NCVO Policy review: what do you want us to say?
We want decision-makers to understand the consequences their decisions have on the voluntary and community sector. But we can't do this in a vacuum: we need to ensure that our policy areas match what's most important to you and that we're fighting for the changes you and your beneficiaries really need.
In July 2011 we started a new, experimental approach to find out what our members think NCVO messages should be to policymakers. We will document our process on this page, so please bookmark it!
Currently discussing: FUNDING. If you want to get involved please send an email to Matt.Gilfeather(at)ncvo-vol.org.uk.
Finding out about your main concerns: the story so far
The first step was to get an overview of your main concerns. For this we created a simple online survey. We had a very good response rate: over 200 responses in a matter of weeks. We also asked for your views on Twitter using the hash tag #tellncvo. The results are summarised in a blog post by Charlotte Stuffins:
The second step was to invite our members to a member only private social network on Yammer to discuss five broad areas (although these don't have to be the end point). They are:
- Localism
- Public services
- Charity law and regulation
- Funding
- The Good Society (including engagement, value of civil society, campaigning, Big Society etc)
For each of these areas we will undertake a process lasting approximately a month: we will consult our members, review our evidence, look at what other organisations are saying/doing on the issue and so on. Then we will get together here at NCVO for each theme and establish our position and key messages.
First topic: Localism
A bit of background:
- A short guide to localism (blog post by Charlotte Stuffins)
- Opportunities and challenges of the localism agenda (Multimedia report from the NCVO Members' Assembly)
- What our members told us about localism (blog post by Charlotte Stuffins where she summaries the feedback we got from our members via the survey and discussions on our private social network on Yammer. If you feel your views are not included get your invitation to the Yammer network from Matt Gilfeather!)
Second topic: Public services
A bit of background:
- Transformation not transfer: The role of the Voluntary and community sector (VCS) in public services (blog post by Fiona Sheil)
- What are open public services? (blog post by James Allen)
Third topic: Charity Law
Next topic will be Funding
A bit of background:
- Funding: a hot issue in politics and policy (blog post by Charlotte Stuffins)
Get involved!
If you are affiliated with an NCVO member organisation you are warmly invited to take part in this innovative process by joining our private social network on Yammer. Please email Matt Gilfeather for an invitation!
What is Yammer?
Yammer is a an online networking tool which allows our members and staff to talk directly to one another and discuss ideas online, whenever it suits them. It is as easy to use as Facebook and even people not familiar with online social networking tools have said that it's intuitive to use. It is completely up to you if you want to take part in this or not and you can put as much or as little time in it as you want.
This is what Yammer looks like (screenshot of NCVO staff discussing the policy review project):
Need more information?
If you're interested in learning more about how we do our policy work at NCVO, read Charlotte Stuffins' blog post on how NCVO’s policy work can make a difference to your organisation.
Who we are
The people leading on the policy review project here at NCVO are Karl Wilding, Charlotte Stuffins, James Allen, Daniel Fluskey and Chloe Stables.
Contact us
You can email us or tweet us. The main contact person is Charlotte Stuffins (charlotte.stuffins(at)ncvo-vol.org.uk). You can also get involved by tweeting us. Use the hash tag #TELLNCVO to tell about the issues you want us to focus on or ask questions about our policy review. You might also want to follow our Policy team on Twitter: @ncvocharlotte.
