Community MattersThe National Federation of Community Organisations

•Founded in 1945 as NFCA

•Became NFCO in 1982•Membership now over 1,150 (mainly England and Wales)•Members – multi-purpose community organisations, local authorities, LIOs…

CO Membership

•96% own/manage a community building•58% of buildings owned by LA•25% under £10K turnover•Average of £80K turnover•Just under half run entirely by volunteers•Independent with intensely local focus•Scale makes them vulnerable

Community Matters role

•Capacity building & infrastructure support•Leadership – eg standard setting•Consultation / voice•Research•Innovation and development•Partnership – Community Alliance

Advice and informationManaging community buildings

Management committee roles, responsibilities and proceduresConstitutions and governance

Leases and other occupation agreementsCharity law

Employment issuesBudgeting and accounts for small charities

Developing and delivering activities and servicesConsulting the community and representing their interests

Health and Safety requirementsLicensing issues

Trading and income generationCommunity regeneration

Bar separation and incorporationDispute resolution

Equality and diversity mattersInsurance

Children’s and Youth services

Community Matters role

•Capacity building & infrastructure support•Leadership – eg standard setting•Consultation / voice•Research•Innovation and development•Partnership – Community Alliance

Community Sector

•Range (COs – individuals)•Community Sector Coalition•Ethos (volunteering, mutuality, self-help, scale)•Autonomous and self-directed

Public service delivery

•Pre-occupation in England at the moment•COs can and do get involved and add value:

–Good local knowledge and local relationships–Taking a holistic, multi-purpose approach–Ensuring the services are well networked, employing local labour and supporting the local economy–Helping to spread risk through multiple small-scale delivery–Making services cost effective and delivering on a more intimate scale–Flexibility and responsiveness–Freedom from institutional pressures–Strong track record of self-help and user involvement

•Could do more if worked with larger charities

Community organisation USP

•Informal services–Children, youth, elderly, people with disabilities–Vulnerable to displacement

•COs real strengths–building strong social capital –enhancing community cohesion through inter-community activity–facilitating active citizenship and community volunteering–Community anchor role–incubating new community groups and enterprises–community voice and democratic engagement.

Community Voice

•Community sector as a voice for communities–Lots of them so don’t expect a wholly representative voice

•National umbrellas channelling voice up and down•Challenges

–Their interest and expertise lies in the very local–Limited capacity–May not be universal access to electronic communication–May need a broad community forum but recognise overheads–Recognise and support their wider role

Funding

•Commissioning & contracting•Grants•Enterprise•In-kind support – buildings etc•Taskforce proposals

–Capital funds (grant and loan) for community buildings and enterprise development. –Seed funding for new initiatives and for equipping community organisations to manage CSAs–Micro-grants programme – easy access to regular small amounts of grant preferably locally distributed–Learning for leadership – learning fund for COs to broaden and deepen their involvement.

Regeneration policy

•Moving-on from ABIs–Focus on winners and losers–Early ones poor at involving communities–Focus on flagship projects

•Taskforce proposals•Impact of the community sector•Local Area Agreements•Local Strategic Partnerships