

Maldon

Mid Beds

Mid Suffolk

North Herts

North Norfolk

Norwich

Peterborough

Rochford

South Beds

South Cambs

Southend On Sea

South Norfolk

St Albans

St Edmundsbury

Stevenage

Suffolk Coastal

Tendring

Three Rivers

Thurrock

Uttlesford

Watford

Waveney

Welwyn Hatfield

600

500

400

300

200

1000

83

379

375

316

234

425

254

183

117

189

109

171

459

256

540

63

208

435

454

321

490

447

323

126

233

484

228

469

319

362

94

581

258

151

172

351

155

323

149

363

454

286

211

586

364

339

205

371

22


This is starkly illustrated by the fact that Luton, an area of significant deprivation and the most

populous district in the region, has the least number of charities.

Analysis of registered charities in the Eastern region

Registered charities based in the Eastern region vary greatly in size, from a national wildlife charity

with a voluntary income of more than £53 million, grant aided by a further £9 million, through to

hundreds of tiny charities with less than £1,000 income per annum. Also within the region are 25

organisations that fall within the top 500 UK fundraising charities ranked by fundraising income. Of

these, 11 operate internationally and 7 operate across England and Wales

Nationally, 5% of organisations within the VCS control 95% of the total income. Based on this

proportion, 700 registered charities in the Eastern region would have 95% of the total income, with

the remaining 13,500 sharing the remaining 5%.

2.3 What do VCS organisations do?

The sector is diverse in terms of: the areas in which it works; its activities and its users. The main

fields of work are welfare, culture, health, education and learning, the environment,

regeneration and social inclusion, community development, sustainability and campaigning.

The predominant activity is the direct provision of services to users, although organisations are

also strong in self-help and the provision of information and advice, training, and advocacy.

Other organisations may benefit the public more generally through improving the

environment. An increasing number of VCOs are involved in community enterprises,

contributing additional value to the local economy.

VCOs provide a wide range of services and/or activities for a wide range of beneficiaries - some

examples are given opposite:

Some organisations, particularly community groups, provide support to all people within a

particular geographical area, while others focus on meeting the specific needs of particular

beneficiary groups such as:

Asylum seekers People in debt

Black and minority ethnic community People in poor housing

Carers People in residential care

Children People on low incomes

Disabled people People with HIV / AIDS

Families Refugees

Homeless people Substance users

Lesbian, gay and bisexual people Travellers

Lone parents Unemployed people

Offenders and ex offenders Victims of crime

Older people Young people

COVER research into beneficiary groups shows the proportion of organisations whose activities

cater for each group. As Chart 2 (see page 24) shows, the most frequently cited groups included

are older people, families, children, people with disabilities, BME communities and young people.

23


SUB-SECTOR EXAMPLE OF A VCO SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY

Health and care Suffolk Carers Information, support and

advocacy for family carers

Social economy/enterprise Humberstone Networkers Identifies, enables and supports

social firms and community

businesses working with

disadvantaged people

Sports Cambridgeshire & Developing a wide range of

Peterborough Active Sports sporting opportunities for

Partnership young people

Environmental sustainability British Trust for Conservation Activities include practical

Volunteers (East) conservation projects and

environmental education

Housing Hastoe Housing Support Trust Provides support to housing

associations, eg advice on

sustainable housing

Advice, information and Citizens Advice Eastern Region Support and networking for

guidance citizens advice bureaux in the

region

Faith activity East of England Faiths Council A contact point and facilitator

for faith groups in the region

in making input to regional

strategy and issues

Social inclusion Voluntary Sector Refugee An advisary organisation that

Network supports VCOs and groups

working with asylum seekers

and refugees

Community development Bedfordshire Rural In-depth grass-roots work

Communities Charity with communities and

influencing local and regional

policy through advocacy for

rural issues

Support to the VCS Dacorum Council for A range of information,

Voluntary Service (CVS) training and support services

for frontline VCOs

BME representation Minority Ethnic Network Promote racial equality and

Eastern Region (MENTER) advocate for the BME sector,

contribute to infrastrusture

building and community

regeneration

SNAPSHOT 3 - Examples of VCO activity in the Eastern region

24


Chart 2: Beneficiary groups for which VCS organisations in the East of England cater

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Asylu

m Seeke

rs

Black &

Minorit

y Eth

nic

Carers

Childre

n

Disabilit

y

Fam

ilies

Homeless

People

Lesb

ian Gay and B

isexual P

eople

Lone Pare

nts

Offenders

/ ex O

ffenders

Older P

eople

People earnin

g low

inco

mes

People in d

ebt

People livin

g in p

oor housin

g

People in re

sidentia

l care

People with

HIV

/ AID

S

Refugees

Substance

Use

rs

Trave

llers

Unemplo

yed

Victim

s of c

rime

Young People

19

45

36

47 4749

25

19

27

20

50

36

18

24 23

17 18 1916

34

17

43

2.4 Inclusiveness

Some parts of the VCS have traditionally been regarded as having particular difficulties in

accessing resources and other support, for example black and ethnic minority VCOs and those

based in rural areas.

Research carried out for MENTER, the network for black and minority ethnic voluntary

organisations within the region, has produced interesting results: “The overall picture of the sector

is one of many small organisations operating with very few staff, with a bias towards unpaid

voluntary staff”. Given this picture, it would be assumed that very few organisations were

registered either with the Charity Commission or Companies’ House. The evidence, however,

suggests that this is not the case. More than half of the organisations responding to the MENTER

research identified themselves as being registered with an appropriate body. This could be regarded

as a way for organisations to achieve status and legitimacy within their respective communities.

COVER research: Snapshot 2000

Research undertaken for MENTER11 gives us the following statistics:

Funding:

Funding is secured from a variety of sources, with a significant proportion, 61 percent, being from local

authorities. Donations and sponsorship, and self-funding follow at 38 percent each. This is a

significantly different funding profile from the wider VCS.

• 9 percent have an annual income of less than £1,000

• 16 percent have an annual income of less than £5,000

• 30 percent have an income between £5,000 and £50,000

• 24 percent have an income more than £50,000

SNAPSHOT 4 - The BME sector in the EAST of ENGLAND - funding and activities

11. Mapping the black and minority ethnic voluntary sector in the East of England, BMG forMENTER (2004)

25


Chart 3 shows that the most common activity area is community development followed by

education and women’s activities.

In rural areas, which constitute a large proportion of this region, sustainability of VCOs is a

particular challenge due to limited infrastructure, including transport, and is often very

dependent on the sustainability of local community resources such as village halls and churches

or other places of worship which are put to a range of uses to benefit the community. Research

by Rural Action East12, who take a lead on highlighting rural community development issues in

the region, emphasised that

“village halls are a vital asset for the regeneration and revitalisation of rural communities. Their

availability and the range of use made of them by communities covers a wide range of activities.

Changes to legislation, increasing demand for both the range and intensity of hall use and

general deterioration through age and lack of previous investment, have created the need for a

major capital programme of work on the network of village halls. Without a major change to

the awarding criteria of funding programmes and a significant increase to the budgets

available, village halls in the eastern region will fail to meet the expectations of government and

their communities, and indeed will deteriorate and fail to maintain their existing level of use by

communities. “

Chart 3: Activity areas in which BME organisations in the region engage

80%

60%

40%

20%

0

Arts

Business

/eco

nomic

Capacity b

uildin

g

Comm

unity d

evelo

pment

Crimin

al just

ice

Disabilit

y

Educatio

n

Elderly

Emplo

yment

Envirom

ental

Health

Gay / lesb

ianM

en

Menta

l health

Racial d

iscrim

inatio

n

Refugee /

asylu

m se

ekers

Religio

us

Social c

are

Sports/ r

ecreatio

n

Train

ing

Wom

enYo

uthOth

er

22

10

30

70

22 24

61

40

31

12

47

7

43

30

43

3034

39

32

49

58

49

7

12. Funding for Village Halls in the East of England, Rural Action East (2003)

26

3.1 What is VCS infrastructure and why is it important?

For private sector businesses, there is a wide range of bodies, some publicly funded, which aim

to provide support. For example, the Small Business Service offers support to small enterprises

in setting up, advice on business planning, taxation and all aspects of running a business.

Similarly, there are a range of organisations and initiatives operating at the national, regional

and local level which exist to provide support to frontline VCOs. Within every region these

include;

• Generic infrastructure - at the local level there are Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS) and

Rural Community Councils (RCCs), often known as local development agencies. At the

regional level, there is a voluntary sector regional network - in the case of the East of England

this is COVER

• Sub sectoral or specialist infrastructure - for example, regional or sub regional networks

covering specific issues such as health and community care, funding or performance

improvement or local volunteer centres or bureaux (in some areas these are part of the CVS)

COVER also runs networks to bring together organisations from specific sub-sectors13. As many

VCOs are also registered as companies, some of the support services, such as the Business Link

network, may also have relevance to them.

In addition, support is provided to frontline VCOs working in the region by national VCOs which

have local members, for example the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, and by

sub sectoral infrastructure or support organisations for example, Alcohol Concern. In addition,

some frontline VCOs assist their peers through a variety of means including mentoring and

support networks.

The government acknowledges the importance of this VCS infrastructure. It recognises that the

services and activities it provides: helps VCOs operate more effectively; gives them a voice in

regional and local policy development; and facilitates partnership working with the statutory

sector.

Regionally and locally, VCS infrastructure provides a range of services and activities covering a

range of issues including:

• Funding and finance: eg helping VCOs access funding and understand the contracting

process; find out about funding sources and make funding applications

• Encouraging volunteering: eg promoting and brokering volunteering

• Management and governance: eg providing information, advice and training on governance

issues, and helping VCOs implement appropriate quality standards

Section 3. Support for the sector - VCS infrastructure

13. See COVER website for details of networks currently active

27

Support for the sector - VCS infrastructure

• Influencing policy and practice: eg preparing collective VCS responses to policy proposals

based on consultation

• Partnership development: eg representing the VCS on partnership boards

• Identifying and filling gaps: eg developing new VCS services to meet the needs of VCOs and

the communities they serve

• Some provide services directly to the statutory sector : eg developing and running training or

other schemes on their behalf, or distributing funds for them.

Stevenage Council for Voluntary Service is a generic infrastructure organisation with a membership of

more than 100 local organisations. It has eight staff who work the equivalent of just under four and

a half full time post hours per week. Within this staffing complement the CVS operates community

accountancy and transport projects, the latter of which is underpinned by 15 volunteer drivers. The

CVS itself is supported by a further 16 volunteers.

The core work of the CVS, under each of the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service

headings, is outlined below:

Development - Identifying need by research through questionnaires and member/public/user

consultation. Personal support offered to a broad range of groups, including start-up information,

support to new and emerging groups, ongoing work with existing groups to effect change.

Services - Information provision in the following areas: legal advice; training; funding sources; charity

law; equal opportunities; financial and organisational management and governance. Through the

mediums of: newsletters; e-briefings; telephone and face to face meetings. Direct services also

include stationery purchase, photocopying, payroll and equipment hire. Enquiries to Stevenage CVS

rose from 2,319 in the year ending 2004, to 3,250 in the financial year ending March 2005.

Liaison - Facilitating local meetings, and coordinating the information flow between statutory

agencies and the VCS. A practical example of this was supporting parents to develop a social club for

teenagers with disabilities, which now continues under the auspices of the local youth service.

Representation - Providing feedback on statutory sector policy issues, such as social inclusion,

economic regeneration, and voluntary sector strategies.

Strategy development - Engaging with local partnerships, including 14 local committees and

steering groups, as well as being a member of 11 consortia and organisations in Stevenage and

Hertfordshire.

SNAPSHOT 5 - Stevenage CVS

3.2 Local VCS infrastructure in the region

There are a significant number of organisations supporting the VCS at the local level in the

region14:

• Six county-wide bodies focus on supporting the needs of rural communities (RCCs)

14. For full details of these see the COVER website

28


• Forty infrastructure organisations (CVSs) combine a generic and volunteering support

function

• Five organisations concentrate on supporting volunteering organisations (volunteer bureaux

or volunteer centres).

In spite of this large number of organisations, provision in the region is still patchy. Although no

local area has absolutely no support, some have a very minimal service eg two days a week CVS

run from a library in Rayleigh & Rochford in Essex. Where full time services do exist, the

resources available to these organisations vary widely. To give two examples:

• An organisation operating over one district and offering volunteering support and brokerage

to its constituency receives total funding of only £30,000 per annum.

• A county organisation providing a wide range of support to its members receives £1.4

million per annum from a range of sources.

This means that some infrastructure organisations operate on a shoestring, are open for

business on a very part-time basis, and offer only a limited range of services, while others have

numerous staff offering a wide range of services. Thus there is considerable variation in the

support frontline organisations within the East of England region are able to access and we

believe this needs to be addressed.

In all, 43 of 52 generic infrastructure organisations surveyed in the region, including RCCs, CVSs

and independent volunteer centres, received approximately £15 million in funding per annum.

This comes from a variety of sources eg local authorities, grant making foundations (trusts), the

health service and Learning and Skills Councils.

Chart 4: Funding providers and amounts of funding for infrastructure organisations in the region

£3M

£2M

£1M

0

Comm

unity Public

& Patie

nt Invo

lvem

entCounty

Earned In

com

e

European Socia

l Fund

Donations

Health A

gencies

Inve

stm

ent

Loca

l Auth

orities

Learn

ing and

Skills C

ouncil

National

Parent Bodies

Regional

Tow

n/Paris

h

Trust

s

Other

1,12

5,93

9

576,

922

2,53

7,42

5

832,

434

119,

090

652,

577

162,

890

1,82

6,18

6

736,

774

1,63

4,91

0

1,15

0

462,

166

18,7

93

3,10

6,54

0

822,

432

SOURCE: COVER analysis of 2004 annual accounts of 43 funding organisations

29


In addition, a Home Office grant supports COVER’s regional voluntary sector networks. This, and

the Single Regeneration Budget, EEDA funding through the ‘single pot’ programme, lottery

grants and other funding, have all contributed to increased capacity and delivery within VCS

infrastructure.

