- Area:
- England
- Release date:
- 10 7 2012
Big Lottery Fund and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations have teamed up for a new £6 million initiative. The Assist programme will help voluntary sector support and development organisations adapt to the changing needs of the frontline.
Assist is the first stage of Big Lottery Fund’s Building Capabilities for Impact and Legacy approach. It is a radical departure from previous capacity–building investments, as the majority of funding will go directly to local support and development organisations. These organisations will then be able to choose what support they need in order to adapt their services to changing needs, funding and expectations of frontline organisations.
The programme will work closely with support and development organisations to understand the areas where they can improve the services they offer to the frontline. Organisations will then be able to choose from a menu of support services to get help from leading experts as well as have the opportunity to take part in a peer to peer support programme to help each other to improve the quality of their services.
Participants in the programme will be given the opportunity to publicly rate the support they are given by the leading experts – enabling other organisations to make an informed choice about the support they receive and driving up standards across the board. Evaluation will be built into this initiative from day one, so that BIG and NCVO can learn about how this kind of demand-led approach can work most effectively.
Dharmendra Kanani, BIG’s England Director said: “We know that investing in the strength, capability and stability of organisations who access BIG’s funding helps them to meet the needs of people and communities most in need more effectively and become more resilient in tough times. In the past we funded capacity building through intermediary bodies. In the future, we are giving organisations the power to choose support from a range of options and providers best suited to meet their individual needs. Our aim is to respond to the current environment by learning from the past.
“The Assist initiative is only the first but crucial step in turning this new approach into action, and a vital investment in creating the conditions for this new approach to thrive. Our ambition for Assist is that it will help improve the legacy and impact of BIG funding. NCVO have demonstrated that they have the trust, partners and track record and most importantly have been able to re-imagine the possibility of doing things differently to better effect.”
NCVO’s CEO Sir Stuart Etherington said: “We’re delighted to be leading this ground breaking programme. It will give targeted support to infrastructure organisations as they look to make the changes they need to become more efficient, effective and sustainable.
“Putting both the money and the choice in the hands of the people who understand how infrastructure works, and how it needs to change, will better equip the sector as a whole to adapt to the current and future operating environment.
“Supporting the frontline is more important than ever, as charities look to respond to increased demand for services, rising cost and an unprecedented fall in income.”
The responses to BIG’s discussion paper on Building Capabilities earlier this year showed support for the principle of giving greater choice and control to frontline voluntary organisations. Many support and development organisations told BIG that they will need assistance to adapt their services to respond to changing needs, funding and expectations - Assist is responding to that need.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
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Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
- The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
- Assist is a new £6 million initiative to help local and specialist voluntary sector support providers to develop their skills by choosing help from national experts via an online menu of support services, and to enable them to take part in a peer support programme.
- Some of the areas covered by the menu of support services will include: establishing trading and new business models; promoting collaboration and partnership; connections to the public sector; creating efficiency; developing and managing assets; connecting to the frontline; co-production; promoting equalities/addressing inequalities; Leadership and demonstrating impact.
- Further information, including details of how national experts can apply to be included on the menu of support services and how local and specialist support providers can register interest in receiving support, will be made available in September 2012.
- This initiative is part of BIG’s ‘Building Capabilities for Impact and Legacy’ approach. Further information about this can be found at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/buildingcapabilities
- NCVO were chosen after an open and competitive selection process to administer the initiative on behalf of BIG.
- The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) www.ncvo-vol.org.uk is the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England, with sister councils in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. NCVO has over 8,300 members, ranging from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level. With over 280,000 staff and over 13 million volunteers working for our members, we represent and support almost half the voluntary sector workforce.
- NCVO press contacts: Mandy Murphy, Media Officer mandy.murphy@ncvo-vol.org.uk, 020 7520 2469. Chloe Stables, Parliamentary and Media Manager, chloe.stables@ncvo-vol.org.uk, 020 7520 2474. Out of hours press contact 07714 243 942.
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