NVSC - Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium
September 29, 2005
Thank You
NVSC would like to thank everyone that completed and returned our questionnaire.
The response was great with over 140 completed questionnaires returned which are now being evaluated. Once the information has been collated we will be looking at how we can improve our services based on the information we received from you.
Prize Draw
We are pleased to announce the 3 winners of the prize draw who each win a £50 voucher of their choice.
Winners
Housing Advocacy Project
Cyana
East London Refugee Trust
Congratulations!
Voluntary Sector LSP Rep Elected
Elected at Septembers Voluntary Sector Meeting, Larraine Newbold is one of the newest LSP Reps, and will be the voice of the Voluntary Sector. We took this opportunity to find out more info on Larraine.
Where do you currently work and what do you do there?
‘I am currently the Manager/Director at Newham Action Against Domestic Violence (NAADV) and in November I would have worked in Newham for 11 years. I also practice teach the current social work students at NAADV, consult on the Child Support Programme and being a qualified psychotherapist occasionally take on counselling support at the agency.’
Why did you stand for the position of Voluntary Sector Rep?
‘I have lived in Newham for over forty years and have spent a good deal of the last fifteen years complaining about the waste of resources in this borough due to the lack of consultation with the community. I decided to have some input into this if possible, particularly as I work in and with so many grass roots, front-line organisations that have an understanding of the communities needs.’
Why is the LSP Sector Rep position important to you?
‘It's important for me that the voluntary sector and in turn the community have a say in this extremely important fund.’
What do you hope to achieve in this position?
‘I would hope that I will be able to ensure that the needs of the community are highlighted and that the best possible use could be made of the opportunity that the LSP could afford Newham.’
What do you see as your greatest challenge regarding the LSP?
‘The greatest challenge for me will be to ensure that the voice of the voluntary sector is heard and listened to. Ultimately that notice is taken and that changes are made that will strengthen and develop the voluntary sector in this borough. Without the voluntary sector in Newham, many of the services and support available to local residents would not exist, ultimately to the detriment of the local community. I hope that by strongly representing the voluntary sector views on this board, this can be avoided. ‘
Vertical Partnerships
A change in the way voluntary sector funding is administered, alongside the moves towards outcome funding, means vertical partnerships between different sized not for profit organisations and large organisations from any sector providing professional services, is the only way forward to ensure the survival of service providers in the voluntary, faith and community sectors.
There has been a change in the way voluntary sector funding is administered and distributed. Despite the counter effects of its own legislation, the Government has suggested five key outcomes, or long-term, lasting effects of a project, at least one of which needs to be addressed by any funding it provides: a safe environment, a healthy society, a positive contribution to society, economic wellbeing and achievement.
Alongside the moves towards outcome funding, that is funding where success is measured against how far these long-term effects have been achieved, has come a move towards a tendering process with organisations being commissioned to carry out specific pieces of work. Despite experience showing that local knowledge and track record are crucial in enabling organisations to deliver (there have been a number of high profile failures across London), contracts are still being awarded without this being considered. This article proposes the establishment of so-called vertical partnership arrangements between small community organisations, medium size, not for profit organisations and large organisations from any sector providing professional services.
Mrs A has a problem relating to her immigration status causing her distress which is affecting her family. She goes to see a community elder who has been instrumental in setting up a Saturday club for her children and whom she respects. She does not speak good English. The refugee community has Mrs A's details in a confidential file because of the organisational requirements of the activities they run. The elder signposts Mrs A to RAMP suggesting a friend accompanies her for her first visit. In turn, RAMP refers Mrs. A's case to a firm of solicitors but also suggest other services that could help her.
Since it is our clients who should be the main beneficiaries, it is from their perspective that the most effective way to carry out the work should be decided. Services need to be funded for their true costs and be empowering so that clients begin to take control and do things for themselves. Any service should begin where people are and successful outcomes will only occur if all the steps are in place. In this way no-one “loses” clients since different services are complementary.
