PAVS’ News: Towards the future

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At the end of last year we asked a range of groups and individuals that receive the Newsletter to give us their views on its content and layout, as well as ideas for improving the information we send out to our members, partners and the broad sector. This edition brings together many of those ideas, and hopefully you will recognise the familiar sections that were thought to be most useful, as well as some new approaches that will keep you up to speed with voluntary sector developments.

PAVS’ AGM in December reported on the year up to March 2004, and our thanks go to the Mount Community Association; Age Concern Pembrokeshire; MIND Pembrokeshire and Pembrokeshire Yacht Club, and Gennex 25/7 for showcasing their projects, and demonstrating the links to PAVS’ services. We are now close to the end of the 04/05 year – a year full of activity and changes, and a year in which we have been busy strengthening PAVS’ internal structuresto support development work, and the representational work we undertake with and on behalf of the voluntary sector in Pembrokeshire. Our new database, AIMS, is an exciting tool that we will use to streamline constituencies of interest within the sector; target information, and develop better ways of ensuring that, where possible, the sector has direct representation in strategic planning partnerships, and the full range of planning and consultation groups. We have input considerable information to the database, but we will be seeking more and more information from the groups with which we work, in order to build an accurate picture of voluntary action in the county – enabling us to update the Almanac, and to demonstrate to partners and funders the vast range of activity and services provided to communities. Your support for this will be much appreciated.

Establishing the extent of voluntary action in Pembrokeshire is important in terms of supporting changes that will result from the Welsh Assembly Government’s review of its Voluntary Sector Scheme. Over 50 recommendations were made in the Independent Commission’s report about the Voluntary Sector Scheme – these will be addressed by the Assembly through implementation of a new strategic action plan, which is built around the three key themes that the Commission identified:

  • Consistency – of application of the Scheme within the Assembly, by ASPBs and in relation to both the Code of Practice on Funding and of involving the sector in policy development
  • Clarity – of responsibility for the application of the Scheme, in policing its operation, monitoring and evaluating its progress and ensuring that the Scheme is being properly implemented
  • Communication – of the Scheme to those who have not previously been able to access its benefits and to obtain the widest involvement of the sector in development policy, accessing funding and engaging with ministers

The full plans and Commission’s report are available on the PAVS’ web site – hard copies available on request.

Looking back… shaping the future

Developing a Strategic Plan for PAVS 2005-8

Over the last few years, with the support of Objective 1 and other project specific funding, PAVS has continued to expand the range and scope of services provided to the voluntary sector and its strategic partners.

Core services such as funding advice, volunteering, information and support for partnership working, have been supplemented through the development of a range of voluntary sector initiatives including “Learning in the Voluntary Sector”, “123-Communicate”, the Carers Development Project, Pembrokeshire Coalition and GENNEX 25-7.

These services and initiatives are delivered in the context of the Local Voluntary Services Scheme which is part funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and has a set of minimum standards organised around 5 main aims which are:

  • To provide and regularly promote an accessible and accurate range of locally available support services to enhance the development and effectiveness of voluntary and community action.
  • To identify the views of broad range of local voluntary groups and represent those views to decision makers in ways which lead to effective outcomes and partnerships.
  • To assist the development of locally determined and agreed voluntary sector initiatives which meet unmet need and enhance community participation.
  • To provide and develop an effective volunteering service.
  • To fulfil organisational standards.

This article highlights current work before setting out priorities for the future. Your feedback along with that gathered through a discussion with key partners will shape our plans for the future, which will be presented in a Strategic plan for 2005-8. This will be launched at a consultation event for the Voluntary sector scheduled for April 15th.

The Association would particularly welcome feedback from the sector on how well you think we are doing and what you would like to see us do better. A feedback form is enclosed with the newsletter along with a freepost envelope for your reply.

Learning in the Voluntary Sector

  • Social Enterprise and the voluntary sector was given a high profile boost through the Launch of the “Learning in the Voluntary Sector” project at the Stackpole Centre
  • A series of “Building Your Skills Workshops” have helped both individual organisations and groups of organisations to identify their training needs. This information has been used to develop and deliver a range of new training programmes which are highlighted in the training section of this newsletter.

