JOINT FORUM COMMUNIQUE

JOINT FORUM between GOVERNMENT and the

VOLUNTARY and COMMUNITY SECTOR

21 October 2014

  1. The meeting of the Joint Forum was held in the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action’s (NICVA) headquarters in Duncairn Gardens, Belfast. Today’s meeting was chaired by Michael Donnelly Head of the Department for Social Development’s (DSD) Voluntary and Community Unit (VCU). Anne O’Reilly, joint Chair from the Northern Ireland Rural Women’s Network, was also present.

KEY POINTS

  1. Two key points focusing attention at the Joint Forum are progress on the Reform of Local GovernmentandProcurement. Other key issues discussed were the Inclusion of Social Clauses in Contracts which followed a presentation delivered by Jenny Irwin from RSM McClure Watters; OFMDFM’s Social Investment Fund; the work of the Public Sector Reform Division (DFP); the Inspiring Impact NI programme (Inspiring Impact NI and Building Change Trust); and progress on the work of Commitment Action Teams.

Reform of Local Government

  1. JohanneMullan (DoE) provided an overview of an upcoming consultation on ‘The draft Local Government (Community Planning Partners) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015’. From 1 April 2015 the new 11 Councils will be required to make arrangements for community planning in their areas and the proposals in the draft Order set out the high level key aspects of the community planning process to be agreed with the community partners. Central to successful planning is the engagement of Statutory Partners and it was proposed that a working group of local and central government representatives be set up to develop and implement the long-term vision.
  2. Johanne also advised members that Community Planning guidance is currently being drafted and will be issued for consultation around mid November 2014.

Procurement

  1. Discussion focused on taking forward and opening up the issues relating to procurement. NICVA has commissioned research in two areas:- innovation in procurement and entrepreneurial societies; and a cross-section review to identify any barriers to the commissioning process. This research links with the work being undertaken by DFP’s Public Sector Reform Division on innovation in supporting service delivery. The Joint Forum agreed to set up a cross-public sector/voluntary and community sector working group to look at these issues and will be seeking representation from across the voluntary and community sector and local and central government, including DFP’s Central Procurement Directorate.

Inclusion of Social Clauses in Contracts

  1. Jenny Irwin from RSM McClure Watters was invited to the Joint Forum to deliver a presentation on social clauses in public sector contracts - one of the issues highlighted in discussions relating to procurement. NICVA’s Centre for Economic Empowerment (CEE) had commissioned RSM McClure Watters for research on how tomaximise the social value and community benefit of social clauses in Northern Ireland. The findings and recommendations from this research are contained in the CEE report: “Social Clauses in Northern Ireland” available through the attached link or on the NICVA website.


Social Investment Fund

  1. OFMDFM reported that approximately £34.4 million has been committed to 23 projects with a substantial number of other projects at various stages of development. Concerns were raised at a potential overlap of a £10 million employment programme in Belfast being funded through the Social Investment Fund with current programmes addressing the issue of young people in the ‘NEET’ category (Not in Education, Employment or Training). A representative from OFMDFM’s Social Investment Fund team will be invited to speak at the next Joint Forum.


Public Sector Reform Division

  1. Rachel McAfee and Kathryn Semple from DFP’s Public Sector Review Division (PSRD) delivered a joint presentation on the work of this Division. Rachel heads the team on ‘Economics’ which looks at new methods of working in delivering government services such as Payment by Results, Social Impact Bonds and Mutuals/Co-operatives and Kathryn focuses on creating partnerships through engagement by highlighting the need for reform and promoting the capabilities and resources of PRSD. Outlined were the Reform themes of improving the strategic direction of the public sector, improving operational delivery and improving engagement with people and making government more accountable and transparent.

Inspiring Impact NI

  1. Aongus O’Keeffe from Community Evaluation NI (CENI) and Nigel McKinney from Building Change Trust (BCT) delivered a presentation on the background to the development of the Inspiring Impact Programme in Northern Ireland. The programme is based on a GB model and evolved from demand from funders and voluntary and community organisations seeking a reliable means of measuring the longer-term effects of a project or organisation’s work.
  2. The Inspiring Impact Programme NI has been developed to be more than just measuring outcomes: it takes a holistic view of impact practice by planning for impact, learning from and using impact data to effect change. This integrated approach aims to bring together the Sector, its funders and impact practitioners. Initial scoping work has been conducted with Public Sector Engagement Group (PSEG) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been appointed to lead a team to identify 5 demonstration projects to test the programme.

Measuring Up! online self-assessment resource:

Impact Hub:

Link to Inspiring Impact Exchange NI event:

COMMITMENT ACTION TEAMS – UPDATES
Addressing Bureaucracy Project

  1. A Code of Practice, which addresses fifteen of the nineteen recommendations from the Addressing Bureaucracy report, is due to be issued for consultation to Departments within the next few weeks. Closing date for responses will be mid/end December 2014 and, subject to final approval by the Project Board, the Code of Practice will be launched in January/February 2015.
    The report on the Addressing Bureaucracy Project is available to download from the Department for Social Development’s website by following this link:
    Addressing Bureaucracy: A report on tackling bureaucracy in government funding to the Voluntary and Community Sector - April 2013 (PDF 1MB)

Outcome-Focused Approach to Funding

  1. The Joint Forum continues to provide a watching brief on progress of the implementation of the Inspiring Impact Programme in Northern Ireland.Initial scoping work has been conducted with Public Sector Engagement Group (PSEG) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been appointed to lead a team to identify 5 demonstration projects to test the programme.
  1. Updates on progress will continue to be provided through this link.

Influence and Examine Impact of Government Policy

  1. The work of this team has now been mainstreamed into the work of the Joint Forum with the Public Sector Group (PSG) and Voluntary and Community Group (VCG) co-ordinating the process of bringing specific policies to the Joint Forum.

Concordat Compliance

  1. Feedback on the revised format of the questionnaire indicates that the tool is ready for further piloting to test its applicability across a range of different scenarios. Members will decide on a suitable test subject at the next Joint Forum.

Communications Strategy

  1. The ‘Joint Forum’ portal has gone live on the DSD/VCU website with the publication of this communiqué. This portal is a central source for communicating Joint Forum information for all Departments but also to local government and other statutory organisations.

Date of Next meeting

  1. The next meeting will be scheduled for January/February 2015. Details of the date and location will be communicated in due course.

Further information

Further information on the role of the Joint Forum and the topics under discussion can be obtained from l: 02890 829399 (direct dial 38399) or l: 02890 829409 (direct dial 38409)