Although responsibility for services may overlap, there is a clear distinction between large and small organisations which shows the value and necessity of medium sized organisations with local knowledge and track record acting as bridges. A not for profit organisation (nfp org) is defined as any voluntary, community or faith sector organisation. An example will demonstrate how the arrangement might work: Since all three types of organisation are necessary to ensure that Mrs A receives the best quality service and no single organisation can provide for all her needs, it follows that organisations could create vertical partnership arrangements to deliver many types of services for the benefit of Newham residents. In the end, Mrs A will be a fully integrated British citizen able to manage her own affairs and confident to encourage others from her community along the same path.
(An edited version of a paper written by, and available from, Mick Holloway, Project Director of RAMP)
Compact Consultation
The consultation on the Compact is well under way. Three events have already taken place and three further events are planned. All three events have been lively well attended events from which some useful data will be fed into the final Compact.
Each one of the consultations asked participants to highlight the positives, negatives and solutions of Funding, Good Practice and Volunteering. No prizes for guessing that the negatives outweighed the positives, however there were some excellent suggestions for solutions.
Monitoring was one area that came in for a fair amount of debate with concern that Volunteers were not recognised as an important resource and equally that there is in some quarters, a total lack of understanding about the Voluntary and Community Sectors. Another big talking point was that the criteria appeared to be set without any thought of the communities priorities.
There was concern with the practise of moving to a formal tender process and that not only was there no support readily available from the statutory sector, but that it allowed the larger "not for profit" pseudo statutory sector to apply.
All of the outcomes from the consultation will be fed into the Compact process and we will endeavour to ensure that all views are properly taken forward. For up to date information please visit the website - www.newhamcompact.org.uk.
Black History Month
Whilst America has formally recognised black history with an annual event since 1926, the United Kingdom's Black History month owes its origins to everyday ordinary people such as “Berry Edwards in Manchester who organised Caribbean Week in the 70s, Eric and Jessica Huntley from Ealing who regularly organised a Caribbean week throughout the late 70s and early 80's and Alex Pascall who established the Black Londoners radio programme on BBC Radio London.”
Held every October BHM aims to:
- Promote knowledge of Black History & experience
- Celebrate positive black contributions to British Society
- Encourage a greater awareness of African Caribbean heritage.
BHM became an annual event in 1987 with the work of the London Strategic Policy Unit who, as part of the African Jubilee year, helped to establish the event.
You can find out more about Black History Month at www.black-history-month.co.uk where you can also post information about your Black History Month event. London Borough of Newham will also be producing a brochure listing local BHM events. See www.newham.gov.uk for info.
Research for this article was undertaken at: www.black-history-month.co.uk (Well Placed Consultancy). Copyright granted 30/08/05.
Community Chest Update
Regretfully the fund is considerably over-subscribed; around three times the money available has been asked for.
Having said that applications submitted by September will be assessed in the last quarter of the financial year (Jan to March); this will be the very last pot of money for Community Chest and Community Learning Chest.
Voluntary Sector Update
An encouraging response to the Voluntary Sector Representative elections resulted in a competitive election at September's Voluntary Sector Meeting, resulting in the election of Larraine Newbold from Newham Action Against Domestic Violence.
Larraine has lived and worked in Newham most of her life and feels the voluntary sector needs to build partnerships with one another to get their voice heard… 'the voluntary sector plays a vital role in many lives and they are the link between communities in Newham and the decision makers'. Larraine's role is to represent the views of the voluntary sector in Newham, attending 6 formal LSP board meetings and will also be available at future sector meetings to convey the sectors views to the LSP and visa versa. Elected as the Deputy Voluntary Sector Rep was Paul Leslie from Community Links.
The meeting continued with two presentations, one from Angela Mpofu from Race Equality In Newham, who discussed the history of racial harassment in the borough and the lack of consistent results in dealing with the harassment. She also bought to the forefront a project funded by the Home Office enabling dis-advantaged groups to have a voice and influence policy development. This was followed by a presentation by Maureen Keane from Forrest Counselling, part of the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). She discussed a forthcoming away day to be held in October which will highlight how the Voluntary Sector and CAMHS can work together. Well received, this linked in positively with Larraine's aims for the future. In conclusion, a range of issues were discussed under AOB. Conflict and Change discussed a public conversation they recently facilitated with communities following the London bombings. Well attended, it enabled people to discuss their reactions and share experiences. This was followed by an update from Access to Excellence regarding the Community Access Fund and monies available. Further discussion around capacity building and the emerging changes within Social Services took place. It was agreed that this forum is an effective platform for communicating with the sector as a whole and the information disseminated resulted in a range of in-depth dialogue around diverse issues.