3.3 The future

A number of changes in the funding environment are likely to impact both positively and

negatively on VCS infrastructure or support for organisations and structures in the region. The

end of SRB funding may have a negative impact. However, some developments are very positive:

The Big Lottery Fund has recently announced, as part of its first wave of funding programmes

covering 2005-09, a £155 million fund which will support VCS infrastructure.

EEDA’s Investing in Communities Programme will also contribute resources to developing VCS

infrastructure

Of specific relevance is ChangeUp, a major Home Office programme investing in the

development of VCS infrastructure, which is channelling additional resources into the region -

(see page 30). This presents a real opportunity for VCS infrastructure organisations to improve

the effectiveness of support provision in the region. The themes identified in ChangeUp are

highly relevant to the VCS in the region and have been used to underpin the analysis in Part 2

of this report. COVER is the lead accountable body for the VCS in the region, playing an

important role in coordinating developments16.

About EEDA’s Investing in Communities programme15

The Investing in Communities programme relies on a sound knowledge of community needs to

ensure that public, private, community and voluntary organisations work together to tackle

deprivation and inequality in a focused way.

• EEDA will use its influence to ensure the development of well-founded community regeneration

plans which, by March 2008: address the needs of deprived communities; have the buy-in of

strategic, implementation and beneficiary stakeholders and which make a significant contribution

to the region’s Local Area Agreement goals for economic development.

• EEDA will agree long-term assistance programmes in each sub-region, to drive forward the

delivery of the economic dimensions of community regeneration plans.

• EEDA will develop several regional foundation plans, with partners, to improve the capacity of

those involved in delivering the community regeneration plans, for example, in gathering and

interpreting regional intelligence, building up community leadership skills, engaging hard to reach

groups and encouraging social enterprise.

• EEDA will ensure that opportunities for disadvantaged groups are linked into all its plans and

programmes.

Source: www.eeda.org.uk

15. See also www.investingincommunities.org.uk16. For more information about current ChangeUp initiatives in the region see the COVER

website

30


What is ChangeUp?17

ChangeUp is a Home Office strategy for capacity building and infrastructure development in the VCS.

Its aim is that by 2014 the needs of frontline VCOs will be met by infrastructure support which is:

• available nationwide

• structured for maximum efficiency

• offering excellent provision

• accessible to all

• truly reflecting and promoting diversity

• sustainably funded.

£80 million has been invested in implementing the strategy from 2003 - 2006 at the national,

regional, sub-regional and local levels. The bulk of the £80 million is supporting sub-regional and local

initiatives benefiting frontline VCOs. The work in the Eastern region is overseen by GO-East.

Some of the funding available for national projects is supporting the development of national hubs of

expertise:

The Finance Hub - provides guidance on procurement, fundraising and social enterprise for VCS

organisations

The Governance Hub - provides information to help trustees of VCS organisations build governance

capacity and enhance their skills

The ICT Hub - will develop a co-ordinated framework of ICT guidance, good practice, advice and

support for VCOs, accessible at a local level

The Performance Improvement Hub - will develop guidance for local, sub-regional, regional and

national infrastructure organisations to help improve the quality and quantity of support they can

offer to VCOs

The Volunteering Hub - will prepare a range of resources for anyone who works with or manages

volunteers, as well as to those who want to volunteer

The Workforce Development Hub - will prepare information and news on skills development and

good employment practice for VCOs.

Part 2 of this report provides additional information on the work of these hubs and their relevance to

the VCS in the East of England.

17. For further information and links to all the hub websites seewww.communities.homeoffice.gov.uk/activecomms/sup-vcs/changeup/

31

4.1 Introduction

There are many environmental factors eg political, social, economic and technological, which

will have an impact on the future of VCOs across the country, including organisations in the East

of England. Consideration of these factors will help VCS organisations to shape appropriate

strategies for their future (see Appendix 3) and will also help statutory bodies and other

stakeholders wishing to work with the VCS to develop appropriate strategies to further their

objectives.

Our focus here is on general implications for the VCS and, therefore, this document does not

address challenges for specific sub-sectors, eg implications of changes in the structure of the

NHS for those VCS organisations working in health and social care.

4.2 Key external factors identified

At the national level, the National Council for Voluntary Organisation’s annual Third Sector

Foresight Analysis18 identifies key factors likely to impact on VCS organisations. The 2005

publication identified the following key issues and trends:

Section 4. Environmental analysis

NCVO Third Sector Foresight Analysis - some key issues and trends

The voluntary sector economy

• Gloomy post-election forecasts/expectations for the economy - but continued expectation of low

inflation and interest rates

• Voluntary sector income increasingly dominated by statutory sources

• Earned income increasing at the expense of voluntary income

• Rationalisation and phasing out of funding streams

• Continuing investment in public services, especially health and education

• Continuing efforts to remove transactional costs and administrative blockages in funding

relationships

• Public perception that taxes will rise and disposable incomes fall, combined with fragile consumer

confidence

• Rising company profits and continued emergence of the mass affluent as an important consumer

group

Individuals, communities and social cohesion

• International context and globalisation, plus international population movements

• Hardening of political positions

• Changing attitudes towards immigration

• Rise in violent crime and fear of crime

• Public policies around civil renewal and community involvement in the design and delivery of

public services

• Lack of trust in political institutions

• Media coverage

• Expansion of ICT facilitating new forms of engagement

18. Voluntary Sector Strategic Analysis 2005/6- Third Sector Foresight (NCVO 2005)

32

Environmental analysis

In July 2005 scenario planning workshops held by COVER in the East of England identified the

following factors as particularly important in the region:

• National policy initiatives and legislative change (see section 4.3 for further details)

• The emphasis on local planning and the increased role that voluntary organisations are likely

to be able to play in the process, eg LAAs, LSPs

• Changing demographics with more people who are older, frailer and more diverse

• Rural deprivation worsening, eg pressure on budgets leading to centralisation of hospital

services

• Growing expectations of a work / life balance - backed up by legislation

• An increased emphasis on the accessibility and efficient delivery of publicly funded services,

regardless of who is providing them

• Growth areas and physical infrastructure development

• Funding and finance*

• The growing professionalisation of the sector - requiring increased investment in training

and staff development*

• A lack of volunteers*

• The digital divide- the increasing relative isolation of those not using web based ICT*

* Part 2 of this report explores these issues in more detail

Public services and community governance

• Increasing demands for services and rising expectations

• Continued investment in public services, but financial pressure looms

• Desire to reduce size of government and contract with private and voluntary sectors to deliver

services

• Drives to involve users in design, planning and delivery of services

• Drives for efficiency savings

• Promotion of choice as a mechanism for improving quality

• Creation of a new legal form - Community Interest Companies

• Government interest in community engagement and governance

• Increasing freedom for high performing local authorities eg through Local Area Agreements

Trust, accountability and transparency

• Public perception that institutions are not accountable or transparent

• Public pursuit of zero risk at the expense of freedoms

• Unwillingness to trust professionals and their judgement

• Consumer interest in greater transparency

• The Charities’ Bill and media interest in public benefit

• Regulatory reform - where self-regulation is perceived to be failing

• Focus on governance and leadership

• Blame culture and the fear of failure

• Public demand for the instant availability of information

For further details, updates, and to join the Foresight Network see: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/3s4

33


4.3 National policy initiatives and legislative change

A number of new national policy initiatives and proposals for legislative change are affecting

the environment in which voluntary organisations operate, for example:

• Compact Plus - and the appointment of a Compact Commissioner to ensure that the

Compact, which aims to secure more significant sustained partnership between the VCS and

the statutory sector is implemented (see box on page 34).

• Civil renewal and community capacity building - the development by the Home Office of a

community capacity building strategy, including efforts to promote strong community anchor

organisations and the Together We Can initiative. This includes the Civic Pioneer network which

is a network of local authorities which have signed-up to working with communities to help

them have more influence on the way local services are designed and delivered

• Sustainable communities - a £38 billion programme of action for economic, social and

environmental development in both urban and rural areas in England. Four areas have been

identified as priorities for regeneration and growth: the Thames Gateway; Ashford in Kent;

London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough and the Milton Keynes/South Midlands area

• FutureBuilders - a new £215 million fund which aims to increase the role that VCOs play in

the delivery of public services in key government areas, for example health and social care and

community cohesion. Investment packages will normally combine a loan, a grant and capacity

building investment.

• ChangeUp - a major programme of government investment designed to ensure that VCOs

have the sort of infrastructure support they need to promote their future health and

development. A new independent body, Capacity Builders, will be launched in April 2006 to

oversee the programme (see Section 3 for further information).

• Strategy Unit report / Charities Bill - some of the raft of recommendations contained in the

Strategy Unit report Private Action, Public Benefit have already been implemented, for example:

- the development of a new legal structure, designed to encourage social enterprise

development

- a recognition by the Charity Commission that some sports clubs are charitable

- the establishment of a sector led self-regulatory scheme for fundraising charities.

Other recommendations need legislation and a Charities Bill is currently progressing through

parliament.

• The Russell Commission - has developed a strategy which aims to engage one million new

young people into volunteering and community action over the next five years. It is hoped

that £150m will be available to implement the strategy. £50 million has already been

pledged by government, which has also committed to match, pound for pound, money

raised from the private sector.

34


4.4 Themes in government support

The initiatives described in the last section demonstrate a series of key themes in government

support for the VCS:

Increased VCS delivery of public services - Government wants to encourage increased VCS

delivery of public services because it believes that the contracting out of public services

promotes both cost effectiveness and the responsiveness of services to individual needs. More

generally, it recognises the added value that the VCS can bring to public service delivery.

Compact development

The Compact, published in 1998, is a national agreement between the VCS and government to

improve their relationship for mutual advantage. It is underpinned by a number of codes on:

• Black & minority ethnic groups

• Community groups

• Consultation and policy appraisal

• Funding and procurement

• Volunteering

These codes each contain commitments made by both government and the VCS. For example, the

Funding and Procurement Code contains a government commitment to full cost recovery and a VCS

commitment to be open, transparent and accountable.

Since local relationships between the VCS and the statutory sector are crucially important to the

sector’s health and vitality, guidance has been published on the development of local compacts, and

work has been undertaken to promote their adoption at the local level.

In an effort to increase awareness and understanding of the Compact, and to promote adherence to

its principles and commitments, the Home Office developed a series of proposals called Compact Plus,

including the appointment of a Compact Commissioner who would support organisations in realising

these commitments and adjudicate on disagreements. It is also examining options for a kite mark or

accreditation scheme for the VCS and government on Compact compliance.

The Compact is a tool that can be used to improve partnership working between the VCS and the

statutory sector across the region. However, evidence of Compact adoption and compliance at the

local level is mixed. Most local authority areas have developed a Compact and several community

strategies have identified the promotion of the Compact as a priority. However, there is some

evidence that while local Compacts are being developed they are not being effectively implemented.

For example, consultation with local development agencies for COVER research examining the

engagement of the VCS in Local Strategic Partnerships suggests that the values and principles of the

Compact are not being observed.

At the regional level GO-East is carrying out a programme of work examining how it is implementing

Compact principles and commitments. It is also working with the regional VCS to strengthen the

development of Compact working across the region.

35


Volunteering and active citizenship - Government considers that communities are best placed to

identify their own problems and to develop feasible solutions, and it seeks to encourage and

support communities in this work. It also recognises that volunteering is a vitally important

ingredient of a strong, accountable VCS.

Improving the relationship between the VCS and the statutory sector - Government is seeking to

improve the relationship between the VCS and the statutory sector, eg by improving funding

and consultation practice and by promoting support for BME and community groups.

Encouraging social enterprise - Government seeks to encourage social enterprise in recognition

of the role that the VCS can play in public service delivery, ie generating income from this

enterprise activity, and because it acknowledges that if the sector is to continue to grow it needs

to generate more of its own income in a way which is sustainable.

Regeneration - Government acknowledges the important role that the VCS can play in urban

and rural regeneration, both as a provider of employment and training schemes, as an employer

in its own right, and because of the general contribution its services and activities make to

sustaining communities at the neighbourhood level.

Promoting VCS efficiency and effectiveness - Government seeks to help the VCS become more

efficient and effective by supporting the development of VCS infrastructure (see Section 3).

Encouraging charitable giving - Recognising the contribution that it makes to society,

government wants to promote the development of a strong independent VCS. It therefore has

an agenda to encourage charitable giving.

An underlying theme is the growing role of the VCS as a partner of the public sector. This

partnership takes a number of forms. VCOs may deliver public services, or may provide a

mechanism for involving local communities and communities of interest in the design and

delivery of public services. VCOs have the expertise to help with needs assessment and to

comment on the appropriateness and viability of government policy proposals, often reaching

the hard to reach. Increasingly government recognises that the social networks they create build

community cohesion, creating healthier and more vibrant communities.

This increasing emphasis on partnership working with statutory bodies presents a number of

challenges for VCOs:

• The maintenance of independence and a clear focus on the VCOs’ mission, rather than the

statutory sector agenda

• The need to demonstrate accountability and appropriate stakeholder involvement,

particularly the involvement of service users

• The need to understand and justify the full costs of service delivery, including capital and

other investment costs required to maintain and develop services

• Demonstrating cost effectiveness and value added, particularly in comparison with other

sectors

• Dealing with additional bureaucracy, eg demonstrating compliance with externally imposed

quality standards and other regulatory requirements.

