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sarah.whitelegg
To mark Trustees Week, November 2013, the Capacity building team at Macc invited trustees of Manchester charities to attend a free seminar, delivered by Moira Protani, Partner and Head of the Charities Department at Wilsons Solicitors LLP. The session was a great opportunity for existing trustees to revisit their responsibilities and check any gaps in their knowledge -it can be difficult to know…
Mike Wild
I think it’s generally recognised that the biggest social and economic divide in the country is not between North and South but between London and The Rest of the Country. Alex Swallow’s latest blog for Third Sector has finally prompted me to set down some of my thinking on this and how it affects our sector. http://alexswallow.thirdsector.co.uk/2013/12/10/decentralising-power-and-distributing-…
Nigel Rose
The Chest is the e-portal for procurement used by Manchester City Council and other councils in Greater Manchester. As councils continue the move from grants to contracts The Chest will become the main focus for communication between the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and council officers once the tender process begins. VCS organisations will have to register their interest in particular…
sefton.simpson
Is this the million dollar question? In the world of Return on Investment (ROI) and cost benefit analysis where L’oreal campaigns are banned and you need to PROVE “you’re worth it”, everything we found comfortable, and have coined phrases about, is rewritten. The money is no longer where the mouth is but where the outcomes are and increasingly, organisations are being asked to show not only…
Mike Wild
At our Spirit of Manchester awards event last month one of the categories was for Most Successful Campaign. We wanted to acknowledge campaigning work because we’ve always believed that it’s the job of charities not just to meet needs but to drive change for the longer term. The history of social change in this country has been driven by the campaigning efforts of groups for centuries.
Most of our…
People/communities experiencing racial inequalities, Children and Families, Commissioning , Community Engagement, Crime and Disorder, Environment, Equalities, Faith, Health and Wellbeing, Learning, Skills and Employment, LGBTQIA+, Mental Health, Older People, Physical Disability, Policy and Influence, Young People
Nigel Rose
Monitor is the sector regulator for health services in England. One of its roles is to ensure that Health and Social Care Act 2012 is implemented and a key focus of the Act is on integrated care. The Act imposes duties on Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to ensure that health services are internally integrated (within NHS provided services) and externally integrated (with health and social…
Mike Wild
During the recent bout of hot weather, I somehow managed to come down with a cold. I not only felt ill, I also felt ridiculous: I mean who gets a cold in the middle of a heatwave? As I write this, figures have just been released showing that the country’s economy is slowly starting to grow again after the recession. It’s a similar feeling: I’m being told it’s lovely out there but it feels…
People/communities experiencing racial inequalities, Children and Families, Commissioning , Community Engagement, Crime and Disorder, Environment, Equalities, Faith, Health and Wellbeing, Learning, Skills and Employment, LGBTQIA+, Mental Health, Older People, Physical Disability, Policy and Influence, Transgender, Volunteering, Young People, Other
Nigel Rose
There is much glib talk of a level playing field in procurement and commissioning. The theory is that there is an open, transparent and fair process which gives all organisations bidding for a contract an equal opportunity of "winning". Let's look at how level this playing field is.
First an anecdote! Many years ago I was heavily involved in campaigning for the rights of people with mental health…
Mike Wild
I've mentioned previously that there's a danger that this blog becomes a series of rants about things I'm angry about. Well not today, at least!
Our State of the Voluntary Sector report shows there are over 3000 voluntary and community groups in Manchester. I don't know them all but I do know a lot of them and one of the great pleasures of my job is that I get to see some of the amazing things…
People/communities experiencing racial inequalities, Capacity Building, Children and Families, Commissioning , Community Engagement, Community First, Crime and Disorder, Environment, Equalities, Faith, Funding, Health and Wellbeing, Learning, Skills and Employment, LGBTQIA+, Mental Health, Older People, Physical Disability, Transgender, VCM, Volunteering, Young People, Other
Nigel Rose
Spot purchasing is a new and strange idea to many voluntary organisations but is becoming more common as public bodies seek to reduce costs. It can be a far riskier form of funding if it contributes significantly to the financial viability of an organisation, as there are usually no guarantees of income, unlike grants or fixed contracts. This article examines a few of the considerations that need…
Mike Wild
Judging by the phone calls, emails and tweets I and my colleagues have had, the report in Third Sector of comments by Geoff Little (Deputy CEO of Manchester City Council) addressing the Charity Finance Group conference earlier this week has sent a shockwave around the voluntary and community sector not just in Manchester but the rest of the country too.
It's not the best idea to respond to a…
A Listening Event with Jon Cruddas MP, Labour Party Policy Coordinator
A debate was organised by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in Wythenshawe on Monday to look at parenting policies. Jon Cruddas was the keynote speaker (author of the Labour Party’s Election Manifesto for 2015). In theory, this was planned to be a ‘listening’ event to define the central challenges for social…