The next meeting is due to be held on Thursday 10th November at The Froud Centre, Manor Park and will commence at 12.30pm.
Faith Sector Update
On July 21st a meeting to discuss the aftermath of July 7th for Muslims in Britain was hosted by the South Asia and Middle East Forum.
Speakers included Dominic Grieve MP- Shadow Attorney General, Dr John Hart – Commissioner of City of London Police, Mark Fisher MP for Stoke-on-Trent, Farmida Bhai – Partner, Denton WildeSapte Law Firm and Molana Yunus Dudhwala, Multi Faith Manager in Newham Hospital gave presentations addressing why this has happened. The LB of Newham was represented by Yunus Dudhwala, Ron Smith, Irfan Taylor and Jacqui Connor.
Speakers generally agreed that the objectives of the attack are still unclear and that it is important that a cloak of suspicion not be cast over Muslim Communities. Since 7thJuly a scattering of, incidences, usually outside Mosques have been reported. It was highlighted that young people do not go to Mudrass to learn to be a terrorist. They go to learn more in -depth about their faith to become Imans in the British Community. They want to become role models in their community. The most important aspect of Jihadd is not to offend or molest with tounge or hand. Mudrass is about spiritual development not for grooming suicide bombers or extremists.
Speakers felt that they should question the leaders that the Government are talking to as to the connections that they have in the community and whether they represent the views of the Muslim community in Britain.
Most of the representatives came from 1st generation Muslims. The majority of Muslims are from 2nd and 3rd generations and they are not represented. This is why the Pakistani and British community have become so alienated. They don’t have an identity. They feel their Pakistani/British parents try to preserve the Pakistani culture. Young People think and operate in a different way, but not enough to be British. Parents come from villages and have little understanding of the scriptures. They learn the Quran by Rute. The young people have access to education, information etc. They start to question and their parents can’t answer. They acquire their own form of Islam. Speakers said they could see how Young People can be drawn to people who profess to change the world. Mechanisims need to be set up for Young People to have their say.
All participants felt it is was important that we did not let the events of 7th July divide our community.
Community Sector Update
Community Sector Meeting 5th September at St. Luke’s Community Centre, Canning Town.
Elections
The planned election for the community representative for the LSP did not take place and is scheduled for the next Community Sector Meeting on 8th November.
Representation of Community Groups at the Civic Partnership
Colin Watts, Community Sector Representative, reported from the LSP Civic Partnership meeting held on 30th August. The LSP had been awarded a total of £38.8 million for 2006/2008 from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 2006/2008, which was more than originally anticipated. The allocation for 2006-2007 would be £20 million, and for 2007-2008 £18 million. A proposal on the allocation process would be brought to the next Executive Group meeting. Colin proposed the following:
- an allocation of funds directly to the Community Forums. It was noted that there had been issues in the past when this had happened.
- an allocation of money directly to the Community Empowerment Network (CEN) to develop a joint sector project. The Chair Sir Robin Wales noted that the CEN received NRF funding directly from Government Office for London. He noted that this funding was not managed by the LSP and it was unclear how that money was being used and what successes it had.
Colin will follow-up the issues raised at this meeting.
Next Meeting
I look forward to seeing you at the next community sector meeting on Tuesday, 8th November at 6.00pm, at the Froud Centre, 1 Toronto Avenue, Manor Park, London E12
LSP Elections
As agreed at this sector meeting, elections for the LSP Community Sector Representative will take place at November’s meeting. If you are interested in standing for the position, or would like to find out what is involved in being the LSP Community Sector Representative, please call Sarah Ruiz for details.