36


4.5 Environmental analysis of sub-sectors

As noted at the start of this environmental analysis, it is beyond the scope of this document to

cover specific issues affecting particular sub-sectors of the VCS, eg health. VCS organisations

need to consider social, political, economic and technological factors specific to their own sub-

sector - see snapshot 6.

In response to COVER’s consultation paper as part of the Clear vision: Clear thinking project, the East

of England Regional Public Health Group noted that approximately 55% of the paid VCS workforce

works in health or social care settings. They also stressed the crucial role of the VCS as an advocate and

co-ordinator of the patient/community voice. This is particularly important in the context of

government policy around commissioning a patient-led NHS.

Clear recognition was given to the VCS as a source of expertise in the inclusion and inequalities

agenda, running hospices, adult mental health and learning disabilities services, Patient and Public

Involvement, the Expert Patient Programme and as a key contributor to the development and

maintenance of social capital which is increasingly being linked to improved health outcomes. The

VCS provides a valued channel of communication to and from vulnerable groups often regarded as

hard to reach by the statutory sector.

For further information see Working Together, Better Together: Voluntary and Community Sector

engaging in the Public Health Agenda in the East of England, COVER 2005

SNAPSHOT 6 - Health: an example of issues in a sub-sector of the VCS

37

5.1 Key attributes for VCO survival and development

In order to survive and prosper, all organisations, regardless of which sector they are in, need the

skills of innovators, entrepreneurs and managers, but in different proportions depending on

where they are in their organisational lifecycle and what they are trying to achieve. As in the

private sector, not all VCOs will survive and some will close down for a variety of reasons, eg

changing needs of beneficiaries or changing priorities of funders. Given the national context

outlined above, COVER’s scenario planning workshops identified some of the key attributes

VCOs will need to demonstrate if they are to succeed in the future19.

Organisations need to consider what these attributes mean for them and how to address this,

eg do they need to develop new skills sets. If so, where can they access funding to help them

with this.

5.2 Finding a way forward

Part 2 of this document examines how key environmental factors are likely to impact on the

future health and vitality of VCOs in the region and the communities they serve, under the

following headings:

• Governance

• Financing

• Workforce development

• Volunteering

• ICT

• Performance improvement

Section 5. Surviving the future - key attributes for VCO survival

19. This is based on the McKinseys 7 'S' framework of organisational survival attributes:shared values, strategy/sustainability, structure, staff, systems, skills, style

VCO organisational attributes needed for future survival

• Independence, creativity, working together, encouraging beneficiary involvement

• Increased entrepreneurship, partnership development, sharing of generic services. Continued

quality development in all areas

• Greater organisational flexibility to meet changing needs, creating and maintaining links with

other sectors

• Increasing qualifications, skills and experience for staff and volunteers, including trustees. Greater

reliance on volunteers

• Emphasis on developing skills, in particular addressing skills shortages in leadership,

management, marketing, communication, financing and fundraising

• Economies of scale wherever possible

• Remaining democratic and user led.

Source: COVER scenario planning workshops 2005

38

Surviving the future - key attributes for VCO survival

Under each of these headings is:

• A summary of the current situation

• A summary of key issues for the future, eg political factors affecting voluntary sector

workforce development

• Specific recommendations are made in each section addressed to:

- Frontline VCOs

- VCS infrastructure organisations

- Funders and policy makers

Extensive consultation was carried out in developing this agenda and we are confident that

there is a strong consensus for this way forward. COVER will play an important role in driving

this forward, working closely with frontline VCOs, other infrastructure organisations, and

funders and policy makers in the region.

It is clear from the analysis in each section and recommendations under each theme that

training and development of staff and volunteers, including trustees, is an overriding issue to be

addressed. This is made particularly challenging in an environment where short term funding

is still the norm, and full cost recovery is not always achievable.

5.3 Recommendations

It is recommended that all with an interest in the future of the VCS take note of the

recommendations set out in Part 2. However, there are also some cross-cutting issues relevant

to all themes which are significant enough to merit some general recommendations as follows:

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VCS INFRASTRUCTURE ORGANISATIONS,

FUNDERS AND POLICY MAKERS

1 The issue of coverage throughout the region needs to be addressed. Current provision is patchy,

despite a large number of different organisations being involved in the provision of support there

are concerns that this is not sustainable, and resources could be applied more effectively, eg

economies of scale or greater quality could be achieved through more efficient dissemination of

good practice

2 In taking forward this agenda of support for VCOs, the varied needs of different types of

organisations needs to be take into account, including the needs of community groups, rural

organisations, BME and faith based communities.

3 There is an ongoing challenge to support the sector in finding ways to clearly demonstrate the

added value of the VCS in the region.

4 Recognise the importance of physical infrastructure in community development and VCO

activities and support the need for capital and revenue investment in vital resources such as

village halls in rural areas.

39

Part 2

An agenda for the future developmentof the VCS in the East of England

Section 6 Governance .................................................................................................................. 40

Section 7 Financing ...................................................................................................................... 43

Section 8 Workforce Development ............................................................................................ 48

Section 9 Volunteering ................................................................................................................ 56

Section 10 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) ................................................ 64

Section 11 Performance Improvement ........................................................................................ 70

40

6.1 The current situation

What is governance in the VCS? A definition given in the new Good Governance Code21 is that:

“Governance is the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction,

effectiveness, supervision and accountability of an organisation.”

In the VCS, trustees take ultimate responsibility for the governance of their organisations,

although they may delegate specific responsibilities to members of staff, and also work with

volunteers, services users and other stakeholders. Trustees in charitable organisations cannot

receive remuneration, except in exceptional circumstances, and so are a particular kind of

volunteer. If the organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee then the trustees will

also be the directors of the company.

The term governance is likely to be more familiar to larger organisations, but it is relevant to

organisations of all sizes, right down to the very smallest. For example, as the Governance Code

notes, governance in a small community group might be about getting things in place, making

sure it is clear who is dong what, and making sure that all concerned are working together to a

common cause. Those involved may refer to themselves as committee members rather than

trustees, even where their legal status is in fact that of a trustee. In larger organisations, the chief

executive will play a key role in governance, acting as the bridge between staff and trustees.

At the national level, a range of organisations are involved in offering support on governance to

VCOs. As part of ChangeUp, some of these have come together to form the core group of the

governance hub of expertise:

• NCVO

• Acevo (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations)

• Charity Trustee Networks

• BTEG (Black Training and Enterprise Group)

• Volunteering England

• Bassac (British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres)

The hub’s initial aims are to increase the supply of trustees and board members, especially from

diverse communities, to enhance the knowledge and skills of trustees and board members, and

to increase the governance capacity of organisations to deliver their missions. An underlying

principle is that there is no one approach to good governance - appropriate governance varies

with the characteristics of organisations.

Regulatory bodies, including the Charity Commission and Companies House, also offer

information and some advice on aspects of governance. For example, the Charity Commission

produces a publication called The Responsibilities of Trustees.

At the local level, including in the East of England, most CVS offer some help with governance

Section 6 Governance20

20. See also Section 9 Volunteering - trustees are also volunteers21. Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector (National Hub of

Expertise in Governance June 2005). Downloadable from www.governancehub.org.uk.Print copies also available at no charge.

41

Governance

issues, although the extent of this varies greatly from one area to another.

6.2 The future

Drivers for change impacting on the VCS generally will affect governance, since governance is

about overall responsibility for everything a VCO does. The issues highlighted here are only those

which are most directly related to governance:

• Increased interest in good governance in the public and private sectors is likely to impact on

the governance standards expected of VCOs, for example: the expectation that trustee

boards should operate more strategically, and periodically assess their own effectiveness, is

likely to become common

• A growth in VCS delivery of public services will increase the pressure on boards to achieve

greater clarity about mission and finances

• Continued growth in public expectations of transparency and accountability, especially

where public funding is involved, will result in trustees giving greater attention to how

they report on their organisations' activities and achievements

• The new Charities Bill will introduce changes in charity law and regulation which trustees

will need to familiarise themselves with

• VCOs will have more structural options to consider in the future, for example the

Community Interest Company, a new legal structure targeted at social enterprises

• The promotion of social enterprise activity by government and others could encourage more

VCOs to engage in trading activities which require different governance arrangements, ie

the establishment of a trading company, and/or different governance skills, ie harder

business planning including costing skills - see Section 7 on Financing

• As more VCOs deliver more public services the reputation and financial risks associated with

trusteeship will become greater, and more time and attention will need to be dedicated to

risk assessment and management

• Media interest in the sector is becoming more intense, as a result risk to the organisation’s

reputation has become a bigger issue

• Recruitment and retention of trustees is likely to become more difficult as people work

longer and as the challenges associated with trusteeship increase

• As it becomes more difficult to recruit trustees with the right skills VCOs will need to think

more creatively about what motivates people to become trustees and how to make the

experience rewarding

• In many VCOs trustees take a lead in managing relationships with key stakeholders, as cross

sectoral partnership working becomes more common these relationships are becoming

more complex, and there are more of them

• As the trustee role becomes more demanding, trustees will expect better induction, support

and training for their role

• As the trustee role becomes more demanding trustees, and those who advise and train

them, are likely to seek more support, particularly from their peers. ICT developments are

likely to facilitate the development of communities of practice and communities of interest

• ICT developments may improve communication between staff and trustees, increasing

levels of involvement and the speed of decision making

• Virtual meetings, eg video or telephone conferencing, will become easier and cheaper. This is

a particularly beneficial development for VCOs operating over a large geographical area

• But both of the above could increase the excluding effects of the digital divide.

42

Governance

The Governance Hub, operating at a national level, will generate resources for dissemination to

regional and local networks, providing an opportunity for all parts of the country to promote

and develop better governance.

The Good Governance Code has brought together current thinking on best practice, making it

more accessible to all VCOs. This presents both an opportunity to raise the issue, along with a

resource which can be used over time, but also a challenge, as for many organisations this may

be their first concerted attempt to assess and improve their governance. They are therefore

more likely to actively seek support than in the past.

6.3 Recommendations - Governance

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FRONTLINE VCOs

1 Ensure your trustees/board members have access to available information on good practice in

governance

2 Identify key training needs of trustees or directors, and identify practical and affordable ways of

addressing these, eg invite an expert speaker on governance to a board meeting, run a training

course for your trustees etc

3 Keep your governance arrangements under review as the organisation changes its activities, for

example if developing new trading ventures.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VCS INFRASTRUCTURE ORGANISATIONS

4 Research the advice, information and support available to VCOs in the region on governance, and how

provision might best be developed in the future.

5 Specific attention should be given to the issue of recruitment and an initiative developed to help VCOs

recruit and train trustees with the right skills and experience

6 Specific attention should also be given to the development of trustee networks offering peer support

7 Promote information on good practice in governance, eg The Code of Governance, in a way that meets

the needs of different types and sizes of VCOs

8 Offer services to organisations in their start-up phase, since support with governance in the early stages

can make a significant difference to the success or failure of an organisation

9 Ensure training in governance is available throughout the region for trustees, staff and other stakeholders.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDERS AND POLICY MAKERS

10 Recognise the need for funding to VCOs to support governance development eg funding trustee

training

11 Follow good practice in funding governance development. The Governance Hub is planning to define

and promote this

12 Fund a review of information, advice and support on governance for the VCS in the region, which

should include an assessment of gaps in provision

13 Provide funding for provision which fills the service gaps identified in point 12.

43


The current funding environment presents a number of opportunities for VCOs:

• The government is seeking to encourage greater VCS delivery of public services. See for

example the document Cross Cutting Review of the Role of the Voluntary and Community

Sector in the Delivery of Public Services (2002)

• Significant work is being undertaken both within government and the VCS to encourage full

cost recovery (cf the new Compact Code on Funding and Procurement and Acevo’s toolkit

for VCOs to assess their core costs when developing project budgets)22

• New incentives to encourage more charitable giving by individuals, particularly the

simplification and extension of the gift aid scheme

• Increased attention to the issue of good practice in fundraising. The Institute of Fundraising

is leading on the development of a self regulatory scheme for fundraising

• Greater availability of loans, equity and quasi-equity finance to VCOs through, for example,

Futurebuilders, the Adventure Capital Fund (both government sponsored initiatives),

Esmee Fairbairn and the Northern Rock Foundation

• Government efforts to encourage social enterprise. For example the DTI’s 2002 Strategy for

Social Enterprise

• Increased provision of venture philanthropy. Multi-year core funding and management

expertise and skills enable VCOs to make a step change in their development.

• Local authorities are being encouraged to use their power to transfer assets into local

communities - this is largely a result of lobbying by the Development Trusts Association

and others.

The current funding environment also presents challenges:

• SRB funding coming to an end

• Good causes lottery funding is in decline

• An increased emphasis on accountability and transparency has encouraged funders to

require funded groups to provide more information

• As organisations have sought to diversify funding streams and services, the number and

variety of information requests from funders and regulators, and indeed other VCS

stakeholders, have become more difficult to manage

• There are some public sector barriers to VCOs playing a greater role in the delivery of public

services. For example, a lack of public sector understanding of the VCS and a reluctance to

cover the full costs of services

• A lack of VCS capacity for public service delivery, eg scant understanding of cost structures

• The contracting out of public services has tended to increase their regulation.

