Local infrastructure
NAVCA believes that there is no definitive model for
infrastructure services, our view is that they should be organised
according to local circumstances. We do believe that local
infrastructure should:
- be owned by, and accountable to, the local third sector;
- offer high quality, accessible services;
- reflect the needs of the local third sector;
- support community activity that builds bridges between
communities in order to increase community cohesion and social
capital;
- promote volunteering that is active, of good quality, and
involves all sections of the community working together.
NAVCA believes that local infrastructure organisations (LIOs)
should be able to demonstrate that they are firmly committed to
continuous improvement. We expect our members to offer strong
leadership to the local third sector; building a healthy and
responsive sector that is able to identify and address need in the
local community and deliver quality services. High quality local
infrastructure should promote partnership, enabling local groups to
communicate, network and work together effectively. It should also
ensure that the diverse views of local groups are effectively
represented and that they are given the support they need to
participate fully in local service planning and policy
development.
Comprehensive local infrastructure services
The development of local infrastructure services will tend to
reflect local circumstances and will often comprise a combination
of generalist infrastructure, offering support to a wide range of
different third sector organisations, and specialist infrastructure
which focuses its support on organisations working with specific
client groups. In some places this will be offered by specialist
staff working in a generalist LIO, elsewhere it will be a separate
organisation. Where it resides is less relevant than the need for
all support services to be well co-ordinated. However
infrastructure services are organised, NAVCA believes that LIOs
should collaborate to provide a fully rounded service to all local
groups. It is the role of NAVCA members to facilitate local
collaboration.
Building high quality infrastructure
NAVCA encourages its members to improve the quality of their
work by focussing on outcomes, supported by a strong performance
management framework. LIOs should be aiming to provide high quality
services to the local third sector. NAVCA has developed a
performance standard to help LIOs provide evidence that they have
achieved a satisfactory standard; LIOs meeting the NAVCA standard
are also expected to have achieved at least PQASSO level 1.
Where there is evidence that an LIO is performing poorly NAVCA
will work with the local authority and the local sector to resolve
the situation, setting out a clear plan of action for the LIO to
follow. If a NAVCA member fails to address its own poor performance
we will work with the local third sector and the local authority to
set up a locally owned infrastructure organisation that has the
resources to effectively meet the needs of the local sector and
work cooperatively with partners in the public and private
sectors.
In circumstances where an appropriately resourced LIO is unable
to demonstrate that it meets a satisfactory standard, NAVCA will
recommend that core funding from the local authority is provided on
condition that the LIO works towards one of these standards. We
would expect the funding for the LIO to reflect the need to support
the work necessary to achieve an agreed quality standard. NAVCA
believes that all LIOs must be able to demonstrate the quality of
the services they provide by achieving NAVCA's Quality Award or
equivalent.
When local public bodies are unwilling to offer adequate funding
to support effective infrastructure, NAVCA will work with LIOs and
the local third sector to seek the intervention of Government
Office. We will also draw it to the attention of the Audit
Commission and request that this is given particular attention when
conducting the Comprehensive Area Assessment.
Political activity
Local infrastructure has a vital role to play in representing
the interests of the local third sector, which may, at times,
require it to challenge the interests of the local authority. It is
for this reason that NAVCA believes that the senior staff of LIOs
should not be serving local councillors for the area that the LIO
serves. NAVCA's view is that this may put individuals in the
position of, on the one hand, having a duty to protect the
interests of the LIO and the wider third sector, whilst the
political pressures associated with being an elected representative
pull them in a different direction. We believe that this conflict
of interest can be damaging to local democracy, the local third
sector and to individuals who find themselves placed in an
impossible position. It is, of course, the democratic right of
every citizen to join a political party and NAVCA would certainly
not wish to discourage engagement in political activity. However,
we would discourage senior staff of LIOs from holding elected
office for the area in which their organisation operates.
Local councillors who serve as trustees provide a useful link
with the local authority that many LIOs value. Those who do must be
mindful of their duty as trustees to act in the best interests of
the LIO at all times and not as representatives of the local
authority. To assist them it is essential that LIOs put in place
open and transparent procedures for dealing with conflicts of
interest as they arise.
Regional infrastructure services
NAVCA strongly supports the nine regional voluntary sector
forums as key regional resources. Indeed we have resisted calls
from our members to establish our own regional presence because we
work closely with the regional forums and prefer to build upon our
partnership with them rather than risk unnecessary duplication. The
forums have developed in substantially different ways, partly for
historical reasons but primarily due to the varying levels of
funding and support that they receive. NAVCA believes that the
regional forums offer the most effective means of providing a link
between local third sector infrastructure and regional
institutions. But it requires adequate and stable funding, and a
supportive performance framework, such as that recently introduced
by NAVCA for its members, to deliver the regional representation
that NAVCA members wish to see.
It is vital for the work of all third sector regional
infrastructure organisations, both specialist and generic, to be
rooted in local experience of LIOs and the groups that they
support. We therefore believe that any funding available for
regional infrastructure should be directed to those organisations
able to demonstrate strong links with the local sector in their
region.
Capacitybuilders
NAVCA supports the work of Capacitybuilders as an agency focused
on supporting the development of third sector infrastructure, and
we welcome the Government's continued investment in this area. We
believe that it is vital that Capacitybuilders remains focused on
the vision for infrastructure outlined in ChangeUp and does not
weaken successful and well-established work programmes by
duplicating them or engage in delivering services to frontline
voluntary and community organisations.
Local consortia
We welcome Capacitybuilders' continued support for
local/sub-regional consortia as the key mechanism for strengthening
infrastructure provision across England. We believe that
Capacitybuilders needs to recognise that consortia are autonomous
partnerships, often with a remit beyond Changeup, rather than
delivery arms of the agency. We believe that, whilst
Capacitybuilders has a right to safeguard its financial investment,
it should take a developmental approach to consortia rather than
expecting one model to be effective in all areas.
National services
NAVCA welcomes the announcement by Capacitybuilders that it will
continue to support national support services that are focused on
building the capacity of infrastructure to support frontline
organisations. We believe that the services should complement
programmes that are already well established and ensure that
success stories from its current investment period, such as the
SKiLD programme, are maintained and built on.
Leadership and Governance
NAVCA has a strong track record of supporting chief officers,
chairs and trustees to be effective leaders within their
communities as well as their organisations. We recognise that we
also need to look beyond these formal roles to develop the
leadership skills of other people working in the community. Our
objective in doing so is to enable communities, with the support of
their LIO, to be more active, engaged, strong and connected and
more able to identify and address their own needs. To this end we
will continue to develop a broader range of leadership programmes,
such as 'Skilling Up for LSPs', to support the ongoing development
of third sector leaders.
The policy positions on this page have been approved by the
NAVCA Trustee Board.