The Background to ChangeUp

What is the voluntary and community sector?

For the purposes of ChangeUp the voluntary and community sector is not tightly defined. It is intended to be wider in scope than general charities or the voluntary sector, inclusive of organisations reflecting the characteristics of social enterprise, but narrower in scope than “non-profit”, the “third” sector or “social economy”.

What is capacity building?

Capacity building is ‘empowering activity that strengthens the ability of voluntary and community organisations to build their structures, systems, people and skills so that they are better able to:
• define and achieve their objectives
• engage in consultation and planning
• manage projects
• take part in partnerships, social enterprise and service delivery '

What is infrastructure?

The physical facilities, structures, systems, relationships, people, knowledge and skills that exist to support and develop, co-ordinate, represent and promote front line organisations thus enabling them to deliver their missions more effectively. Infrastructure organisations, often called ‘second tier’, intermediary or umbrella organisations, provide support to frontline organisations. They are usually generic (supporting all frontline organisations within a particular geographic area) or specialist (supporting a particular subsector of the voluntary and community sector or offer a particular area of expertise).

What is ChangeUp?

ChangeUp is a joint Government and voluntary and community sector vision for how capacity building support and infrastructure for the VCS should develop in the next ten years. It sets out high level objectives to address key capacity needs of frontline organisations to improve their performance, develop their paid and unpaid workforce, make better use of ICT, improve their governance, improve their ability to recruit and develop volunteers and fund their activity. ChangeUp also sets out an architecture for change to improve the provision of support to frontline organisations. ChangeUp is driven by the aim that frontline organisations will be able to access support that
• is available nationwide and structured for maximum efficiency
• is sustainably funded
• offers excellent provision
• is accessible to all
• promotes and reflects diversity

Why is there a need for ChangeUp and why is it supported by Government?

Government recognises the importance of the role of the sector in shaping and delivering public services and in building strong, cohesive and self-determining communities. The 2002 HM Treasury Cross-Cutting Review of the role of the voluntary and community sector in public service delivery found that infrastructure and capacity building support for the voluntary and community sector was crucial to its ability to play a full part in service planning and delivery but that it was patchy in coverage and quality and lacking sustainable funding, particularly at local level. The CCR made recommendations for strengthening the capacity of the sector to deliver public services including the development of a cross-government, cross-sector framework for strategic support to the voluntary and community sector. ChangeUp is that Framework.

ChangeUp is supposed to be a joint strategy between Government and the voluntary and community sector. Is it?

ChangeUp was developed through consultation and in partnership with the voluntary and community sector and is a jointly owned strategy between Government and the sector. In September 2003 the ACU published ‘Voluntary and Community Sector Infrastructure – a Consultation Document’ and commissioned OPM/Compass Partnership to seek the views of the voluntary and community sector and other stakeholders on this document. ‘Voluntary and Community Sector Infrastructure – A Summary of Consultation Responses’ was published on 27 April 2004. The responses informed the final Framework alongside four strategies commissioned by the ACU:
• A paper towards a strategy for voluntary and community sector Infrastructure, co-ordinated by OPM/Compass consultants
• A strategy for Skills Development, led by the Voluntary Sector National Training Organisation (VSNTO)
• A strategy for Performance Improvement, led by the voluntary and community sector Quality Standards Task Group (QSTG)
• A strategy for Governance, co-ordinated by the Foundation for Good Governance

A cross-sector Capacity Implementation Team advised on the overall development of ChangeUp and the ACU’s voluntary and community sector Advisory Group commented on ChangeUp as it developed.

Implementation of ChangeUp

Is the Government going to create new infrastructure organisations and ignore existing organisations?

We want to help develop and sustain infrastructure that provide high quality support to frontline organisations. We will invest in collaboration and infrastructure development planning at all levels. It will be for the voluntary and community sector in partnership with funders and other key stakeholders to determine what support is needed and how this is best provided. This is likely to result in building on what is already working as well as identifying gaps and what needs to change. Our investment will be focused on strategic activity to improve infrastructure over the long term – we cannot replace and must be careful not to displace existing funding of core support services.

