The strategy has been developed using a participatory approach. It drew on the diverse experiences and insights across the VCSE sector. Independent consultants, Agile Associates, facilitated the process.
Listening, exploring, consulting
Over 80 people engaged individually and a further 90 engaged in group discussions.
Contributions were gathered through:
- Semi-structured interviews
- Surveys with open text options
- Semi-structured group discussions.
Co-Production Group
The Co-Production Group were a sounding board for the Associates. They checked plans and documents and explored and reflected on the anonymised contributions from stakeholders. Membership was open to all in the VCSE sector, with representation from public sector in certain sessions.
Reference group
The Reference Group had decision making responsibility for the strategy drafts. The group was made up of representatives from the 6 partners of the VSI Alliance. This includes:
- Calderdale Council.
- West Yorkshire ICB.
- Voluntary and Community (VAC).
- Locality.
- North Bank Forum.
- West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service (WYCAS).
The four stages of developing the VCSE Strategy
- Stage one: Get involved.
- Stage two: Listen and explore.
- Stage three: Draft strategy.
- Stage four: Finalise and share strategy.
Early conversations identified the following key themes:
- Workforce
- Relationships
- Systems
- Funding
These themes provided a structure for collecting further insights, concerns and ideas about VCSE experiences in Calderdale.
Overall
There is much to build on in Calderdale VCSE partnerships. This includes trusting, respectful relationships between caring, skilled people across sectors, and an openness and willingness to learn. In these challenging times, it is important to:
- Nurture the valuable people, relationships and organisations in Calderdale.
- Reduce pressures.
- Make support easy to access.
There are opportunities to make better use of everyone’s time through simpler, clearer processes and clarity about structures and meetings. Improvements to communication, information sharing, and transparency will help people build trust. They will also help to share learning and sustain a resilient and collaborative VCSE sector in Calderdale.