North West Leicestershire Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Partnership Steering Group – Terms of Reference

Mission:

To build a stronger and more sustainable community across North West Leicestershire through the strategic development of a more effective, efficient and robust Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector (VCSE)

Objectives:

  • To create a more effective VCSE
  • Define the real priorities and needs of the district
  • Identify strategic ways of meeting the needs of the district

Key activities:

  • Networking
  • Partnership working
  • Income generation
  • Monitoring and evaluation of impact

Values and guiding principles:

  • Collective leadership, seeking to work with others for the good of North West Leicestershire and the NWL VCSE
  • Information-sharing and inclusive and transparent communication, especially for smaller organisations around the district to feel involved and recognised
  • Looking over the district and its needs and to plan and act strategically
  • Open to involving expertise and representation from all communities across NWL
  • Ensuring sustainability of the VCSE and meet the challenges of the future

Purpose / role of the group:

The Steering Group was set up in January 2015 to work together to strengthen the VCSE in the district, in partnership with North West Leicestershire District Council. The group aims to take a strategic overview of the needs of the community and the sector in the district, identify priority areas for investment and generate income to better sustain the sector. The steering group will be accountable to the wider sector and develop ways to engage with communities across the district.

A key role of the group will be to manage any resources that the group can access, such as a worker that will drive forward the activity. This will be the strategic and operational management of the work.

Membership:

The wider partnership is open to all Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations and Social Enterprises in North West Leicestershire. The steering group membership is drawn from organisations that initially expressed an interest. There will be only one representative per organisation. Membership will not be fixed, and expertise from different sectors and communities will be brought in where necessary.

Meetings

The steering group will meet on a monthly basis. Other meetings will be held on an ad hoc basis where necessary. There will be meetings with the wider partnership at least 4 times per year. The chair will be nominated from the steering group.

Review

The terms of reference will be reviewed on annual bases.