Transformation not Tinkering – time to think the unthinkable!

As you may be aware the government has recently released via the Big Lottery the Transforming Local Infrastructure Fund. This follows much consultation by the government in 2010 about how charities and voluntary groups receive support.  We have been told it is the final opportunity for infrastructure organisations like CVSs to bid for funds to transform – and indeed revolutionise – their services.  The government will address the transformation of national infrastructure through further changes to its Strategic Partners programme in the coming years.

The Lottery guidance gives the government’s view that infrastructure varies from “best in class to inconsistency, unnecessary duplication and fragmentation of resources”; that this programme is not about “business as usual” but that they are looking for us to adapt to economic reality and the changing needs of frontline groups.

 

The programme will support consolidation and collaboration, e.g. rethinking business models, asset consolidation, merger of back office functions and shared services; fresh thinking about the support civil society needs, integration of services, better links with local business, more peer to peer support within the sector, stronger partnerships with strategic bodies and long term sustainability that does not rely on government support

 

York CVS is the lead partner in this bid for York and will be working closely with core partners (so far identified as York Cares, Your Consortium, North Yorkshire and York Forum) and a range of other organisations to develop a bid by 31^st October 2011. As you can see, timescales are tight!  We will also work closely with NYYF who are the lead partner for a North Yorkshire bid to make sure that where work crosses over our local authority boundaries that we maximise the benefits of working together and make sure that groups in York and North Yorkshire can seamlessly access the same services, wherever they are based.

 

We would like to hear from you if you want to see things change.  Do you agree with the government’s aims?  Can you tell us what transformed services will look like to you?   Don’t hold back! If you think a service is poor, or we offer something that is no longer needed and should stop or close, be replaced by something else, or look very different in the future, then please tell us.  If something doesn’t currently work for you or frustrates you, we need to know.

Here are some questions to start you off but please feel free to comment in any way or to write your own questions for us to answer or for us to pass on for others to answer.

×          What do you want from the services that support you?

×          Do you want fewer places to go? A one-stop shop?

×          Do you care if your services are provided by a charity, or a private company or the state?

×          Is the Priory Street Centre a suitable place for you to access services? If not, why not? Where else would you prefer to go?

×          Are there places you go for help that all need to be located together?  Can you tell us what they are?

×          Are there any services which you would be prepared to pay for? If so what? Why?

×          Are there services you would never be prepared to pay for? If so, what? Why?

×          What needs to be different? How?

×          What needs to be better? How?

 

There are a number of ways you can get in touch.  It would help if you could do this by Friday 14^th October.  You can email bigtif@yorkcvs.org.uk.  You can ring us on 01904 621133.  You can ask for a freepost envelope.  You can arrange to come in and talk to someone about what you think.  You can leave a comment on our blog or you can tweet us using #bigtifyork. Thank you!  We look forward to hearing from you and will keep you updated on how the partnership and bid are progressing.

Angela Harrison

Transforming Infrastructure

York CVS is the lead partner for the bid from York to the Transforming Infrastructure Fund.

To start our discussions internally with our staff, trustees and volunteers we used the attached presentation which we are happy to share.  We started with the question “what do groups and individuals need to enable voluntary action to flourish..?” Here’s our presentation of the session:york-cvs-the-future-of-infrastructure.

Progress to date; a meeting of the potential partners was held on 10th August. A number of themes for further discussion were identified and meetings subsequently arranged.  A letter to partners 26 aug was issued explaining how York CVS proposes to register the preliminary partnership.

Please post any thoughts below that can contribute to a winning bid for York!

Many thanks.

Angela Harrison, Chief Executive, York CVS

More information is available from Big Lottery.
And on the York CVS website.

Chief Exec’s August Update

In September last year I wrote that August had been a month where the sector had been faced with “a plethora of government announcements, initiatives, funding cuts and consultations”  and we all seemed to agree on our anxiety that if we blinked we would miss a new policy announcement or a key piece of news.  I’m not sure quite how much the policy announcements  have slowed this summer and we have seen significant world events such as famine in Africa and the United States seemingly on the edge of bankruptcy be sidelined by lurid tales of phone hacking.

