NVSC - Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium
June 14, 2006
Born Again!
A lot has happened at NVSC since our last newsletter. We have restructured and I am confident that we will continue to work with you, to enable you to have a voice and play a full part in improving the Voluntary, Faith and Community sectors participation in the Borough.
We have new challenges and some old ones! The changes that will have the most impact will of course be the ones that you directly use. We have lost 4 members of staff, so clearly the staff that are left have had to take on additional work. There is no Community Chest which will have the greatest effect on most of you. This was a Government decision, and despite strong representation from across the country by Community Empowerment Networks, we were not able to change their minds. However there is some good news, the LSP have awarded the Council £1 million over 2 years to provide small grants (details to follow). Our newsletter will now be produced quarterly, but we will continue to produce our popular e – bulletin’s fortnightly. Our sector meetings will now also be quarterly, but we hope that you will continue to use the meetings and the newsletter to share your information, raise issues of concern and to showcase your projects.
Our Service Level Agreement, which was signed off on 12th May, gives us new opportunities. We will be working more closely in partnership with the Local Strategic Partnership helping them deliver community engagement and we are delighted that once again we will be supporting not only your elected representatives but the Community Forum representatives as well. We hope that we will be able to announce shortly the Community Leadership programme which we will run in partnership with the Community Participation Unit. We are also enthusiastic about our role in helping each of the Local Area Partnership Boards with their community engagement strategies.
We were also successful in being awarded funding to help us sustain the Faith work that we do. We hope to appoint a part time development worker at the end of June. The development worker will continue to support the Faith forum as well as deliver 2 specific projects – a women faith forum and working with our colleagues in Health we will be looking at ways in which the Faith communities can be encouraged to take better care of themselves.
Thank you for your patience and support during this difficult time and as always please do not hesitate to contact us with any issues pertaining to the sectors.
Sarah Ruiz
Director
Funding
Mustard Seed Programme
This small grants fund is part of the Church Urban Fund and aimed at churches and faith based organisations. It's aim is to help them engage in social action through supporting them initiate, develop and formulate ideas and opportunities in preparation for undertaking larger pieces of work
Funding of up to £5,000 is available for a period of 12months for specific activities but not for on-going expenditure. The application process has been simplified to encourage new groups that have new ideas that they really want to test and try out.
The Church Urban Fund also offers a main grants programme which offers funding of between £5,000 and £30,000 which will fund capital and revenue costs. Again, this grant is intended to be a first -funder.
For further information on both funds download a Grant Manual which contains full eligibility details by visiting the website at: www.cuf.org.uk. For questions relating to the Mustard Seed Programme telephone: 020 7898 1649.
Local Network Fund
Your group could be eligle for funding from the government.
To be eligible for the grant you need to be:
- A charity or community group in the London Borough of Newahm.
- To be working with children and young people aged upto 19 who may face discrimination from activities available to other young people.
- Volunteers involved in the charity.
Grants range between £250-£7000.
If you think that you are eligible for the grant form the Local Network Fund phone the National Call Centre on 0845 113 0161 and ask for an application pack.
Big Big Sunday!
On the whole the Voluntary, Faith and Community Sectors have had very little involvement in the planning of the 2012 Olympics. The forgotten sector, the powers that be do not seem to have yet realised the quality of services being provided by the sectors and their comprehensive understanding of the diverse communities in Newham and East London.
Therefore, the Big Sunday Event held on 5th February 2006 was a step in the right direction for the sectors to advertise their services and to have a real impact on the community. Unfortunately limited space at the event meant that the number of organisations represented was minimal; however NVSC were part of the event and had a pod full of information on all our member organisations including copies of the NVSC directory. The event was a roaring success and being part of the Community Section enabled us to be in the hub of the action.
Staff from NVSC were able to provide information to registered organisations, new organisations, who were given the opportunity to sign up and become members on the day and individuals who required information about organisations/clubs in their area.
Following in depth discussions with the Volunteer Network Centre we also worked closely with them and designed our pod on a much more focussed
neighbourhood level by asking people what areas they would be interested in volunteering in.
The response was overwhelming; individuals expressed an interest in volunteering on a range of management committee's, becoming part of community forums and tenants and residents associations and
becoming local councillors. NVSC also asked if people were interested in the justice system, becoming school Governors and the regeneration of the area and once again were beleaguered with interest.
NVSC have now linked up with the statutory sector and other voluntary sector organisations and passed those individuals details onto them to enable them to fulfil their aims. Those individuals that are interested in generic volunteering have been put in touch with The Volunteer Network Centre who have numerous vacancies and it is hoped that they can match up vacancies with volunteers.
