Northwest Rural Carbon Challenge Fund launching in spring 2010!

A new £4m fund will be launched bythe Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) later this year to support renewable energy projects in rural areas of the region focusingon wind, water and woodfuel. The projects will be funded through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and through funding provided by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The aim of the fundis to improve the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector, the quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy and the living conditions and welfare of those living in rural areas.

It will demonstrate what can be achieved at a community level by creating exemplar supply chain partnerships. On the supply side it will support micro-enterprises to set up or expand a renewable energy business and to gain new skills through training. On the demand side it will support community groups and social enterprises with the capital cost of producing energy in community buildings and with technical support, feasibility studies, trainingand establishment costs.

In partnership, theEnergy SavingTrust andEnvirolink Northwest- as the delivery agents for the fund - willhelp address market failurein this sector by supporting applicants from start to finish. They will help micro-enterprises, social-enterprises and community groups forge alliances tosubmitjoint expressions of interest and develop and deliver the outputs of their projects.

For more information, contact Lee Allman on 01925 813200 or L.Allman@envirolinknorthwest.co.uk

Understanding the contribution of the Third Sector in Learning & Skills

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This report from the Learning & Skills Councilhighlights that Third Sector providers play an important role in bringing disadvantaged adults and young people into learning and skills. People who undertake learning through third sector providers are more ethnically diverse, more likely to be resident in a deprived area, and more likely to have a learning difficulty or disability than those studying with other providers. Learners are also likely to be older. More information here.

Could your area benefit from a PSDN workshop?

We are looking for partners to host our popular one-day workshops Before Signing on the Dotted Line and Tendering for Better Services. If you support other organisations on contracting, tendering and procurement and feel they could benefit from introductory or more advanced level training, please get in touchor call Jerrold on 0207 520 3162.

Tendering for Better Services has the added bonus of bringing together voluntary sector providers and public sector commissioners in one course. We recently ran the courses London and Birmingham, and you can read about them here: Before Signing, Tendering training.

First Access to Volunteering grants

16 February 2010

The first round of Access to Volunteering grants have been announced.

Access to Volunteering aims to increase the number of disabled people volunteering by providing grants to supporting organisations. Money is provided by the Office of the Third Sector with funds being offered in three test areas - Greater London, North West and West Midlands. The first round of funding successfully awarded grants to up to £5,000 to 40 organisations.

In Greater London, Harrow Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)has received £2,500 to put disabled volunteers through a CAB training programme to allow them to become qualified advisors. The Hope Centre in the North West has received nearly £5,000 to fund specialised equipment for disabled volunteers along with mentor support time, while in the West Midlands the Wilson Stuart School Fund received £2,500 to encourage young disabled people to start volunteering through providing support at out-of-school clubs.

The Access to Volunteering websitehas details of the 40 awards alongside information on how to apply for grants. Applications can be submitted online, by e-mail, phone or post.

Enquiries about the Fund can be made via the helpline: 03000 123 346 or by e-mailing enquiries@accesstovolunteering.org.

Law and regulation pages from Office of the Third Sector

Voluntary and community organisations can use new OTS webpages as a single source of information about Charity Law and efforts to reduce red tape. The new pages on law and regulationcover changing regulations in the voluntary sector, and will be updated to cover the Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

VAT reclamation helpline set up by NCVO

The NCVO has launched a new helpline for members with the express intention of increasing the amount of VAT reclaimed by small charities. The umbrella body will work with accountancy firm Saffery Champness to offer support and advice to member charities. The service will be free to NCVO members with incomes of less than £100,000 and provided at a discounted rate to other members.

For more information, email: charityvat@saffery.com.

Addressing Health Inequalities can boost Economy

According to a report published on 11th January, (produced as as part of the EU-funded 'Determine' project on the socio-economic determinants of health), health inequality is estimated to cost around 1.4% of GDP, and suggests that economic arguments should be used to lobby politicians to direct funds towards health inequality projects. "Targeted investment to address health inequalities by action on social determinants of health is more cost effective than paying later for the consequences of these inequalities," the report says. The implication is that that addressing health inequalities is not only a matter of social justice but also contributes to growth and productivity and that there evidence that the economies of developed countries are boosted by closing the health inequality gap, according to the authors.

Health Inequality Report

Applications for Community Voice grants now open
MediaTrust are inviting applications from community groups to apply for grants to help fund community projects. 26 community projects will be chosen and awarded a grant of £ 1,500, £7,000 or £14,000 as well as support from a mentor to help in your community. Applications are open until 28/02/2010.

More information on the grant scheme and how to apply, can be found by clicking the link through to the MediaTrust website

Communities secretary tells councils to look at the social outcomes of contracts not just the cost.

Communities secretary John Denham has urged councils to consider contracting services to third sector organisations even though they might not be the cheapest option.

In a conference speech, Denham said: "I have a real concern that the third sector is not getting the opportunity to play its part in the big issue of public service reform locally." He said it did not make sense for councils to exclude voluntary sector providers. "They may not offer the cheapest contract in terms of narrowly defined costs and benefits in the short term, but they can deliver important additional social outcomes, such as jobs for the workless and marginalised, and better quality services, which saves money in the long run."