What is being done to ensure that there is joined up planning and implementation across national, regional and local levels?

ACU will provide clear guidance to hubs and consortia at all levels on the need to work with each other. ACU will also sit on the advisory groups of the five national hubs of expertise and closely monitor progress. Cross-sector Regional Consortia will help link national action to sub-regional/local plans - they have a key role in bringing together local infrastructure development plans looking at what might be better organised sub-regionally. ACU will facilitate cross working and skill sharing between the regions.

Why focus on ‘sub- regional’? What does this mean?

In rural areas and some metropolitan county areas there are already significant infrastructure bodies including Rural Community Councils and a variety of networks, and Defra and the Home Office are currently supporting the development of county level consortia. Not all infrastructure support can be economically viable if managed at a local level. ChangeUp recognises that there is much potential in encouraging collaboration across districts at county level to offer high quality support in key areas such as performance improvement. Even if organised sub-regionally, many services can still be delivered locally.

Will local government and other local public sector bodies improve their support for infrastructure as a result of ChangeUp?

Local funders are best placed to plan and fund services that meet local needs. It is vital that national investment does not displace local funding or fill gaps with no thought to sustainability. Local public sector agencies face a range of demands and competing priorities. Rather than add burdens we want to achieve local public sector buy-in through linking the valuable work of infrastructure services – including representation – to local priorities and planning processes. The process of agreeing local infrastructure development plans will ensure that a range of local stakeholders agree how a robust and more sustainable infrastructure can meet the needs of local organisations, their users and the wider community. This should in turn build the confidence and ownership of local funders.

Will infrastructure organisations be forced to merge?

No - one of the ten principles underpinning ChangeUp is recognition of the independence of the voluntary and community sector. We hope that the process of planning and co-ordination will encourage organisations to work more closely and in different ways to best meet the needs of frontline groups. This could mean merger, sharing aspects of service delivery, or sharing backoffice functions and overheads.

ChangeUp recommends that infrastructure organisations earn a higher proportion of their income. How can VCOs afford to pay? Will this force infrastructure to deliver frontline services in competition with their members?

We want to help create an environment where infrastructure can build its asset base and earn more income from its members and users - rather than increase its role in frontline service delivery. We recognise that some community organisations won't ever be able to pay and need free or subsidised support –ChangeUp is clear that public funding of infrastructure should continue and be more strategic and sustainable. However public funding can never cover the total cost of meeting needs and infrastructure would benefit from being more demand led. To help achieve this Changeup proposes that funders contribute towards the capacity building costs of frontline organisations as part of full cost recovery, better enabling them to purchase support.

What evidence is there that national hubs of expertise will make a difference to frontline organisations?

We know that change is needed to drive up collaboration and expertise in key support areas and to reduce confusion in the sector about where to go for support. We will be requiring the hubs to demonstrate the difference they are making on the ground and we will be evaluating their impact. The hubs will involve a range of partner organisations, most of whom have local users and members.

How will you know if ChangeUp has made a difference?

We will focus our monitoring and evaluation on outcomes and impact. We will be collecting information across the spending programmes, commissioning independent evaluations, and seeking the views of stakeholders - reviewing key milestones along the way to achieving what is a 10 year vision. It is not our intention to overburden fund managers or projects with monitoring requirements - we want a light-touch regime that recognises that infrastructure users and members are in the best position to judge and hold infrastructure to account. We will be able to get a sample of their views through the State of the Sector Panel.

Is implementation really a partnership with the voluntary and community sector?

