Topics Directory

Topic Articles Description
Social Policy 295
Health 260
Sector Issues 214
Politics 184
Policy 172
Funding 170

We provide access to regular, reliable and up-to-date funding information to help the sector, from resources to help your funding applications succeed, to GrantTracker our dedicated funding toolkit; a valuable resource for charities and communities.

Equality 146
Economy 138

NICVA's Centre for Economic Empowerment (CEE) programme is a think-tank, set up to help the sector become better informed about economic issues and take part more effectively in economic policy debates. We carry out research, and run training courses and masterclasses on a wide range of currrent economic issues.

Education 137
Mental Health 135
Fundraising 133

Groups need to diversify their fundraising and ensure they have durable and reliable sources of income to take them into the future. By developing a fundraising mix groups can be more sustainable and reduce the risk of having too much funding concentrated in one source. We provide resources, training and guidance on how to develop your fundraising techniques and sources. Find out more on our Fundraising Hub.

Governance 117

Our Governance and Charity Advice Service offers information and practical help about good governance for charities on a wide range of topics listed below. You can find out more about governance issues on our Governance and Charity Advice webpage or view our Governance Advice Notes for further support.

Welfare Reform 81

The proposed welfare reforms have been widely described as the most radical shake up of the social security system in over 40 years. The aim of the reforms and subsequent Bill is to simplify the benefits system, improve work incentives to encourage claimants to move from benefits to work and reduce administration costs. However, the implementation of the changes will impact upon a significant percentage of the working age population in Northern Ireland.

Charity Regulation 104

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has now commenced compulsory registration of charities.  We provide the sector with the most up to date information on the key changes in charity regulation.  For the latest on new charity regulations and a history of recent charity law reform in NI, please see our dedicated charity regulation webpage

Training 80

We support the development of a strong, effective and diverse voluntary and community sector and offer training to help organisations develop staff and meet objectives. For more information on our training visit our Training and Skills page.

Environment 59
Covid-19 57
HR 57

We provide HR advice and guidance on a range of topics to help voluntary and community organisations deal with HR matters effectively. We also provide examples of HR policies through publishing our staff handbook. You can find out more about HR issues on our HR hub.

CollaborationNI 52
Members 48
NICVA Staff Handbook 47

In response to the high volume or enquiries we get about staff terms and conditions, we have made our NICVA Staff Handbook available for our members and the voluntary and community sector. Please note these are not sample policies but may be used for reference purposes.

You can find out more about HR issues on our HR hub.

TLP Participant Stories 47

The Transformative Leadership Programme (TLP) is a 10-module accredited leadership training course funded by the Peace IV programme through Belfast City Council. NICVA and our partners have now delivered the course a number of times across North, South and East and West Belfast and are delighted that participants have agreed to share their stories of their experience of the course. Remember, if you like the sound of it, just fill in an Expression of Interest form here: www.nicvaconnect.org/tlp

Enjoy the stories!

Webinar Recordings 47

Watch when you like - Insights and expertise on broad range of topics

Budget 43

We provide information and insights on the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget, including the in-year process, departmental spending plans and public consultation matters. For more information on the 2015-2016 Budget visit our dedicated Budget Hub.

COVID19 (Coronavirus) 41
Policy and Public Affairs 41
Peace Process 40
Poverty 40
cyber security 37
Finance 37

We aim to provide the sector with up-to-date information and guidance to help with sustainable financial management.

Community Relations 36
Data protection 36

Data protection is becoming an increasingly important issue for voluntary and community organisations as people become more aware of the need to handle information properly and the financial and reputational risks of getting it wrong. This section will provide news and practical resources you can use relating to data protection.

Brexit 35
Justice 35
Open Data 34

Open Data is data that for anyone can use, reuse and share. We think that open data (and the use of data in general) brings huge benefits to the voluntary and community sector, as well as society in Northern Ireland. That's why we run the Detail Data project and ODI Belfast.

Research 33
Employing People 32

Employing and managing staff well is a key issue for all community and voluntary organisations. These resources will help you when you are devising policies relating to managing staff.  

Featured Members 32

NICVA is a membership organisation which seeks to represent voluntary and community organisations throughout Northern Ireland. We regularly feature our members to highlight their work and the impact they make on their beneficiaries and society. To find out more about NICVA members or becoming a member, visit our Membership page.

