Improving the quality of support for third sector organisations.
Improving support
As part of the new phase in ChangeUp, we will implement agreed changes in national support services and consortia.
Change of remit
New roles and remits will come into force, based on the reviews of both national support services and consortia, on the feedback from consultation exercises with the third sector and the consortia development programme.
Sustainable funding
All new arrangements will be supported by three-year grants.
Quick reference links
To view current activity for each work strand of this particular organisational objective, please click on the reference links below:
Consortia - Support Networks
Support networks or consortia aim to improve support to frontline organisations.
Some operate at regional level, some at sub-regional level, and some at local authority level – though there is no consistent pattern across the regions. There are about 130 in operation at present.
| Activities | By | Progress/Milestones |
|---|---|---|
| Launch of new three-year funding package for support networks. | April / May 2008 |
Status: Completed. |
| Continue development programme e.g. self and peer assessment, independent reviews, training. | April 2008 / on-going |
Greater awareness of the issues and evidence of positive changes in practice. Status: In progress. |
| Develop and launch quality improvement framework. | March 2009 | A relevant affordable route to quality for infrastructure, with accreditation where appropriate. |
| Publish guidance on the funding policy for support of consortia 2011/14. | June / July 2010 | |
| Make funding decisions for support networks for the period 2011/14 | December 2010 | |
| A further round of reviews of support networks. | January / February 2010 | Consortia to be able to demonstrate the tangible benefits accruing to the frontline as a result of their activities. |
National Support Services
The six national hubs were replaced in April 2008 by new workstreams: Campaigning and Advocacy / Collaboration / Equalities and Diversity / Income generation / Leadership and Governance / Marketing and Communications / Modernising Volunteering / Performance management / Responding to Social Change.
To find out more about the national support services, please visit the Improving Support website.
| Activities | By | Progress/Milestones |
|---|---|---|
| Launch new national support services through strategic lead bodies. | April 2008 | Status: Completed. For further information about the national support services, please visit the Improving Support website. |
| Develop / commission unified website for national support services. | April / September 2008 | Easier access for support organisations and frontline to information about support available, as well as access to advice and information. For further information about the national support services, please visit the Improving Support website. |
| Develop the functionality of the integrated national support services website. | 2009 / 11 | Improved and unified access to information and support. |
| Review of national support services and the role of the strategic lead bodies with a view to re-commissioning. | May / June 2010 | National support services to be able to demonstrate tangible benefits of their activities to frontline groups. |
| Re-commissioning of the main agents for delivery of the national support services | September / December 2010 | Agree grants with the strategic lead bodies ad business plans for 2011/14. |
Learning and innovation
Learning, research and support for innovation, remains central to our strategy and is reflected in our Corporate Plan.
We have ring-fenced a limited amount of programme funds to commission work which furthers our strategic objective to be a 'learning agency'.
| Activities | By | Progress/Milestones |
|---|---|---|
| Develop relevant initiatives to address sub-sectoral gaps and priorities. | April 2008 | Increased collaboration between generic and specialist sub-sectoral support agencies. Status: In progress. Integrated into programme guidance for all programmes. Priority for innovation and learning 2008/11. |
| Review progress of support for peer review, and other innovative models of support. | April 2009 |
Greater awareness of the potential benefits of different approaches. Status: In progress. |
| Review in meshing ChangeUp with support for social enterprises | May 2009 |
Revise plans for supporting social enterprises following the experience of the first year of funding. Status: In progress. |