Funding the sector

  • Small grants under the Sustainable Pembrokeshire Small Grants Scheme and the Pembrokeshire Keyfund have continued to support grassroots projects right across the county and in the targeted Priority 3 wards.
  • There has been a strong push towards raising awareness of the need for the sector to diversify its funding base
  • A draft funding code of practice is under development with Pembrokeshire County Council

Working in Partnership

  • A new Database and information management system has been piloted which will help PAVS to build a more accurate picture of the make-up and contribution of the sector and the ways in which it is supported by PAVS
  • A strong foundation has been built for the future development and integration of Community Transport, by bringing the voluntary sector together under a new umbrella organisation, Pembrokeshire Association of Community Transport Organisations (PACTO) and by working together with the Public sector through a multi-agency strategic partnership
  • The views of voluntary groups working in the field of health and social care have been effectively represented to the Local Health Board, in the joint health and social care planning processes and in the development of the new strategy – Health Challenge Pembrokeshire

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PAVS’ News: Towards the future

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  • A Carers’ strategy has been developed and a new Carers and Employment Partnership formed to assist carers to remain in or return to employment

Developing new initiatives

  • Research and awareness raising has begun into the potential of e.learning in the sector as part of a Wales wide project
  • The sector has increased its presence on and use of the web through the rolling out of a second phase ICT project
  • The voice of young people and the voluntary organisations that work with them has been strengthened through the management and development of the GENNEX 25-7 project and the development of the forum of groups working with children and young people
  • A collective voice for people with disabilities has been furthered through the management and development of the Pembrokeshire Coalition

Supporting volunteering

  • By Christmas Volunteering Pembrokeshire reached its target of 1000 volunteering enquiries with over 250 volunteers being recruited
  • The first steps have been taken in developing a consortium of organisationsto reposition volunteering as an option for the economically inactive on their route back into education, training or employment
  • Pembrokeshire Environmental Volunteer Network was established to facilitate the sharing of volunteers and good practice between environmental groups
  • Research has been carried out which confirms the difficulty for many organisations in attracting trustees and a project is under development to address this need.

Building a strong voluntary council

  • The Centre for Voluntary Action which includes a dedicated Volunteering Information Point, a voluntary sector library, hot desks, meeting rooms and an ICT suite has been formally launched and promoted to the sector, its partners and the public through a series of open days
  • The Centre has been further developed, by negotiating a lease on the neighbouring building and drawing up plans for the redevelopment of the stable block at the rear of the existing building

Future priorities

  • To make the most of the opportunities offered by Information and Communication Technologies
  • To continue to build the capacity of the sector through information, training and development support
  • To improve the sustainability of the sector through the development of funding codes of practice with the public sector and by helping groups to diversify their funding
  • To fully implement a new database, which will result in a much more accurate and comprehensive picture of the contribution made by the sector to the social and economic life of the county and enable swifter and more focused consultation
  • To improve the information available about strategic planning partnerships and widen participation from the sector with particular emphasis on the Community Plan, Economic Development and Regeneration and Health Challenge Pembrokeshire
  • To carrying out evidence based research to inform the contributions made by the sector to strategic planning
  • To make the most of the potential of the sector in providing opportunities to help the economically inactive back towards work
  • To develop volunteering initiatives with the public and private sector
  • To support the recruitment and training of trustees
  • To extend the Centre for Voluntary Action by developing a Centre for Social Enterprise at the rear of the current site.

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PAVS’ News: Towards the future

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Social Enterprise and the Voluntary Sector

Across Wales, over the last 5 years, the voluntary sector has been through a period of rapid growth, driven by:

  • political interest in the sector as a means of delivering government agendas
  • a focus on partnership working
  • the availability of Objective 1 funding enabling the sector to benefit from both direct and indirect financial support

The last couple of years have seen the beginning of a debate about how such growth can be sustained, particularly in the light of:

  • the pressures on the budgets of the UK Government, Welsh Assembly, Local Authority and Local Health Board
  • the likely reduction in the level of EU support for West Wales and the Valleys following enlargement
  • the development of new procurement processes for Local Authorities

One of the key ideas to come to the fore in this debate has been the emergence of the concept of social enterprise. A social enterprise, as defined by the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), is “a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners”.

According to the DTI, most social enterprises are “in transition from their beginnings as voluntary sector organisations, dependent largely on grants and volunteers, and working to increase traded income.” In the light of this,PAVS is currently working on the development of a number of linked initiatives to raise awareness and develop the potential of social enterprise in the voluntary sector.

The first of these is a joint project with Pembrokeshire Business Initiative and PLANED “to develop an effective specialist business development support system for new and existing social enterprises.” This will involve the recruitment of a specialist business advisor for social and community enterprises within the area.

A second initiative is an extension of the concept of the Pembrokeshire Centre for Voluntary Action to provide specific support for the development of social enterprise activity. This will involve the conversion of an existing stable block and improvements to the access arrangements for existing facilities.