Section 7 Financing the VCS

British Trust for Conservation Volunteers has adapted the Acevo template and piloted different

versions of it over the last 12 months. It now has a new web-based accounts system and a new

accounts manager which complements the template. The final version of the core costs template is

about to go live and is currently being beta-tested.

SNAPSHOT 7 - Using the Acevo template

22. This toolkit is available at: [email protected]

44

Financing the VCS

Also, the contracting process can be bureaucratic and difficult to negotiate. As Speaking Up said

during the research conducted to inform this report:

“The problems that exist with procurement contracts are prohibitive for 95% of VCOs, because

everything is different for each local authority in terms of policies, procedures and applications

processes....Each tender costs between £2,000 and £3,000 to submit. This is prohibitively expensive”

7.2 The future

COVER has identified the following trends which will be important in the future:

• Greater contracting-out by the public sector as a result of the Gershon review which aims to

release money to frontline services by cutting back on waste and inefficiency

• Increased pressure on VCOs to demonstrate both their cost effectiveness and their added

value, and to realise cost savings through sharing physical resources and knowledge

• ESF funding to the sector is already in decline and may be set to decline further. EQUAL round

II was rejected for the East of England and expansion of the EU may further erode funding

for UK sector development

• Regionalism may come under threat after 2010 if a new government is elected, impacting

both on funding and support for the VCS at the regional and sub regional level

• A growing emphasis on entrepreneurialism, including in the VCS. Entrepreneurship is now

on the national curriculum.

• ICT is likely to give VCOs increased access to new markets and deliver long term cost savings

- the Regional Economic Strategy encourages “SMEs and the voluntary and community

sector in the region to adopt e-commerce and trade on line” (see also ICT Section 11).

• Increasing environmental awareness and interest in fair trade is likely to generate increased

income from recycling and fair trade products

• A growing interest in financing options, such as loans and equity, particularly quasi-equity,

is likely to lead to the development of new VCS enterprises

• A greater emphasis on financial sustainability in the VCS as a means of securing and

maintaining independence.

The sector’s funding profile

No research has been done examining the sector’s funding profile in the region, however aggregate

UK data does exist. According to NCVO’s UK Voluntary Sector Almanac, VCS income in 2004 totalled

£20 billion. 37 per cent came from the public sector, 36.6 per cent from the general public, 15.5 per

cent was internally generated (from the sale of goods and services - an increasing proportion), 6.6 per

cent from the voluntary sector (trusts and foundations) and 4.3 per cent from the private sector. The

public sector was, therefore, the biggest single source of income. However, it should be noted that

historically the East of England has received a smaller proportion of government and EU funding than

other parts of the UK.

VHG is a network of organisations providing supported housing and related advocacy and information

services. It provides newsletters and briefings, an annual conference, meetings for senior managers

and CEOs and training. In the past the organisation was very dependent on two particular funding

sources, but it has diversified its funding base. It now generates 25% of its income mainly from

conference and training fees.

SNAPSHOT 8 - Working towards sustainability: VHG

45

Financing the VCS

Speaking Up provides advocacy services to disabled people across the UK and runs a number of

projects across Cambridgeshire. It currently earns 38% of its income and its long term aim is to

increase this proportion to 70%. It hopes to achieve a target of 50% by 2008.

SNAPSHOT 9 - Working towards sustainability: Speaking Up

A report by The Guild into social enterprise support provision in Hertfordshire highlights the need to

build links between Business Links in Hertfordshire and the CVS network to improve social enterprise

support to the sector.

SNAPSHOT 10 - Social enterprise support

VCS financing infrastructure - national and regional

The Finance Hub, set up as part of ChangeUp, identifies some key gaps in provision across

England. It refers to the need for information, advice and support to enable VCOs to become

more enterprising and diversify their income base, and a need to help VCOs successfully

negotiate the contracting process. The two main themes of its work are training and support for

funding advisers and policy and research work to create a more conducive funding environment

for the VCS. It acknowledges that more work is also needed to make VCOs aware of the different

financing options available, ie loans, equity and quasi-equity, their pros and cons, and the

contribution that they might potentially make to greater organisational sustainability.

Funding advice provision across the Eastern region is patchy. Where a full or part time funding

adviser does exist, their role is often restricted to providing information on new funding streams

and advising on how to fill out grant applications.

However, a number of recent developments have improved the quantity and quality of support

with funding and financing, incorporating fundraising, procurement and enterprise, in the

region:

• The regional Funders Forum has, in the past year, formulated an action plan aimed at better

co-ordinating the provision of funding advice in the region, and it intends to increase

partnership working with the regional Funding Advice Worker’s Network

• Investment, through programmes such as EQUAL and the Phoenix Fund, is significantly

strengthening the capacity of agencies such as CVS and RCCs to deliver social enterprise

support and training in the region

• The introduction of advisors with a social enterprise remit within the Business Link network

has provided additional, external support. The Suffolk ACRE model, which is delivering

Business Links services in Suffolk, is a good one

• The recent establishment of a regional social enterprise network and the success of the

Supporting the Social Economy in the Eastern Region (SSEER) project, have significantly

raised the profile of social enterprise, and demonstrated a growing interest in, and

development of, social enterprise support. As a mechanism to take this work forward

county social enterprise networks have now been established across the region

(see snapshot 11)

• Proposals by Cambridge CityLife (see snapshot 12) for the establishment of an incubator for

developing and supporting emerging social and community enterprises. This cluster or

network development model could usefully be explored further in the region.

46

Financing the VCS

In addition, at the national level, the development of national occupational standards for social

enterprise, by the Social Enterprise Partnership, provides an opportunity to set a benchmark for

social enterprise advice.

Work on this theme needs to be developed in the future to create a tailored package of support

that is user-friendly to the VCS. As one respondent to the Clear Vision consultation stated:

“Standard business sector advice won’t do. I think this advice should properly be located within

the VCS rather than as part of the Small Business Service....”.

Quality training opportunities are also required, covering all aspects of running a social

enterprise, but in particular filling current skills gaps. One skills gap identified by COVER is the

marketing and promotional skills needed to sell a product or service in a commercial context23.

7.3 Recommendations - financing

A social enterprise business advisor at HERTSET, the Hertfordshire Social Enterprise sub-regional

network, has been advising Hertfordshire VCOs on social enterprise issues since January 2003. Over

the past two and a half years, the network has provided support, through advice, guidance and

training, to approximately 300 VCOs per year. HERTSET’s initial target for this project was 100 VCOs per

year. This includes ongoing support for 30 VCOs, as well as producing six editions of a newsletter, Profit

Plus, that was circulated to more than 750 organisations. In addition, online advice is available from

www.mybusinesslink.co.uk/socialenterprise

SNAPSHOT 11 - Hertfordshire Social Enterprise Network

Cambridge City Life, a social investment charity, has developed proposals for a Community Innovation

Centre. This is an incubator for developing and supporting emerging social and community

enterprises. Backing has been obtained from both local and county councils, as well as EEDA, the

Greater Cambridge Partnership and the Cambridge Enterprise Agency. The model incorporates

training, advice and workspace in a hands-on environment, within a community of VCOs and

emerging SEs, all under one roof. It can provide the next stage of support from CVS, delivering the

physical space, resources, structured training and on-going support needed for developing

entrepreneurial activity within VCOs.

SNAPSHOT 12 - Cambridge CityLife


1 Be aware of the full range of funding options and sources available in your area and ensure that

you are linked into networks which can keep you up to date on this both locally and regionally, and

at the national level through the Finance Hub

2 Recognise different skills are required to generate income in different ways, and consider how best

to develop these skills, eg by seeking training from the local CVS

3 Develop an understanding and analysis of the full costs of providing the services or activities, so

that this can be built into your fundraising plans / funding applications / pricing of services - this

will help you operate more sustainably.

23. The Next Steps to Earning Success event, run by COVER, highlighted this gap.

47

Financing the VCS

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VCS INFRASTRUCTURE ORGANISATIONS,

INCLUDING SOCIAL ENTERPRISE SUPPORT AGENCIES

4 Build on existing material to develop more comprehensive information detailing levels and types

of funding available in the region, from loan finance to grants and support services, and training

which can help VCOs secure and manage funding. Note that small community groups will have

different information and support needs from bigger VCOs

5 Connect to the Finance Hub and co-ordinate best practice information and resources in the

region/local area around funding and investment policy, advice and guidance

6 Information about tender opportunities, advice and guidance, ideally in a standardised format for

all local authority contracts, to be made available on a centralised VCS website

7 Develop training to prepare organisations for tendering and contracting

8 Provide practical support and leadership to LSPs, including joint work on procurement issues, as

well as promoting partnership working across the economic and community development and

procurement departments of local authorities

9 Compile a digest of joint working and partnership toolkits. Partnership development was a key

recommendation of the EEDA report Beyond Grants; and joint working, ie sharing facilities and

resources, can reduce costs

10 Secure additional funding to re-establish the Business in the Community Partners in Leadership

with Community Enterprise programme, since appropriate pro-bono assistance can help VCOs

develop income generating ventures

11 Gather and promote case studies of successful regional social enterprises to highlight the benefits

of social enterprise activity to the VCS

12 Raise awareness among VCS stakeholders of the scope, potential and possible limitations of social

enterprise activity in the VCS

13 Sign up to implementing the new National Occupational Standards in social enterprise, and offer

a programme of accredited training in social enterprise development

14 Ensure support for VCOs involved in social enterprise is offered in the context of other VCS support,

eg integrate this support with other CVS services


15 Join the Finance Hub to keep up to date with developments in good practice, in financing and

financial management in the VCS

16 Sign up to the Compact Funding and Procurement Code and implement its recommendations

in full

17 Raise awareness and provide a training programme for local authority procurement officers on the

added value, benefits and obstacles faced by VCS and social enterprise organisations in accessing

and bidding for contracts

18 Accept full cost recovery in your financing of VCS services, including those provided by VCS

support agencies

19 Consider funding co-located sources of support to the VCS and social enterprises, eg the proposed

Cambridge Community Innovation Centre or other models of network or cluster development in

the VCS

48


The quality of the workforce of a VCO is crucial to its ability to succeed in making a difference in

line with its mission. Human resources within a VCO may include staff, volunteers and trustees.

Note that this section focuses largely on paid staff, as there are separate sections in this report

on volunteers and governance, but some of the points made here may well also apply human

resources more broadly, so may be relevant to organisations without paid staff.

For the purpose of this document, workforce development is assumed to cover the following key

areas:

Learning and skills - this covers all areas of learning, including traditional teaching and training,

but also other practices such as mentoring, work shadowing and the use of action learning sets.

Employment practices and recruitment - this covers how the sector promotes itself as a place to

work, how recruitment is carried out and how employees are treated. It includes both paid staff,

trustees and volunteers and pertains to the policies and practices that are utilised by VCS

organisations.

The VCS has a need to develop its workforce in order to build VCOs’ capacity to deliver their

missions. However, as a significant employer and provider of services and activities in the

region, the VCS is also relevant to the government agenda for workforce development more

generally, eg as a provider of learning to staff, volunteers, clients and public and private

organisations; as an employer; as a sector involving individuals as volunteers; as a source of

expertise and as a channel for communication.

Figures are not available on the size of the VCS workforce in the region, but it is interesting to

note that the East of England Public Health Group has estimated that approximately 55% of the

paid VCS workforce works in health and social care settings.

Some aspects of the VCS have traditionally meant that it has been seen as a good sector in

which to work, one with a range of employee benefits and an ethos conducive to maintaining a

positive work/life balance. Sector specific training is available to some degree in the region. In

addition, as many voluntary organisations offer unique services to meet the needs of their

beneficiaries, they have developed unique skills and learning which could be shared for the

benefit of their client group and/or the VCS more widely. For example, several respondents to

COVER’s consultation noted the wider relevance of community development skills. As one said:

“these skills, if acquired, would promote and empower more vulnerable and disadvantaged

people to speak out for themselves”.

Weaknesses in VCS workforce development in practice often relate to a combination of short term

funding and organisations struggling to cover the full costs of a service. These combine to make

it difficult for VCOs to invest sufficient money in training individuals who are working for them so

that they can develop to their full potential. There are few direct benefits to the employer of

investing in training for the long term if a member of staff is on a one or two year contract.

Section 8 Workforce Development

49


“After recruiting someone, you spend a significant part of year one training them, year two is

very productive, and then year three, more often than not, finds them leaving due to the

uncertainty of the future”. A delegate at a COVER workshop 2005

A key report from the trade union Amicus also highlights this difficulty: “when contracts are

issued for 12 months or even less, our members find that their organisations cannot justify

making the investment into their development or other benefits that longer-term employment

can bring, like promotional opportunities”24

At the national level, the Workforce Development Hub25 set up through ChangeUp has

identified some of the skill gaps that exist in the VCS nationally. According to Futureskills

200326, there is clear evidence that voluntary and community organisations face considerable

skills gaps and shortages. Their research has demonstrated the following skills shortages:

• Generic skills such as management, leadership and ICT

• Occupation-specific skills for care, conservation, etc

• Sector-specific skills like fundraising or managing volunteers

COVER’s work has identified that the Eastern region has a particularly acute shortage of generic

skills such as: management, including planning, project development, communications skills,

customer care management; leadership and ICT. Most of these skills are the kind which are

needed on a day to day basis, so it is clear that the lack of such skills is likely to be a severe barrier

to running a VCO effectively, and even more so for organisations trying to grow and diversify

into new areas, such as delivering new services under contracts.

There are several key reasons for these shortages:

• Learning opportunities, provided to the sector’s workforce, vary in quality, availability,

appropriateness and affordability

• Some organisations lack the levels of knowledge and/or resources to plan and access

different approaches to develop skills.