GDPR 30
Joint Forum 30

The Joint Forum Voluntary and Community Group (VCG) is made up of 15 representatives from around the sector. The VCG meets with the government departments three times per year as the Joint Forum. The VCG also meets independently before each Joint Forum meeting. We’ll provide updates on the work of the group here.

EU Referendum and Brexit 29

Updates on NICVA's activities relating to the EU Referendum

Social Media 28
Media 27
Human Rights 24

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State of the Sector 24

The definitive resource on the size, scope and finances of the Northern Ireland Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector 

explore state of the sector

Explore the latest State of the Sector here

Viewfinder (Research) 24

Viewfinder is NICVA's snapshot survey of our members about topical issues.  Completed viewfinder reports are listed below and you can find our other research reports on the Research Hub.

NJC Payscales 21

NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action) is the lead representative and membership body for charities, voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland. We provide information on HR and regularly monitor and report on the latest developments with NJC payscales.

For organisations using NJC payscales, NJC Payscales for 2021/22 | NICVA

Our latest articles on NJC Payscales:

Accelerator Programme 19

NICVA is working with The Community Foundation for NI and Department for Communities to deliver the Accelerator Programme, to improve the skills and confidence of people in our sector and strengthen organisations at this critical time. Here you can access our webinar recordings on a variety of topics along with all the resources mentioned during the webinars.

You can also sign up for our upcoming webinars here.

Collaboration 19

We offer practical advice to assist organisations involved in or considering collaboration or mergers. You can find out more on our CollaborationNI webpage.

Volunteering 19
Governance Advice Notes 18

Our Governance and Charity Advice Team has produced these essential guides to good governance, covering everything from setting up a group and achieving charitable status to best practice on committees.

leadership 18
Climate Change 17
Cost of Living 17
Policy Manifesto 17

The NICVA policy manifesto that  sets out a comprehensive challenge to all of the political parties and covers the most pressing social, economic and environmental issues that we as a society face. For more information on our policy work, visit our dedicated Policy page.

skills 17
skills development 17
CutsWatchNI 16

CutsWatchNI maps the impact of public sector spending cuts on voluntary and community groups in Northern Ireland. It is designed to highlight the impact of cuts on both organisations and communities. If your organisation is affected by the cuts, report the impact here.

impact 16
Inequality 16
Social Issues 16
Charity commission 15
digital 14
Employment 14
Public Expenditure 14
Housing 13
Salaries 13
Children and Young People 12
fundraising regulation 12
Public Benefit 12
Social Enterprise 12
Work Life Balance 12

A good work life balance is central to being able to recruit and retain your staff. Developing a positive work life balance culture will help your organisation in terms of avoiding stress among staff, ensuring people can have a balance between work and family life and making sure staff are motivated in their work. 

Young People 12
Charitable giving 11

NICVA's Charitable Giving Survey researches how much money people in Northern Ireland donate. It looks at what charities individuals donate to, how they donated and why. For more information on research undertaken by NICVA, visit our Research page.

Childcare 11
General Employment Issues 11

We provide HR advice and guidance on a range of topics to help voluntary and community organisations deal with HR matters effectively. We also provide examples of HR policies through publishing our staff handbook. This section offers guidance on the most common employment related issues.

Lobbying Bill 11

The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill (Lobbying Act) received Royal Assent on 30 January 2014 and changed a number of rules for non-party campaigners and their activities during election periods. Resources here keep members up to date with updates in relation to the Act. For further information visit our Policy page.

Pensions 11
Shared Services 11
Wellbeing 11
4th Industrial Revolution 10

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Campaigning 10
culture 10
Data 10
digital fundraising 10
Lobbying 10
Public Sector Reform 10
Public Service Delivery 10
Technology 10

Technology offers huge benefits and opportunities for the voluntary and community sector from transforming the way an organisation manages its operations to enabling delivery of more efficient and effective services. We offer support and guidance on accessing free and low cost technology and computer security. For more information visit our ICT hub.

trustees 10
Adult Learning 9

NICVA recognises the important role that adult learning plays in the economic and social life of Northern Ireland. Learning strengthens local organisations and this helps build better communities and we offer a full calendar of training throughout the year to help further this. NICVA are also members of The Forum for Adult Learning NI (FALNI).

