The Wessex Charity Awards are open to any charity or not-for-profit organisation operating in Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Wiltshire, West Sussex and West Surrey.

Nominations by 31st October, http://www.wessexcharityawards.co.uk.

Third Sector National Learning Alliance, a new body set up to represent the views of third sector learning providers, is aiming to compile a collective response to the government’s consultation ‘Informal Adult Learning - Shaping the Way Ahead’.

They want responses by 21st April, but there are also three events taking place in Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle. See http://www.ukworkforcehub.org.uk/DisplayPage.asp?pageid=12392.

Note: TSNLA is due to have its own web site soon.

Baring Foundation’s Strengthening the Voluntary Sector programme for 2008 focuses on strengthening the independence of advice and advocacy organisations in the cities of Bristol, Coventry, Manchester or Sheffield or in the counties of Kent or Lincolnshire.

Applications by 30th June 2008. http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/News.htm

The 100th (permanent) community radio station has gone on-air in the UK, with projects stretching from the Isles of Scilly to Orkney.

Read more on the variety of coverage and background in Ofcom news release, http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2008/03/nr_20080310.

The TUC has published advice to safety representatives on health and safety in flooded areas, which will be of interest to other workers too. Has links to further online advice. http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-13550-f0.cfm

‘Funding the Third Sector in the South West - What do we know? What do we want to know?’ is a Knowledge Review for the South West Funders’ Forum involving an extensive literature search of funding research from regional and national sources. See more here.

‘The Impact of the Investment in Village Halls’ provides evidence of how capital investment in village halls can increase economic activity in the community as a whole.

More on the research carried out by the South West Network of Village Hall Advisers and link to the report at http://www.devonrcc.org.uk/page/research.php.

E-petitions can be a good facility for local authorities to offer, according to pioneer Bristol City Council, and they should not be dissuaded by the recent controversy on the service provided by the Prime Minister’s web site.

“It’s been really useful for raising issues that councillors hadn’t thought of, and for finding out public opinion” reports E-Government Bulletin.

A new ‘e-democracy in Bristol’ guide explains the whole range of electronic options. A chunk 5.5MB pdf from http://www.kevinomalley.org/downloads/ebook.pdf.

The second round of applications for community radio licences in Scotland and Northern Ireland is now open, with a closing date of 16th January 2007. Applications for south-west (which includes Herefordshire) and south/mid-Wales, as previously announced, have to be in by 7th November.

See http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commun_radio/tlproc/secondround/. For advice, see ‘Get Your Licence’ from Community Media Association, http://www.commedia.org.uk/getyourlicence.

From Accountancy Age, 10th October: Gloucestershire-based Longborough Festival Opera won its appeal to retain VAT immunity on ticket sales, and it is believed the ruling will have important ramifications for hundreds of other arts charities that are dependent on similar tax breaks to survive. See rest of the news item.

A relatively minor facelift for Action Network, the BBC’s site which allows people to promote and discuss local campaigns, is enough of an excuse to remind you of it. There’s a better introduction and their guides to campaigning are more obvious. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A14169738.

Campaign Creator, the community campaigning site originally developed by Bristol City Council, is due to move home and be re-launched soon. E-Government Bulletin says it will be under the auspices of the Scarman Trust. Keep an eye on http://www.campaigncreator.org.

The Eden Project was the first organisation in the UK to offer a permanent mobile ticketing facility. Visitors can receive their ticket instantly via their mobile phone and benefit from fast-track entry.

News release: http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=176273.