Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the latest briefing from your Voluntary Sector Forum. The briefing is to update you on all the areas and issues the forum has been working through on your behalf. Members of Voluntary Sector Forum Steering Group (representatives of VCS groups from across the borough) continue to lead on work on your behalf – to ensure your interests are represented and fed into local structures and partnerships.
In this update we want to give you some feedback on two important events. Once again, we have tried to keep this update short and snappy – but if you would like to know more detail about any area covered in the briefing; then please do click on the links for more information or please do get in touch with mal@rcvda.org.uk or Telephone 01642 440571
John Pearson, Chair
R&C Voluntary Sector Forum
Asset Based Approaches to Health & Social Care
On the 29th May 2014, the Voluntary Sector Forum hosted an event led by Trevor Hopkins of Asset Based Consulting. Asset Based Approaches to Health & Social Care was a session designed to stimulate the way we currently think about working with local communities, what doesn’t work – and why we need to change the way we work if we want to improve the lives of local people.
Volunteers and officers from the voluntary sector and the local authority engaged in some great discussions about what our assets are and how can we use them more effectively. Trevor used his experience of working within and for communities to outline how we need a whole system change to view our communities differently. Feedback from the session has been very positive and we are now considering how we can use the discussions and thoughts to implement change.
Trevor is the co-author of ‘A Glass Half Full:produced bu IDEA in 2010. He has over 25 years experience working in local government on partnership approaches to improving health and challenging health inequalities.This includes setting up and developing local health partnerships, supporting health overview and scrutiny committees, managing, developing and delivering joint health improvement projects.
His previous background in art teaching and long experience of delivering training and coaching programmes for UK Athletics means that he brings very creative approaches to his work on health improvement, leadership and community development. Trevor is an experienced deliverer of presentations and facilitator of workshops and has regularly presented at national conferences. He is a guest lecturer on Durham University’s MSc on Public Policy and Health and for Leeds Metropolitan University.
Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council Managers Conference – 11 June 2014
Representitives of the Voluntary Sector Forum were asked to present at the latest R&CBC Managers conference, held at the new Civic Heart in Redcar. The local authority has recently highlighted their commitment to the sector by crating an ‘Improvement Project’ to focus on how they can work, support and communicate with the local sector; better.
The forum was asked to give a ‘Warts and all’ appraisal of their experiences of working with the local authority under the theme of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. Mal Fitzgerald of RCVDA started the presentation by setting the scene – outlining the difficult landscape in which we all currently operate, particularly how the sector is working with significantly more people – with significantly less resource.
Doff Pollard followed by outlining our experiences of working with the local authority, the highs and lows and used examples from local groups collected by RCVDA. John Pearson, Chair of the Forum talked about not trying to replicate what the sector does (almost like photocopying) but rather support and encourage organisations to reach more people in a positive way.
Lawrence McAnelly of the Junction Foundation outlined some of the moves we need to make collectively at a strategic level and some of the dilemmas we might face along the way. Julia Bracknell of Carers Together provided some very real and practical ways in which the local authority can work with the sector to bring about low cost savings to everyone and help us to achieve better outcomes.
Following the presentation, managers worked in groups to develop some positive actions that could be taken forward – with named officers leading on each. Following the event Amanda Skelton wrote to thank us for our contribution:
Thank you very much for giving up your time to attend our Managers’ Conference on 11 June.
Your presentation on “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” was excellent. It was exactly what we wanted to hear and it generated a great deal of constructive comment and action planning in the workshop session.
There were lots of ideas coming forward – some things we can get on with and do quickly, and others that will improve strategy and policy. Our team are turning the ideas into real commitments and I will write to you again when we have written this up.
Most importantly, your input will make a big different to our team in “thinking VCS” in our everyday activity.
This is a very positive move forward for the sector and the local authority. We will keep you updated with the progress we make in partnership with the local authority and we all hope this can be the start of a very positive improvement programme that will benefit everyone locally.