Outline

The Collaboration and Connectivity project will support better collaborative working between CVS, and between the CVS Network and other voluntary sector intermediary networks.

Activities

The Collaboration and Connectivity Project comprises four distinct but complementary sub projects:

• Collaboration pathfinder projects
• ICT initiative
• Common Newsletter Platform
• Shared HR Resource

Collaboration Pathfinder Projects

The Pathfinder projects involve testing of innovative approaches to local CVS and Volunteer Centre collaboration in two areas, followed by sharing of learning from these projects across both Networks.

North Lanarkshire Pathfinder

The partnership, comprising CVS North Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Volunteer Development Agency, aims to optimise the contribution of the local voluntary sector to the Community Planning Process through development of thematic and locality networks. If you would like to find out more, see the who’s who section for contact details.

Forth Valley Pathfinder

The Forth Valley Partnership, comprising the CVS and Volunteer Centres in Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire, aims to strengthen voluntary sector engagement with the National Health Service.

The ICT initiative aims to improve access to high quality and sustainable ICT support for the CVS network. It will commence with an ICT Inventory exercise in late 2008 to assess ICT needs, gaps, and current provision across the CVS network. This will inform the development of a collaborative approach to address the issues identified. An ICT working group has been established to help drive the initiative, comprising CVS with ICT specialism and colleagues from national intermediary organisations. In addition to CVS focused activity, the group will explore the feasibility of extending collective ICT support provision to other intermediary bodies and the wider voluntary sector.

Common Newsletter Platform

CVS are valued as a source of information about local and national developments relevant to the voluntary sector. Publication of newsletters and e-bulletins, the standard means of disseminating such information, is however time consuming. The Common Newsletter Platform aims to reduce the burden of researching national information and improve its quality. It will be an online resource to which national level information providers can add content, and from which local information providers can draw down content relevant to local needs. It will allow filtering of national information in support of targeted local mailings, for example to arts or care organisations. Potential will also be explored for the platform to encompass information flowing from local to national level.

Shared Human Resource support service

Ensuring that policies and procedures are legally compliant and appropriate to organisational circumstances is an on-going challenge for all voluntary organisations. The bar for CVS is set even higher as the local voluntary sector will look to them as exemplars of policy good practice. This initiative will support CVS to meet that challenge collectively. It will commence with development of a quality assured HR resource library which CVS can access, scheduled for completion by April 2009. It will follow with the development of a sustainable HR support service for CVS. Potential will be explored during this process for cascading the HR support resource to the wider voluntary sector.

Update

The HR Resource Library developed by Skye & Lochalsh CVO, GCVS and VA Orkney is now also available on the SVA Website.

The library can be accessed by clicking on the following link:-

HR Resource Library


Further details

Contact details for the Project Coordinator, Pathfinder projects, Advisory Group members and contracted delivery agents are available in section one of the reference pack.