Overall NVSC gleaned a wealth of information about organisations and communities in Newham which has enabled us to develop our ever expanding database and set up new contacts in the community. It is just hoped that next time the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sectors will be at the forefront of such an event and have a real say in how service providers should be represented and consulted.
Voluntary Sector's involvement in 2012
NVSC have initiated a series of meetings to try and overcome the third sector being left in the wilderness when the Olympics comes around in 2012. Following informal consultation with fellow organisations many are concerned that they will not be consulted or involved in the infrastructure development & the legacy and want to ensure a robust process leading up to 2012.
Both Sarah and Corrine from NVSC have met with Norman Turner, Executive Director - Olympics to ensure that the talking starts now. Norman agrees with this theory and the dialogue has begun.
It has been agreed that NVSC will be the first point of contact when liaising with the sector and that the sector meetings will be the primary vehicle for consultation and communication. NVSC's widespread Faith Network also means that the consultation with the Faith Sector needs to happen via the network.
Good communication needs to be established between the sectors and Norman has asked Nick Williams to meet with NVSC and establish a programme of communication, it is hoped that the information will be conveyed not only at the meetings, but also via the Newsletter, E News Bulletin and website. Norman and the 2012 team explained that they are meeting with other Voluntary Sector Organisations about their involvement in the games, however these meetings are focussing on specific issues, NVSC's role is to ensure ALL organisations are given access to the same information and opportunities.
An update will be provided regularly to all our members, however it is hoped that further meetings and newsletters will involve in depth discussions with both Norman and Nick directly with the sectors.
ChangeUp
ChangeUp is an England-wide
government initiative designed to improve voluntary, community and faith sector infrastructure.
Key support needs for the sector have been identified nationally as:
- Performance Improvement
- Workforce Development
- ICT support & Advice
- Governance
- Volunteers
- Funding
Each borough in London has a ChangeUp Partnership Group to develop and implement the programme. The overall aim is to develop ways to ensure better use of resources, provide mutual support and share expertise and to initially strengthen second-tier, or support organisations, so that these can provide a better service to community, voluntary and faith groups in Newham. NVSC is the lead organisation in Newham and facilitates the ChangeUp partnership. The partnership has been meeting monthly since November 2005 and consists of second-tier, or support organisations. The following organisations are currently involved:
Aston Mansfield, Black and Ethnic Minority Community Care Forum, (BEMCCF), Community Links, Conflict & Change, Council for Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisation (CEMVO), East London Business Alliance (ELBA), Healthywise- for Older People and Carers, London Borough of Newham, Newham Community Accounting Service, Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium (NVSC), Newham PCT, Race Equality in Newham, Reform Cooperation, Renewal Programme, Volunteer Network Centre.
Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP)
Over the past 8 months, the partners have focused on collaboration and working together to provide coordinated services. In particular they have developed the infrastructure development plan and looked at systems which support infrastructure collaboration, including protocols where appropriate. NVSC held consultation events with the voluntary, community and faith sector in 2005 to incorporate their views into the development of the Infrastructure Development Plan and will continue consulting with the sector.
Pilots
From the Infrastructure Development Plan, the partners agreed to start work on initially 6 pilot projects, which will be completed at the end of June 2006.
1. Undertake mapping of infrastructure activity - Aston Mansfield Frontline organisations have easy and consistent access to the support services available whichever Local Infrastructure Organisations is initially contacted.
2. Newham Business Premises Inventory - Reform Corporation
Aim: Greater awareness of existing premises and support mechanisms for acquiring properties.
3. Space to Deliver - Black and Ethnic Minority Community Care Forum Aim: to improve access to accessible, affordable and suitable rental premises and to enhance the knowledge on the legal implications of renting premises.
4. Workforce Development and leadership - Black and Ethnic Minority Community Care Forum Aim: to develop informal forums of learning and mutual support for frontline staff at Local Infrastructure Organisations:
5. Governance - Aston Mansfield Aim: Strong, skilled, knowledgeable management committees able to give effective strategic guidance to their VCFOs.
6. Volunteer recruitment and management - The Volunteer Network Centre Aim: Local Infrastructure Organisations have clear and robust policies and procedures on Volunteering.
Further Information about ChangeUp
Newham ChangeUp
A section of NVSC's web site is dedicated to ChangeUp
www.nvsc.org.uk/changeup
The partnership is currently exploring developing a separate website for ChangeUp Newham.
