South West Foundation

Westway Farm, Bishop Sutton

Somerset BS39 5XP

England

Tel: 01275 333666

email: info@southwestfoundation.org.uk

News

New! Visit the Community Researcher website at http://www.communityresearchers.co.uk/

Parliament and your community:
corsham
This was a free event undertaken in partnership with the Parliamentary Outreach Unit, Bath Spa University and South West Foundation.  Find out about how communities can engage with Parliament and give your views on what other ways Parliament could improve public engagement with its processes

This event has now passed but The Foundation have in the past organised many similar days with Parliamentary Outreach and may organise more in the future.


The Big Society

Views from the South West Voluntary and Community Sector on the Big Society agenda. Summary report from the two South West Foundation events, held in Somerset and Cornwall during September 2010, summarising the views from the 120 delegates.
 
To download click here

New Training Programme

South West Foundation in partnership with North Somerset Council is offering free training for community members to train as community researchers in Worle, Portishead, Cleveden and Central Weston.

For more information see flyer - download here

Tea With Mrs Pankhurst - An event looking at Women and Influence

As part of the Foundation's Working With Networks Programme the Foundation has held an event looking at Women and Infleunce. The event was of particular interest to women who are active in their communities either in a paid or unpaid capacity. The event included the play Tea with Mrs Pankhurst which played to excellent reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festiival. The event took place on 7th December at the Meadway Hall in Compton Dundon near Street in Somerset. 67 people attended this event.

COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAMME

Past List of grant recipients now available -

download here

WOMEN'S NETWORK

South West Foundation is working with the Women's Resource Centre to establish a social networking site for women involved with women's organisations and other voluntary and community sector organisations.

For more information contact the foundation

NEW RESEARCH LAUNCHED

The Foundation in partnership with Help the Aged has just launched its latest research looking at  the activities and value of older people's forums in the region. Click here to download the report

NATIONAL COALITION FOR INDEPENDENT ACTION (NCIA)

The National Coalition for Independent Action  celebrates the power of voluntary and community action to challenge and change the world around us. The Coalition is an alliance of organisations and individuals who have come together out of frustration and anger to object to the state of UK Voluntary and Community Sectors. The Coalition believes there is a crisis in the sector’s ability to act independently from Government and other powerful interests, and to be part of the checks we need within our democracy. They fear that the threat to independent action will, unless challenged, undermine our civil society, our political health, and the capacity of communities to get what they need for themselves.

The Coalition aims to mobilise, support and work with those who share their concerns; to combine to expose and resist the current direction of travel; to have our own agendas; and to become actively involved in dissent where this is needed. They have begun to build a strong voice to give confidence to those wanting to speak out and take action, and to create an alternative way of doing things.

The Foundation supports the need for the Sector to retain its independence and its voice. NCIA already has almost 100 members nationally and are looking to bring people together in the South West Who share their views to look at what actions are needed.

If you would be interested in a regional gathering to look at these issues please contact the Foundation or to sign up to NCIA.

You can visit their website  at www.independentaction.net

NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS

The Federation for Community Development Learning (FCDL) is working in partnership with LLUK (the Lifelong Learning Sector Skills Council), supported by a project steering group, to undertake the review that will result in new occupational standards that will define what is good quality community development work practice for the next five years or so. South West Foundation is working with FCDL to support this process.

More details at http://www.fcdl.org.uk/NOS_Consultation/index.htm

Ladder for Learning launched

ladder4learning supports and facilitates development and learning for people and organisations in the community and voluntary sectors and social enterprises in south west England and parts of the south east.

More details at http://www.ladder4learning.org.uk/