The CREATE Consortium wants a change to the benefits system, to enable community organisations to pay people to do work that strengthens their neighbourhood without it affecting any of their benefits. The Community Allowance would help tackle the benefits trap and be a regeneration tool too.

The Consortium aims to run pilots in each English region, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. More at http://www.communityallowance.org, including a chance to back the idea. Note that the site requires cookies to work properly.

Northern Ireland has a new website, IMMPACT, exploring finance and income generation options to achieve sustainable funding for frontline organisations. Unfortunately the various scrolling and changing sections may reduce its accessibility.

http://www.immpact.co.uk.

GuideStar UK, the online database of charities, over the next year is to test the feasibility of extending the facility to include Northern Ireland charities and launching a standalone GuideStar Northern Ireland. It will take into account the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland expected to launch later this year.

The feasibility of developing national GuideStar systems in another 5 European countries is also being investigated by GuideStar International, with funding from the European Commission - see http://www.guidestareurope.org.

Charity Technology eXchange (CTX) has been launched in Northern Ireland, offering low cost access to technology products from the likes of Microsoft, Symantec and Cisco. Flickr professional accounts have recently been added to the range for eligible UK organisations. Do note that not all of these companies’ offerings are available through this route, and you should check out the entitlement limits too.

NICVA news item at http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/240408_technology_conference, or go direct to CTX: http://www.ctxchange.org.

The new e-network for stakeholder involvement around the planned changes for health and social care in Northern Ireland launched last week (22nd April).

Engage is at http://www.engage.hscni.net.

The national Heritage Open Days event sees buildings across England, old and modern, that are usually closed to the public or that would normally charge, throw their doors wide. This year it runs 11th to 14th September. It is co-ordinated nationally by the Civic Trust, with support from English Heritage, and thrives on the enthusiasm and expertise of local people.

If your organisation wants to take part, see http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk. There are similar but separate events in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and London - http://www.heritagedays.net.

Northern Ireland’s Volunteer Development Agency is making its membership open to appropriate organisations for free, so that they can become a stronger voice for volunteering.

This will also enable the widest range of organisations to inform and be informed about all aspects of promoting, supporting and developing volunteer involvement. See http://www.volunteering-ni.org/membership/about_us/.

(From http://www.communityni.org)

A briefing on the government consultation on new health proposals for Northern Ireland, with new structures to be set up by April 2009, has been produced by NICVA and the Community Development and Health Network, http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/NICVA_CDHN_briefing.

Consultation ends 12th May.

Presentations from a series of seminars run this year by Northern Ireland’s NICVA and the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) are now available online.

The three sessions covered public participation; volunteering and its unintended consequences; and community relations and the voluntary and community sector. The slide shows are in pdf format, from ESRC.

(Source: CommunityNI)

There is concern in both Scotland and Northern Ireland around funding for voluntary sector health initiatives.

In Scotland, see SCVO’s news item at http://www.scvo.org.uk/scvo/NewsAndEvents/ViewArticles.aspx?f=h&al=t&pid=6934, or check out CHEX news, http://www.chex.org.uk.

In Northern Ireland, three per cent efficiency savings set in the Northern Ireland budget are being passed on by public bodies to voluntary and community organisations they fund - NICVA news items at http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/100308efficiencysavings and specifically on health and social care at http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/04mar2008trustcuts.

To help with contract and grant negotiations, NICVA has produced a useful summary on NI government policy around Full Cost Recovery.

A part-time three year multi-disciplinary Masters course in Social and Community Development presented by Queen’s University Belfast is recruiting.

See website, or contact Barbara McCabe, email: b.mccabe@qub.ac.uk (Source: NICVA eNews)

Charity legislation is to be coordinated to achieve consistent regulation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, according to a report in Third Sector. Margaret Ritchie, social development minister for Northern Ireland, met Irish government ministers in Dublin recently to discuss plans to introduce common charity registers and regulators.

The legislative process on new charity law for both parts is about half-way through - the Republic’s Charities Bill 2007 page, NI Assembly Charities Bill http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/legislation/primary/2007/nia9_07.htm. Third Sector news item http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/787537/ (registration required).