Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum

Third sector advice, brokerage, communications & development

Archive for January, 2009

National Survey of Third Sector

Jan 30

Posted by Ian Jones in Featured, Support | No Comments

The results of the national survey of third sector organisations can be found at:

http://www.nstso.com/results/

This links to NI7 ‘Thriving Third Sector’

Cornwall’s result was 17.9% of organisations saying that staturoty bodies have a very positive or positive influence on the organisation’s success.  The national figure was 16.2%.  The target for the next two years has been set at 21.8%.

One frightening figure is the number of employees working for third sector organisations in Cornwall.  Nationally there are 12.69 people working per capita (per 1,000 people).  In Cornwall the figure is 6.61!   It looks like the sector is not getting enough funds to employ staff!

Guidance on meaningful interaction:

Jan 20

Posted by Ian Jones in Policy | No Comments

How encouraging positive relationships between people can help build community cohesion

This guidance is Communities and Local Government’s first attempt to set out what we know about meaningful interaction, based on research findings and the views of expert practitioners. It is aimed at local cohesion practitioners and policy planners and includes some good practice.

We plan to revise it on the basis of local experience and so would be grateful to receive comments on it, whether they are suggestions for improvement or information about projects which have succeeded or failed.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1112887.pdf

Guidance on building a local sense of belonging

Jan 20

Posted by Ian Jones in Policy | No Comments

Last year Communities and Local Government worked with the Citizenship Foundation to publish the Citizens’ Day Framework. This guidance is the next step and suggests ways in which councils, voluntary groups and other organisations can encourage a sense of belonging. It is aimed at local cohesion practitioners and will be particularly relevant where they are working in areas where building a sense of belonging is a key priority, or where it supports the delivering of improved community cohesion in other areas.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1112832.pdf

and

Cohesion Delivery Framework: Overview

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1111629.pdf

‘Civic Pioneers’ case study review

Jan 13

Posted by Ian Jones in Asides | No Comments

Communities and Local Government Report

In the spring of 2007, funding was made available through the Community Empowerment Division to Civic Pioneer local authority areas to carry out projects focusing on community empowerment. This review presents case studies of each of the twelve funded projects together with a simple analysis of the lessons learned from these experiences. The report aims to facilitate valuable learning for practitioners and policy-makers, highlighting the wide variety of outcomes achieved and drawing out the common success factors.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/civicpioneersreview

Charities Chief meets with Cornish groups to discuss Credit Crunch

Jan 7

Posted by lydia in Events | 1 Comment

Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission, is to visit Cornwall on February 9th to discuss the impact of the Credit Crunch with local charity managers.

A group called ‘Charity Chief Executives in Cornwall’, set up to help support local charity managers, is holding an open meeting with Dame Suzi at Mount Edgecombe Hospice, St Austell, at 3pm that day. Dame Suzi will be giving a presentation on ‘Public benefit and personal identity in a credit crunch’ and will go on to discuss local charity concerns.The timely seminar is hosted by Cornwall Hospice Care, themselves hit by a £1 million funding crisis last October. The presentation will be held on 9th February from 3:00pm to 4:30pm at the Cornish Hospices, Porthean Road, St Austell.

Voluntary and community groups interested in attending should contact Lydia Billson, Partnership Officer, Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum via E-mail: lydia.billson@cornwallvsf.org or by telephoning 01209 721523.

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Stronger Communities: From National Indicators to Local Delivery

Jan 5

Posted by Ian Jones in Feedback | No Comments

Information from regional conference on 2nd October 2008.

This conference, hosted by South West Forum and supported by Government Office for the South West, Capacitybuilders and Empowering Communities (the regional empowerment partnership), took the form of a day-long workshop for an invited audience of local authority officers, other public sectors and representatives of infrastructure organisations in the voluntary/community sector.

http://www.southwestforum.org.uk/index.php?content=nw_item&news_id=578