In 2013 Croydon Voluntary
Action carried out the biggest research study so far this century on Croydon’s
voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE). ‘The results show
that not only is Croydon’s VCSE continuing to deliver high-quality
transformational services, but that at its grassroots - across a range of diverse
communities - the VCSE is rediscovering a spirit of enterprise and
self-reliance among local people that is being harnessed for much wider community
benefit.’
Research Findings
The research shows:
·
‘how citizen
led, innovative and preventative services in the VCSE are at the forefront of
tackling the borough’s most intractable social problems.’
·
‘the
financial pressures the VCSE is under
are stretching many local organisations to breaking point. This has a double
whammy effect - it poses an immediate threat to the services currently being
delivered; and it inhibits the income generation and enterprise that makes those
services sustainable over the longer term.’
·
The need for
action now - action on behalf of the local statutory and private sector
partners who make an investment in Croydon’s VCSE; and on behalf of the VCSE
itself that is trying so hard to retain a culture of learning and development
in the face of what has become for many a day-to-day struggle to survive.’
Emerging Themes
Three key themes that
have emerged from the discussions to develop a VCSE Strategy to help develop an
initial framework for the drawing up of action plans are:
·
Citizen-led
activity: ‘investment in the citizen-led activities within Croydon’s VCSE that
(i) build community resilience and cohesion; (ii) promote new forms of
volunteering; (iii) nurture new forms of VCSE activity; and (iv) transform the
partnership between Croydon Council and the community.’
·
Core VCSE
competencies: these need to be developed
·
Funding
policy and practice: Croydon Council and other statutory partners need ‘to be
creative in managing a range of funding programmes that play to the strengths
of the local VCSE and deliver social value.’
Priorities for Change
The Draft Strategy
identifies a series of compelling and inter-linked priorities for change –
foremost among these are:
• The case
for volunteering:
• The case
for community development:
• The case
for efficiency and effectiveness:
• The case
for collaboration
• The case
for enterprise
• The case
for Grant-Aid
• The case
for Social Value in Commissioning
The challenge now is to convert the Strategy into
actions that support the VCSE in its role. There will be on going consultations
and further research to strengthen the Strategy, before discussions begin with partners
that lead to the formulation of action plans for future presentation to the
relevant decision making bodies (i.e. the Council Cabinet; the CCCG Board etc).
To see the full report
go to: www.cvalive.org.uk/ConnectingandInfluencing/Networking/CroydonVoluntarySectorAlliance.aspx.
Additional Points for Considerattion
Having worked and been
an activist in the community and voluntary sector for over 40 years and having
been involved in many discussions on developing strategies for the sector, I
would add the following points:
· Public sector partners pay lip service to the role
of the VCSE but cannot understand its complex diversity, do not fully
appreciate the many value roles the sector plays, and act in ways which
undermines the sector.
· The continuing drastic cuts in public sector budgets
means that funding is not going to be available except through two main
methods: asset transfer and award of contracts using the provisions of the Social
Value Act as enshrined in Council policy and its toolkit: www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/departments/business/pdf/socialvalue.pdf.
· Many
Council officers see the dual service/campaigning role of the VCSE as a threat
and will pick those they consider it is safe to work with and marginalise
others.
· The independence of VCSE organisations is
always under threat from grant and contract conditions and attempts by funders
to micro-manage. This impedes the role of the VCSE as risk takers and
contravenes the charitable trustee duties of their Committees.
The third part of my contribution to discussion on
the kind of economy we want for Croydon examines the role of the VCSE sector.
It will be posted on Citizen Croydon shortly.
Previous blogs
by me on aspects of the role of the
sector can be seen at:
Community and Mutual Ownership in History and
Today: http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/community-and-mutual-ownership-in.html.
August 2010
The Struggle for Community Empowerment. http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/struggle-for-community-empowerment.html.
November 2011
Croydon and The Role of Community and Voluntary
Sector Organisations. http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/croydon-and-role-of-community-and.html.
December 2012
Building a Stronger Community in Croydon. http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/building-stronger-community-in-croydon.html.
December 2012
Community & Voluntary Organisations and Local
Democracy. http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/community-voluntary-organisations-and.html.
December 2012
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