eNews 13 September 2010

By John McCormick - last updated on Mon, 13/09/2010 - 16:40

Communicating in Tough Times - a masterclass for the voluntary and community sector
Last chance to take part in Community Leadership Programme
Measuring your impact
Winning Contracts
GrantTracker Meet the Funders Fair
Communicating in Tough Times - a masterclass for the voluntary and community sector
Meet the Funder - Ulster Garden Villages
Equality Champion Briefing - The Reasonable Steps Defence
Northern Ireland’s first annual childcare costs survey
Sustainable Development - Sharing Ideas on Implementatio
Pathways to Health
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2011
New redundancy toolkit for advisers
Latest news from nidirect

Pick of the websites
Make your move - latest jobs from CommunityNI
Feedback
Submit an article
Membership

1 Communicating in Tough Times - a masterclass for the voluntary and community sector

This afternoon session will offer ten top tips on how voluntary and community organisations can communicate their message during the upcoming public debate on the budget.

As part of NICVA's Smart Solutions in Tough Times work, this masterclass will be facilitated by communications and public affairs experts Barry Turley and Nick Garbutt from ASITIS consulting. When lobbying and campaigning on the budget begins in earnest, voluntary and community organisations will need to tell their stories and the impact they have in a clear and effective way.

This masterclass will help organisations develop a clear and concise message and ensure it is heard by politicans, civil servants and the community.

This event is free to NICVA members and places are strictly limited.

To book a place, please email cathy.breslin@nicva.org.

2 Last chance to take part in Community Leadership Programme

We’re looking for groups to take part in the third and final year of the IFI Community Leadership Programme (CLP). The Programme is targeted at grassroots community groups working at a local level to develop their communities. It is for groups that work with the whole community not single issue groups.

By participating on this one year leadership journey a group and its committee will have the opportunity to:

Build the management and leadership capacity in your organisation.
Participate in ten action learning sessions with a dedicated facilitator for your group.
Benefit from a governance review, if one is required.
Receive ongoing support and advice from NICVA.
Network at three roundtable workshops with others from the Leadership Programme.
Achieve accreditation for individuals from your group at Institute of Leadership and Management level 3.
Gain a Certificate in Management Practice from University of Ulster free of charge for up to two people from the group.
Receive a maximum bursary of £2,500 (2,750 Euro) for an action-learning project.

Contact Nuala Muldoon for more information on 028 9087 7777, email: nuala.muldoon@nicva.org or download an expression of interest form at www.communityleadershipprogramme.org and return it by 1 October 2010.

3 Measuring your impact

If you'd like a greater understanding of impact measurement and how this can enhance your social return on investment, this session at NICVA on 28 September is for you.

By the end of the session participants will gain:

An understanding of Impact Measurement and the principles of Social Return on Investment
An understanding of their stakeholders and the extent to which their work impacts on their stakeholders
Underpinning knowledge to conduct a stakeholder analysis
An understanding of impact and the distinction between inputs, outputs and outcomes
Underpinning knowledge to complete an ‘impact map’ for their organisation/business.

The session is delivered by Gauge and costs £75 for NICVA members and £110 for others. Please download a booking form at
www.nicva.org/events/measuring-your-impact or contact Roisin Kelly for more information on 028 9087 7777 or email roisin.kelly@nicva.org.

4 Winning Contracts

This workshop series at NICVA on 4, 11 October and 1 November 2010 will provide important information on tendering processes and will enable you, as participants, to develop and practice proposal-writing skills. Each participant will increase their ability to achieve higher scoring bids by understanding the processes used in public procurement.

The workshops will look at ways you can help your organisation to develop an effective approach to meeting the needs of funders and avoid the type of basic mistakes that often rule out or undervalue an otherwise comprehensive bid for a grant or contract.

The course costs £400 members, £580 non members.

For the full course outline and to download a booking form visit www.nicva.org/events/winning-contracts-day-1-3 or contact Roisin Kelly on 028 9087 7777, email: roisin.kelly@nicva.org for details.