However the overall pace of change for us at CVS and for our members and those who use all our services appears to be relentless.  The changing health and social care agendas continue to dominate. Just in the last few days we have seen:-

•  City of York Council being to consult on the future of care for the elderly.  You can find out more about how to take part in the consultation here. http://www.york.gov.uk/health/Services_for_older_people/eph. This is a significant change and we know many of you will want to have your say.  I am sure this will be a hot topic for the relevant health and social care forums.

• The Independent Review of Health Services in North Yorkshire and York published its findings to make recommendations for the future commissioning of services within a sustainable financial framework to ensure future financial balance.  Many of you contributed to this work. The strategic recommendations from the review can be found below but include redesign of the model of care so that patients are treated according to their level of need and shifting care from the hospital to the community sector.  There are also specific recommendations relating to a stronger role for voluntary sector providers in contributing to integrated provision of community and primary care services, mental health services and preventative work. To find out more go to http://www.yorksandhumber.nhs.uk/reports_and_publications/north_yorkshire_and_york_review/

And finally on health issues some of you have been asking for more information about the Transition Board, the interim arrangement prior to the new Health and Wellbeing Board for York. I am pleased to say that fellow Board Members Pete Dwyer and Rachel Johns will be guests at our Voluntary Sector Strategic Forum on 13^th September 2011 to join me in answering your questions.   More information available here. http://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/content/voluntary-sector-strategic-forum

For CVS last week saw the announcement of the Transforming Local Infrastructure Fund, which was first discussed when the current government came into power and consulted on many months ago.  This is said to be the final funding round for our type of organisation so it is crucial that we use this funding to truly transform our organisation and the services we provide. This will mean working  with groups we know, finding more of those we don’t know, and establishing their needs in this ever-changing environment.   We will work with appropriate partners to deliver the right services, in the right place in and in the right way.  Please read more about this important piece of funding and tell us how it could be used to enable you to access better infrastructure support.  http://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/content/transforming-local-infrastructure-fund

We are still working with City of York Council to develop a Service Level Agreement for the additional funding to the sector for 1^st October 2011 to 31^st March 2012 so please bear with us on this and we will release details as soon as possible.

As always please get in touch if there is anything you would like to talk about.  We have just updated our Comments, Compliments and Complaints Policy which can be found here http://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/ycvs-policies but we’re equally happy to take your comments by phone, email, fax, letter or tweet!

Forward planning – how are you doing?!

Raise the notion of time management or forward planning at present and it is likely you’ll be met with eyes rolling in disbelief at your audacity at even asking the question, or possibly a slightly hysterical, high-pitched reply along the lines of “wouldn’t it be nice to have time to forward plan?”  Last week I went to the annual conference for CVS Chief Officers run by our national body NAVCA.  A discussion session on leadership was met with a heartfelt plea from a chief officer who asked “how on earth am I supposed to provide strategic leadership to my organisation and the sector when one minute I’m meeting the leader of the council about the city’s 10 year economic development plan and the next minute I’m staying late to let a gym class into the building?!”.    That resonated with me at 7.15pm on Monday night when CVS staff members and I were frantically re-arranging the chairs and tables in the hall at Priory Street, as we had only a 15 minute turnaround between our “Meet the Business Sector” event and the arrival of a Circle Dancing group. And I remember ringing David Smith, Chief Executive at Our Celebration relatively early one morning and not being too surprised when I was told the cleaner was ill and he was just finishing the vacuuming.

 

Partly we wouldn’t wish it to be any other way, because it is often that time when you are clearing tables or mucking in that you get the opportunity to chat more informally with staff, volunteers and customers or service users and find out more about each other and what people really think about the services you provide.

 

At our Meet the Business Sector event I met a group who were looking to raise funds and support for the long term development of a building.   For CVS to be thriving in 3 – 5 years when that group’s plans come to fruition, and they may want further support from us to grow their group, then we have to be doing our own forward planning and lifting our heads from the day to day once in a while.    So recently I did take time out to go and meet a CVS chief officer from another part of the country.   His CVS is doing some interesting work that we can learn from, including establishment of a social enterprise trading company delivering a range of services under a brand name which enables them to clearly identify charged for services from free core services.  They are sharing a senior management post with a neighbouring, smaller CVS and exploring lots of money-making ideas in recognition of lost income streams that may well not return.

