Insight and latest updates from our team

The Joint Forum's latest meeting highlighted both the opportunities and challenges facing partnership working between government and the voluntary and community sector.

 With funding pressures remaining a key concern, members gathered in St Columbs Hall, Derry/Londonderry to discuss fair funding, implementation of the Partnership Agreement, and the vital role of communities in shaping policy and services. 

To help support the VCS sector, we have a wide range of opportunities to learn and develop your skills, broaden your knowledge and network with others. We also invite you to save the date for the return of NICVA's annual Funding Fayre.

This blog from Aaron Johnson, ICO Lead Policy Officer, is part of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Data Fundamentals Series 2026. This blog takes a look at answers to the questions raised in the ICO survey last year.

InsightLink is a project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). 

Belfast Learning City has launched of the Belfast Learner Voice Project—a citywide initiative designed to ensure that learners play a central role in shaping the future of education and skills development.

Looking for a role where you can strengthen communities, support organisations to grow, and help deliver programmes that make a real difference across Northern Ireland?

Deadline extended to 7 August 2026

The Department for Communities is inviting voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations to attend an online information session about a forthcoming competitive grant call. The competitive grant call will seek to appoint an intermediary funding body from the VCS to deliver the Northern Ireland Community Infrastructure Fund.

The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest community funder in the UK. Each year they distribute millions of pounds of #NationalLottery good causes money to community groups and charitable projects around the country. 

Here we detail their series of virtual information sessions taking place between now and December. 

We’re getting ready to launch our new website, which will bring together NICVA, CommunityNI and GrantTracker into a single, more user-friendly platform. 

Looking for a role where you can support a thriving membership community, help shape how NICVA communicates with the voluntary and community sector, and contribute to an organisation that makes a real difference?

Closing date for applications has been extended to 12noon on Monday 27 July 2026

The Community Empowerment Programme builds stronger connections at the first cross border residential. 

Earlier this month, NICVA’s first CEP Cross-Border Residential brought together 20 participants from across 12 community and voluntary organisations for two days of learning and connection in Cavan.

This month's Member Spotlight, Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS), is marking a significant milestone - 80 years of supporting and improving the lives of people across Northern Ireland.

The voluntary, community and social enterprise sector was united in the face of violent scenes across Northern Ireland this week, as over 300 sector leaders gathered for the 2026 NICVA SUMMIT.

The United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) have agreed for the UK to associate to the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. From November 2026, Erasmus+ opens new opportunities for UK individuals and organisations working in education, training, youth and sport.

We are delighted to announce that the NICVA OCN NI Level 2 Award in Community Development is now recognised by the All Ireland Endorsement Body (AIEB) as an introductory Community Work Education and Training programme.

A statement in response to reports of violence and disorder aimed at minority ethnic communities across Northern Ireland

- A Shared Commitment to System Change 

 The Voluntary Youth Work Coordinating Committee* recently met with the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People Chris Quinn to discuss what needs to happen next for youth work. 

Volunteers' Week 2026 takes place from 1–7 June, bringing together organisations and communities across the UK to celebrate the invaluable contribution volunteers make every day.

NICVA is delighted to be partnering with the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland to strengthen the impact of organisations working on the frontline of housing insecurity and homelessness.

Today’s UK Government–backed interim report on  Young people and Work, led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, warns that more than one million young people are already not in education, employment or training (NEET). It highlights the scale of the crisis, estimating a cost to the economy of £125 billion, while the long-term damage to the life chances of young people is almost incalculable.

His warning of a potential “lost generation” could not be more relevant to Northern Ireland, where recent cuts following the introduction of the Local Growth Fund are actively dismantling youth employability services delivered by the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector- stripping away support at the very moment it is needed most.