• The extent to which the sector is seen as a desirable place to work is limited. Recruitment

and retention were found to be a problem in 47% of organisations surveyed for Futureskills

2003. Many young, and other, people are not aware that anyone gets paid to work in the

voluntary and community sector, and while there are many initiatives promoting

volunteering, there are few which promote the benefits of paid work in the sector. As

already noted, insecure funding, eg. one or three year funding cycles, giving insecurity for

both employee and employer, is not conducive to staff development.

In addition, many VCOs struggle to access good human resource management information and

advice. This was highlighted as a priority by several respondents to COVER’s consultation who

recognised a need to improve employment practices.

24. Short Term Funding - Short Term Thinking, Amicus 2005 www.amicustheunion.org 25. www.voluntarysectorskills.org.uk 26. Futureskills 2003: A skills foresight research report on the Voluntary Sector Paid

Workforce, VSNTO (2003)

50


Third Sector Foresight Analysis highlighted key issues for human resources as :

• Increasing demands from employees for flexible work

• Unemployment beginning to rise from an historic low

• Globalisation and the international division of labour

• Government policies promoting active citizenship

• Changing demographics, eg ageing, more diverse population

• Changing lifestyles, eg time pressures, feminisation of the workforce

• State pension age equalised at 65 in 2010

• Funders’ increasing demands for greater professionalism

• Centrality of employee volunteering in corporate social responsibility activities

• Lack of public trust in professionals

For further details see: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/3s4

8.2 The future

The importance of workforce development to the future development of the VCS cannot be

overstated. At a national level, the Third Sector Foresight Analysis report identified some key

issues for human resources in the VCS (see box)

The Government has a clear agenda to develop the skills of everyone living within the UK:

“Skills are fundamental to achieving our ambitions, as individuals, for our families and for our

communities. They help businesses create wealth, and they help people realise their potential.

So they serve the twin goals of social justice and economic success” Skills White Paper: Getting

on in Business, Getting on at Work.

This is relevant to the VCS in several ways:

• as an employer with its own workforce development needs

• as a provider of learning to staff, volunteers, clients, and public and private organisations

• as a sector involving individuals as volunteers

• as a source of expertise

• as a channel for communication, eg the sector is seen as having a role in communicating and

working in those communities, of both place and interest, where learning is not the norm.

Political influences on VCS workforce development have been identified by COVER as:

• National government priorities and targets, especially regarding hard to reach communities,

given to the LSC

• The skills white paper and the drive to raise UK skills levels to those of US and Europe

• The increasing role of Sector Skills Councils and the Learning and Skills Council’s agenda

• ChangeUp Workforce Development Hub agenda

• Emphasis on accredited qualifications and quality to attract funding

• The Skills for Life agenda

• Change in legislation relating to employment and diversity issues

• Regional agendas, especially the FRESA and RES

• Local Area Agreements, Community Plans

51


Relevant Strategies in the Eastern Region

The Regional Economic Strategy (RES)

The Regional Economic Strategy sets out a number of high level goals that are aimed at improving the

economic performance of the Eastern region. In relation to workforce issues, three of these goals are

relevant to the VCS:

• A skills base that can support a world-class economy

• High quality places to live, work and visit

• Social inclusion and broad participation in the regional economy

Framework for Regional Employment and Skills Action (FRESA)

FRESA is the main plan for improving skills in the Eastern region. It is linked to all the other regional

strategies, and has key priorities to address skills around employability, as well as workforce

development issues. The VCS is seen as having a role to play in a number of areas:

• Improving skills for employability. There is a clear desire to involve the VCS in the Skills for Life

agenda, along with the recognition of the sector’s role in increasing engagement from

disadvantaged communities

• Skills for young people

• Working with under-exploited sources of labour eg hard to reach sections of the community

• Access to learning and ICT, eg as a partner in learning centres

• Increasing employment rates, eg working with the hard to reach

All regional skills documents recognise the importance of developing the health and social care

economy across the region, of which the VCS is a significant component.

Regional Social Strategy

The Regional Social Strategy is also a key document for the VCS, although it makes only passing links

to the skills agenda, apart from referencing the FRESA. It does, however, make clear links between skill

levels and disadvantage, and has a priority ‘to improve the life chances of adults through learning and

skills development’. It makes an important argument for raising the skills levels of disadvantaged

people and, although the VCS is not specifically mentioned, there is clearly a role for the VCS here.

At the local level, Local Area Agreements and Community Plans will be increasingly important:

• Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are a new way of striking a deal between central government,

local authorities and major local delivery partners, including the VCS, in an area. The

development of LAAs has three main benefits for VCS learning and skills activity: access to

pooled funding to meet social targets, since local agencies like LSCs, Connexions and

JobcentrePlus, can pool funding to support activities that meet their targets, such as

unemployment, social exclusion and low skills levels; the chance to influence national and

local targets and the commissioning of services, since LAAs will be the main commissioning

bodies for national agencies and local government for the joint procurement of services

including learning and skills and influencing LAA targets.

52


• Community plans Each district council has developed a community plan, and while a

number of these have targets for workforce development, none highlight the needs of the

VCS specifically. It is important, however, that the voluntary sector is promoted to those who

will be updating the plans, in order that the sector is given greater prominence in the future.

COVER has also identified social, technological, economic and environmental influences on VCS

workforce development including:

• Views of what working in the VCS means, eg perceptions that it is all unpaid

• Development of occupational standards

• Increased professionalisation of sector

• Increased client expectations of service levels

• More openness and transparency expected by public and funders

• Use of internet for recruitment

• Virtual learning opportunities and the growth in interest by LSC and others in e-learning

• Use of ICT to support learning

• Use of internet to distribute good practice

• Difference in remuneration and benefits packages between VCS and other sectors

• Reducing levels of grants

• Increase in government funding and contracting

• Increased emphasis on service level agreements

• Reducing levels of LSC funding to support adult education

• Increased awareness of travel times and distances. This may lead to a demand for training to

be delivered at a very local level.

Against this complex backdrop, developing a VCO’s workforce in a climate of short term funding

is clearly a challenge for many, if not all, VCOs. VCOs need to ensure training and development

needs are taken into account in budgeting, to ensure costs are fully recovered, eg when

submitting a grant application for a new worker, or when setting prices for contracting to

deliver services. The increased recognition by the statutory sector of the legitimacy of full cost

recovery could be an opportunity for organisations to budget more appropriately for the costs

of workforce development.

The needs and characteristics of the VCS also need to be better understood by key funders of

workforce development. For example, the Learning and Skills Council acknowledges the

importance of educating itself in the work of the VCS, especially in the area of costs, such as

those relating to additional support needs for the learners, or additional steps to allow them to

access learning. The VCS needs to build on this growing willingness to understand the realities

of its activities.

The ChangeUp programme at the national, regional and local levels also presents some

opportunities to improve VCS workforce development27.

27. See www.cover-east.org for up to date information on ChangeUp

53


There is a need to promote the sector as a source of paid employment and to dispel some of the

misconceptions that exist about what it means to work for a charity. Both the private and public

sectors are increasingly offering well rounded salary packages, tied in with flexible working

arrangements, which mean that the sector may lose its edge here.

In addition there is a need for joint working between the sector, funders, traditional providers of

learning, and the funders and planners of learning. Without co-operation and partnership

working between all these parties, it will be impossible to move workforce development

forward.

8.3 Recommendations - workforce development

Note that not all of these recommendations will be relevant to all organisations, and different

organisations will develop different ways to take them forward. At the regional level, COVER will

play a key role on behalf of the VCS.


1 VCOs should consider how to develop the generic skills of their workforce - considering in

particular the benefits of developing better management, leadership and ICT skills

2 When recruiting staff VCOs need to recognise particular skills which those outside the sector may

bring to their organisation

3 VCOs should consider how to adopt good practice in employment and recruitment in their

organisation

4 VCOs should encourage continuing professional development and consider developing career

pathways so that new staff can plan their futures in their sector, although it is recognised this is

likely to be difficult for organisations not employing large numbers of staff

5 VCOs could consider their role in the Skills for Life agenda, since it is a government and LSC priority.

VCOs may be in a unique position to identify and work with the more disadvantaged or hard to

reach groups who wish to improve their skills

54



6 Promote the sector as a place to work, including generating more opportunities for relevant work

experience in the VCS and highlighting potential career pathways

7 Ensure the workforce development needs of the VCS are given consideration in development of

LAAs and Community Plans

8 Promote and facilitate the development of career pathways within the sector, so that existing staff

and new entrants can plan their futures

9 Promote recognition of key transferable skills that those from outside the VCS can bring to it

10 Develop and disseminate good practice in employment and recruitment to the sector

11 Ensure the sector has access to affordable, appropriate and timely employment / human resource

management advice

12 Develop systematic ways of spreading good practice in all aspects of workforce development

between county, regional, and national levels

13 Promote the use of appropriate quality frameworks/systems in relation to all aspects of VCS

workforce development, taking into account the varying needs within the VCS

14 Ensure a wide range of affordable training is on offer to meet the needs of VCOs, including

community based organisations and those with no paid staff (see also Section 9 Volunteering)

15 Identify and implement ways of increasing the provision and take-up by VCOs of generic training in

management, leadership and ICT skills

16 Compile listings of appropriate accredited training and train the trainer courses and promote VCS

take-up of these

17 Explore models of accreditation for VCS training which do not result in a loss of the uniquely

successful nature of existing training

18 Explore the role of the sector in the formation of the national occupational standards. These are

being promoted by the new Workforce Development Hub and by the SSDA

19 Support the development of training consortia where this could add value in meeting either the

VCS’s own workforce development needs, or VCS service delivery to other individuals and

organisations

20 Develop and promote more equal partnership working in training and ensure that the role of the

VCS is recognised and rewarded. This is especially important when working with traditional training

providers

21 Develop and promote models of full cost recovery in relation to training. This includes work to

calculate the cost of supporting disadvantaged clients into training

55


22 Explore and promote new modes of delivery, eg how to use new technology to ensure training can

be more widely accessible

23 Develop and promote mechanisms to enable more VCS organisations to sell training to generate an

income, while furthering their mission

24 Develop communication channels within the VCS and with other bodies to build on the VCS’s ability

to reach large numbers of individuals who other organisations classify as hard to reach. This could

be promoted carefully and charged for where necessary, as a means of supporting government

objectives, but it is essential that this is carried out without losing the trust that the sector has with

its clients, and without becoming the mouthpiece of government

25 Promote and offer training to ensure that staff in the VCS have literacy, language and numeracy

skills to carry out their roles, and access to advice and training in the Skills for Life area where

appropriate.


26 Statutory and charitable funders, including government departments, should invest in the

skills and learning activities and good employment practice of VCOs, particularly to address

specific skills gaps eg generic management and leadership skills. This will enable VCOs to

continuously improve their performance and deliver good value for the money

27 When funding staff posts or volunteering opportunities, funders should ensure that money for

training is built into the cost and that the funding covers this cost

28 Ensure that funded organisations have appropriate HR and workforce development policies and

procedures in place to support staff and volunteers, and that they are meeting minimum

standards

29 Ensure that organisations are taking account of the full cost of training and support, and that all

this is covered in the amount awarded

30 Work with funded VCS organisations to draw on their expertise to support the development of

good practice around workforce development.

56


What is volunteering?

Volunteering has been defined as:

“...the commitment of time and energy for the benefit of society and the community, and can

take many forms. It is freely undertaken and not for financial gain. The principle of non-payment

of volunteers is central to ...society’s understanding of volunteering. We understand the term

volunteering to include formal activity undertaken through public, private and voluntary

organisations, as well as informal community participation and campaigning.”28

More simply, it is “an activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims

to benefit the environment or individuals or groups other than (or in addition to) close

relatives”29.

Formal volunteering tends to involve some kind of regular commitment to a group, club or

organisation, to carry out defined duties. Such volunteers may even have the equivalent of a job

description. Other volunteering is carried out much more informally and the individuals may

not regard themselves as volunteers, rather they consider themselves just helping out, eg at

lunch clubs, churches, schools, etc. For example, many people involved in community

development work are very active in their organisations but do not relate to the term volunteer.

Informal volunteering is defined by the Home Office as “giving unpaid help to an individual who

is not a family member”. In many communities, particularly perhaps in some faith and rural

communities, it is difficult, and not necessarily desirable, to distinguish between volunteering

and being human. This has implications for organisations in determining the most appropriate

way to work with their volunteers. Practices appropriate for formal volunteering may not work

well if applied to informal volunteers.

People volunteer for many different reasons and it is important to understand something about

these motivations when involved with volunteers. They may choose to volunteer to develop

skills or gain experience, to socialise or to give something back to society. They may also

volunteer because they feel a moral duty or compelling reasons to take part in voluntary action

or support a particular cause. The key element is that it is freely undertaken.

Section 9 Volunteering

28. The Compact - Code of Good Practice on Volunteering Home Office (2004)29. ibid

57

Volunteering

Volunteers are essential to deliver many functions of VCOs, from those organisations which are

run entirely by volunteers, through to others where there is a mixture of paid staff and

volunteers. It is important to note that trustees, including those of charitable companies, are

volunteers, since by law, they cannot, except in exceptional cases, receive any remuneration for

carrying out their role as a trustee (see Section 6 - Governance for more details).

The opportunities and ways in which individuals can be involved are as diverse as the sector

itself. Some examples are given overleaf.

30. Early Findings from the 2005 Home Office Citizenship Survey (Home Office Online report 49/05)

Four Principles of Volunteering

The Compact recognises four principles fundamental to volunteering. These are choice, diversity,

mutual benefit and recognition. These inform every aspect of this Code.