5 GrantTracker Meet the Funders Fair

Once again NICVA is hosting a GrantTracker Meet the Funders Fair on 25 October 2010 to provide an opportunity for voluntary and community organisations to meet with a range of grant makers face to face. Organisations are invited to attend the event at any time between 4.00pm and 6.00pm and visit the stands of funders of voluntary and community activity in Northern Ireland. The following funding organisations are confirmed so far:

Arts Council of Northern Ireland
BBC Children in Need
Big Lottery Fund
Charity Bank
Community Foundation
Community Relations Council
Heritage Lottery Fund
Lloyds TSB Foundation Northern Ireland
Special European Union Programmes Body
UnLtd

Other funders have been invited and will be confirmed on an ongoing basis. Keep an eye out on the NICVA and GrantTracker websites for updates. We would also like to hear from funders interested in attending this event.

If you would like to attend, please register with Georgie Finlay at georgie.finlay@nicva.org or contact Neil Irwin/James Laverty on 028 9087 7777.

6 Improving your facilitation skills

Good facilitators see and hear not only the obvious, they are tuned in to what else might be going on that isn't quite so apparent. This course is designed to help you understand how to interpret those difficulties, resolve conflict, cut through time wasting but most importantly enable you, the facilitator, to help your team reach agreements and develop new practises that will work. Throughout this course we will look into practical models and techniques that you can use within your workplace and help you clarify the role you will play as a facilitator.

The session takes place at NICVA on 21 September 2010 and costs £75 for NICVA members and £110 for others. Contact Roisin Kelly at NICVA for more information or to book a place on 028 9087 7777 or email roisin.kelly@nicva.org.

7 Meet the Funder - Ulster Garden Villages

The Institute of Fundraising Northern Ireland invites you to ‘Meet the Funder with Ulster Garden Villages’ in association with Unity Trust Bank on Thursday 30 September at 1.30pm in NICVA, 61 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast. As one of the largest grant-making trusts in Northern Ireland, Ulster Garden Villages allocates funds to projects focusing on health, disadvantage, young people, culture and heritage and environment. In this session Valerie Ingram, Executive Director, will outline the Trust’s aims, objectives and priorities. The seminar will include a networking lunch and Q&A session.

Please contact Arlene Creighton on 028 9075 8131 or email arlene.creighton@princes-trust.org.uk to book a place.

8 Equality Champion Briefing - The Reasonable Steps Defence

Due to unprecedented demand the Equality Commission has scheduled a third Equality Champion Briefing for Tuesday 19 October 2010 from 2.00pm to 3.30pm at NICVA, 61 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast.

The aim of the briefing is to provide senior managers and HR professionals with a succinct overview of the main actions required to provide evidence that your organisation is promoting equality of opportunity and a good and harmonious working environment. Participating employers will be given the opportunity to access a certificated programme of equality training which involves:

Role specific training for key staff functions
A structured series of policy review workshops for HR specialists
Employment policy review consultation on a one to one basis

There is no charge for this seminar. If you would like to book a place please email: margaret.thompson@nicva.org.

9 Northern Ireland’s first annual childcare costs survey

Employers For Childcare is carrying out the first annual childcare costs survey for Northern Ireland. The survey is asking parents to complete a questionnaire focusing on their childcare costs and experiences. The survey will look at the typical costs of childcare, the working patterns of parents and average annual expenditure on childcare.

Parents can complete the survey online at http://www.employersforchildcare.org/news/.

For more information please call FREEPHONE 0800 028 6538. A report detailing the survey results will be launched later in the year.

10 Sustainable Development - Sharing Ideas on Implementation

This conference, hosted by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, takes place in the Ulster Museum, Belfast, on 21 and 22 September 2010. The Conference will look at the economic benefits of the sustainability agenda and will be of interest to key stakeholders from the voluntary and community sector, government, business and academia in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Europe.

For more information and to book a place, call 028 9052 8378, 028 9052 8206 or email: everyones.involved@ofmdfmni.gov.uk.

11 Pathways to Health

The Community Development and Health Network will be delivering its Pathways to Health Training at Level 2 in October. Level 2 will use the new National Occupational Standards and focus on the values and principles of community development. The course will challenge participants to examine their practice from three perspectives: as individual practitioners; from an organisational perspective; and at a community level.

