Current Consultations

"Building capabilities for impact and legacy" - Big Lottery Fund discussion paper

Register of Lobbyists consultation

YOUR CHANCE TO SHAPE SUPPORT SERVICES

Voice4Change England survey on new Big Lottery Fund discussion paper

The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) plans to invest at least £20m to improve the capabilities of voluntary and community sector organisations (VCOs) to complement Government’s £30m Transforming Local Infrastructure fund. To inform and shape how the money is spent BLF has set out their proposed approach in a discussion paper: “Building capabilities for impact and legacy” and is inviting views through an online survey.

The approach outlined is a big shift from previous ways in which they have sought to support VCOs. The BLF is focussing more on the needs of frontline organisations and encouraging collaboration and the rationalisation of support services.

Voice4Change England will be preparing a response to the discussion paper and to help us gather views we have a short survey that will take no more then 10 minutes to complete.

Learn more about what the discussion paper says and complete Voice4Change England’s short survey to help make sure BLF funding meets the support needs of the BME voluntary and community sector. 

What does the discussion paper propose?

The paper sets out two key strands of work:

Demand led: BLF wants a more demand led system so will use most of the investment to help frontline voluntary organisations choose the support they require and develop their capabilities.Due to limited resources BLF will focus its support on frontline organisations which have previously been recipients of BLF funding and delivered good results, or to high quality organisations doing work in areas which are a funding priority for BLF. 

BLF plans to target support at different stages of its funding programmes: 

1. Prior to launching new funding opportunities- to help organisations to improve their capabilities to deliver projects more effectively.
2. In-grant support- to help organisations develop their capabilities based on specific needs or focus on specific capabilities such as measuring impact and generating income.
3. End of grant support- to help organisations develop their capabilities to generate income to sustain their projects.

Improving supply: BLF believes that collaboration and the rationalisation of support services will improve the quality of support services which frontline organisations can choose from.

To prioritise investment BLF wants to focus on: 

1. Working with other fundersof support services to develop a common approach so resources are used more effectively.
2. Providing transitional supportto enable high quality support providers to sustain and improve services.
3. Developing new effective ways of delivering supportincluding creating more opportunities for peer-to-peer support, improving online services, and expanding the support available from the private sector.
4. Investing in specific support serviceswhere needed to enable successful delivery of BLF priorities, but cannot be delivered through demand-led funding.

In addition £6m of the investment will go to a national organisation over three years to develop the capacity of local and specialist support providers so they can offer higher quality support to frontline voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises.The programme, called Assist, went out to tender in December 2012 and the successful bid will be selected in March 2012.

How to have your say

Voice4Change England will be responding to the consultation to make sure that the needs and views of our members and other Black and Minority Ethnic voluntary and community sector frontline and support organisations are met. We want to ensure they are resourced and supported to be able to deliver effective services to diverse and disadvantaged communities.

Help us by taking part in a short survey to inform our response to the discussion paper. The survey will take no longer then 10 minutes to complete. We have developed two surveys aimed at different audiences:

Survey 1: Complete this survey if you are a frontline organisation.

Survey 2: Complete this survey if you are a support organisation. 

Please follow the correct link for your organisation. If you are unsure as to which survey you should complete please fill out the one you feel is most appropriate to you organisation.

We thank you in advance for your contributions.

Voice4Change England’s survey will run until 12 noon on Monday 27 February 2012. The deadline for responding directly to BLF’s discussion paper is 15 March 2012.

If you would like to respond directly to the discussion paper visit BLF’s website.

Thank you in advance for your contributions.

Register of Lobbyists consultation

Government is currently consulting on plans to create a statutory register of lobbyists which could include charities.  The aim of the register is to increase transparency by making available to the public, decision-makers and others easily-accessible information about who is lobbying and for whom.  At the same time Government are keen not to prevent essential activity for a vibrant democracy, so for example, the register is not intended to cover the normal interaction between constituents and their MPs or the flow of communication between business leaders, community organisations and Government.

Voice4Change England welcome the consultation and think it raises a number of important questions including:

• What is lobbying?  And does everyone recognise that they are lobbying?
• What organisations should be included? Does it include charities, incorporated groups and informal groups?
• Is there a balance to be drawn between those who lobby for public benefit and those who lobby for commercial interest?
• What is the role of existing regulation by the Charity Commission?
• Where would accountability for registering lie within charities and how could we ensure small charities are sufficiently aware of the register, particularly if there are penalties for not registering?
• What are the cost implications, especially for small charities?

To make your views heard reply directly to the consultation by 13thApril: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/proposals-register-lobbyists

Or take part in NCVO’s short survey: http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/lobbyistsregister