A ‘Digital Artists Handbook’ has been compiled to provide a reliable and accessible introduction to different tools, resources and ways of working related to digital art. http://www.digitalartistshandbook.org.

(Source: Voluntary Arts England)

The Women in Governance project aims to increase the representation of women from diverse backgrounds in local governance, such as school governors and charity trustees.

They have a variety of resources, many of which can apply to men too, including a Good Governance Guide, at http://www.rcvswing.org.uk/index.php?path=wing&link=ggg.

(Source: CTN Chairs Focus)

A round-up of 25 Website Accessibility Checkers available online has been put together by Virtual Hosting.

(Source: E-access bulletin)

The government is planning to publish a White Paper on empowerment in England in the summer.

This will address involving people actively in regeneration, active citizenship, reviving civic society and strengthening local accountability. Contributions are invited, on such questions as What is the role of government in encouraging and supporting citizens to be active?

See http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/unlockingtalent (and there’s an online forum running to 10th April).

Futurebuilders England, the government-backed investment fund for the third sector, will be opening up a new round of funding to organisations working across all areas of public service delivery, from April.

Organisations can register an interest before then. See news release for more.

A new case study on using modern communication channels for trustees to work together remotely in supporting an organisation or project is on the ICT Hub web site, http://www.icthub.org.uk/articles/Trustee_Communications_-_Case_Study.html.

Local government body the Improvement and Development Agency has published research showing that, while there is a lot of superficial contact between local authority commissioners and third sector organisations, there is a serious lack of confidence in the latter’s ability to deliver so that they are less likely to be awarded large-scale public sector contracts.

Report is pdf download, 375kb, http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/8024335, or read Society Guardian news item at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/27/voluntarysector

Voluntary groups have been urged to join in the Scottish Government’s National Conversation about constitutional direction, ‘Choosing Scotland’s Future’.

News item at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/03/12100654 or go direct to http://www.anationalconversation.com.

Organisations with 50 or more employees will need to file starter and leaver information (P45s etc) online from April 2009, with smaller employers following two years later. See HMRC February bulletin, http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers-bulletin/bulletin28/in-yr-update.htm.

Personnel professionals’ body CIPD has updated its factsheet, ‘Employing overseas workers’, following the recent changes in regulations on employer checks on migrant workers. http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/intlhr/empfn.htm.

Charities that have failed to provide an annual return or accounts for an extended period are to be taken off the Register run by the Charity Commission.

Designed to remove charities in England and Wales that no longer operate, defaulters would be hit a year after the original submission deadline after a series of warnings. (A major cull of the new Scottish register was recently undertaken by OSCR.)

There are currently some 1,200 charities with a previous income over £10,000 which have not sent in returns for more than six years. News release at http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=359359&NewsAreaID=2.

A £7.5 million fund to support local recycling projects in Scotland has been launched at a Community Recycling conference in Perth. Scottish Government news item at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/03/11094608, or go direct to scheme information at http://www.crns.org.uk/increase/.

The Scottish Government has also announced major funding over the next 3 years for Scotland’s councils of voluntary service and volunteer centres, sharing over £23 million. There is also funding to promote volunteering and encourage the delivery of public services by the third sector. News release at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/03/06115639.