Voluntary Norfolk provide this month’s comment piece on the importance of cross-sector working which ensures you get the most for your charity or voluntary organisation.

Voluntary Norfolk on Harnessing Opportunities for Cross-Sector Working

With schools back and autumn firmly in the air, it feels fitting to be looking to the future and how we can work more effectively as a sector and community of VCSEs across Norfolk.

As busy, mission-led groups and organisations it is difficult sometimes to make time for big picture conversations – but we are increasingly needing to do so as our communities and our sector struggle to navigate multiple converging crises. In these challenging times, a myriad of cross-sector partnerships, groups, forums and alliances have developed and are striving to work collaboratively to progress shared goals.

At our last Norfolk VCSE Leadership Network earlier this month, we brought together a panel of speakers from across the Integrated Care System (ICS). They included our new Head of Health Inequalities & VCSE Partnering at the Integrated Care Board (ICB), Shelley Ames, and colleagues within Economic Development at Norfolk County Council. We discussed the development of the VCSE Assembly – a forum and mechanism for fair and equitable partnering and engagement between the VCSE sector and healthcare – as well as other opportunities for cross-sector join-up. (Click here for how we seek to improve the connections between VCSE organisations in Norfolk and advocate for the sector across the county).

How Empowering Communities is looking to promote cross-sector working

It is encouraging to see how far we have come as a local system, in terms of partnership and cross-sector working, with the VCSE sector increasingly embedded into local decision-making structures. We now have a VCSE representative (Amy Griffiths, CEO of Citizens Advice Diss, Thetford & District) on the new Norfolk Business Board, which will be supported by a VCSE sub-group to ensure accountability back to the sector, and to give Amy the support she needs to advocate for voluntary organisations.

We also have a new Chair for the VCSE Assembly being recruited, the role being instrumental in driving forward VCSE integration within local health and social care systems and acting as a voice for the VCSE sector. It will be exciting to see how this work develops.

Another example of a more collaborative approach is the work going on behind the scenes under the umbrella of the Norfolk Vision for Volunteering. Since the Vision was launched last November, VCSE and statutory bodies have come together as a strategic steering group and an operational group to pool data, share knowledge and experience, and work together to strengthen and support volunteering for the benefit of all. Updates on this work will be shared more widely soon.

Finally, our recent Empowering Communities sector survey is providing valuable insights into the challenges local VCSEs are up against, as well as what support they would most benefit from. 21% of respondents said having the capacity to engage strategically was a key challenge, while 20% selected “developing relationships with public sector organisations” as a key priority. Clearly, more can be done to ensure statutory and VCSE colleagues can connect in accessible and meaningful ways.

Next steps to ensure you get the most for your charity/voluntary organisation

Whilst we have come a long way, there is still much to do, and we know that the sector is struggling to have the capacity and resources to respond to current challenges. The recent survey has certainly highlighted this, but it also enables us to start building an evidence base around the health of Norfolk’s VCSEs and identify how we better demonstrate our impact and encourage investment from statutory colleagues. While there are many challenges to address both regionally and locally, there are more opportunities for collaboration and influence, and we aim to help you harness these. In so doing we hope to be able to help you get the best for your voluntary organisation or charity.