The voluntary and community sector will continue to be actively involved and have ownership of delivery and funding priorities through the Infrastructure National Partnership, national hubs of expertise, regional and sub-regional consortia and local infrastructure planning arrangements. Implementation is based on flexible approaches to planning and funding within a clear overall framework – this enshrines partnership working to develop shared priorities between the voluntary and community sector and the public sector focused on end users. Achieving the vision set out in ChangeUp will take a decade and require commitment across all sectors. Home Office funding in the next two years will help kick start that change, so we have to focus on the immediate
actions that will make the biggest long term difference.

Is the Government only interested in the voluntary and community sector as agents to deliver public services?

The voluntary and community sector and its infrastructure has an essential role in building and contributing to civil society and a healthy democracy, and this is reflected in ChangeUp. ChangeUp recognises the role of the sector in engaging communities to be more self-determining, engaging citizens as volunteers and building bridges across communities.

How does ChangeUp link to the Community Capacity Building Review?

A plan for increasing community capacity building was published in summer 2004 - its scope being wider than community organisations but making sure that initiatives to support community groups are joined up across the reviews. ChangeUp and associated investment takes account of the needs of community and neighbourhood organisations – we will require these needs to inform infrastructure planning and to be better met through reconfiguration.

What is being done to link ChangeUp to the Compact?

There are senior level Champions in each government department and Departments are developing strategies for taking forward their engagement with the voluntary and community sector. A training programme is being instigated to develop the capacity of public sector officials and the voluntary and community sector to work together. Local infrastructure planning should take account of local compacts and partnership arrangements in place or being developed.

Diversity and Specialist Infrastructure

Is ChangeUp only about changing and improving generalist infrastructure?

ChangeUp focuses on generic issues to ensure that all voluntary and community organisations can access high quality support in key areas such as governance and ICT and that a baseline of good provision is put in place at all geographic levels. ChangeUp also recognises the value of specialist infrastructure. Regional, sub-regional and local infrastructure planning will need to take account of its role and potential. At national level specialist infrastructure will need to be engaged with the Infrastructure National Partnership and the hubs of expertise. We will focus some resources through government departments on reviewing specialist infrastructure and building capacity in priority service delivery areas and investment in modernising infrastructure should include scope for reconfiguring some specialists. However, there are thousands of specialist agencies, operating at every level, and there is simply not enough resource to fund a large number of specialist bodies.

How will you ensure that BME and other minority groups benefit?

We will require initiatives at all levels to consider and meet the needs of BME and other marginalised groups. This should result in action and investment in generalist and specialist infrastructure working with these groups and may require some new initiatives being put in place. We are committed to finding solutions that work for the long term - we are commissioning joint work with the refugee, BME and faith sectors and other stakeholders to identify barriers and what will make a difference.

Why does the diversity section of ChangeUp focus heavily on BME communities?

The Cross-Cutting Review of the role of the voluntary and community sector in public service delivery highlighted in particular the importance and fragility of many BME organisations and there is a real need to improve support to and representation of these organisations. They have a vital role in tackling racial disadvantage and in the successful implementation of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. ChangeUp does however recognise diversity issues and specialist infrastructure more widely. Planning and reconfiguration at all levels will need to take account of embedding greater diversity within infrastructure as well as meeting the needs of diverse individuals and marginalised communities.

Will the emphasis on reducing duplication lead to some disadvantaged groups being marginalised or ‘swallowed up’ in generic infrastructure?

We will target the needs of organisations that have not traditionally had equitable access to infrastructure support, in particular neighbourhood, BME and faith groups - we want to support these being met through a mix of generalist and specialist infrastructure working well together. We will put heavier demands on generalist infrastructure to meet the needs of marginalised groups. As well as working directly with frontline organisations, specialist infrastructure supporting marginalised communities has a key role in driving up the quality and reach of infrastructure services more generally.

What about social enterprise?