So I shall risk your wrath and ask the question anyway.  Are you finding time, even a few minutes here and there, to think about your organisation’s future? One small step I’ve taken recently is to retire my very basic Pay as You Go mobile and  invest in the sort of device my technology-savvy (and I must admit younger) staff have been using for years. I’ve given them endless hours of amusement these past few weeks as I’ve struggled to make it perform the most basic of functions, such as actually making a phone call.  However, I’m now using it to download useful podcasts I can listen to on the bus and to follow a small number of organisations and people on Twitter who can stimulate some of those ideas and help with that thinking. My next step is to master the voice-function software to save typing time – but I’m not sure my fellow bus passengers will want me dictating my Voluntary Voice article on the way home to Pocklington!

 

The other key message for me from the NAVCA conference was that what the sector needs now is optimistic leadership.  Again, how to ask leaders of voluntary organisations to rise to that challenge, when many of us know that in the next 10 years our sector may change beyond all recognition. Traditional funding sources will contract further, some organisations will cease to exist, some will reduce significantly and the private sector may become our competitor.  Mission drift debates will rage and the volunteer vs. paid staff member scenario will be a contentious issue.

However, there are also opportunities and possibilities.  In York we have a thriving sector, skilled staff, volunteers with incredible energy and commitment, support from the local authority and the business sector and an emerging GP consortium that is interested in our work and keen to know more. We have not suffered the scale of cuts that the sector has seen in some parts of the country and if enquiries to CVS are anything to go by, then many of you are addressing your sustainability issues and looking at new and different income streams, including trading arms and the development of social enterprises.   On a national level, new technology will be used to make giving easier and maybe increased donations through the use of direct debits, bank cards and mobile phones will free up some staff and volunteer time.  So I for one am willing to sign up to the optimistic model of leadership.

P.s.  the new phone is also great for catching up with the Desert Island Discs archive – one episode  lasts just long enough for the bus journey home!

Angela Harrison

Thank you for your responses to our recent survey on the needs of the voluntary sector in York. Over 60 different organisations have replied, telling us what support and services they most need in 2011-12.  Included in this newsletter are some summaries of the answers received. We also have detailed comments from many of you on your specific requirements, which means we can tailor our support to meet your needs.

Some of your needs we can meet from existing resources, and we hope others will be met from some additional CYC funding to be decided on at the July Cabinet meeting.  It is not too late to tell us what you need from us so please do get in touch if you did not complete the survey. It is no surprise that for many of you funding and fundraising are key concerns this year.  Some of you have raised the question of whether it is possible to share a fundraiser or how to access more practical, hands on support with writing applications and finding new ways of raising funds from different sources.

On 20^th June we are holding an event at Priory Street in partnership with York Cares for you to meet local businesses who may be able to offer their services, for example  as Trustees and Treasurers (who seem to be worth their weight in gold at the moment if you can find one!). We hope this will be an opportunity for you to start to build longer term relationships that may lead to help with fundraising and gifts in kind.  We should remember that many of us purchase their services too, be it legal services, electricians or caterers so our private sector colleagues need our business too.

This month we have signed up 2 new organisations to our payroll service and are doing accounts work for 6 voluntary organisations who are new to our services. The Community Accounting Service for York and North Yorkshire is now reaching 150 organisations and Big Lottery are delighted with the outcomes.  We are proud of this service and are already developing ways in which the service can be sustained when Lottery Funding runs out.  Please remember the old adage – “use it or lose it”!

We have also launched our electronic support network for Trustees. To join please go to www.yorkcvs.org.uk/group/trustee-network.    May also saw the launch of our Buildings Network, discussing procurement, energy deals www.yorkcvs.org.uk/event/community-buildings-information-network.

And last, but most definitely not least. Did you know that this week (1^st – 7^th June) is Volunteers Week? Like many organisations, we could not function without our volunteers here at CVS. As well as our Trustees, we have volunteers who help us with media skills and IT, and even volunteers who help us to help other volunteers find a volunteer placement!   So a big thank you from us to all the CVS volunteers and watch out this week as our tweets and web posts will definitely be volunteer-inspired.

