RINE

Funding Advisers Procurement and Commissioning Support Project FINE

To develop support to funding advisers around the changing funding environment.

For further details please contact:

Linda Whitfield          0191 477 125              manager@fine.org.uk

£115,131

Third Sector Procurement Support           VONNE / NESEP

This project will enhance the Procurement and Commissioning work in the region which is supporting third sector organisations to win contracts, and the public sector to provide the right environment to engage the sector in the design and delivery of public services.

For further details please contact:

Jo Curry         0191 233 2000            Jo.curry@vonne.org.uk

£121,425

Regional Governance and Leadership Project - VONNE

This project will implement the North East Voluntary and Community Leadership Strategy that was launched in April 2008. The Priorities include training for leaders, and increasing cross sector working.

For further details please contact:

Jo Curry         0191 233 2000            Jo.curry@vonne.org.uk

£93483

Transition - 1 Voice Network - County Durham

The project will consolidate the consortium as a legal entity, working on behalf of the VCS infrastructure organisations in County Durham. This will entail incorporation and formalisation of the consortium. The project will appoint a coordinator to facilitate the programme of transition for the consortium from an informal network to a constituted body.

For further details please contact:

Jo Laverick     01207 529621 info@durhamrcc.org.uk

£86,406

Communication - 1 Voice Network - County Durham

The project addresses building capacity and synergy in communications across the VCS. It will harness the ICT based Knowledge Management System The project addresses building capacity and synergy in communications across the VCS.

For further details please contact:

Jo Laverick     01207 529621 info@durhamrcc.org.uk

£96,236

Voice - 1 Voice Network - County Durham

This project will develop OVN's role in representation and advocacy for the VCS in the public policy arena. It will achieve this through development of a robust framework for representation of VCS into a number of networks which are currently driven by the public sector.

For further details please contact:

Jo Laverick     01207 529621 info@durhamrcc.org.uk

£71,564

Volunteering Northumberland - Northumberland

Volunteering Northumberland is being developed as a new way of delivering volunteering infrastructure services throughout Northumberland.  It will deliver a county-wide, consistent service and have more effective links with central and local government through one organisation.  It will develop new and better ways of working, looking beyond the traditional volunteer centre model by using outstationed staff to visit communities and by the imaginative use of IT. 

For further details please contact:

Anne Lyall      01670 858 688            anne.l@wansbeckcvs.org.uk

£123,809

Growing competitive VCOs            Tees Valley

This project creates new working patterns for support services across 5 metropolitan authority areas.

Work includes one to one capacity building support to help VCOs attain sustainability through adopting rigorous governance standards, formal planning, quality standards, evidencing and communicating the impact of their work with the aim of becoming more competitive in securing resources for essential local services. The aim is to increase the ability of groups to align themselves with local commissioning, LAAs, Procurement opportunities and to enhance their ability to compete for grant funding and contracts.

For further details please contact:

Simon Davidson       1429262641    s.davidson@hvda.co.uk

£295,804

NE North East Refugee Service (NERS)

Deliver Quality Assurance training programmes for Refugee Organisations and community groups RCOs, new migrant communities and second tier organisations.  This will improve access to mainstream support services.    Provide individual advice, signposting and information on QASRO and facilitate self-assessments making sure to continue to promote equality and diversity issues.     Telephone helpline to provide support regards quality assurance.  NERS identified a lack of support around specialist support and advice in performance improvement so we will provide support to hard to reach and at risk of isolation groups involved in refugee and new migrant communities' issues.

NERS is aiming to provide a sustainable and long time support services and structures.  This could be achieved through providing capacity, training and awareness to the main frontline statutory and community support services such as citizen's rights, welfare entitlements, career development and other voluntary activities

£270,751

The Regional Refugee Forum North East

RRFNE is an established Refugee Community Organisation (RCO) membership body with the principal aim of providing a collective voice to influence policy and service provision, and promote integration.  It is essential for us to effectively provide information to our member groups and a range of other agencies.  RRF has recognised that an attractive, easy-to-use, regularly updated website and e-bulletin is key and this project would build the skills of our project officer to provide this function and keep abreast of emerging IT uses.  Skills and knowledge gained would be cascaded and compiled into a ‘how to' guide for successors.

All RCOs work with excluded communities, many of whom are completely reliant on volunteer management and scattered across the region, creating further communication barriers.  IT facilities, often accessed from public libraries, are crucial to ensure groups can keep in touch with their members and the wider Forum.  This project would provide training on developing a webpage and email facilities (hosted by the Forum); support on establishing office bases + IT support for groups to develop their own content-managed websites.  Training would be provided by IT experts, but would be supported by the Forum project officer to ensure implementation.

£119,011

Age Concern Durham County

Development of Community consultation toolkit for practitioners to increase understanding of the cultural & special requirements of BME communities, and those with sensory/physical, learning or mental impairments.   An accredited training programme for older people to increase their knowledge and confidence.  Support focus groups and communities of interest to be involved in a new countywide Older Peoples Network to be developed and led by Age Concern.  Recruit and train "Community Champions" from BME and other priority groups to act as a link between their group/community to exchange information and represent their group/community at planning groups, conferences and consultation events.

£244,395

Project North East

This project offers a management development programme to rural organisations in the North East Region.  The programme consists of twelve workshops covering subjects such as strategic planning, good governance, fundraising, recruitment and development of staff.  Participants have the opportunity to gain an NVQ in Management or an NVQ in Managing Volunteers.  It is proposed to run 6 courses in rural locations over 3 years with 18 participants per course.    The project also includes the development and piloting of an online assessment system and the development of online learning material to enable rural organisations throughout England to access the programme thereafter.

£375,000

Darlington Association on Disability

DAD will develop its capacity to work with smaller organisations to understand the changes in Social Care through information and training, one to one support for groups to develop their capacity and the development of a network that is accessible to group representatives to have their say on the new developments through an Independent Living forum to share expertise and skills.  The work will be delivered by ensuring accessible information, training and support is available eg information in alternative formats, provision of personal assistance and transport for meetings, access to web based information etc.

£138,491

Adapt (North East)

Provide support services to Community Transport organisations throughout the North East and link excluded communities in rural areas who are suffering additional discrimination through their inability to access transport and find themselves isolated. Community Transport organisations also suffer from not being able to access capacity building services which support their economic development. Adapt has built a sustainable community transport scheme which is able to offer excluded groups in rural areas the opportunity of transport. Adapt intends to provided tailored solutions for community transport operators and training for operators to ensure they are aware of the specific need of excluded groups

£64,000

ICT CHAMPION PROJECT (hosted by Voluntary Organisations' Network North East)

Building on the work done 2005-08, this project will examine the reasons why ‘hard to reach' groups have not accessed ICT services. It will identify sub-sector needs, map current provision, and design, commission and deliver support specifically aimed to address these issues (via 4 Yr1, 8 Yrs2 & 3 commissions). We will work with, support and enable infrastructure organisations within the target communities to provide enhanced and more relevant ICT support to these communities, creating a sustainable model for appropriate and culturally-relevant support. The project includes researching needs, targeting information, diagnostics (providing toolkits, etc) and brokerage of services.

£308,770

TOTAL IMPROVING REACH GRANTS TO NORTH EAST

1,520,418