Derbyshire Voluntary and
Community Sector Infrastructure Consortium
CHANGE UP – STRENGTHENING
THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Derbyshire Rural Community Council is a member
of the Consortium which is managing the government’s
voluntary and community sector
ChangeUp programme in Derbyshire and the City
of Derby. Nearly £739,000 has been received to fund
25 projects during 2005-6. The projects are designed to strengthen
the sector and extend its reach and to improve service delivery.
DRCC’s representative is Mike Harris. Helen
Lidgett is the Consortium Co-ordinator.
The National
ChangeUp Programme
Derby and Derbyshire
Derbyshire IIP Themes
Future Plans: Capacity Builders
Derbyshire Voluntary
and Community Sector Infrastructure Consortium Members
Derbyshire ChangeUp
Projects 2005-06
The National
ChangeUp Programme
ChangeUp is a government programme led by the Home Office
designed to build the capacity of voluntary and community
sector infrastructure organisations and strengthen and expand
the services they offer to front-line voluntary and community
organisations. The government believes the voluntary and community
sector (VCS) has a vital role to play in improving the quality
of life of people and communities. It recognises that to play
its part effectively the sector needs advice, training and
support, which is generally provided by VCS infrastructure
organisations, such as the Councils for Voluntary Service,
Rural Community Councils, Volunteer Bureaux and various specialist
agencies, including Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) organisations
and faith groups. It identified six areas where it believes
effort should be concentrated: workforce development, performance
improvement, governance, ICT, volunteering and funding advice.
It allocated £70M nationally to the programme, much
of it allocated for regional work. Nationally six National
Hubs have been set up, to provide leadership to the sector
on each theme.
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Derby and Derbyshire
Regionally the programme is managed by the Government Offices,
in our case the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM).
GOEM required each sub-region to form a consortium of voluntary
and community sector infrastructure organisations to participate
in the programme. There are seven consortia in the East Midlands,
one for each county and a regional consortium. The
Derbyshire Consortium includes organisations operating
in the county and in the City of Derby.
During 2004 each Consortium undertook research
into local needs and created Infrastructure
Investment Plans (IIP’s) for their area. The Derbyshire
IIP includes 25 project proposals. Once funding was allocated
to Consortia early in 2005 these proposals were developed
into full projects and submitted to GOEM for approval. The
projects were assessed by the Derbyshire Funders Panel which
includes representatives of many major funders of voluntary
sector infrastructure, including local authorities and the
Big Lottery Fund. All Derbyshire’s projects were eventually
approved for a total investment of £738,900. Projects
must be complete by June 2006 although some may be able to
negotiate an extension to 30th September. The Derbyshire Consortium
complied closely with Change Up guidelines about partnership
and all projects have a range of VCS organisations sharing
in the delivery. All projects were rural proofed and checked
for BME and faith issues.
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Derbyshire Infrastructure Investment
Plan (IIP) Themes
There are three broad themes in the Derbyshire IIP. These
are:
-
Building
the skills and reach of VCS Infrastructure support for
front-line VCS organisations: projects such
as ICT Circuit Riders providing county-wide VCS-based
ICT advice and support, Volunteering Roadshows extending
advice and support particularly to areas of the county
without any volunteering infrastructure, BME support services,
Social Enterprise advice and developing skills in financial
management, human resources and training provision.
-
Improving
service delivery through engagement with the statutory
sector: support for Compact development
in the County and the City, the North Eastern Derbyshire
Contracts Advice Network (NEDCAN) to develop advisory
services to assist VCS organisations bid for contracts,
Healthier Structures focussing on work with the new PCT’s
and Asset Development which will explore the potential
for transferring assets to the VCS.
-
Exploring
ways to strengthen and secure VCS infrastructure and funding:
in addition to funding the Consortium itself, projects
include area-based initiatives in Bolsover, Erewash and
Derbyshire Dales and High Peak, a county-wide examination
of the whole VCS infrastructure provision in Derbyshire
and Derby (‘Change Up – Change Structures’)
and training in income generation.
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Future Plans:
Capacity Builders
 ChangeUp becomes Capacity Builders.
The Home Office is outsourcing the whole programme to a new
delivery agent, Capacity Builders, based in the sector. More
resources are being made available for 2006-8 to continue
the process of strengthening VCS infrastructure, particularly
in the six themes outlined above. The precise focus of most
of this new funding has yet to be announced, but it is clear
that they want Consortia to continue and resources have been
allocated for this for 2006-7. It is also clear that the government
is expecting a renewed emphasis on developing partnerships
between the VCS and the statutory sector.
Capacity Builders will be very reliant on
electronic communication and we are delighted to report that
High Peak CVS has won the national contract to manage the
Capacity Builders website. HPCVS already manages the East
Midlands Change Up website for GOEM and detailed information
about all aspects of the programme can be found at www.eastmidlandsinfrastructure.info.
Derbyshire
Voluntary and Community Sector Infrastructure Consortium Members
Derbyshire
ChangeUp Projects 2005-06
The
East Midlands ChangeUp Website
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