About NVSC

Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium (NVSC) is the partnership organisation that brings together local voluntary, community and faith groups in Newham. Our current priorities are to encourage greater cooperation and closer collaboration between local groups on the issues they are most passionate about, in order to develop networks and partnerships that pool our knowledge and skills to influence the way decisions are made in Newham.

Because NVSC has limited resources and receives no financial support from the local council, a key element of this strategy involves working closely with a number of ‘local infrastructure organisations’: local charities with a long history in the borough who provide services but who are also concerned more broadly with ‘place-making’ – the assets, inspiration and potential for making Newham’s communities sustainable.

NVSC’s history

NVSC was set up in 2001 by a number of local organisations who had initially met to respond to the March 1999 report of Newham council’s “Commission on the Voluntary Sector”. Rejecting its recommendation to set up a traditional Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) because of the unique circumstances of the borough, local groups instead adopted a ‘consortium model’, as many of the functions of a CVS, such capacity building, advice and training, were already delivered by other local organisations.

Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium was established just as the then government set out its ‘National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal’ and created local Community Empowerment Networks (CENs) and borough-level Local Strategic Partnerships. NVSC became the CEN for Newham.

Unlike the kind of CVS that exist in other London boroughs, Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium’s mission has been to act as the first point of contact between ‘local infrastructure organisations’ who (primarily or in part) support other not-for-profit groups; the wider voluntary, community and faith sectors; and local statutory bodies like the council and the NHS.  NVSC’s main aim, then and now, has been to encourage closer cooperation, collaboration and partnership working between local groups.

During the period when the Newham Strategic Partnership continued to seek voluntary, community and faith sector representation, NVSC also organised elections and support for reps for the borough-wide Partnership and for local area partnership boards.

Over the last decade, NVSC has also acted as the lead body for Grassroots Grants, Newham ChangeUp and the Advance to Deliver programme.

Membership

NVSC membership is open to all voluntary, community and faith organisations in Newham.

Our board is currently reviewing formal membership registration. Meanwhile you can sign up for updates from us.