Capacitybuilders - Improving support for a stronger third sector

04/03/2008

Capacitybuilders exists to help create a more effective third sector, increasing its ability to create a better quality of life for individuals and communities. 

We want our funding to result in a step-change in the support available to frontline organisations working across England.

Refocus of national investment

From April 2008, our investment at a national level will be refocused from the six National Hubs to nine National Support Service workstreams.

'Supporting the supporters'

This national investment aims to ‘support the supporters’, e.g, provide support providers across England with resources, evidence and good practice that will improve the support services offered to frontline organisations.

Linking in with other new funding streams

The National Support Service programme is one of our three principal funding streams which will ‘go live’ in April 2008 and run for the next three years.

It sits alongside funding through local and regional Consortia and the Improving Reach programme, and is also supported by directly commissioned work at a national level in workforce and ICT projects.

Understanding the needs of the sector

The initial six themes of the ChangeUp programme - governance, volunteering, information and communications technology, finance, performance improvement and workforce development - remain pertinent to the development and growth of most third sector organisations.

Plugging the gaps in organisational support

Whilst always envisaged as broad headings, our consultation with the sector has demonstrated a range of organisational support that falls beyond these themes and yet is both valued by frontline organisations, and likely to be of growing importance for organisations responding to changes in the environment in which they work.

In particular, the sector’s role in campaigning, advocacy and influencing governance is increasingly recognised as vital to the health of civil society, and aspirations for greater community involvement, especially in local decision-making, planning and partnerships.

New NSS workstreams

The new national workstreams  funded by Capacitybuilders and their lead agencies are:

• Campaigning and Advocacy - NCVO
• Equalities and Diversity - Women's Resource Centre
• Income Generation - ACEVO
• Leadership and Governance - NCVO
• Marketing and Communications - Media Trust
• Modernising Volunteering - Volunteering England
• Performance - Charities Evaluation Services
• Collaboration -  bassac
• Responding to Social Change - NCVO

Meeting the changing needs of the third sector

The workstreams are based on consultation and assessment about where support services will need to improve to meet the changing needs of the third sector.

The level, priorities and pattern of activity in each workstream will vary, reflecting both current gaps in provision and how developed current support services are in this area. The workstreams and activities attached to them are not intended to be a ‘one stop shop’ for support provision.

Maximising coordination

Capacitybuilders is working with the lead bodies to maximise coordination of activities and all of the workstreams will feed in to a joint web-portal which will provide a gateway into Capacitybuilders’ funded activity.

Securing valuable Hub resources and assets

The work of the National Hubs has been valued and impacted thousands of organisations and work is underway with the Hubs to ensure that the valuable resources and assets funded through the ChangeUp programme remain available to the sector in the future.

Hub transition

During March 2008 the National hubs will continue to deliver their work programme, but will use this month to wind up their main areas of work and signpost users to valid resources and information.

For further information about Capacitybuilders programme of funding for 2008 to 2011, please visit the Destination 2014 delivery plans.