Children 9
local government reform 9
Stormont 9
Budget Asks 8
Covid 19 Response 8
COVID-19 Charities Fund 8

The Department for Communities first launched the £15.5m COVID-19 Charities Fund on 15 June 2020 to provide grant awards of up to £75,000 to meet unavoidable costs for charities who had lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A second phase of the Fund opened on 6 January 2021 to support charities in the period between 1 October 2020 and 31 March 2021. This phase is being administered by Community Finance Ireland and you can find the application pack here. NICVA is providing support to charities applying to this second phase of the fund.

Fundraising Regulation in NI 8
Health Reform 8
regulation 8
15 Asks for the Executive 7

In 15 Asks for the Executive we focus on a range of issues the current Executive can either complete or significantly progress before the June 2016 Assembly elections. We aim to take each 'ask' and explore them in greater detail.

accounting 7
consultation 7
cost of living crisis 7
Detail Data 7
ESF 7
Health and Safety 7
ILM 7
Rates 7
virtual fundraising 7
accreditation 6
Conduct and discipline 6
Expensive lending 6
funders 6
Health and Wellbeing 6
management 6
Policy and Public Affairs Update 6
Salary Survey 6

This study looks at changing salary and employment benefit trends in the voluntary and community sector. We develop and circulate the questionnaire, analyse the results and write the final report. The latest findings from NICVA’s Salary/ Workforce Survey can be found on our State of the Sector hub.

SEN 6
Social Care 6
support 6
volunteers 6
Bureaucracy 5

NICVA are part of the Bureaucracy Project Board and the Bureaucracy Working Group, established in response to the NI Audit Office report on the relationship between government and the sector. Both the Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee reports agreed that excessive bureaucracy with ever increasing demands over the years has skewed resources from the actual funded activity to over reporting. We'll provide regular updates in this section.

Case Study 5
communications 5
Data Fridays 5
Disability 5
Faith 5
Gift Aid 5

Gift Aid increases the value of donations to charities and community organisations by allowing them to reclaim basic rate tax on your gift. Gift Aid and tax reliefs are a vital part of the charity sectors funding.

Government 5
Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace 5
impact practice 5
information 5
Loneliness 5
membership 5
Merger 5
Public Procurement 5
security 5
Social innovation 5
The Arts 5
Unemployment 5
Universal Credit 5
webinars 5
#NICVAPeople 4
AE22 4
cashless giving 4
Charity Annual Reporting 4
Digital Access 4
Domestic Abuse 4
Faith Based Engagement 4
funder 4
fundraising regulator 4
Good Relations 4
Health and Social Care 4
Health; Social Care 4
Immigration 4
Open Data Portal 4
Open Government 4
Policy Hack 4

Policy hacks are new way of bringing people together to share ideas and develop solutions to some of Northern Irelands most pressing social, economic and environmental problems. We have a range of hacks coming up - full details here: www.nicva.org/events 

return to work 4
risk assessment 4
Sector Issues; Funding 4
Social Security 4
Transport 4
Welfare 4
Academic Selection 3
accountability 3
Assembly Election 3
best practice 3
Bill Of Rights 3
Budget 2022-2025 3
Budget cuts 3
Bullying 3
Carers 3
Child Poverty 3
Civil Society 3
CLP 3

From 2009 through to 2012 NICVA, in partnership with Stellar Leadership and University of Ulster, delivered the International Fund for Ireland’s (IFI) Community Leadership Programme (CLP) to 97 grassroots community groups from across Northern Ireland and the six border counties of the Republic of Ireland. The aim was to work with groups in areas of disadvantage and weak community infrastructure to build leadership and management capacity.

communication 3
Communities 3
Coronavirus 3
corporate partnerships 3
courses 3
Covid-19 Impact Survey 3
cyber essentials 3
Data Sharing 3
Death 3
Democracy 3
Domestic Violence 3
Early Years 3
East Belfast 3
Economics 3
Election 2022 3
Ethnic Minorities 3
EU Settlement Scheme 3
fundraising standards 3
Fundraising Strategy 3
Health; Social Policy; Sector Issues 3
history 3
Homelessness 3
Insurance 3
Integrated Education 3
Justice; Social Policy; Sector Issues 3
learning 3
managing staff 3
marketing 3
Modern Slavery 3
Northern Ireland Protocol 3
online 3
Physical Activity 3
planning 3
Play 3
public engagement 3
Redundancy 3
Resources 3
Society 3
spam 3
staff 3
TQUK 3
trustees week 3
UK Shared Prosperity Fund 3