Are you passionate about the welfare of rural communities? Can you help ensure that the rural voice is heard across the country? Defra are seeking to appoint three new Commissioners. You must be able to demonstrate knowledge and interest in economic and social issues affecting rural communities. You’ll be familiar with and committed to the principles of public life. We’d welcome applicants who are able to build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, with business background and/or knowledge of local government. The posts are remunerated up … Read more »
Monthly Archives:
Standing for Office: Time-Off Entitlements – A consultation
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has outlined plans to make it easier for more people, from all walks of life, to volunteer for key roles in their local community. Ms Blears wants to modernise the list of activities that entitle people to time off from work to better reflect the kind of roles available and encourage more people to participate – also helping to widen the pool of skills, expertise and experience available. Magistrates, school governors and members of health bodies or police authorities already have … Read more »
Cornwall’s New Chief Executive designate
Kevin Lavery should be approved as the CEO of the new council by the Joint Implementation Executive on 25th October. His last job was as CEO of SERCO Solutions and he was formally the CEO of Newcastle City Council and has also held senior roles at Westminster City Council, Kent County Council and the London Borough of Bexley and well as working for BT, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Enterprise plc and Agilisys.
Third Sector Research Centre
The Third Sector Research Centre will be launched on 23 October at an event in Birmingham. The Centre is co-funded by the ESRC, alongside the Office for the Third Sector (OTS) and the Barrow Cadbury Trust, with a joint investment of £10.25 million over the next five years. The Centre will conduct research and analysis to strengthen the evidence base for the entire third sector, including charities, social enterprises, cooperatives, mutuals and voluntary and community organisations. It will be directed by Pete Alcock Professor Social Policy … Read more »
Next Voluntary Sector Forum on 14th November
We are now planning our next open forum meeting, which will be on 14th November at Kingsley Village near Fraddon, Cornwall. We are hoping to get someone from the brokerage team of the Rural Development Programme to explain to us about the funding opportunitities there may be for the sector. We also want to see if we can get an update about the Real Choices child poverty project. (See Real Choices on the Cornwall Strategic Partnership website). Please let us know if there are any … Read more »
What role for community enterprises in tackling poverty?
In this research report the Development Trusts Association argue that community-led enterprise organisations including development trusts can act as a driver for positive change, creating a self-help and problem-solving culture, and helping individuals move out of poverty. The report concludes that a new generation of more confident and aspirational community organisations are emerging, which are characterised by the use of social enterprise methods, community asset ownership, and a ‘can do’ attitude that seeks to unlock potential in people and places. Further Details
“Your Place or Mine? The Local Economics of Migration”
This working paper is the first from IPPR’s Economics of Migration project, which aims to improve understanding of the economic impacts of migration in the UK, and how policy should respond to that migration in order to maximise its economic benefits, and minimise its costs. The paper clarifies the variety of ways in migration may have affected local firms and economies; whilst some impacts of migration – such as filling local skills gaps – are quite visible, migration also affects local economies in less noticeable … Read more »
Exploring UK representations of poverty
Two new publications, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, have put a spotlight on how the media reports and depicts poverty and how this might be improved. ‘Reporting poverty in the UK’ highlights the dilemmas faced when reporting on poverty, showing the perspectives of a range of journalists, outlining their concerns and different approaches they have taken. ‘The media, poverty and public opinion in the UK’ examines depictions of poverty in the media, showing how these might influence public perceptions of poverty. Joseph Rowntree Study
SKiLD’s autumn training programme launched
We know that you’ve probably seen details about SKiLD training before, through Interlink or in Signpost, but since Kevin Curley, Chief Executive of navca did visit us personally, we thought we’d give it another plug!
TLC fund to remain open for another two years
The remarkable collaboration between the Tudor Trust and the LankellyChase Foundation to fund voluntary and community groups working working within the criminal justice field in the South West of England is set to continue for another two years. There is £1 million on offer for partnership work, with the first grant deadline at the end of this month (30th Sept) and the next on 30th January 2009. Follow this link for Grant guidelines: TLC grant guidelines. You can get an application form from TLC applications
