City Regions

Third Sector Involvement in City Region

An event was held on 9th November regarding third sector involvement in City Region working.

Below is a short summary of some of the themes that came up in the discussions

Delegates stressed that third sector involvement should be truly representative, with third sector participants on City Region partners speaking on behalf of the whole sector as much as possible.
The focus groups established by Pentagon Partnership, open to all third sector organisations who have an interest in employment and skills / transport, should help to meet this aspiration. Third sector representatives on City Region partnerships are obliged to take views from and feed back to the focus groups and by extension to the wider sector. 

The need for a coherent third sector voice was noted
Again, it is hoped that the focus groups will provide this, by focusing third sector views into a coherent message that can be articulated by the appropriate representative. 

Third sector literacy in the public sector strategic awareness in the third sector
No concrete proposals were put forward for improvement in these areas, though it was noted that events like this one and joint working through the focus groups and City Region structures will improve relationships and knowledge.

Relationships more important than processes
It was recognised that there is a need for a level playing field and non-hierarchical relationships between sectors. Again, it can be seen that this is improving, by the existence of events like this one and other areas of joint working.

A presentation by Katie Schmuecker from ippr north is available to download here>>.

Jon Goodwins presentation which summarises third sector involvement in City Region structures to date is available to download here>>

City Region Executive Board and Employment and Skills Advisory Group – your new third sector representatives

As part of Pentagon Partnership’s work to facilitate third sector involvement in the evolving City Region partnership structures, they have recently conducted an election to appoint third sector reps on two partnership groups.

Votes were sought from across Tyne and Wear, Durham and Northumberland and we are pleased to announce the following two appointments.

City Region Executive Board
Barbara McClennan, from Education Business Connections, has been elected as the third sector representative on the City Region Executive Board, with Liam Wetherill from East Durham Community Transport elected as deputy.

Taking a view and a mandate from the Third Sector Employment and Skills and Transport Focus groups. Barbara will be responsible for ensuring that a third sector voice is heard on the Executive Board, which also comprises local authority leaders from Tyne and Wear, Durham and Northumberland, other public sector bodies and a business representative.

The Board is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the Multi Area Agreement (MAA), a package of measures that are framed around the delivery of specific strategic employment and skills and transport interventions designed to improve sustainable economic performance across and within the City Region.

City Region Employment and Skills Advisory Group
Anne Lyall from Wansbeck CVS has been elected as the third sector representative on the Employment and Skills Advisory Group, with Maureen Madden from Wallsend Peoples Centre elected as her deputy.

Accountable to the Third Sector Employment and Skills Focus Group, Anne will present a third sector viewpoint to the Advisory Group, which works collectively to promote employment and skills policies that contribute to long-term economic prosperity of the City Region.

Both representatives have been elected to serve for two years and we look forward to working them representatives in the coming months.

For more information about the City Region, Multi Area Agreement and third sector involvement, visit:

http://www.pentagonpartnership.org.uk/Documents/CityRegion/MAAreport.pdf  

RIEPs are politically led partnerships of local authorities working together at a regional and sub-regional level on shared improvement and efficiency priorities.

The NE RIEP team is hosted by ANEC in the Guildhall on Newcastle’s Quayside and is led by Programme Director, Martin Ryan.

For more information visit: www.northeastiep.gov.uk

To create a co-ordinated approach to planning, and to improve communications across the five consortia in the region, VONNE has established a group which pulls together consortium representatives to share best practice and concerns, and work together at a strategic level.

The vision of the development group is that all VCS groups throughout the region are able to meet their own potential and to fully contribute to the social, environmental and economic development of the region.

For more information visit: www.vonne.org.uk/rine/developmentgroup/index

Sunderland CVS are a Steering group member of Pentagon Partnership where its members are drawn from from third sector Infrastructure organisations and community networks across the city region.

The staff team is based with North Tyneside VODA in Shiremoor (CVS) and works under the guidance of the Steering Group.

Pentagon Partnership is the strategic partnership for third sector involvement in the economic regeneration of the Tyne & Wear City Region.

For more information visit: www.pentagonpartnership.org.uk

TWIC

TWIC is a new consortium of representatives from local organisations that provide infrastructure support to voluntary and community groups and organisations.

Sunderland CVS are a member of TWIC.

For more information visit:www.tynewearic.org.uk

Read the latest newsletter here>>.

Sunderland CVS are one of the Sub-regional Local Development Agencies that forms the Management Board of Funding Information North East (FINE).

Fine was established in 1986 to provide funding information services on behalf of the Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) to support the voluntary sector in the North East of England.

This information is then made available through the CVS’s via publications, information bulletin and websites.FINE has a well established, quality, funding information service used by the voluntary, statutory and commercial, (i.e. fundraising consultants) sector.

Funders directly use FINE as a means for disseminating information to funding advisors and organisations such as Sunderland CVS.The funding officers from all CVS’s meet regularly across Tyne & Wear to ensure a high quality seemless service is given to the sector.

For more information visit: www.fine.org.uk