Social Growth in
Northumberland
Northumbria University Presentation
07/11/2012
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Overview
•
•
•
•
•
Drivers for Change
Revised Approach to Infrastructure
New Partnership
Volunteering/Activism
The Future?
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Drivers for Change
Contributing factors that meant NCC wanted
to look at doing things differently
• Local Government Reorganisation (2009)
• VCS infrastructure often reflecting district
geographies
• Public Sector Cuts
• Coalition Policy – Open Public Services,
Big Society
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Revised Approach
• Commitment to small grants remained
• Undertake a review of funding to Infrastructure
groups
• Scrutiny and Cross Party Members group
• Started with 20 % reduction in the budget
• Evaluation involving Third Sector Development
Unit at Teesside University/ Northern Rock Third
Sector Trend (NRTST) work
• Focus on support services rather than support
organisations
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Commissioning Process
• Used a competitive grants process – this
is an area that needs to be explored
• Partnership approach encouraged
• Phased so could have dialogue between
bidders if desired
• Outcomes based, included social value
clause (before social value act)
• Two key areas – providing support and
effective influence and representation
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
New Partnership
• Charity, Social enterprise and private sector
partnership - Connect4Change
• Continuum of Support - Firm Foundations,
Developing and Delivering, Established and
Enterprising
• Audit on the support required by the sector
• Commissioning approach to meet identified
needs
• Developing a VCS Assembly
• Impact measurement
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Work to Date
• As a result of the audit following areas
commissioned
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–
–
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Strategic Approach to Volunteering
Funding Advice and Support
Community Buildings and Assets
Building and Improving Organisational
Performance – skills, quality, outcomes planning
– Organisational Leadership – trustee support
– Business support – back office, bulk purchasing
– Single Equalities Forum
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Volunteering/Activism
• Important to the challenges facing
Northumberland, older people, rural services,
peripheral economy
• Need for common language around what we
mean – not just about brokerage also about
“lending a hand”
• Lot of work to be done, commission from
C4C the start
• Other areas of current policy work Centre for
Local Economic Strategies, Institute for local
Governance and Social Enterprise
development, findings form NRTST
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
The Future
• Council developing Social Growth Strategy –
volunteering integral along with role of social
enterprise, strength of VCS.
• Very challenging environment – quite a bit of
recognition from outside, within Northumberland
degree of negativity, loss of their money
• Volunteering in a much better place, shared
understanding of what we mean, and how we
support it
• Cross sector activity, public, private and VCS
• Able to evidence having an impact
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Direction of Travel
Past
• Focus on Economic
Growth
• Volunteering preserve of
VCS
• Repeat grants
• Focus on infrastructure
bodies
• Social enterprise seen as
separate
Future
• Develop approach to
Social Growth
• Cross sector approach
• Commissioning with
grants
• Focus on infrastructure
services
• Social enterprise attitudes
integral
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Thank you
Kirsten Francis
Principal Policy Officer
Transformation Group
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
NE61 2EF
connect4change
The Fourways
Amble,
Northumberland
NE65 0DR
Telephone: 01670 624741
Email:
Kirsten.Francis@northumberland.
gov.uk
Website:www.northumberland.go
v.uk
Telephone: 01665 713109
Email:
contact@connect4change.co.uk
Website:
www.connect4change.co.uk
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council