He added that Third sector organisations "must have the chance to show how they could deliver the outcomes local people want by new ways of working and delivering services – not just be asked to compete to deliver the current services at the lowest possible cost”

Third sector minister Angela Smith has called on local authorities to consider the wider benefits charities bring to their communities before deciding to cut their funding. "One thing I would say to all local authorities is look for the value for money from the sector, but also look for the contribution the sector makes to the objectives of the council overall and the benefit to that area overall. I'm convinced that when those issues are taken into account and councils really see the value the third sector gives to their area, that will impact on their funding decisions."

HUB Annual Event Report

Cheshire Children, Young People and Families’ Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector HUB Annual Event Report is available to view. The event was held on the 6^th October and 120 people from organisations who work with children, young people and families attended. The report records some of the contributions that were made during the day as well as the challenges identified for children, young people and families you are working with and for voluntary, community and faith sector organisations. The information that came out of the conference will be used to shape the HUB’s priorities for the coming year.

HUB DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY: There are a number of areas of work that the Cheshire Children, Young People and Families HUB has been facilitating discussions around. If you are interested in getting involved in discussions in either of the following areas then please contact alison.navarro@btinternet.com:

1. The role of the VCFS in supporting young people who are NEET – not in education, employment or training

2. Promoting the VCFS as businesses and as a positive career path for young people

/assets/final hub annual event oct 2009 outcomes report summary document.pdf

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment – Third Sector Engagement

The Department of Health recently a workshop to look at the role of Third Sector Organisations in the JSNA process. The notes from this event, including the key messages from the day are now available on line through the Healthy Communities’ Community of Practice website. The DH would like to continue to hear third sector views and you can contribute by joining the Community of Practice at http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/and registering.

NMDS – Natinal Minimum Data Set

Skills for Care have produced a briefing outlining how the information that is being gathered by local authorities and other providers through this process will increasingly be used to plan future workforce needs and will impact on the commissioning of services. To read the briefing go to Skills for Care briefing

North West Mental Wellbeing Survey

A new survey of 18,500 residents of the North West highlights crucial role of mental wellbeing in improving people’s lives. It identifies that there needs to be much greater attention and effort on improving mental wellbeing to help people live healthier, happier and more productive lives. Download a copy at http://www.nwpho.org.uk/or contact andy.walker@ourlife.org.ukfor more information.

Free Asset Transfer Assistance

The Asset Transfer Unit (ATU) offers a free service to any community or voluntary organisation involved, interested in or considering taking on responsibility for a transferred asset. The ATU helps to empower local people and organisations to transform land and buildings into vibrant community spaces whilst supporting the development of a thriving third sector.They claim to be the leading provider of expert advice, guidance and support concerning the transfer of under-used land and buildings from the public sector to community ownership and management - helping organisations to develop those assets and deliver long-term social, economic and environmental benefits. Details of the ATU's free service to Community members can be seen by clicking here.

The Unit is led and managed by the Development Trusts Association- - in association with Community Mattersand the Local Government Association. It is funded by Communities and Local Government.

Future Focus guides to help you plan and succeed

Effective strategic planning is an essential skill if you want to take advantage of opportunities and deliver your organisation’s mission. NCVO have published a new In Focus Guide on Making Sense of the External Environment(pdf, 225Kb), which can be downloaded free from the website and covers policy change and campaigns work. Third Sector Foresight also has Future Focus Guideson Funding and Local Democracy (available to download and order in bulk).

Transitions report on planning for changes of government

We know that 2010 will be an election year and may bring a new team into Government. You can prepare better for this transition by reviewing the previous evidence, going back to the 1960s. Transitions: preparing for changes of governmentis a new report from the Institute for Government, and can be downloaded for free from their website.

Young Foundation – state of happiness

In a report published this month, Social policy think tank the Young Foundation argues that happiness and wellbeing should be policy priorities. The State of Happinessis a study looking at practical steps that can be taken such as teaching resilience to school kids, promoting opportunities for neighbours to meet each other and providing support for isolated older people.

The Government is now consulting on draft statutory guidance about the new local authority economic assessment duty due to come into force on 1 April 2010.

The purpose of consultation is to get stakeholders’ views on how local economic assessments should be taken forward, the key issues they should address and how they should inform local and regional strategy and delivery.

Consultation document: Local Economic Assessments

Consultation closing date: 15 March 2010

Karen Rigg, VSNW’s Workforce and Skills Co-ordinator, is facilitating the development of a special purpose vehicle (which could be described as a constituted consortia) in order to enable third sector groups in the North West bid for large, prime contracts, such as the Department for Work and Pensions’ contracts to support people back into employment. This will allow groups, if successful, to develop fair sub-contracting relationships for third sector groups. A membership prospectus for joining the special purpose vehicle should be available in the next few weeks.

The third sector plays a significant role in projects that tackle worklessness. According to research from Manchester University’s Institute for Political and Economic Governance (IPEG), the third sector is involved in half of the good practice examples identified. However, there is a need for more strategic approaches at the local level with more co-ordinated, holistic ways of working.

The report, commissioned by the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NWIEP) will be used to shape future support for local authorities in the North West.

Further guidance on implications for the third sector: VSNW Briefing #29: The Third Sector and Tackling Worklessness in the North West

NWIEP’s report: Tackling Worklessness in the North West