Changes from in National Support Services
The nine National Support Services (NSS) started on 1 April, with six lead agencies receiving some early money from Capacitybuilders.
Further information about the activities of the nine workstreams and how to contact them is accessible via one central webspace at www.improvingsupport.org.uk.
The nine agencies are:
- Campaigning and Advocacy - NCVO
- Equalities and Diversity - Women's Resource Centre
- Income Generation - ACEVO
- Leadership and Governance - NCVO
- Marketing and Communications - Media Trust
- Modernising Volunteering - Volunteering England
- Performance Management - Charities Evaluation Services.
- Collaboration - bassac
- Responding to Social Change - NCVO
Purpose of the Hubs
The ChangeUp programme established six national hubs of expertise linked to key voluntary and community sector infrastructure issues.
These Hubs have brought together VCS infrastructure and other key stakeholders in their respective fields of interest to:
- improve efficiency, coherence and strategic development
- identify gaps
- drive up quality
- better equip those already providing support to the sector
Following a review of the Hubs, Capacitybuilders will take a greater strategic leadership role in pursuing all elements of the ChangeUp programme and an increased role as a direct commissioner of national services. Meanwhile funding for the Hubs will continue through to Mar 2008.
The Six Hubs
Finance - works in the areas of procurement, fundraising, social enterprise, and financial management. The accountable body is the Charities Aid Foundation.
Web: financehub.org.uk.
Governance - a partnership of organisations who provide services and resources to improve the quality of governance in the voluntary and community sector. All their proposed initiatives respond to specific identified needs and build on existing work. The Head of Hub and Administrator are based at NCVO, the accountable body.
Web: governancehub.org.uk.
ICT - composed of voluntary sector organisations who have come together to plan and deliver a co-ordinated framework of ICT guidance, good practice, advice and support for VCS organisations, accessible at a local level through a range of ICT resources. The core groups of the hub are LASA, NCVO, NAVCA, AbilityNet and IT4Communities.
Web: icthub.org.uk
Performance - aims to enable VCS organisations to achieve more through performance improvement. Of the six partners, Charties Evaluation Services (CES) and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) are the lead partners.
Web: www.performancehub.org.uk.
Volunteering - work is organised under the themes of: 1) strategy and management; 2) information dissemination, good practice and management development; 3) modernising infrastructure. Volunteering England is the accountable body.
Web: volunteering.org.uk/ ... etc
Workforce - deals with: learning and skills; employment practice; promoting the sector as a positive place to work and volunteer; leadership and management development. Its host and accountable body in England is NCVO.
National Hubs joint website - hubs.org.uk
