Jargon Busting seems to be flavour of the month. A Community Development Jargon Buster Plus is being developed by Scottish Community Development Network. Currently in draft form with comments welcome, it is featured on the CDX news pages at http://www.cdx.org.uk/news/news.htm, or go direct to Word document at http://www.cdx.org.uk/news/odds/scdnjargonbusterdraft.doc.

A VCS JargonBuster has been set up in ‘wiki’ for, so others can add and improve on it, by Ladder4Learning, a regional voluntary sector learning and training resource, at http://vcsjargonbuster.wikispaces.com. VCS = Voluntary and Community Sector (Source: VONNE/ICT Hub newsletter).

See our Glossary for more help with terminology, http://www.volresource.org.uk/moreres/glossary.htm.

A ‘concordat’ has been signed between English umbrella body NCVO and the Economic and Social Research Council as a way to build an evidence base for voluntary sector research, as well as bring more researchers to the voluntary sector.

The first research project will be a rigorous assessment of current giving patterns.

See Professional Fundraising, http://professionalfundraising.co.uk/news/pfonline/2march2006.asp.

Late addition, NCVO press release:

A new concordat between the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) will improve links between social scientists and the voluntary and community sector (VCS), increase the number of academics working in the VCS and assist in the transfer of knowledge from charities to researchers outside of the sector.

The agreement will also boost capacity in the sector through joint studentships and training activities.

The first area of work will be a rigorous assessment of charitable giving patterns in the UK, looking at its economic impact and addressing the role of giving as a gesture of active citizenship.

Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive, NCVO, said: ‘This concordat is of vital importance.  It shows that research about the VCS merits rigorous investigation.  It will allow us to increase the scope, depth and quality of research about the sector.  We hope to explore opportunities for seconding academics to the voluntary sector and increase the number of researchers interested in the sector from a range of different relevant disciplines.’

Ian Diamond, Chief Executive of the ESRC said: ‘High quality social science research can help to inform policy decisions across the public and voluntary sectors, as well as contributing to wider public debate.’

NCVO and ESRC will also be holding a series of seminars on civil renewal and active citizenship.  This is an area that continues to be central in underpinning the Government’s agenda.  The aim of the seminars is to improve the understanding of the motivations and practices of engaged citizens.  They will provide an opportunity for practitioners, academics and policy-makers to share insights into how active citizens contribute to an inclusive and cohesive society; and will provide an opportunity to review possible implications for both Government and the VCS.

The seminars will cover the following themes:

·         Faith-based voluntary action;

·         ICT, social capital and volunteering;

·         Individual pathways in participation;

·         Localism and local governance;

·         From local to global; and

·         Human rights, a tool for change

The first seminar, on faith-based voluntary action, will be held in June 2006.

Successful delivery of national targets for improving public services is reliant on “a complex chain of organisations involving local authorities and health trusts, as well as private, voluntary and community organisations”. So says a joint study by the National Audit Office and the Audit Commission.

It makes 12 recommendations on how such chains can be made more efficient and effective. See press release (includes link to report).

The National Neighbourhood Watch Association has announced that it is to close, after “continued negative campaigning by …. small group of dissidents [which] has jeopardised NNWA’s ability to attract sufficient long-term sponsorship.”
See statement from NNWA’s Chair.

The House of Lords had a debate on volunteering and the voluntary sector last week.

While nothing will immediately happen as a result, you can get an idea of what was covered in a CFDG summary, or go to the Hansard record.

Changes to this site, VoluntaryNews site, makes it easier for us, and you, to add news items.

Based on blogging software, the built-in ‘pings’ and news feeds (RSS) help to spread the word quickly via sites like Technorati or news reader systems such as Bloglines, while the site name should make it easy for journalists and the public to find. Items can be embargoed (post-dated) or published immediately.

Please contact us if you want items to appear outside the default Public section. We’d be delighted if you’d give it a go - see About page for further information.

An article in the March edition of Linux User & Developer magazine profiles the changes taking place in the voluntary sector as it meets with the free/open source software community. http://foss.ciac.org.uk/article36.html.

(Source: UKRiders list)

‘Your Community Media! Your Vote 2006′ is a resource for community media projects involved in voter education and election coverage, focused on the local elections in May.

http://yourvote.commedia.org.uk/

The Framework for Multi-Agency Environments (FAME), a national government-sponsored project, appears on first glance to be just for public sector bodies (http://www.fame-uk.org). However, recently it has supported the work of a number of voluntary sector organisations that work with children at risk, alongside the public sector, including Barnardo’s, to help them develop multi-agency working and information sharing within their organisation.

eGov Monitor news item at http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/4977.

While welcoming the emphasis on giving young people more access to fitness and leisure activities

Any not-for-profit organisation in England and Wales whose main objective is to reduce financial exclusion through the provision of a financial service (but especially credit unions and community finance institutions) are eligible to apply for money from Barclays Financial Inclusion Fund.

Applications, up to £25,000 for one year or £35,000 for two, must be submitted online by 1st May. http://www.barclays.com/financialinclusion.

Comments are invited on how the next Rural Development Programme for England could be used “to make a real difference in rural areas, by safeguarding and enhancing our rural environment and fostering thriving rural communities”.

Deadline 22nd May, http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/rdp07_13/default.htm.