South West Forum was commissioned by the Stronger Communities Programme Board of the South West Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership to deliver a programme of work with local authority third sector officers and with members. This work was to include:
- Establishment of a unique database of third sector officers in the region.
- Establish a network which meets the learning and networking needs of third sector officers.
- Investigate the needs of members regarding knowledge of the third sector.
- Investigate the need for a dedicated on line facility for use by members of the network and other information requirements.
The network launch was held on October 13th in Exeter and was attended by seventeen third sector officers. There was a good spread of first and second tier authorities from across the region.
The event had a speaker, Jo Crease, Policy Officer from the Office of the Third Sector on NI7 and two workshops sessions one concentrating on improving NI7 scores at a local level and the other on learning gaps.
Participants were pleased that the network was being facilitated by South West Forum rather than a government agency as they felt this would lead to a more challenging and open atmosphere.
The event evaluation showed that all participants had found it either good or excellent and an overwhelming majority said they would use the knowledge gained either daily or weekly in their jobs.
A further event is planned for mid February 2010 and will concentrate on highlighting examples of good practice on commissioning including grants.
Contact Georgie Constable, Regional Infrastructure Coordinator at South West Forum for more details. E-mail Georgie or telephone her on (01392) 823758.
