Review of the year 2011

2011 -  a year of significant political, economic and social change.

The year drawing to a close has been a tough, challenging one for voluntary and community organisations.  Nevertheless the sector rose to the challenge in the face of the financial squeeze.

NICVA ensured that the voluntary and community sector was at the forefront of the debate on the economy, public finances and public services.  That has involved a strategy of high level engagement with politicians, civil servants and the media to make sure the sector’s voice was heard and influenced events.

There is much more to be done in the year ahead.

We tackled collaboration and merger issues head on by establishing CollaborationNI to work with those who want support in this area.  We also established our Centre for Economic Empowerment.

A whole range of other activities around governance, training, funding advice, and research ensures our members have the leadership, skills and resilience to be strong enough to cope with the change that may come in 2012. 

Follow the links below to find out more about our work this year on;

• Leading the big debates of 2011
• Influence, advocacy and political engagement
• Developing and informing the sector
• Supporting a changing sector

New Year's Resolutions

• We will continue to focus on public expenditure and drive forward our work on reducing red tape and bureaucracy. We will commission more research on economic issues important to the sector and develop the first accredited training course on economics and the economy aimed at the voluntary and community sector.
• We will lead a sector wide consultation on the Programme for Government and Economic Strategy. Welfare reform, poverty and unemployment will be high on our agenda. We will host a major conference on welfare reform early in 2012 and establish a new policy forum on unemployment and employability.
• We will explore new ways of ensuring the campaigning and advocacy voice of the sector is heard by developing opportunities for online campaigning and organising an event focusing on politics and advocacy.
• Our training will focus on helping leaders and managers in the sector develop practical solutions to issues such as redundancy, absence management and creative fundraising.