Notice Board

Supporting Disabled Volunteers
Disabled people are 9% less likely to volunteer than the rest of the population - because of basic issues such as lack of special equipment, travel costs and the need for support workers. The Access to Volunteering Fund Pilot aims to increase the number of disabled people in volunteer positions by breaking down the barriers they currently face when wanting to volunteer. The North West is one of three pilot regions offering grants of up to £5000. The final date for submissions is 6th September 2010. For more information or to apply visit the website - link below.

Link: Access to Volunteering Fund

Manchester Community Central
MACC is proud to announce the launch of Manchester Community Central, the new support service for Manchester's voluntary and community sector. This is a new service being delivered in a partnership between MACC, Voluntary Action Manchester and Community Network for Manchester. We believe this represents a big opportunity for improving the infrastructure support for Manchester's diverse voluntary and community sector. Click on the link below to download our first ever press release!
Download: manchester_community_central.pdf

Training on Drugs & Alcohol Issues
The Drug and Alcohol Strategy Team (DAST) have circulated their forthcoming training opportunities and details of their publications. Discounts on training are available for voluntary and community sector organisations.

Download: dast_training.doc

Commissioning Survey - Have Your Say!
On behalf of voluntary and community sector stakeholders, MACC and Voluntary Youth Manchester are in the process of carrying out an evaluation and review of the commissioning and tendering process in November 2008, carried out by Manchester City Council Children’s Services and Youth Service in relation to Parenting and Family Support and Youth Services in Manchester.

As part of this, we would like you to feed in your views by completing a questionnaire.  This is your chance to let us know, not just what went wrong or worked well, but how the process can be improved in the future.   We are particularly interested in hearing from you if you:

• accessed the commissioning tendering information but decided not to apply
• applied and were successful
• applied and were unsuccessful
• were affected by the process in any other way

Youth Work Training Catalogue
Manchester's City Council's Workforce Development and Planning team have released a new catalogue of their training opportunities for youth work. Click on the link below to download a copy.

Download: 2009_10_learning_and_development_programme_for_youth_workers.pdf

Children, Young People & Families Third Sector Strategy
In 2007 the Local Government Performance Management Framework set out a new indicator (NI7) to measure the "environment for a thriving third sector".  With this in mind, the Child & Family Support Forum (CFSF), in collaboration with Voluntary Youth Manchester, have undertaken to produce a children, young people and families Third Sector Strategy for Manchester.  This strategy has been written in consultation with members of the CFSF. If you would like to contribute your comments, please download the document (below) and send your views to maccoffice@macc.org.uk by Monday 2nd November 2009.

Download: 2009_11_enabling_manchesters_children_young_people_and_families_third_sector_to_thrive.pdf

Safeguarding Children - Updated Referral Procedures
Manchester Safeguarding Children Board has published revised guidance on making referrals around children or young people where there are concerns of harm, abuse or neglect. It is essential that staff in all organisations working with children, young people are familiar with the basics of this process. During the recent review of safeguarding practice in Manchester it has been noted that the quality of referrals has generally been poor - this new guidance seeks to clarify the process and provide useful definition of key terms.

Download: 2009_guidelines_for_reporting_referral_procedures.pdf
Link: Manchester Safeguarding Children Board - Useful Resources

Managing Funding Uncertainties: A guide for organisations in Manchester (Jan 08)
MACC has produced a guide aimed at managers and trustees of voluntary and community sector organisations in Manchester who find themselves facing an uncertain funding position. At this time of year, there are many organisations waiting to hear about funding from April onwards. This guide seeks to help you plan your way through the period and prevent it becoming a crisis.
Link: Managing Funding Uncertainties

Be in the know...join the MACC mailing list!
Join our rapidly expanding mailing list to get the latest updates from MACC on your chosen areas of interest. You can choose from Health and Social Care, Children and Families, Health and Well-being,Older People, Voluntary Sector Development, Mental Health, Advocacy Services and Community Engagement. If you're not already on our list, it’s simple to join, just;

   1. Click on the link below,
   2. Open the form,
   3. Complete all sections and,
   4. Email to our Administration Worker >email< .