East London ChangeUp Partnership
www.elcvsnetwork.org.uk/change
London ChangeUp
www.actionlink.org.uk/Templates/information.asp?NodeID=89796
Home Office on ChangeUP: www.communities.homeoffice.gov.uk/activecomms/supp-vcs/capacitybuilders
Compact update
As you all will be aware, the Compact in Newham is about to become more than work in progress!
NVSC has finished this stage of the consultation. All organisations in Newham were sent the draft Compact for comment and we held a well attended meeting at the end of May where comments and suggestions were recorded. I think it fair to say that on the whole groups were happy with the document, and I believe that the document is better than we could have expected when we started this journey 3 long years ago.
The comments and suggested changes will be fed back and we will negotiate on their inclusion.
The Council have already agreed in principle the Compact, as have the three sectors. Health will be taking the document through the various decision making processes and the Police will be doing the same. And then the real work can begin.
Each of the partners have a responsibility to ensure that the Compact is promoted and used in all dealings with the VCF sectors. NVSC is looking to provide specific development support to the Compact as well as training on how best to use the Compact. More details to follow.
LSP Update
In each newsletter there will be a dedicated page of news from the LSP family. We hope that this will enable you to understand more about the varied work of each of the strands that make up the LSP. Our intention is to showcase the work of each of the elements of the LSP family so that there is a greater appreciation of the work that is being done.
The LSP structure was reviewed last year in order to create better working and a more cohesive approach. So instead of the Civic Partnership being the decision making forum it has become more of a consultative forum - working more to inform the decision makers - the Executive Board. Each of the five local area partnership boards are the engine of the LSP, with the Community Forums and the Community Board providing the community perspective. Each component is supposed to ensure that at all levels there is communication and a process for information to be shared.
It is fair to say that this does not all go according to plan, and part of our new brief is to ensure that each of the family elements takes a far broader and more inclusive approach to community engagement. We want to encourage greater participation from all three sectors across the LSP, and especially at the five local partnership boards (LAPB). Over the coming months NVSC will be meeting with the LAPB members to find out how we can help them and more importantly to ensure that they are aware of the diversity and ability of the sectors to deliver their community engagement agenda.
Free IT support helpdesk
NVSC is delighted to be providing free ICT support Pilot Project for Voluntary, Faith and Community groups in the Newham.
Aim of the project:
This pilot is funded by ChangeUp and seeks to provide IT Technical Support, free at the point of access to the Voluntary, Faith and Community groups in Newham.
How it works?
The IT Support Helpdesk is available 2 days a week between 10am-12pm Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s. Support is via remote access if you have internet access or over the telephone. This means that there will be NO onsite support.
IT Support Helpdesk has now started and will run until the end of June. This free support is available to registered NVSC members only.
Call: 0800 583 3550
(helpdesk line)
NVSC Registration
Is your organisation a registered member of NVSC?
NVSC’s database consists of over 1400 voluntary, faith and community groups.
We also have an online database which can be accessed through our website at www.nvsc.org.uk.
The online database is formed from those groups who have completed a registration form and have given consent for their details to be listed on the website. This has proven to be very popular as this gives groups the opportunity to promote their organisation. It is hoped that providing this information in such a convenient way will help the voluntary, faith and community sector organisations in Newham to work together.
Become a member
By completing the Registration form it automatically makes you a member. There is no joining fee.
Membership Benefits:
- Be listed on the website
- Free web pages on the NVSC
website
- A password & log in
details so you can post your own events, training course and job vacancies on the main NVSC website.
- Access to a colour photocopier to produce your own flyers
- Receive bi-weekly email bulletins
So don't delay and call for
Registration Form TODAY!
To request a registration form or to find out if you are a registered member contact Saifur Valli on 020 8519 9500.
Profile: Harold Road Centre
The Newham Methodist Circuit is now responsible for Harold Road Centre; however the Methodist Church owns the building. It was licensed to Newham Community Renewal programme for 30 years but they moved out in November 2005.
The aim of the centre is to provide a welcoming and hospitable space for meetings and activities for people of all faiths and none, who believe that everyone should be treated with care and respect regardless of their needs, backgrounds and expectations.
Volunteers: volunteers from diverse backgrounds support the work of the centre; some are currently undertaking Childcare and Management Training Courses. Aspects of tasks undertaken by the volunteers in the centre are often linked to their careers and personal development training and they have found this to be both rewarding and challenging.
User forum: the Centre has a user forum that meets bi -monthly. Members are encouraged to provide feedback on their services and issues pertaining to the centre.
