Influencing Parliament

NCVO's Parliamentary Office:

• Maintains an overview of all parliamentary developments, and evaluates legislations affecting the voluntary and community sector
• Develops effective working relationships with members of both Houses of Parliament and other national policy makers
• Campaigns and lobbies for legislative and policy and practice changes 
• Provides the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Civil Society and Volunteering 

What's new?

Party Conference Bursary Scheme

The NCVO Party Conference Bursary scheme 2011 helped 5 small organisations go to each party conference to get their voices heard at a national level. Some of the bursary winners blogged about their experiences:

Liberal Democrats – Birmingham
19th and 20th September

Yvonne Kee is Chief Executive of the National Association of Child Contact Centres, the supporting membership body of over 350 child contact centres. Yvonne reported back on the Guardian Website.  

Dave Smith, Director of the Boaz Trust, a Christian organisation serving destitute asylum seekers in Greater Manchester, appeared on the Third Sector website.

Labour – Liverpool
26th and 27th September

Clare Lewis-Jones MBE is Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK, a national organisation, giving practical and emotional support to those who are experiencing difficulties in having a family. Claires blog about her experiences at the Labour Party Conference appeared on the Guardian Website.

Anthony Salla is Policy Officer at Race on the Agenda, one of Britain's leading social policy think-tanks focusing on issues that affect Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  Anthony talked about race and criminal justice at the Labour Conference and his blog appeared on the Third Sector Website.

Conservatives – Manchester 
3rd and 4th October

Miles King, Director of Conservation at the Grasslands Trust attended the Conservative Conference and his experience featured on the Third Sector Website. The Grasslands trust addresses the crisis facing our wildflower-rich grasslands. They do this by saving and restoring threatened sights, advising communities and raising awareness.

Wes Streeting is Chief Executive of the Helena Kennedy Foundation and he also attended the Conservative Conference. Wes wrote about how the NCVO bursary is helping small charities project a bigger political voice on the Guardian Website. The Helena Kennedy Foundation exists to overcome social injustice by providing financial support to disadvantaged students for further and adult education.

Chloe Stables, NCVO Parliamentary and Media Manager also blogged from each conference and you can read her thoughts on our website. Photos from all three Party Conferences are on our Flickr Pages.

New campaigning landscape research

Campaigning is dead. Long live campaigning! Has the General Election last year given rise to a radically new environment, where campaigners are challenged to rethink existing strategies to achieve social change? How can we understand any implications for campaigning?

Our latest research finds the evidence through a mix of case studies, focus groups and survey, sharing learning, insights and reflections, addressing key issues confronting campaigners.

Download the free research report
A new campaigning landscape? Implications of the of the 2010 General Election (PDF 2.37 MB)

Food for thought... discuss the findings and your experiences in our Campaigning and Influencing Forum

2011 Campaigns Conference

The NCVO Campaigns Conference took place on 25th January and if you missed it you can catch up with all the days events on our conference blog.  Presentations, interviews and photos are all available.  We also have some tips from the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Director of Policy and Development at the Refugee Council on how to influence policy and approach MPs.

2010 Campaigns Conference A New Politics 

The conference may be over but there is a wealth of content on the blog www.ncvonewpolitics.org.uk including videos of the panel sessions, thought pieces, audio boos, pictures and twitter feed, well worth a look.

What will the future of campaigning be in 5 years time? Download the free Future Focus guide