nicvanews June 2011
June's round up of news, events, training, funding and publications for NICVA members.
This month's round up
Download a copy of June's nicvanews
It has been another busy month for the people of Northern Ireland. We have elected our new Assembly, our local councillors and had our say on the Alternative Vote, all in one fell swoop. Having done our democratic duty, and with our new ministers appointed we look forward to the programme for government over the next four years and the outcomes this will produce, especially for the voluntary and community sector. NICVA has also been busy as you will see from this issue. Several new initiatives have been launched and we also take a look at some of the recent research undertaken by NICVA.
One of the highlights this month was the Consultation on Rebalancing the Economy event held by NICVA’s new Centre for Economic Empowerment. Attended by several government officials and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Owen Patterson, this event afforded an opportunity for representatives from the voluntary and community sector to gain some clarification on the proposals in HM Treasury’s consultation paper and to feed back some of the issues that are particularly pertinent for the sector.
The economic theme of this issue continues with the launch of CutsWatchNI. This new section of NICVA’s website allows organisations to post details of cuts to funding and the knock on effects on people and services. Aiming to inform and provide an evidence base for the sector our hope is that this will become an invaluable resource for future campaigns. In addition to this we are currently working on State of the Sector 6 and I would encourage everyone to return your questionnaire or to get in touch with our Research team. Your input really is crucial!
Finally I would like to draw your attention to the various surveys which have been carried out recently on the services NICVA provides, particularly in training, funding and governance, which are reported on in this issue. We are delighted to have had such a positive response from our members and those who use our services and thank you for your contribution.
Seána McAuley