Health Matters

“Welcome everyone to this sunny May edition of Voluntary Voice.  As the Government “pauses” for breath with its Health Service reforms, do we have time to stop and consider what these significant changes mean for us, the work we do, and the local people who will ultimately be affected by the changes?  This current culture of “blink and you’ll miss it” does create some concern.  To help you we’ve brought together on www.yorkcvs.org.uk/content/useful-websites some of the sources we find most useful in our day to day work on health and social care.  If you know of others, please share them with us.

• On the Partnerships pages of our website www.yorkcvs.org.uk/ycvs-groups we give details of the many health and social care focused voluntary sector forums that we support, for example on mental health, older people,  learning difficulties and self-directed support.  Many of us are suffering from meeting overload, but even if you can’t get along to the meetings you can read the minutes and other papers on the website and contribute electronically or by contacting us directly so we can pass on your views and comments.  I don’t think I am being over-dramatic when I say there has never been a more important time to have your say on health and social care issues.

•  Recently I was invited to a meeting of SHINEY – the Social and Healthcare Information Network and Engagement for York. The name alone makes you want to go to this meeting!  This group is interested in a broad range of topics covering health and well-being and is a great place to exchange information and keep up to date with what is going on nationally and in the city.  Have a look at their pages on our website.

•  Last week was the AGM of Link, another great place for you to give your views on local health issues and to hear from national speakers on developments such as Healthwatch.  At a recent regional meeting I met a key member of the Department of Health’s Voluntary Sector Partnerships Team, whose role includes working with voluntary sector strategic partners to promote and support the voluntary sector’s role in advocacy, new markets, nurturing community and social action.  This person had spent many years working in the voluntary sector so I was reassured to know that our views were now being eloquently put from the inside too!

•  I know that some of you have been speaking to your MPs and local councilors about health issues too.  There are many ways, some formal, some informal, that we can use to influence.  Please talk to us if you are not sure about the most effective way for you to link in.  And don’t forget our Connected York mapping tool can help you navigate your way through the local maze.  www.connectedyork.org.uk If you would like a hands-on session to help you please just ask; we can arrange a drop-in session for you in our IT area in reception at Priory Street or can come to you if that’s more convenient.

And finally…last week I was given a light-hearted guide to measuring the health of your organisation.  It involved measuring how much the staff and volunteers relied on strong black coffee and chocolate biscuits and how much exercise they took.  We came out about middling as we have enough green tea drinkers to balance out the coffee addicts and we smugly felt our colleague Craig, who is in training to do an “Iron Man” triathalon, more than made up for the gym-phobics amongst us.  I’m not quite sure this trading of your “5 a day” fruit and veg and “just 30” minutes of exercise is what the health policy makers have in mind but it works for us!

Enjoy the sunshine for as long as it lasts”.

Best wishes

Angela

Changes within our volunteer centre

Earlier in the year I told you that our Volunteer Centre would be undergoing significant changes in 2011, due to the end of a number of national government funding streams.  It is important that you, the users of our services, tell us what you want from the Volunteer Centre in the future, so please come to our event on 18th May to tell us what you think and to help us develop new partnerships and new ways of working.  Volunteering has a strong history in York and CVS itself is now in its 71st year of supporting local voluntary action, so I doubt that some temporary funding challenges will stand in the way of what  we want to do to help those voluntary organisations who rely on volunteer support.

We’re in conversations about York’s history and modern philanthropy – what these things mean to us now? If there are positive York Stories out there we might need them in the coming year! We’ve also accepted a 4% cut from the PCT for our health services next year and we’re trying keep services to a normal level.

Another date for your diary is the next meeting of our Voluntary Sector Strategic Forum on Monday 11th April at the Priory Street Centre at 2pm.  We will give you an update of our productive meeting with the City of York Council and hope to get your views on the best way to build capacity in the sector in the coming year.

And finally we are working on some plans to improve the conference facilities at Priory Street. If you would like to see a copy of the plans please contact Kenny Liekse, Priory Street Centre Manager for a copy of the presentation or to arrange to come in and have a look at it.

The 31^st of March saw many voluntary sector organisations losing valued staff including here at York CVS, other voluntary organisations in the city and our national body NAVCA. We wish them all the best and thank them for their focus, hard work and determination.

Angela