Choice: Volunteering must be a choice freely made by each individual. Freedom to volunteer implies

freedom not to become involved.

Diversity: Volunteering should be open to all, no matter what their background, race, colour,

nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation or

disability.

Mutual Benefit: Volunteers offer their contribution and skills unwaged, but should benefit in other

ways in return for their contribution. Giving time voluntarily must be recognised as establishing a

reciprocal relationship, in which the volunteer also benefits and feels that his or her contribution is

personally fulfilling.

Recognition: Explicit recognition that valuing the contribution of volunteers is fundamental to a fair

relationship between volunteers, voluntary and community organisations and the government. This

includes recognising the contribution to the organisation, the community, the social economy and

wider social objectives.

Extract from The Compact - Code of Good Practice on Volunteering

Estimates of volunteering in the East Region

According to the Citizenship Survey30, in England and Wales in 2005, 50% of the population had

volunteered either formally (29%) or informally (37%) at least once a month. Regional figures are not

available, but COVER’s crude analysis of the national figures equates this to 2.7 million people

volunteering. Working on the basis of three hours per volunteer, this represents 98 million hours per

annum in the Eastern region. If volunteers were being paid the minimum wage, this would be valued

at £497million.

58

Volunteering

The National Trust has 30 significant sites across the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex,

Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, and approximately 400 full time members of staff.

In 2004-5 it had nearly 4,000 volunteers working in the region, who contributed nearly 30,000 hours

per annum. Using the notional value of £6.25 per hour for volunteer labour this equates to a

contribution of nearly £190,000. The roles that volunteers undertake vary enormously but include:

room stewards; education assistants; gardening and estate volunteers; surveyors; sales in bookshops

and other income generating enterprises. The National Trust says that many of its properties would

not open their doors without volunteers and it is continually seeking to recruit more.

SNAPSHOT 13 - National Trust Volunteers

The East of England has approximately 250 museums and more than 200 archives. Over 60% of the

museums are VCOs relying on volunteer labour with few paid staff. The museums libraries and

archives sector has around 5,000 paid workers, full and part time, and 9,000 volunteers in the region.

It is estimated that these volunteers provided, in 2004, more then 350,000 hours of work, with a

potential economic value of at least £7.5 million.

SNAPSHOT 14 - Museums, Archives and Galleries Sector

Although volunteers are, by definition, unpaid, there are costs associated with the involvement

of volunteers and it is important to recognise that these can be significant. As COVER

consultees noted:

“we would very much like to get an active volunteering programme off the ground. We would

like to appoint a volunteer coordinator to carry out the role of recruiting, training and deploying

volunteers....Volunteers require specific support and training and we would not be comfortable

recruiting people on an ad hoc basis without corresponding resources to support them.”

“providing volunteers with structured training would have a significant effect on organisational

ongoing viability and their ability to attract higher calibre and diverse people to more readily

represent the communities being served”.

Promoting and encouraging volunteering

Volunteering is clearly important to VCOs and their beneficiaries, and it is also recognised as

important by government, at national, regional and local levels, in particular in relation to its

active citizenship agenda. The Regional Social Strategy contains many case studies highlighting

the benefits of volunteering on social inclusion, and EEDA’s Regional Economic Strategy

highlights the importance of “harnessing the skills and talents of older people who wish to play

an active role in their community, for example through volunteering”. The Russell Commission

states “volunteering activity gives young people a stake in their communities, helping them to

make sense of their relationship to the world around them, and can inspire them to remain

active and involved throughout their lives.” 31

This is also reflected by GO-East (see box opposite) and in Community Plans across the region.

31. A National Framework for Youth Action and Engagement. The report of the RussellCommission. March 2005

59

Volunteering

Nationally, a number of initiatives are being put in place, aimed at investing a sense of community

and active citizenship within young people. These include citizenship as part of the national

curriculum, and recommendations from the Russell Commission, which look at enhancing those

activities which are, or can be, carried out by volunteers. This government’s interest needs careful

handling by the VCS to ensure there is no loss of independence in setting priorities around

volunteering and other aspects of VCS activities.

Also at the national level, Volunteering England32 promotes volunteering as a powerful force for

change, both for those who volunteer and for the wider community. It aims to increase the quality,

quantity, contribution and accessibility of volunteering in England, and in working towards this

aim campaigns to remove barriers and ensure that volunteering is kept high on the policy agenda.

It is involved in the ChangeUp National Hub on Volunteering, the review and development of the

Compact code on volunteering, a code of good practice for involving volunteers, and Investing in

Volunteers33 - the quality standard for all organisations involving volunteers in their work.

Almost half (47%) of people who volunteer do so initially because they are asked34. The charity

may already be known to them, or it may be a request through a personal contact who is already

involved with the charity. Sometimes the motivation to volunteer is part of a reaction “to

something that has happened to a person, their immediate family or close friends”35.

However, just over half (53%) of people who volunteer find out about volunteering from other

sources. Often this is through the agencies which support volunteering. At a local level these are

often known as volunteer centres, volunteer bureaux or volunteer development agencies. Within

the Eastern region, the capacity of these local volunteer centres varies, as does the way in which

they are structured. Some are integrated within generic infrastructure agencies, such as the CVS,

while others are independent.

GO-East recognises importance of volunteering

In 2002, the Government pledged to increase activity in the voluntary and community sector by 5% by

2006. The Government set this target because active engagement in the VCS is an important building

block in the creation of vibrant communities that are united by common visions, as well as valuing

diversity and equality of opportunity.

Individuals who get involved increase their own skills, experience and contribute to community life. A

high level of community involvement is in turn associated with low levels of crime and disorder, higher

educational achievement, better health and a greater involvement in the democratic process. An

active VCS is important in stimulating community involvement, as is easy access to those who want

to get involved.

Volunteering contributes an estimated £36 billion of economic value every year, and voluntary

organisations contribute nearly £7 billion to GDP.

Extract from GO-East website www.go-east.gov.uk

32. See www.volunteering.org .uk33. www.investinginvolunteers.org.uk34. Strategy for Volunteering Infrastructure p12 Volunteering England (2004)35. Ibid

60

Volunteering

The Suffolk Volunteering Federation is a partnership of 24 volunteering infrastructure organisations

from across the county and includes 17 specialist infrastructure agencies, variously known as volunteer

bureaux and centres, voluntary help centres and time banks, all of which provide services to volunteers.

With the many changes currently underway within the VCS, the Federation’s partners feel that these

changing times represent an excellent opportunity to examine the possibilities for radical change in the

configuration of these agencies. Earlier research has indicated that fundamental change is needed.

Even at the coal face, physical and virtual access to services is patchy:

• Volunteer centre opening hours vary from two half days a week to full-time office hours

• There is no after hours access

• Only one centre is open on Saturday morning

• Only five centres have websites

• Two centres have no ICT at all

However, in September there was an 0845 number for prospective volunteers. This is the result of

collaborative working between some of the volunteer centre partners of the Federation, which

understand the need for a journey towards change, and which recognise it may well be a painful

process. But they are also aware that the result will be a volunteering model for the 21st century which

secures the legacy of the good work currently taking place across the county.

The ultimate aim is to ensure that all volunteer centres are well positioned to deliver appropriate, high-

quality and effective support to volunteers and to those people and organisations they support through

volunteering.

SNAPSHOT 15 - An example of a volunteer centre: Suffolk Volunteering Federation

The particular function volunteer centres carry out in relation to recruiting volunteers is one of

brokering: maintaining a database of opportunities, now often linked to the Do-It website,

which is a national database of volunteering opportunities in the UK, and signposting people to

them, usually after an informal discussion or interview to identify suitability. Whether

independent or not, the way in which these centres are established shows a mixed picture

across the region, with a range of agencies at multi-district, district and sub-district levels

offering this type of activity. It is becoming clear that the current distribution of activity is not

sustainable in the long term and this needs to be addressed36. The challenge is to find a way of

enabling access to volunteering at a local, community level, which is where most volunteering

takes place, while having an agency structure which is sustainable.

The VCS in the region offers a wide range of opportunities for volunteering, some of which can

contribute to continuing professional development. Volunteering is increasingly being seen as a

legitimate way for individuals to enhance existing skills and learn new ones. This does, however,

raise the issue as to whether these individuals can truly be called volunteers, as they may be

being paid by their employer to undertake work in the sector.

A number of accreditation schemes for volunteers are being established, but currently there are

no such external schemes operating within the region.

36. The ChangeUp programme in the region is looking at this

61

Volunteering

9.2 The future

A wide range of factors are likely to affect volunteering in the future, as identified by the NCVO

Third Sector Foresight:

In the East Region, COVER has identified issues facing VCOs involving volunteers, and those

supporting them, including:

• Organisations having to compete to attract appropriately skilled volunteers - for example,

one consultation respondent noted how hard they found it to recruit good trustees

• Changing working patterns are perceived to be affecting volunteering adversely.

Volunteering opportunities may need to be more flexible if they are to attract working

people

Key issues for volunteering - identified by the NCVO Third Sector Foresight Analysis

• There are potential growth areas in volunteering, but the focus is likely to be on personal

fulfilment of the volunteer, rather than service

• Low unemployment and changing lifestyles

• Government policies promoting active citizenship, including the Russell Commission

• Centrality of employee volunteering in corporate social responsibility activities

• Tensions between volunteering as an instrument for delivering services and encouraging

volunteering as a participative activity

• Tensions between government involvement in incentivising volunteering and the voluntary

essence of volunteering


The Russell Commission

The Russell Commission was charged with developing a framework to encourage young people into

volunteering. The vision is of a society in which young people feel connected to their communities,

seek to influence what is done, and are able to make a difference as a result of meaningful and

exciting opportunities to volunteer. For this to happen, there are a number of changes which need to

take place:

• A step change in the profile of young volunteers, to ensure that all young people, regardless of

background, have an equal opportunity to volunteer

• A step change in choice and quality for young volunteers, with improved access to advice,

better opportunities to enhance their skills, and greater support for their commitment of time

• A step change in the number of young volunteers, with half of all young people aged between

16 and 25 years old, actively engaged in a form of volunteering

The report goes on to highlight the fact that young people want to volunteer, but that it must have a

tangible impact on the communities in which they live. It sets out some challenges to organisations

that use volunteers, including a review of the type of activity, regularity and times which people can

volunteer. The creation of an independent body, specifically to implement the Russell Commission’s

recommendations, demonstrates the government’s commitment to this.

For more information see www.russellcommission.org

62

Volunteering

• Responding to social changes, eg the involvement in voluntary and community

organisations providing some replacement for families, working with new communities,

eg people newly arrived in the UK, people in growth areas, working with the

increasingly ageing population, and highlighting the health and longevity benefits of

active volunteering

• Making the most of the increasingly available good practice information on involving

volunteers and recognising that the quality of the volunteering experience will play an

increasing role in how long an individual decides to give their time

• An increasing need to demonstrate the added value of involving volunteers, eg their

contribution to the regional economy

• Making the most of government interest in volunteering, including the implementation of

the Russell Commission’s recommendations, without compromising independence. As

one COVER respondent said, “organisations exist to provide services to beneficiaries, not to

provide volunteering opportunities.”

• The need to provide support and development opportunities to casual volunteers,

particularly in rural areas

• The vital need to establish a sustainable network of volunteer centres covering all areas

• Finding new ways to bring more people, particularly young people, into volunteering, eg

holding speed dating events to match individuals and organisations, greater use of the

internet, eg linking to the Do-It and Time Bank websites, digital television, eg the

Community Channel

• Consideration of whether developing employee volunteering as part of continuing

professional development or developing accreditation possibilities may be attractive to

some potential volunteers

• Dealing with the increasing amount of volunteering in statutory organisations, such as

schools, hospitals and social service departments. This could affect the image of

volunteering more generally. Government enthusiasm for involving active citizens can

place great burdens on individuals who are involved with statutory organisations as

volunteers and statutory organisations need to understand something about individual

motivations and limitations in relation to volunteering and respond to this. As a COVER

consultee noted “Patient and Public Involvement is an example of where the concept of a

volunteer is taken to the extreme and willing participants are put off getting involved

because of bureaucracy and centralisation”.

9.3 Recommendations - volunteering

Volunteers play a crucial role in contributing to the work of VCOs, both for their beneficiaries

and for the economy of the region. The wide range of volunteering activity plays a crucial role

in combating social exclusion and developing social capital, which leads to healthier

communities. The following recommendations are made:

63

Volunteering

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FRONTLINE VCOS

1 If your organisation involves volunteers, consider how you recruit and make your organisation

more attractive to a wide range of volunteers, including potential board members. Consider how

barriers to volunteering can be overcome

2 If your organisation involves volunteers in working towards your mission, ensure you offer high

quality volunteering experiences and opportunities, based on nationally recognised good practice

3 Explore ways in which your organisation can maximise the income it receives to pay for support

for volunteers

4 Ensure that volunteering remains independent, while taking advantage of the government’s

interest in encouraging citizenship and volunteering, eg new schemes and incentives to encourage

young people to volunteer

5 Consider the benefits there might be to your organisation / to your volunteers in developing ways

to accredit the volunteering experience you provide.


6 Ensure coverage in the region is addressed so that a sustainable volunteer brokering service is

available in all local areas

7 Promote the benefits of volunteering and volunteering opportunities, as well as related schemes

and available incentives

8 Identify and promote good practice involving volunteers, how barriers to involvement were

overcome and case studies demonstrating innovative ways of involving volunteers

9 Promote appropriate ways of accrediting the volunteering experience and the benefits this might

bring.