The Association is also beginning to research a number of opportunities for developing new services within the social enterprise model. The current focus of this work is potential trading opportunities in the field of Information and Communication Technology.

In the context of these developments, PAVS will be facilitating a meeting, involving some of the larger voluntary organisations in the county, to consider forming a new county-wide network. Many of these organisations are already involved in contracting for services with Local Statutory agencies.

The purposes of such a network could include:

  • exploring the potential of the social enterprise model
  • establishing a mutual support network
  • sharing and developing practice
  • identifying training and organisational development needs
  • considering voluntary sector initiatives in response to strategic priorities in the county
  • joint working on a range of initiatives eg. Quality Assurance, Welsh Language, Bulk purchase etc etc

For further information about any of the developments outlined above and/or to be kept informed about the proposed network please contact Guy Norman by email on or by telephone on 01437 769422

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PAVS’ News: projects and developments

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Strategy for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing

The Strategy now has a new name – it is now

‘Health Challenge Pembrokeshire’ which will come into effect from April 2005. The original Draft Strategy consisted of seven themes: Obesity, Diabetes, Accidents, Older People, Dental Health, Appropriate Settings and Mental Health and Well-being. After consultation the priorities were changed, to best reflect a wider agenda that will encompass the work of the Strategy, the four new themes are:

  1. Healthy Life Choices
  2. Access to Services and Opportunity
  3. Reducing Inequalities
  4. Information, communication and performance management

The consultation process was completed on the 31st September, 2004 and the voluntary sector and carers made a significant contribution that resulted in the decision to change the original priorities to the above, wider ranging themes. So ‘thank you’ to all those who contributed and helped make a difference! Each theme has a working group, tasked with drawing up action plans for the Strategy. Members of voluntary sector groups and carers, as well as PAVS’ staff represent the sector and will keep it informed of developments via the Voluntary Sector Forum for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing; the Health and Social Care Update, and PAVS website.

Review of Local Health Board (LHB) Voluntary Sector Funding

The LHB undertook a review of all voluntary sector organisations who receive funding from the LHB, this amounting to £391,979. The existing arrangements have been in place since April 2003 and the LHB had maintained a ‘steady state’ of existing funding arrangements which come to an end in March 2005. The purpose of the review was to explore whether the outcomes of the work commissioned within the sector met with the aims of the LHB and contributed to the continuous improvement of the health and well-being of the people of Pembrokeshire. The review also explored the LHB’s commissioning process within the sector in respect of equity and distribution. The review, undertaken in the autumn of 2004 consisted of interviews with organisation in which they were asked questions in relationship to:

  • Work achieved for funding received
  • Access across Pembrokeshire
  • Consultation with service users
  • Governance issues, performance management structures, equality policies and Health and Safety regulations
  • Existing partnership working with the LHB
  • Links with other partners

The review found that the voluntary sector was extremely flexible and makes a significant contribution to support services across Pembrokeshire. This work was highly valued by services users. The review also found that voluntary sector services for children and young people do not benefit from LHB funding, and a number of Dyfed Powys arrangements have minimal benefit in Pembrokeshire. Weaknesses were identified in monitoring and performance management information that is shared with the LHB and with the broader sector. The LHB acknowledged the need to improve systems to monitor and evaluate the work commissioned, and to develop alternatives to Service Level Agreements (SLA) for short term funding.

The findings of the final report were presented to the LHB and the Board recommended that:

  • All existing arrangements with the sector cease at the end of March with a role over period of six months (from January to June 2005) to get new commissioning structures in place.
  • Future commissioning arrangements within the sector be undertaken in an open, transparent and equitable way
  • Decisions for funding within the sector be made against a set of criteria which fit within the objectives of the Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy
  • Where applicable joint commission be undertaken with Pembrokeshire County Council
  • The LHB develops formal processes for monitoring, evaluation and review
  • The LHB supports the sector in the implementation of performance monitoring and the governance agenda
  • The LHB works with the sector to ensure that all agencies are clear about the changes.

It is hoped that the outcomes for the sector should in the long term be positive, opening up the commissioning process, making it more transparent and ensuring that the commissioning of services is equitable and fair to the sector.

Carers Issues

The Carers Supplement continues to be issued on a quarterly basis, to carers and voluntary and statutory organisations. Organisations are being encouraged to receive their copies electronically, so if you would like to be added to the e-mail list, please contact PAVS. The newsletter is also available on line at