Lucy Hogg, Director of Voluntary Sector Infrastructure for one of our partners, Voluntary Norfolk, co-delivered a presentation with Fran Bedding, Head of Partnerships & External Relations at Community Action Suffolk at the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) sell-out online members assembly for the East of England.

The NCVO Assembly was an opportunity for the VCSE sector across the region to come together to consider the challenges facing the sector in 2022 and beyond. We were joined by Chris Walker, Public Affairs Manager at NCVO. He shared some of the national trends facing the sector and talked about the ways that charities have adapted to pressures, through increased collaboration, development of digital skills and working differently with communities. He also stressed the funding pressures facing the sector, challenges to the sector cost base, in light of the current crisis and inflationary pressures, and the NCVO priorities for influencing change with the new Government. You can see Chris’s slides here: Membership Links and Top Tips.

Voluntary Norfolk and Community Action Suffolk Contribution

Voluntary Norfolk and Community Action Suffolk focused on what the lessons learnt from the pandemic have been locally and how they can be applied during current and future periods of big change, such as the cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency. Lucy shared data gathered by Empowering Communities partners NCF, CAN and NCAN. The data illustrated how the sector has been affected over the last two years. She highlighted funding trends and the huge increase in demands on sector services.  You can view the relevant slides here: NCVO Assembly VN CAS Final

The event included plenty of time for sector networking and discussion. The focus here was on lessons learnt from the pandemic and other matters in the various breakout groups. These gave participants an opportunity to share their experiences, and what has worked well for them.  The event was attended by some 50 voluntary sector colleagues from across the region. A wide range of charities, infrastructure organisations and social enterprises were represented.

Here are some membership links and some top tips that were shared: Membership Links and Top Tips