10 Recognise that involving volunteers is not free - support is needed for volunteer activity and there

are associated costs

11 Provide secure and sustainable funding for volunteering infrastructure, eg volunteer centres, at a

local level

12 Recognise the need for organisations involving volunteers to invest in promoting the benefits of,

and opportunities for, volunteering.

13 Recognise the need for investment in enabling organisations to exploit new technological

platforms for recruiting volunteers

14 Recognise the importance of informal volunteering, as well as formal volunteering, and

recognise where these need to be handled differently

15 When involving volunteers in the work of public sector organisations, be aware of good practice in

volunteering, but recognise that the motivations and limitations of volunteers in such cases may

differ from those of volunteers involved with VCOs.

64

10.1 The current situation - ICT in the VCS

Information and communication technology is probably the fastest changing environment in

which the VCS operates. As such it is often perceived as difficult and expensive to keep up with

advances. However, advancement proceeds apace in the private and public sectors as

companies increasingly communicate via the internet, offering discounts for customers who

take this up, and Government aims to deliver more and more services online.

According to ONS37

“In February 2005, 35% of adults had never used the internet. Of these, 44% stated that they

did not want to use, or had no need for, or no interest, in the internet; 42% had no internet

connection; and 37% felt they lacked the knowledge or the confidence to use it”

The overall level of penetration of internet technologies in the East of England region is believed

to be at similar levels to the rest of the UK. However, accessibility in rural areas to high-speed

connections is lagging significantly behind urban areas.

Regardless of the fact that many individuals still do not use the internet, ICT is of great

importance to the VCS - at the national level, the ICT consortium which constitutes the

ChangeUp ICT Hub conducted baseline research38 in which the majority of VCOs said the use of

ICT, including computers and the internet, was vital to their organisation. Making effective use

of ICT has been recognised by ChangeUp as being a key factor in the development of VCOs, from

small to very large organisations.

COVER workshop discussions on the use of ICT in the VCS highlighted key strengths as:

• Efficiencies in use of resources

• Convenience, ie faster communications

• Access to new markets, ie easier to reach new customers/beneficiaries

• Greater potential to reach into people’s homes via web and TV technology, ie broader and

more direct communications.

The ICT Hub’s baseline research identified that effective use of ICT involves three key aspects

within an organisation:

• Good planning and management of ICT and information

• Appropriate equipment and related facilities, eg networks

• Good ICT training, administration and support services, including security systems and

back ups.

Section 10 Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

37. Quoted in Voluntary Sector Strategic Analysis 2005/6 (Third Sector Foresight - NCVO)38. Report on Baseline Research and Evaluation Framework - ICT Consortium September

2004

65

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

COVER’s workshops and consultation revealed that key weaknesses limiting the effectiveness of

ICT use are:

• Skills shortages identified (see Section 7 Workforce Development) in strategic use of ICT and

basic computer literacy/using ICT

• Communications via internet can be seen as remote and impersonal and may even be

perceived as spam

• Not all can use technology, eg skills required, access for people with disabilities

• Not all have easy access to technology, eg set up and maintenance costs may be prohibitive

In relation to computer equipment, the VCS is often represented as a poor relation to business.

However, one of the most interesting statistics to come out of research carried out for COVER in

the East of England was how new, rather than how old, PC equipment was in the sector, with

61% of organisations having PCs less than 3 years old39. It appears that availability of

equipment is not the main barrier to better use of ICT, but rather access to high speed, low cost

internet services and appropriate skills and confidence to develop ICT use.

Even where ICT appears on the surface to be widely used, it is often not being used to its full

potential. As one respondent to COVER’s consultation wrote: “We are only just realising the

importance of ICT and need to address the issue within our organisations as a priority - this

despite the fact we have 27 computers, use emails etc”

But finding time and resources to address this can be difficult, as another respondent noted:

“we have such a demand for service we have little time to give to ICT”

Another COVER consultee commented: “People in small local organisations may not appreciate

the enormous potential of being able to access the internet, email communications etc, as well

as the more routine office functions. Our experience is that entirely volunteer-run groups may

be fearful of the technology and unwilling to commit to it, unless there is an individual involved

who is a personal enthusiast.”

As outlined above, those in rural areas are less likely to have broadband access to the internet

than those in urban areas. The Regional Economic Strategy recognises that this digital divide,

between urban and rural areas, is causing problems both to existing businesses, that are

expected by their customers or suppliers to have internet access, and also in terms of attracting

new business investment into the rural economy40. This situation also affects individuals in

general and the VCS. More significant than the lack of broadband availability, is the fact that

there will always be a divide between urban and rural, as urban areas receive new technology

first and so have more time to adapt.

39. ICT capacity and use in the VCS in the East of England. Cloud 10 for COVER (2004)40. A shared vision- the East of England RES p72

66


10.2 The future

As use of ICT widens, there will be opportunities in the future to use new ways to reach different

audiences and to engage with them as service users or beneficiaries, staff or volunteers. Already,

VCOs are considering how they can adapt:

“We use mobile phones for texting information on our youth programme - Millennium

Volunteers. This could be developed more. We could make more dynamic use of the website in

future to ‘sell’ ourselves as an organisation and market our services to a wider audience.”- a

COVER member organisation

However, as COVER’s workshops and consultation highlighted, there will be continuing

challenges in making the best use of ICT, risks around employing new technologies without full

understanding, and excluding those who are not able to use them, because of lack of access to

appropriate equipment or sufficient skills. It also needs to be borne in mind, particularly in rural

areas, that many key people involved in the VCS are working on their home systems which are

likely to be less sophisticated, and less likely to have broadband connections, than office

systems.

NCVO’s Third Sector Foresight analysis41 highlights, “understanding broad trends in the way

ICTs are impacting is important for two reasons”:

• VCS organisations mediate these technological changes

• VCS can also use ICT as a tool to help them improve the way they work

ICT key drivers and trends - identified by NCVO’s Third Sector Foresight Analysis

Productivity - ICT driving efficiency gains, eg in public sector

Ubiquity - new technologies increasingly embedded in everyday objects, transactions and processes

Familiarity - a generation of digital natives has been created

Affordability - ICT power/ cost ratio improves each year

Convergence - a more connected world, with PCs being only one of a number of digital hubs

Always on connections - a future where access to the web is no different to access to other utilities

Disintermediation - ICTs can remove intermediaries, enabling direct relationships between people and

organisations

Mobility - wireless technologies are driving location-based services

Collaborative culture - open source approaches are creating a new mutualism, with values conducive

to voluntary action

Open spectrum - increasing interest in free, unlicensed wireless communication will make broadband

available for all who want it


41. Voluntary sector strategic analysis 2005/6 - NCVO Third Sector Foresight (2005)

67


It is expected that communications will increasingly make use of the internet. For example, as

transactions with government are increasingly going to be over the web, VCS supporters,

members and beneficiaries will increasingly expect to be able to interact with the VCS via the

web - and are likely to show less interest in organisations who do not enable them to do this.

People and organisations who continue to prefer other modes of communication could become

increasingly economically and socially marginalised. The VCS has a role in combating social

exclusion so may need to respond to this with direct services. In addition, this divide will affect

how individuals are able to be active within the VCS, eg as a volunteer or trustee. So, for

example, organisations are likely to have to continue to disseminate information in both print

and web-based media and this has resource implications.

While broadband coverage will reach close to 100% in urban and suburban areas by 2006, 16%

of rural areas, and 2% of the region’s population, will have no coverage42. The sector will also

need to think beyond ICT as being purely about the internet, websites and computer

equipment. A wide variety of technologies are becoming available and these, and related issues

identified by COVER, need to be considered:

• Wireless technology

• Use of websites and web-based databases

• Use of mobile technology

• Digital TV / radio

• Open source software (OSS)

• Handling increases in spam

• Increased need for virus protection, which can be expensive and complex

• Further developments in design of hardware and software to make ICT more accessible to

disabled people/ elderly people

• Possibility of creating more insular/ home-based lives which will affect community

cohesion/ social exclusion

• Potential for increased use of the internet for lobbying/ campaigning

Open Source Software

There is growing interest in the use of open source software, OSS. The feasibility of this to meet the

needs of VCOs needs further exploration and at present the jury is still out. OSS is not free, but is

software where the source code is made available to all, so that users can make improvements

befitting their own use. An organisation needs someone who is computer literate to install and use

this software. This presents difficulties for many VCOs who are reliant on volunteers for ICT support.

However, this is not to say that for some organisations open source is not viable.

42. EEDA Demand Broadband Campaign

68


VCOs, particularly small and medium sized ones who are unlikely to be able to afford dedicated

ICT staff, will continue to require access to appropriate ICT support. The ChangeUp ICT Hub is

working on a range of initiatives looking at:

• Improving ICT planning in VCOs

• Improving access to advice, training and support

• Different models of support, eg circuit rider schemes (sharing ICT support), pro bono schemes

• More relevant and affordable private sector products and services

• Recognition by funders of the critical role of ICT for VCOs

• How to address needs of particular groups such as elderly and disabled people

As part of this, work is underway developing a framework to help organisations assess the

extent to which they are making effective use of ICT, bearing in mind what is likely to be

appropriate/feasible for organisations of different sizes. In the East of England, ChangeUp

initiatives, led by COVER, will need to ensure learning from the national initiatives is

disseminated appropriately throughout the region.

There is a long way to go...:

“ICT has something to prove. Few charities are using it effectively and few staff see its value.

That’s not just a shame, it’s a tragedy. ICT has a strong future in the voluntary sector, but will

only achieve its true value when management see it as an integrated part of the organisation,

when all staff are engaged in its use, when investment is made in its development and

infrastructure, and funders realise that utility use is more important than the tangible

equipment.” - Dr Simon Davey, Centre for Charity Effectiveness, CASS Business School43

10.3 Recommendations - ICT


1 Develop a strategy for how you will make use of ICT in your organisation. Recognise that ICT

strategies are likely to need to be integral to all aspects of your activities since ICT should no longer

be thought of as an add on

2 Ensure you plan and budget for adequate access to ICT services and support, eg broadband access,

technical support, virus protection, back ups, particularly for any activities which are highly ICT

dependent

3 Ensure your budgeting allows for appropriate renewing/upgrading of ICT to meet your

organisation’s needs

4 Consider how improving the presence of your organisation on the internet will help you in

achieving your organisation’s goals

5 Aim to recruit ICT literate employees or ensure you can offer adequate training for those who do

not already have strong ICT skills

6 Explore how additional use of ICT could benefit your organisation and its beneficiaries eg use of

database to manage key information, use of the internet, etc

43. Quoted on www.ictconsortium.org (August 2005)

69


7 Consider whether it is relevant for your organisation to help people cross the digital divide in the

course of its work, including help for people with disabilities around the use of ICT

8 Consider the benefits and feasibility of involving more ICT skilled people in your organisation, eg

recruiting young people with ICT skills as trustees or volunteers.


9 Ensure VCOs have access to training in how to use ICT to benefit their work. This should address

the needs of a wide range of organisations, including those working with people with disabilities

and those without paid staff

10 Ensure VCOs have access to appropriate training in a range of specific ICT skills at affordable cost

11 Promote ways the VCS can help people cross the digital divide, and the benefits of this, eg promote

the range of information available on the internet

12 Ensure VCOs have access to information about sources of funding for ICT related expenditure, eg

training, database development, hardware

13 Consider offering a low cost, easily accessible ICT support service to the VCS as a social enterprise

14 Promote the benefits of the range of ICT to VCOs by highlighting real examples of how it has been

used effectively, eg video/voice conferencing to save time travelling to meetings

15 Promote good practice in making websites accessible/appropriate for particular sections of the

community, eg people with disabilities

16 Ensure that good practice and learning from the National ICT Hub is disseminated appropriately,

in particular encouraging better use of existing ICT.


17 Encourage better use of ICT by promoting examples of the benefits of its use

18 Offer funding for equipment, software renewals, upgrades and support services and ensure that

this covers the full cost of ICT use

19 Offer funding for ICT training in the VCS, including the strategic use and planning of ICT

20 Offer funding for ICT training and development which meets the diverse needs of groups who are

experiencing digital exclusion, eg rural communities, elderly people, disabled people.

70


Performance improvement is a difficult category. Organisations can improve their performance

by addressing governance issues, by training and developing their staff, though better use of

volunteers and by increasing their ICT capacity. Performance improvement therefore

encompasses the other themes discussed in Part 2 of this report. However, within the context

of ChangeUp, performance improvement has been given a relatively distinct meaning. It has

been interpreted as helping VCOs better achieve their missions by providing them with

resources and tools to plan, manage, measure and report on their performance.

For the purposes of this document performance improvement covers:

• Strategic planning and marketing

• Measuring outcomes

• Quality standards

• Sharing resources

• Information provision and accountability.

It also covers the diagnosis work which determines what support organisations need, and

assistance for them in accessing it.

VCOs are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they are providing high quality services

or activities cost effectively. This pressure comes from funders, service commissioners, regulators,

members and donors. Increasingly, given the complexity of the environment in which they are

working and the numerous tools and resources available, they need help in this area.

Improving our Performance: a strategy for the voluntary and community sector44 identified

valuable initiatives at the national level, for example the Quality Standards Task Group and

Charities Evaluation Services, and at the local level, some run by local CVSs. However, it

suggested that existing support was patchy in a number of respects. Some initiatives tended to

focus on, or be associated with, particular approaches, eg quality standards, rather than

covering all areas. Support was also geographically patchy in the sense of not being available in

every local area. And finally, initiatives were relatively small scale, given the potential demand,

and most relied on short term funding.