We will send you information via email and/or post as you wish on your chosen interests... and it's all for FREE.
Download: contact_details.doc

Advocacy and Safeguarding
The Manchester Safeguarding Adults Board commissioned a working group to explore the development of advocacy services in Manchester as part a range of ways of safeguarding adults from abuse. Below is a link to download the final proposal from that group for developing Safeguarding advocacy services. This will be considered by the Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Manchester City Council on June 19th 2009. The report was scrutinised by the City Council's Adult Social Care Department and it has been their decision that there will be 'no financial consequences for the budget'.
Download: advocacy_cttee_report_june_09_final.doc

Charities and the Recession - Government Plans
The Government has published details of its support plans for the voluntary and community sector during the economic crisis. A briefing has been published by the advice site www.fundinginformation.org. You can download a copy from the link below.
Download: government_rescue_plan_for_charities_10-02-2009.doc

Third Sector Strategy Update
Work is progressing on the development of a Third Sector Strategy for Manchester. The group leading on this work has now produced a short briefing outlining the progress made so far. Click on the link below to download a copy. Alongside this, the first data have been released from the survey of voluntary and community sector organisations carried out during Autumn 2008 to establish a picture of what the "environment for a thriving Third Sector" might look like - including a "headline report" on Manchester. The briefing and the report are available to download on our Third Sector Strategy page: click on the link below to visit the page.
Link: Third Sector Strategy

Report on Small Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations
Children England (previously known as NCCVO) have produced a new report entitled Small Change - a survey about experiences of engaging with government initiatives, the impact of funding changes and the move to commissioning and the role in influencing strategic decision making.
Children England

Download: children_england_survey_report_small_change.pdf

NHS - Darzi Review and the Voluntary Sector
The Department of Health has published a briefing on the implications of Lord Darzi's "Next Stage Review" of the NHS for the voluntary and community sector. There is strong emphasis on the voluntary sector's role as a provider of services and as part of a "Coalition for Better Health".
Link: Download from Department of Health website (PDF)

Collaborative Working
NCVO has published a new guide on different ways of working with other organisations to generate income. Subjects covered include fundraising events, joint trading, payroll giving through consortia, legacy giving and appeals. You can download this for FREE from their website.
Link: NCVO Collaborative Working
Link: Download the guide directly (PDF file)

Futurebuilders Consortium Fund
Launched in December 2008, this is a new funding stream to support groups working together in a consortium to bid for public service contracts. To be eligible for investment from the fund, the consortium must have the basics of a structure in place, possess the potential to win contracts to deliver public services and have a specific contract, or contracts, in mind. There is no upper limit to the size of investment, but the minimum investment package is £50,000. More information on the Futurebuilders website:
Link: Futurebuilders England

NHS Manchester Commissioning Strategic Plan
On 26th November, NHS Manchester launched their first Commissioning Strategic Plan - this essentially sets out the big priorities for the local NHS over the next 5 years. These are at first glance unsurprising - life expectancy, reducing under 18 pregnancy, tackling childhood obesity, etc, - but the fact that these have now taken centre stage in the Primary Care Trust's plans and budgeting is a considerable shift towards a preventative health economy. The full document is now available on the NHS Manchester Website and includes some interesting initial observations about the need to engage local voluntary sector organisations in the delivery of these preventative services.
Link: NHS Manchester Commissioning Strategic Plan

Compact Concise Guide
As part of Compact Week 2008, the Commission for the Compact has published a handy guide to the main principles and issues addressed in the national Compact. It's designed to act as a reference tool and checklist to help both public sector and third sector organisations.
Link: Compact Commission news item
Link: Download the Compact Concise Guide (PDF)

Government Guidance on minimum 3 year funding
The Government's Office of the Third Sector (part of the Cabinet Office ) has produced guidance which states that where appropriate, funding for the voluntary and community sector must be for a minimum of three years. This has been published jointly with the Treasury - which gives it much greater importance. The idea is that over the next 3 years, all Government departments will report to the Minister for the Third Sector on their progress in delivering 3 year funding agreements as standard. This will become part of the annual review of the national Compact.
Sadly, this doesn't currently apply to Local Authorities or Primary Care Trusts but it is a step in the right direction.
Link: Office of the Third Sector Guidance (pdf)

Worforce Development Funding Guide
Skills for Care, Skills for Health and Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) have produced a workforce development funding guide aimed at employers in the social care and health sector. Click on the link below to download a copy.
Download: nw_hsc_funding_guide.doc

Grassroots Fund
Community Foundation for Greater Manchester is launching a brand new pot of money called the Grassroots Fund. This was set up by the government’s Office for the Third Sector to support small voluntary and community groups across the country. Over the next 3 years the Office of the Third Sector has made £257,241.30 available to Manchester through the Community Foundation. To be eligible for a grant, groups must

• have been formed before 31st December 2006
• have an average income of less than £20,000 over the last 3 years
• be volunteer led

CRB Checks for Volunteers
In June 2008, the Office of the Third Sector released guidance to make clear what groups using volunteers need to do about Criminal Records Bureau checks. This is intended as a reply to concerns that some volunteers are being put off by the CRB check process. Obviously, organisations do need to manage risks in people doing voluntary work with children or vulnerable adults and there are some legal requirements but this new guidance tries to explain where a formal CRB check fits with other steps such as interviewing, training and getting references.
Link: Guidance on CRB Checks for Volunteers (pdf)
Link: Criminal Records Bureau