From April 2013 local Healthwatch replaced the Local Involvement Networks (LINks) as the "consumer voice" in health and social care. It is important that local Healthwatch learns from the experience of the LINks to ensure they become the best they can be, and to prevent "reinventing the wheel". The results of a project to capture this learning are now available
Voluntary Sector North West
St. Thomas Centre
31 October 2012
BIG published a discussion paper, Building Capabilities for Impact and Legacy, in December 2011 about how they can help voluntary organisations to build their skills, confidence and capabilities. This latest report summarises the responses to that paper and details the next steps that BIG will take with their Building Capabilities for Impact and Legacy framework.
Their framework supports their mission to ensure that Lottery funding bring improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need by building the capabilities of voluntary and community organisations. They drew on learning from a wide range of sources about capability building in developing our framework. A key strategic lesson was to be clear about the purpose of spending Lottery money to build the skills and confidence of voluntary and community groups and social enterprises.
Over the period up to 2015, BIG will focus on providing ‘pre grant’ and ‘in grant’ support for organisations linked to their funding initiatives. The aim of pre grant support is to focus on those groups which work with the communities most in need or of importance to their strategic impact or which have great ideas, but need to develop their skills, systems and confidence in some way before they can fund them. This will mean that they receive better quality proposals, and hence maximise the impact of funding.
In grant support is to develop the capabilities of organisations while they are receiving grant funding from BIG. This will not only enhance their ability to deliver the projects successfully, but also make them more effective and able to sustain their work even after their grant finishes. BIG will focus on three areas where in grant support can make the biggest difference – supporting organisations to engage in continuous improvement of their organisational capabilities; responding to crisis; and planning for the future after their BIG grant finishes.
Links
Building Capabilities for Impact and Legacy report
Is this the end of infrastructure as we know it? Blog by Richard Caulfield, VSNW Chief Executive
Regional Voices, of which VSNW is a partner, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding from the Department of Health (Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund) to support voluntary and community sector influence on health and wellbeing boards
The Department for Business Innovation & Skills has published the findings of a research study on European Social Fund delivery with the aim of informing thinking around the next round of programmes
Healthwatch England was formed in April 2013 and is the independent consumer champion for health and social care in England. They have now published a list of local Healthwatch, including those for the North West
The Local Government Chronicle held a webinar to explore the essential elements to ensure local healthwatch organisations are effective in scrutinising local health services and provide a voice for communities. Regional Voices, of which VSNW are a part, are mentioned.
An analysis has been published by NAVCA of the 74 areas that received Transforming Local Infrastructure and provides a national perspective, and allows the sharing of information and ideas