A full and comprehensive understanding of community development, particularly in relation to tackling health inequalities, will enable participants to improve how they design and deliver interventions at local level and challenge them to examine the evidence base and the future direction of their work.

The training will take place on five consecutive Wednesdays in NICVA, beginning on 6 October and will incorporate CDHN’s ‘Health Inequalities Conference’ on 27 October 2010. It is aimed at project workers, co-ordinators and managers from the voluntary and community sector, and booking is essential.

For more information or an application form please contact Caroline McNulty on 028 3026 4606 or email: carolinemcnulty@cdhn.org.

12 The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2011

The Office for Civil Society (OCS) in the Cabinet Office is calling on communities across Northern Ireland to nominate outstanding local voluntary groups for next year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for volunteer groups. In June this year, four outstanding groups in Northern Ireland received the 2010 Award from the 341 nominations made from across the UK after being nominated by friends, family, beneficiaries or members of the public.

Nominations for the 2011 Award should be received by 30 September 2010 so if you know of a voluntary group's great work or indeed have benefited from a voluntary group’s hard work in Northern Ireland, nominate now. Successful groups will be announced on 2 June 2011.

More information and nomination are available from www.direct.gov.uk/thequeensawardforvoluntaryservice or by calling 020 7781 2397.

13 New redundancy toolkit for advisers

Law Centre (NI) has published a Redundancy Toolkit which will ensure voluntary sector advisers are equipped to provide effective and appropriate help to people facing redundancy in Northern Ireland. Produced by specialist employment lawyers, the toolkit makes the complex law on redundancy accessible to local advisers who are faced with increasing numbers of clients in employment difficulties.

The toolkit is designed for advisers to bring to workplaces where they may be called on to advise on redundancy situations and is divided into two sections.

The first part provides a concise summary of the main areas of the law. The second part contains practical tools. These include key checklists designed to help advisers and employee representatives identify and gather key information, assess the fairness of redundancy procedures and seek legal redress where necessary.

Download the toolkit from the Law Centre (NI) website at: http://bit.ly/aVC6E8

14 Latest news from nidirect

Campaign to find talented young sports stars A campaign has been launched which aims to identify the next generation of talented young sports people with disabilities. The ‘Be Active Be the Best’ Talent ID Programme has been designed to make young people with disabilities attending mainstream post primary schools more aware of the sports opportunities available.

New child and adolescent mental health unit opens A new regional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient unit has been opened. Beechcroft, at Forster Green, Belfast, will provide 33 inpatient beds and a further five daycase beds for children and adolescents with mental health problems.

Public Record Office closed during relocation The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has announced that its offices at Balmoral Avenue, Belfast are closed to the public. However, PRONI will continue to provide a range of services both in other buildings and online.

PAYE tax calculation letters - what they mean HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has started to send out tax calculation letters to show if you have paid too much or too little PAYE tax for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 tax years. You will only get one of these letters if you have paid too much or too little tax, so most people will not get one.

Pick of the Websites

CSR briefing with DARD As part of the Smart Solutions in Tough Times series, NICVA hosted officials from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) who presented a briefing on the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Minister speaks to the sector on spending pressures DSD Minister Alex Attwood says that he had written to all the budget holders in his department telling them to protect the voluntary and community sector in budget negotiations.

Patient and Client Council launches new look website and social network The Patient and Client Council has launched a new website, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Do you engage with migrant workers? Need more information about their rights? The Department for Employment and Learning, along with the Equality Commission (NI) and the Labour Relations Agency are planning on holding a series of seminars, to provide information on migrant workers' rights.

Make Your Move – new jobs this week from CommunityNI

Planning a career change? Here’s a random selection of jobs from the CommunityNI website …

Community Appeals Assistant at Action Cancer

Project Worker at Extern

Neighbourhood Regeneration Officer at Ballymagroarty Hazelbank Community Partnership

Inequalities Officer at Belfast Healthy Cities

Community Artists at ArtsEkta

Submit your job - eNews does not carry full job advertisements, but if you would like your job to be one of these featured links, please submit your advertisement to the CommunityNI website using this link.

As the featured link slot is in great demand, to keep things fair, we can only make a random selection of three or four new jobs each week, and cannot guarantee that your job will be selected.

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