Voluntary and Community Sector (Third Sector) Strategy
The overall aim of Darlington's Third Sector Strategy is:
"placing a vibrant challenging third sector high on the Council’s agenda in shaping a better quality of life for Darlington’s residents."
View the Council's Third Sector Strategy document - [PDF]
The action plan details actions to be delivered over the next two years to improve:
· communication between the Council and the sector
· understanding between the Council and the sector
· the infrastructure and capacity of the sector and the council
· Procurement, Commissioning and funding
In Darlington it has been recognised for some time that the third sector has a vital role to play. The third sector contributes significantly to the delivery of Darlington's Community Strategy and receives over five million pounds in support from the Borough Council each year. A Local Compact with the third sector has been implemented to provide the framework for partnership working.
Over recent years the role of the third sector in the delivery of high quality public services has grown substantially and there is now the potential to do much more. This strategy, and accompanying action plan provides a framework for closer working between the Council and the third sector, ensuring that the knowledge, independence and expertise of the third sector is valued for the benefit of the whole community.
The Council has now appointed the Carers Federation as the host for LINk (Local Involvement Network) which will give communities an opportunity to influence health and social care services. Visit our LINk web pages to find out more.
EVOLution are the infrastructure organisation to support the Third Sector in Darlington and they currently offer a range of services. These services include:
- Information services through newsletters, e-bulletins and website facilities.
- Accredited and unaccredited training to meet the needs of individuals, community groups and organisations.
- Funding advice, information and support.
- Volunteering development, including the recruitment of volunteers.
- Direct services such as photocopying, room hire and equipment loan.
- Networking.
To find out more please visit our link to the Evolution webpage.
Compact and Funding
Darlington Borough Council and EVOLution (CVS) are hosting a joint event on 24th November to involve the sector in the development of a revised Compact. The event in the morning will look at the regional context and at an example of best practice. This will provide the springboard for round table discussions on what the Compact should look like in Darlington and how it should operate to support the development of a strong Third Sector.
In the afternoon discussion will move to the funding of the sector by Darlington Borough Council and will look at the current support and ways that we can improve the way that this works within the financial constraints that we all face. The session will include looking at both grants and commissioning and how we can ensure the sector is supported in a way that builds capacity and meets the needs of local people.
For further details and to book a place please contact eVOLution on 01325 266888
Survey to Measure Support to the Third Sector
The quality of support for the third sector in every local area in England is to be measured by a new survey of the sector. The Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office is to ask third sector organisations to share their experiences. This will help give local government the information it needs to ensure an environment for a thriving third sector, and meet new performance targets.
From voluntary groups and social enterprises will receive the National Survey of Third Sector Organisations questionnaire from Ipsos MORI. This will be the biggest ever survey of the sector and will ask about local and national funding relationships, advice and support services and the state of relations with local government.
Surveys will already have arrived in Darlington but to ensure we get a good picture of life in the Third Sector we would ask all Third Sector organisations to return them as soon as possible.
The survey will aim to:
- build a picture of the effectiveness of partnership working between the third sector and local statutory bodies in England and set the baseline from which progress will be measured in 2010
- enable third sector organisations to have their voice heard on what their local operating environment is like
- help local areas to do better in supporting the third sector by providing the information with which to evaluate their progress and identify key areas for improvement
- provide national government and researchers an unrivalled picture of the local third sector and what affects its success.
We want to ensure we have a strong and thriving sector here in Darlington and we need to have your views to help us to identify things that we need to improve. If you have not received a survey but would like to let us know of any issues please contact:
Mary Hall
Voluntary and Community Sector Liaison Manager
Darlington Borough Council
13 Horsemarket
Darlington
DL1 5PW
E-mail: mary.hall@darlington.gov.uk
Tel: 01325 388676
Comments can also be passed to :
eVOLution (CVS)
Church Row
Darlington
DL1 5QD
E-mail: enquiries@evolutiondarlington.com
Telephone: 01325 266 888
Joint Training
As part of the Partnership Improvement Programme it has been agreed to open up some training offered by Darlington Borough Council to the Third Sector. Information on course availability will be sent to Joanne Jones, from the various council departments which we will then advertise to the voluntary sector via our newsletters and website. Further information, prices and booking procedure is available from Joanne Jones at eVOLution. To find out more please contact her on 01325 266888.
Third Sector training can also be accessed by Darlington Borough Council staff through agreement with their line manager. Training programme details are available on the eVOLution website. Please follow this link:
http://www.evolutiondarlington.com/training/courses/