Development work: The Development Worker is seeking to work with user groups and potential and current tenants to help develop their services. These include fundraising, policy development and quality standards. It is also hoped that they will develop capacity, which will enable community groups to work with the centre to enhance the premises and the services provided. This includes looking at how clients with mobility issues will use and access current and new services.
New initiatives: The centre is looking to work in partnership with advice agencies to run a series of advice sessions. For example, housing, health and welfare rights, training opportunities and immigration. The centre is also looking to develop play and leisure resources for the children and young people who use the centre.
Support: Harold Road Centre will support and develop links with the newly arrived communities. For example, Somali, East European, Angolan and Congolese. It will also continue to support the settled communities.
Current services:
English Language Classes: Wednesdays and Fridays 10am to 12.30pm
Over 60's club:
Fridays 1.30 to 3.30pm
Karate Classes; Tuesday's and Fridays 7.30 to 9.00pm
After School Activities: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday for selected children. (Thursday's for Story telling 4 pm-5.30pm)
Photographic Teaching Class: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 7pm to 9pm
Women's Exercise Class: Thursday mornings10.30 to 11.30am
Women's ESOL Class: Thursday 11.00 -1pm
Women's ESOL Class: Tuesday1.00p.m - 3.00p.m.
Food for a Penny, Refugee and Migrant Project (RAMP): Tuesday's
Newham Monitoring Project: Monday - Friday
Somali Family Support/Advice:
Mondays and Wednesdays 10am to 2pm
Drop of Your Heart:
By appointment
Church groups: a number of Christian groups use the buildings on Sundays and other days for worship and religious teaching.
Harold Road Centre is committed to working with other agencies to improve services and would be glad to discuss holding more community activities.
For further information please contact:
Co-ordinator
Alan Partridge 0208 472 2805 or email:
alanatharoldroad@btconnect.com
Development Worker
Valerie Forde
170 Harold Road, Plaistow, London, E13 0SE
Office Space
The Community Involvement Unit is collaborating with the Newham Methodist Circuit to open a new shared Community Office at the Harold Rd Centre in Upton Park.
Like our existing Community Office at the Froud Centre in Manor Park, new and small organisations will be able to rent sessions in a shared office space. Sessions will be available between 9.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday. The office includes desk space, secure filing cabinets, computer access, broadband internet and a space to meet clients.
COST: £15 per session each week, payable quarterly with additional costs for telephone usage. The minimum booking is three months.
Groups interested in renting a session should contact Anne Crisp, the CIU's Community Development Officer, on 020 8536 3822 from Monday to Wednesday or e-mail anne.crisp@aston-mansfield.org.uk
NACVS name change
On 14 June 2006, NACVS will be changing its name to NAVCA - the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action. There’ll be a brand new website too: www.navca.org.uk.
Multi Faith Chaplaincy – Stratford
In 2000 Malcolm Torry became part of the ecumenical Chaplaincy for the Millennium Dome; following its closure, Malcolm continued to be the Chaplain.
He then met with the developers of the Greenwich Peninsular and the Greenwich Faith Forum and discussed appointing one person to pull together the developers (Meridian Delta Ltd), Local Authority and the Faith Communities to set up a multi-faith Chaplaincy, Malcolm was appointed to this role.
This Multi Faith Chaplaincy is now seen as one of the beacons of its sort, therefore following discussions in Newham regarding creating our own Multi Faith Chaplaincy, it made sense to speak to Rev Malcolm Torry.
Consequently, on Tuesday 18th April 2006 Rev Malcolm Torry and Rev Crispin White were joined by representatives from faith communities in Newham and it was agreed that with the huge developments in Stratford there should be a Multi Faith Chaplaincy. There has already been an agreement from the developers for this to be put into practice and interviews are due to be held in June for a part time chaplaincy for Stratford within the diocese of Chelmsford.
Those present at the meeting agreed that there are issues with Newham's diverse faith communities and that the geographical structure in Newham means that the Greenwich model cannot be replicated, however the faith community actually managing the Chaplaincy will be a key focus point and something that Newham will strive for.
It was agreed that time and effort needs to be put into the project to ensure that multi-faith principles and priorities are adhered to. It is also a necessity for a Council Officer to be identified and discussions held with them concerning the aims and the long term plan for the Chaplaincy. It is envisaged that the Faith Network in Newham will be where the discussions will be initiated and following these discussions and the appointment further meetings will be held.
For further details of this meeting and future meetings, please contact Corrine Hutcheson, Sector Development Manager on 020 8522 5360.
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