The research also identified the following more specific support needs:

• Strategic planning and marketing - advice and support in involving service users in setting

goals and monitoring performance, and the provision of the information needed to inform

strategic planning - an issue that this report and the project which generated it has sought

to address.

• Measuring outcomes - assistance in producing ‘good enough’ data, ie developing a feasible

research plan within available resources

• Quality standards - objective information on the range of quality standards, models and

frameworks available, their strengths and weaknesses, and the costs of implementing them

Section 11 Performance Improvement

44. National Council for Voluntary Organisations (QSTG 2004)

71


• Sharing resources - information about the options available, for example purchasing

consortia and shared central services and support in pursuing them

• Information provision and accountability - advice and support in reporting on performance

to stakeholders.

The topic of performance improvement presents a range of opportunities and challenges for

the VCS and its stakeholders:

• Increasingly funders and regulators are expecting more detailed information from VCOs. In

addition, some funders require VCOs to have attained particular quality standards before

they can access funding

• The most significant barrier to VCS performance improvement is funding. Furthermore,

funders tend to be reluctant to invest in core management functions, including finance

• The performance improvement agenda is perceived as a government agenda, ie VCOs are

increasingly being required to meet requirements set by government and lack the time

and resources to undertake their own detailed work on appropriate performance indicators

• Successful approaches to performance improvement are generally based on a sound

diagnosis of an organisation and what it needs to do to improve. Investment in ChangeUp,

through the Performance Improvement Hub and in other ways, provides the opportunity

for increased investment in training in diagnosis and related one to one support to VCOs

through the performance improvement process

• The variety of stakeholders with an interest in an organisation’s performance can make the

issue highly contentious. Stakeholder groups include: service users; trustees; staff; funders

and/or regulators. A funder, for example, might prefer a VCO to provide a less intensive

service to a wider group of people, while a service user might prefer a more intensive

service to a smaller group

• Sometimes funders have little understanding of different performance improvement tools

and approaches. They can, for example, be unrealistic about what different quality

standards can deliver and also fail to appreciate that it takes time for quality standards to

feed though into service improvements

• Funders are placing an increased emphasis on outcome measurement, although many are

not clear about the sort of information they require from VCOs and the burden that they

place on VCOs in requiring it.

Outcomes data in the health sector

“The health sector often needs outcome data, particularly in tendering situations. An example of VCS

impact that is difficult to measure is around provision of preventative services, such as reducing

referral rates to, and pressure on, statutory services. Many organisations do not collect data to justify

the success of their interventions. There is a need to identify and promote outcomes.”

The Department of Health’s East of England Public Health Group response to COVER consultation

“Given a policy context in which there is greater focus on outputs and outcomes, combined with a

drive for improved efficiency and added value, VCS organisations need to be equipped to respond to

the changing environment. EERA supports a more strategic approach, in particular the need to

identify economies of scale to maximise the impact of VCS organisations and the opportunities

available to them.” EERA response to COVER Clear Vision consultation

72


BTCV’s Green Gym programme is measuring social outputs through improved health indicators, as well as

environmental returns. Other bodies are investigating, through an in-depth study, alternative

methodologies for measuring the impact of environmental conservation work. The Tidy Britain group is

developing a project with BTCV measuring the social factors associated with environmental conservation.

SNAPSHOT 16 - Measuring the impact of environmental conservation in the East of England

11.2 The future

The following trends are likely to be important in the future:

• Increasingly funders and regulators will expect VCOs to demonstrate that they are using

management and monitoring tools such as strategic planning and outcomes measurement

• A general lack of trust in institutions is creating a growing burden of regulation. This impacts

particularly on VCOs as service providers

• There is evidence that service users' expectations are much higher than they were in the

past and that they are likely to increase further

• The current pressure for user consultation and involvement is likely to grow as funders and

commissioners emphasise the importance of responsive services

• Some trends in the funding and financing environment, for example, a greater availability of

loan finance and interest in venture philanthropy, have focused interest on how funders

can build organisational capacity. Promotion of this work may result in greater investment

• Public sector funding is likely to come under increasing pressure. This means that VCOs will

be expected to demonstrate that they are doing more or providing a higher quality of

service for the same funding

• Increased competition with the public and private sector in the sphere of service delivery will

create further pressure on VCOs to demonstrate that they are efficient and effective

• Is it likely that VCOs will have to adopt particular quality standards or meet specific

requirements in relation to quality in order to access public sector funding. This

development may also influence private sector funding practice.

The business plan for the Performance Improvement Hub refers to the importance of face to face

support for VCOs. One of its main objectives is to provide training in diagnosis for performance

improvement advisers, including CVS development workers or staff with a performance

improvement brief working in front line agencies. However, it will be next to impossible for the

VCS by itself to provide the type of intensive support required by the number of organisations

likely to seek it. The development of appropriate mentoring schemes may, in the future, be a

partial solution to this difficulty (see snapshot 17). One complementary option is to develop peer

to peer support so that mentoring becomes a powerful tool for the sector.

• Eastern Mentoring Forum has a website and details of mentoring programmes.

• Business in the Community runs a ProHelp scheme, which is a national network of 1,000 firms which give

their time and expertise free to VCOs. Currently 75 firms are members of ProHelp in the Eastern region.

• The Chancellor also announced recently the creation of a national Mentoring and Befriending

Foundation, which is the new national network for mentoring. Recruitment for an Eastern region

coordinator is imminent.

SNAPSHOT 17 - Mentoring initiatives accessible to VCOs in the East of England

73


11.3 Recommendations - performance improvement


1 Ensure you are aware of the different tools and techniques that your organisation might use to

manage and monitor its performance, eg outcomes assessment, strategic planning, etc

2 Consider whether your organisation needs to develop work in this area:

- is it likely to have to meet a particular quality standard to secure funding in the future?

- would a system of peer assessment enable it to prepare for regulatory inspection?

- does it need to improve its information system in order to better monitor its performance?

3 Periodically ask key stakeholders, including service users, what they think of your VCOs performance

4 Include in funding bids an element of funding for the evaluation of funded programmes

5 Nominate a board member, or sub group of the board, to consider organisational performance and

how it might be improved

6 Keep your arrangements for managing and monitoring performance under review and ensure

they are adapted appropriately as things change.


7 Examine the advice, information and support available to VCOs in the region on performance

improvement, and how provision might best be developed in the future

8 Develop peer to peer support schemes in the region

9 Promote and develop pro bono support schemes in the region

10 Promote information on performance improvement, eg that developed by the Performance

Improvement Hub, in a way which meets the needs of the different types and sizes of VCOs

11 Offer diagnosis services and support through the performance improvement process. This is

regarded as key to helping organisations work through the options and successfully implement

improvement programmes

12 Ensure training in different performance improvement tools and approaches is available

throughout the region for trustees, staff and other stakeholders.


13 Fund a review of information, advice and support on performance improvement for the VCS in the

region

14 Recognise the need for funding for VCOs to enable them to improve their performance by, for

example, developing new improved information systems, implement outcomes monitoring systems

15 Allow passporting between different quality standards and systems. Often VCOs are required to

implement a new standard for a particular funding stream regardless of the fact that they have

already achieved a standard with most of the same elements

16 Fund a programme of work examining how VCOs in particular sub sectors can demonstrate the

benefits of the VCS and the added value of their work (see discussion of added value in Part 1).

74

ACEVO Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations ACRE Action on Communities in Rural England

BitC Business in the Community BME Black and Minority Ethnic

CEO Chief Executive Officer COVER Community and Voluntary Forum:

Eastern Region CVS Council for Voluntary Service

DTI Department of Trade and Industry

EEDA East of England Development Agency EMF Eastern Mentoring Forum ESF European Social Fund EU European Union

FAWN Funding Advice Workers Network FRESA Framework for Regional Employment and Skills

GO- East Government Office for the East of England

IiC Investing in Communities IMD Index of Multiple Deprivation

LAAs Local Area Agreements LSC Learning and Skills Council LSP Local Strategic Partnership

MENTER Minority & Ethnic forum Eastern Region

NCVO National Council for Voluntary Organisations NOS National Occupational Standards NQF National Qualifications Framework

OSEP Observatories Social Exclusion Partnership

RCC Rural Community Council RDA Regional Development Agency RES Regional Economic Strategy RSS Regional Social Strategy

SE Social Enterprise SEEE Social Enterprise East of England SfL Skills for Life SFP Sustainable Funding ProjectSME Small Medium Enterprise SRB Single Regeneration BudgetSSA Sector Skills Agreements SSC Sector Skills Councils SSDA Sector Skills Development Agency SSEER Supporting the Social Economy in the Eastern Region

VCO Voluntary and Community Organisation VCS Voluntary and Community Sector

Appendix I. Glossary

75

Appendix II. Questions for VCOs to consider

NCVO’s Voluntary Sector Strategic Analysis suggests organisations might find it useful to think about

the following questions:

1. Think about impact

• Could this trend have an impact on your organisation?

• How significant would that impact be?

• Is it a positive or a negative impact?

• What is the likelihood that the predicted impact will occur?

• Will the impact occur in the short, medium or long term?

2. Think about actions required

• What does your organisation need to do to make the most of this opportunity and/or

minimise this threat?

• What are the implications for your finances, staff, volunteers, your practices and processes,

ie how you work?

• What are other players in your field doing? Do you need to change your relationship with

them?

76

National Publications:

21st Century Skills. (21st Century Skills Partnership)

Allsopp Review. A statistical requirement for monetary and wider economic policy making.

Choosing Health: making healthier choices easier (DoH white paper)

Community Capacity Building and Voluntary Sector Infrastructure in Rural England - (DEFRA)

Compact -getting it right together: Compact code of good practice on community groups (Home Office & Compact Working Group)

Egan Review. Skills review (Sir John Egan)

Equalities Review. Reforming equalities legislation (Cabinet Office)

Every Child Matters:Change for Children - working with voluntary and community organisations to deliver change for children and young people (DfES)

Firm Foundations: government’s framework for community capacity building (Home Office)

Futurebuilders - an investment fund for VCS public service delivery (HM Treasury)

Gershon Review - Releasing Resources for the Frontline: independent review of public sector efficiency (Sir Peter Gershon)

GO! -the 2002/03 report on the work of the government offices for the English regions (ODPM)

Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Community - a strategy to increase race equality and strengthen community (ODPM)

Improving our Performance - (Quality Standards Task Group, NCVO)

Making it Happen: Thames Gateway & growth areas (ODPM)

National Procurement Strategy for Local Government (ODPM)

NCVO 3rd Sector Foresight Analysis (NCVO)

Private Action, Public Benefit - a review of charities and the wider not for profit sector (Cabinet Office Strategy Unit)

Report from the Symposium on Active Ageing

Social Enterprise: A Strategy for Success (Department for Trade & Industry)

Sport England and Volunteering England Strategy

Sustainable Communities: Building for the future (ODPM)

Tackling Health Inequalities - compendium (HDA, DoH & NHS)

The Learning Curve (ODPM)

The Role of the VCS in Service Delivery - a cross cutting review (HM Treasury)

Volunteering England Strategy

Working together - a strategy for the VCS and the LSC (LSC)

Youth Matters - White Paper (DfES)

East of England regional publications:

Changeup East: the East of England VCS infrastructure strategy, investment and implementation plan (Regional Infrastructure Advisory Group)

Culture: A Catalyst For Change. A strategy for cultural development for the East of England (Living East)

Draft Regional Housing Strategy for the East of England (EERA)

East in Focus - East of England health profile 2001 (ERPHO)

East of England Integrated Regional Strategy (EERA)

East of England Plan (EERA)

East of England Regional Social Strategy (EERA)

FRESA: Framework for Regional Employment and Skills Action (EEDA)

GO-East Business Plan 04 -05

Living With Climate Change In The East of England (SDRT)

Our Environment, Our Future: The Regional Environmental Strategy for the East of England (EERA)

The Implications of an Ageing Population in the East of England (EERA/Symposium on Ageing)

Market Towns in the East of England: sharing ideas and initiatives. (EEDA)

A Shared Vision: The Regional Economic Strategy for the East of England (EEDA)

Social Enterprise in the East of England (SEEE)

Social Exclusion in the East of England (OSEP)

A Sustainable Development Framework for the East of England (SDRT/EERA)

Working Together, Better Together: Voluntary and Community Sector engaging in the Public Health Agenda in the East of England (COVER 2005)

Local publications

Achieving Excellence: our performance and our improvement plans (Essex County Council)

Bedfordshire County Council Performance Plan 2004/05 (Bedfordshire County Council)

Best Value Reviews (various local authorities)

Cambridgeshire Best Value Performance Plan 2004/05 (Cambridgeshire County Council)

Cocker Report: voluntary sector and local authority procurement

Community and Social Needs Survey of Essex (Essex University for the Essex Community Foundation)

Community Strategies (various local authorities)

Hertfordshire Best Value Performance Plan 2004/05 (Hertfordshire County Council )

Local Area Agreements (Suffolk and Peterborough)

Making a Living for the Community (The Guild, Norwich)

Norfolk Best Value Performance Plan 2004/05 (Norfolk County Council)

Norfolk Sector Skills Plan

Suffolk Commission -statistical analysis of the voluntary & community sector in Suffolk (SAVO)

Voldata - a snapshot of Norfolk’s voluntary & community sector 1999-2000 (VOLCAAN)

Appendix III. Key references

Eagle Stile, Rectory Farm Barns, Walden Road, Little Chesterford CB10 1UDTel: 01799 532880 Fax: 01799 532899 Email: [email protected]

www.cover-east.org

COVER is a registered charity no. 1085390 and a company limited by guarantee registered in England no. 3850130

Documents

Clear vision Clear thinking - a future development of the voluntary sector in the East of England