Our Work

The Consortium has received money from the government's ChangeUp programme as well as money from Defra. This programme has been running since early 2005 and has focussed on the following areas of activity:

Key areas of activity to date

Strengthening the capacity of Infrastructure Support - initially by research into the needs of the sector and mapping current services.

Two projects focussed on raising standards - quality standards and supporting good practice in representation on strategic partnerships.
Supporting communities in developng community plans and influencing decisions that affect them.

Increasing Volunteering - improving the quality and quantity of Volunteering activity in the county. A Volunteering Forum and a countywide volunteering strategy have been developed.

Improving support to Social Enterprises - increasing the level of advice to voluntary organisations and promoting the benefits of social enterprise.

Developing ICT capacity - building the technology capacity of infrastructure organisations to make them more efficient and effective in delivering services. Developing a Consortium website and extranet, upgrading equipment and providing support. Research into the potential for a joint database.

Supporting the sector's involvement in learning and skills - through support of the Voluntary Sector Learning Network.

Develop collaborative infrastructure support in weaker areas - by running a number of pilots where infrastructure organisations work creatively together to deliver a new service to areas where there are gaps, or to particular groups. Specialist and generic providers have tested out ways to integrate services.

Consortium development -The focus of the work so far has been on developing and delivering these strategic and practical projects. The Consortium has also worked to develop sound processes for commissioning work and monitoring progress, for managing and accounting for funds, and for developing its membership.