Suffolk Congress
ICVS is pleased to be part of the Suffolk Congress... at the heart of Big Society.
Suffolk County Council’s New Strategic Direction (NSD) is a bold plan to not only address the 28% reduction in funding from Central Government but to redesign local services by strengthening ‘communities’ and building social capital in line with Big Society thinking.
The Suffolk Congress is a movement made up from Suffolk’s voluntary and community organisations who fully understand the needs that will be placed upon it and are fully committed to meeting the challenge and being part of the solution.
Following 2 key Congress meetings, attended by 250 representatives of the Suffolk VCS, 4 key principles were identified:
Four Key Principles
Principle One – Localism
The Congress fully recognises and endorses localism as the cornerstone of Big Society and NSD delivery. It is clear that a failure to embrace this principle will not only dilute the strategic direction but more importantly, will damage the existing VCS and VCS partnerships.
By working with the Congress, decisions can be made that;
- Fully understand the interplay of organisations who are addressing social needs and their inter-reliance upon each other.
- Accurately map community capacity and organisational spread by delivery.
- Identifies communities that will need support to develop their VCS capacity.
- Tap into local funding to support community activity.
- Access development support agencies for the VCS.
- Fully utilise the in depth knowledge held by the Congress.
- Identify best practice and build upon it.
- Encourage the development of new organisations (e.g. charities, social enterprises) in the knowledge that local infrastructure organisations are at hand to support development.
Principle Two – Investment in VCS Delivery Services
The Congress fully understands that economic conditions will severely restrict potential new investment for the VCS to assist in the development required to allow organisations to undertake new initiatives. As a result, the Congress identified an urgent requirement for smarter ways of commissioning and financing voluntary and community partners.
By working with the Congress, decisions can be made that;
- Bring additional skills and experience to help redevelop and restructure procurement and funding streams.
- Assist organisations to provide ‘joined-up’ solutions for countywide delivery, where appropriate.
- Develop lead partnerships where multi-organisation delivery is required.
- Provide ‘independent’ funders to redistribute funding streams.
- Work with match-funders to maximise existing funding streams.
Principle Three – Volunteering
The Congress believes that volunteering is a key component to the success of Big Society and NSD however it recognises that the health of ‘structured’ volunteering is intrinsically linked with the health of the voluntary sector.
By working with the Congress, decisions can be made:
- In the comfort that volunteer health, safety and wellbeing are central to their experience.
- Knowing that training and development opportunities are available.
- That utilise countywide communication mechanisms promoting volunteering opportunities.
Principle Four - Working Together
The Congress recognises that the need for true partnership working across all sectors.
By working with the Congress, decisions can be made that:
- Gain quicker acceptance as a result of pre-planning.
- Builds on the success of innovative pilot projects.
- Allows assess to 5,500+ voluntary and community organisations.
- Understand the complexities of charity and social enterprise governance.
- Allows time for impact and outcome information.
You to can be part of the CONGRESS; it is not a closed shop. The CONGRESS values the voice of all the VCS large and small; and works to enable this voice to be heard throughout the public and voluntary sector.
Interested? Contact Sue Clements