Social enterprises providing infrastructure and capacity building services to frontline organisations will be eligible for funding. We will require that the support needs of social enterprises and enterprise activity within the voluntary and community sector be integral to infrastructure planning and development at all levels. Investment could support improving provision as well as meeting gaps. At a national level we will invest in the development of a hub of expertise on financing voluntary and community sector activity. Alongside fundraising, procurement and sustainability, the hub will provide strategic leadership on driving up the provision of support for social enterprise and asset development skills in the voluntary and community sector.

ChangeUp Investment Process

What investment is there to support the delivery of ChangeUp?

The Framework is underpinned by Home Office investment of £80 million over 2003/04 – 2005/06. Having already invested £8 million in developing ChangeUp and in an Early Spend programme, £72 million remains to support implementation – made up of £66 million revenue and £16 million capital – to be invested by March 2006.

From April 2006, a new agency, CapacityBuilders will coordinate the activities of ChangeUp nationally. £70 million of funding, including resources for the national hubs, will be provided in 2006/07 and 2007/08.

A £7m ChangeUp continuation fund aims to “maintain momentum” of local and regional work in 2006/07 - equivalent to 30% of the funding allocated for such work during that year. £658,700 of the Continuation / transition funding is being made available in the East Midlands for 2006/07

What will the investment pay for?

Investment will catalyse the modernisation of infrastructure provision to improve sustainability, quality and reach in line with the high level objectives set out in ChangeUp. Investment will be made a national, regional, subregional and local levels, with the bulk of investment going through the regions to support sub-regional and local initiatives benefiting organisations on the ground. In 2005-06, there were there are three main spending programmes:
• Embedding Quality and Improving Reach £33 million including £9 million for improving ICT support
• Modernising Infrastructure £29 million
• Building capacity in key service delivery areas £5 million£5 million will support investment management and evaluation.

What type of organisation is the investment aimed at?

Funded schemes must provide capacity building/second tier support and development services to frontline organisations, their workers and trustees. Schemes for the provision of direct services to members of the public will not be eligible. Schemes must be delivering outcomes in England only and must be constituted bodies which are either charities, voluntary or community organisations, social enterprises or community interest companies.

How will you ensure that fund distribution is fair and transparent?

To ensure compliance with the Compact code of good practice on funding, probity and transparency, ACU will develop robust investment guidance for fund managers. Fund managers will be required to implement and report on agreed principles and good practice operating across spending programmes along with evidence of who is participating in planning and receiving funds. ACU will require fund managers to invest for the benefit of diverse frontline organisations - supporting initiatives that best meet their needs.

Isn't commissioning unfair as not all organisations get a look in?

Commissioning will in the main take place through inviting proposals or expressions of interest - fund managers will be required to be open and transparent. We will however want to build on early spend and partnership initiatives already being developed to drive this agenda forward.

Will Home Office money let other funders of capacity building off the hook?

This is a limited, one-off fund and cannot replace existing resources. That is why we are focusing on the process of joint planning which will bring a range of funders around the table with the voluntary and community sector, and making investment in reconfiguration and modernisation of infrastructure rather than stepping in to fund core services.

How does Home Office investment link with the Defra rural capacity building programme?

ACU investment will benefit the voluntary and community sector across the country, including rural areas, and the two departments are working together to ensure that the programmes are complimentary. Both schemes are being co-ordinated by Government Offices in the regions, and where it makes sense to join up the programmes, we are encouraging GO’s to make this happen.

How does this investment link with futurebuilders?

Futurebuilders will assist frontline organisations to increase the scale and scope of their service delivery; this investment compliments futurebuilders and is for second tier organisations and activity to support frontline organisations to be efficient and effective in meeting their aims.

What happens when the money runs out?

The investment will be targeted at encouraging strategic change that will benefit the voluntary and community sector long after the funding programme has come to an end. A key aim of ChangeUp is to develop a stable, sustainable infrastructure which uses a range of income and funders, of which Government is only one, to support its work.

Abbreviations used
ACU = Active Community Unit
Defra = Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
GO = Government Office in the regions
ICT = Information and Communications Technology
VCO = Voluntary and Community Organisation