In this new blog, Siobhan Flynn shares her reflections on the first year of VONNE's dedicated Policy and Data function.
The beginning of October marks one year since I stepped into the role of Policy Manager here at VONNE. Alongside my colleague Georgia, I left my post in the Health and Wellbeing team to establish VONNE’s new Policy and Data function.
It was an exciting opportunity to build on the relationships and experience I had developed through my previous role, while looking more broadly at the issues affecting the North East VCSE sector and how VONNE could strengthen its role in policy and influencing.
Twelve months on, it feels like a good time to reflect on what we have been working on and what this first year has shown me about the value of having a dedicated Policy and Data function within VONNE.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the role has been the breadth of the work we’ve been involved in. By exploring both devolved national policy agendas, such as economic inactivity, employment and skills, and regionally focused priorities, we have been working across some of the big issues facing the North East.
We have also spent a lot of time listening, learning and connecting. Attending events, roundtables and sector discussions, we’ve brought VCSE perspectives into conversations about the issues affecting our communities.
But while the subject matter has been varied, there has been a common thread running through all of it: making sure the experience, expertise and contribution of the VCSE sector is understood and reflected in regional policy and decision-making.
Turning insight into influence
A significant part of our work this year was the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority’s (North East MSA) Economic Inactivity Trailblazer, where VONNE led the VCSE sector reform strand.
This work looked at the contribution VCSE organisations are already making to support people experiencing economic inactivity, the barriers these providers face and what could strengthen partnership working between the sector and regional systems.
In Tees Valley, we published Unlocking Potential: Recognising the VCSE Sector in Tees Valley Growth, bringing together evidence of the sector’s economic contribution and making the case for its role in the region’s growth ambitions.
The report launch brought together VCSE leaders, funders, academics and representatives from the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) and has helped open up further conversations about the role of the sector in regional growth and business support.
Our Skills, Inclusion and Employment Network has also provided an important space for organisations to share experiences, trends and challenges. This year, those Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs) have been a particular focus, helping us understand what organisations are seeing on the ground and how the sector can contribute to the response.
For me, these pieces of work have reinforced why VONNE’s membership matters. Our members have knowledge and experience that add real value to policy discussions. Our role is to help bring that insight together and create opportunities for it to influence decision-making.
Connecting policy with experience
As we move into our second year with dedicated capacity, we continue to work with the North East MSA around transport, health and employability.
Through a Transport Accessibility Review, we are bringing together VCSE expertise to help test and inform the review, focusing particularly on the experiences of people with disabilities. The Health and Employability Engagement Programme is also working with VCSE organisations to gather insight from people with lived experience of health barriers to work and their experiences of accessing support.
These projects have reinforced something I have seen repeatedly during my time at VONNE: policy areas rarely exist in isolation. Health affects employment. Transport affects access to opportunity. Poverty, skills, confidence and caring responsibilities can all shape someone's ability to take up work. VCSE organisations are often working across all of these issues at the same time, making their experience particularly valuable when regional policy and programmes are being designed.
Convening and sharing intelligence
Another part of this first year that I have particularly enjoyed has been co-establishing the North East Civil Society Policy Leads group with colleagues at Citizens Advice Newcastle and Represent Women. The group brings together policy leads from across civil society to share intelligence and discuss emerging developments.
Alongside this, we have developed briefings, blogs, analysis and presentations to help VCSE organisations understand a changing policy landscape, from the Tees Valley Local Growth Plan to the 2025 Autumn Budget and the May 2026 local elections.
For me, this two-way flow of information is fundamental to VONNE’s role. We take what we hear from members into conversations with decision-makers and bring what we learn through those conversations back to the wider sector.
Looking ahead there is a lot to look forward to.
Devolution is changing the way decisions about the North East are made, creating opportunities for the VCSE sector to play a stronger role in shaping what comes next.
Over the next year, I want us to continue building VONNE’s role as a bridge between the sector and regional decision-makers, ensuring that VCSE organisations are involved early, their contribution is understood and valued, and engagement creates meaningful opportunities to shape policy, funding and delivery.
If there is one thing that this first year has reinforced for me, it is the value of connection. The strength of the North East VCSE sector lies not just in the brilliant work happening in communities across the region, but in what becomes possible when that knowledge, experience and expertise is connected.
That is what makes VONNE’s role so important and what makes me excited about what we can build together in the year ahead.
If you would like to find out more about VONNE’s policy and influencing work, please contact Siobhan Flynn, Policy Manager at VONNE through Siobhan.Flynn@vonne.org.uk