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What now?Involvement and influence, post election

Kate HathwayNetwork Development Officer

Urban Forum

www.urbanforum.org.uk

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Hmm, massive cuts ahead – but

we can blame the Lib Dems!

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New Coalition’s Priorities •Making it easier to run a charity, social

enterprise or voluntary organisation

•Getting more resources into the sector & strengthening its independence and resilience

•Making it easier for sector organisations to work with the State

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Making it easier to run a charity, social enterprise or voluntary organisation

- Joint task force to “reduce bureaucratic burden on small organisations”.

- Simplifying Gift Aid

-Improving the effectiveness of voluntary sector infrastructure

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Getting more resources into the sector & strengthening its independence and resilience

- Creation of a ‘Big Society Bank’

-A ‘Fair Deal on Grants’ (reforming of Big Lottery grants, better practice in government grant making, and a community grant programme)

- An ‘army’ of 5000 community organisers, ‘Big Society Day’ and National Citizen Service

- Support to deliver public services

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Making it easier for sector organisations to work with the State

-Reform commissioning and procurement

-Consistency in dealings of the State with the VCS

-Office for the Civil Society (to replace OTS)

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The policy background1. Democracy– rebuilding public confidence, making

local government more accountable and transparent

2. ‘Active citizenship’ – community involvement, volunteering, taking responsibility for our communities

3. Efficient service delivery – through improved intelligence about what service users want and need

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• Community involvement and equity

•Increasing community access to local policy making processes

•Strengthening the relationship between councillors and organisations

•Increasing the Involvement of people in planning and design

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Community Involvement and Equity

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Increase community access to local policy making processes

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Strengthening the relationship between councillors and community organisations

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Increasing the Involvement of people in planning and design

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The challenges and opportunities ahead• Leadership and Influence

• Effective engagement and empowerment requires resources

• Time for creative thinking

• Monitoring levels of involvement

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