Post OFFER - SF P'ship VCF rep support arrangements

VCF rep support on Sheffield First Partnership - what's the future look like?

BACKGROUND

Over the last 10 years OFFER has worked with Sheffield First Partnership, negotiating and winning the arguments that our sector has an important contribution to make to the work of all aspects of the Partnership's work and securing places for representatives who are recruited in an open, transparent way based on the skills and expertise that they bring including knowledge of our sector and links with networks.

OFFER has developed systems of ‘pre-meetings' for the representatives on individual Boards, along with twice yearly Cross-Partnership meetings of all the representatives to help them; form a broader VCF sector view, make best use of their individual skills & expertise, and mitigate against people using this to promote their own organisation as opposed to working to the good of the city, bringing the skills & expertise from the VCF sector.  Undoubtedly a large element of the capacity to do this is now lost, however we are pleased that the following is now going to be provided by Voluntary Action Sheffield

Support to the 32 reps on Sheffield First Partnership, comprising the main Board & 5 thematic Boards:

VAS has secured funding from Sheffield City Council to enable it to:-

  • Provide briefings for VCF sector representatives on specific policy implications of Board papers, especially where this will have a potential impact on the sector.
  • Book venues for pre-meetings of the representatives that take place just prior to their Board meeting to help them agree common issues and explore development of a VCF sector perspective.
  • Organise at least one Cross-Partnership meeting for all 32 representatives across the Sheffield First Partnership Family.
  • Administer an expenses scheme particularly for those people from organisations with less capacity to cope with losing the time of a key volunteer or member of staff to engage in the Sheffield First Partnership meetings & ensure those people that do claim expenses produce a report.

'At risk' stuff: - work OFFER used to do where it is still not clear whether something will continue of not:

  • Delivery of ‘How Your City Works' courses to train potential new reps and/or make more people aware of how the systems operate.
  • Produce a Sheffield First email bulletin of brief round up of key issues for the sector/and or what sector reps have influenced.
  • Reports on the website of what representatives have influenced.
  • Negotiation of the Protocol between the sector and Sheffield First Partnership, defining how the two will work together. (Sheffield City Council's budget setting process for 2010-11 has made the current Protocol agreed in February 2009 unworkable)
  • Events organised around particular topics, e.g. Low Carbon, Economy, ability to bring sector together around issues like Community Assemblies.
  • Liaison with Sheffield First Partnership Managers and their team.
  • Networks OFFER has directly managed or supported.

The top 4 points on the ‘red' list may be provided by a mixture of Sheffield First Partnership Officer time and/or City Council, but agreements on this are yet to be finalised. 

You can download OFFER developed Sheffield First Partnership Resources including the Protocol, Triple Bottom Line decision making tool, and SF reps FAQ's here