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NCVO had 'very successful year' says OTS

Finance | Tania Mason | 22 Sep 2009

The closeness of the NCVO’s relationship with government is revealed in the Office of the Third Sector’s annual assessment of the progress made by the umbrella body with its strategic grant in 2008/09.

Under the section on ‘voice’ - or advising on development of government policy - the NCVO lists dozens of issues and policies where it has had input.

It said: “NCVO held a joint SMT meeting in June to update each other on plans and discuss issues of mutual concern. NCVO worked in partnership with OTS on the future of the Compact, hosting a July event involving Phil Hope and Bert Massie. NCVO staff meet their opposite numbers regularly eg (Wilding/Starkey/Johnson) and have developed joint ideas eg networking the ‘research infrastructure’ which is likely to lead to an event and informal network.

“NCVO helped to shape the NI7 survey design ‘under the radar research’ work. NCVO is a member of and plays an active role in various government groups eg the Cabinet Office Public Services Delivery Action Plan Steering Group, the Public Services Diversity and Equalities Task Group, the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning Advisory Group, the DWP Third Sector Task Force,  and was part of the Steering Group that produced the ‘Turning the Tables’ report .

“NCVO also responds regularly to government consultations and  raises issues of concern to the sector. In November NCVO and OTS minister Kevin Brennan chaired a joint recession summit with representatives from the sector.  NCVO made a submission to OTS on the recession and the needs of the sector.”

According to the report, the umbrella body also presented the findings of its Civil Society Almanac to the OTS Advisory Board, gave the OTS free exhibition space at its annual conference, and invited the Board’s chair, Jill Pitkeathley, to be keynote speaker.

“OTS staff are regularly invited to be keynote speakers at NCVO events...and NCVO staff support OTS activities. OTS receives copies of NCVO’s main research and policy reports as soon as they are available.

“NCVO routinely disseminates information and advice from OTS to its members through its members’ bulletins and specialist groups.  In the last 12 months NCVO responded to 18 government policy consultations and members of the policy team alone spoke at 24 national and local events.” CEO Stuart Etherington (pictured) delivered over 20 speeches on sector policy.

Independence checklist 

Meanwhile, in its work to improve policymakers’ understanding of the sector’s contribution to civil society and the relationship between the sector and the state, the report states that NCVO teamed up with Barings to produce an ‘independence checklist’ for the sector.

In the OTS' summary of NCVO’s progress, it said:  “NCVO has a very successful year in 2008/09 and continue to work with OTS and other partners to raise the profile of the sector.

“OTS feels it has a positive and productive relationship with NCVO, and have found NCVO’s networks and support particularly useful in engaging key parts of sector and supporters on key sector policy issues.”

The NCVO is set to receive a strategic grant from the OTS of £1,040,260 for each of the three years 2008-2011.

The assessment report was released to Charity News Alert under the Freedom of Information Act.

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