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Infrastructure Forum
Development Plan
(June 2006 – May 2007)

Wingspan Consulting

Prepared by Quentin Merritt & Guy Huxtable, Wingspan Consulting Ltd

Date 26 June 2006

Version 2.0 Final

Client CACVS
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Infrastructure Forum
Development Plan
(May 2006 – May 2007)

Contents

1 Introduction........................................................................................................2
2 Background........................................................................................................2
3 Purpose and Aims of Forum..............................................................................3
4 Priorities for Forum in Year 1.............................................................................4
Appendix A – Definitions of Infrastructure and Infrastructure Organisation........5
Appendix B – Terms of Reference for the Infrastructure Forum.........................6
Appendix C – Members of the Executive Group.................................................8
Appendix D – Action Plan for Forum in Year 1....................................................9
Appendix E – Actions identified by Forum meeting in May 2006 .....................11

1 Introduction

This is a Development Plan for the Cumbria Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS)
Infrastructure Forum. It gives a brief account of the Forum (in terms of its background
and aims), and sets out priorities for action in its first year.

2 Background

In October 2005 Cumbria Association of Councils for Voluntary Service (CACVS)

commissioned Wingspan Consulting to manage a project to develop a Forum for
organisations that provide infrastructure support to VCS organisations in Cumbria1.
This project was commissioned as part of the Cumbria ChangeUp Programme2. Since
then, the following have taken place:

• Consultation with VCS infrastructure organisations across Cumbria (November

2005) – giving rise to a report on the issues, opportunities and barriers facing
the Forum
• Project Steering Group established (December 2005) – with a remit to guide the
development of the Forum
• Draft Terms of Reference for the Forum produced (April 2006)
• First Forum meeting (4 May 2006) – at which:
o The Forum itself was formally established
o The Terms of Reference for the Forum were agreed3
o An Executive Group was established to guide the work of the Forum4
o A list of Forum activities and priorities was produced

1
See Appendix A for definitions of ‘infrastructure’ and ‘infrastructure organisation’.
2
For information about the programme, see: http://www.cacvs.org.uk/changeup/index.htm
3
See Appendix B for the Terms of Reference.
4
See Appendix C for a list of members of the Executive Group.
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This plan represents the final stage of the ChangeUp project to develop an
infrastructure Forum for Cumbria. A report on the project will be prepared and
presented to CACVS as managers of the ChangeUp programme, in July 2006.

3 Purpose and Aims of Forum

The purpose, as stated in the Terms of Reference, is:

… to develop and coordinate infrastructure support and ensure it is available

to all voluntary and community organisations in Cumbria.

It will seek to develop a VCS which is equipped to improve the quality of life
of and capable of meeting the needs of the people of Cumbria.

To achieve this purpose, the Forum has set itself the following aims:

• To produce a vision and strategy for infrastructure support

• To focus on thematic, rather than geographical, infrastructure support
• To provide a focus for joined up thinking and action and increase the
opportunities of agencies and organisations to collaborate in order to increase
the capacity and relevance of the sector
• To act where appropriate as a reference group for the VCS
• To help to maintain the distinctive identity of VCS organisations
• To support individual infrastructure bodies in their own development
• To coordinate VCS infrastructure activity and information in Cumbria

An important point to note here is that the Forum will focus on thematic rather than
geographical issues. To this end, the Executive Group has been established with
representatives from the following thematic areas5:

• Adults
• Advice
• Children and Young People
• Disability
• Economic development
• Environment
• Faith organisations
• Social enterprise
• Sport
• Volunteering

5
This list is not intended to be exhaustive. As the forum and Executive Group develop,
representatives of reference groups from other thematic areas are likely to be added.

Wingspan Consulting Ltd

39 Wordsworth St, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 4BZ
Telephone: 017687 80925
www.wingspan-consulting.co.uk
Company Number: 5778211
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4 Priorities for Forum in Year 1

Following the first Forum meeting in Kendal in May, the Executive Group has sought to
refine the priorities for the Forum, given current issues facing the VCS, and the limited
resources (financial6 and human) available, and has sought to establish how to deliver
some of the priorities identified by the wider Forum (Appendix E). During the course of
the year the Executive Group will review these against resources available. Where
actions identified are for others to deliver, the Executive Group will enter into
discussions with these other organisations. The summary list of actions is:

• Commission admin support for Forum and Executive Group – service to be

provided by existing VCS organisation if possible
• Undertake a mapping exercise – to identify existing forums, groups,
networks, partnerships, etc; and identify who currently represents the VCS on
those bodies
• Clarify the relationship between the Forum and CACVS – and, in particular,
reach agreement on which organisation should lead on specific issues, and how
the two organisations should collaborate and communicate – in order to avoid
duplication of effort and maximise benefits to the sector
• Support the development of thematic groups – possibly based on, or
informed by, the model of the existing Children and Young People’s Reference
Group
• Develop a Communications Plan – to ensure that all key stakeholders are
aware of what the Forum does and doesn’t do, how to engage with the Forum,
and so on
• Review the actions identified by the Forum
• Secure funding – for year two of the Forum
• Complete a Business Plan – for years 2 and 3 of the Forum
• Forum meeting – at end of year 1

See Appendix D for an Action Plan for year 1, indicating what needs to be done to
achieve these objectives, the resources required, and the deadlines for completion of
each one.

These objectives reflect the need to build the capacity of the Forum. This is based on a
recognition that robust structures (eg thematic reference groups) and processes need
to be established before the Forum (and its constituent parts) can further develop the
support available to voluntary sector organisations in Cumbria. Whilst much progress
has already been made in some areas (notably Children and Young People, and
Sport), progress in other areas is at best patchy.

The Executive Group, acting on behalf of the Forum, will have overall responsibility for
ensuring that these objectives are achieved on time and within budget – as well as
responding to other issues as the need arises.

6
The Forum has an operating budget of £25,000 for year 1.

Wingspan Consulting Ltd

39 Wordsworth St, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 4BZ
Telephone: 017687 80925
www.wingspan-consulting.co.uk
Company Number: 5778211
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Appendix A – Definitions of Infrastructure and Infrastructure
Organisation

For the purposes of the ChangeUp programme, the Government has defined
‘infrastructure’ and ‘infrastructure organisations’ as follows:

• Infrastructure: The physical facilities, structures, systems, relationships,

people, knowledge and skills that exist to support and develop, coordinate,
represent and promote front line organisations thus enabling them to deliver
their missions more effectively.

• Infrastructure organisations, often called ‘second tier’, intermediary or

umbrella organisations, provide support to frontline organisations. They are
usually generic (supporting all frontline organisations in a particular geographic
area) or specialist (supporting a particular sub-sector of the voluntary and
community sector or offer a particular area of expertise).

Thus, Barrow and District Council for Voluntary Service is an example of a generic
infrastructure organisation, whilst Cumbria Youth Alliance is an example of a specialist
infrastructure organisation.
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Appendix B – Terms of Reference for the Infrastructure Forum

Purpose The purpose of the Forum is to develop and coordinate infrastructure

support and ensure it is available to all voluntary and community
organisations in Cumbria.

It will seek to develop a VCS which is equipped to improve the

quality of life of and capable of meeting the needs of the people of
Cumbria.
Aims • To produce a vision and strategy for infrastructure support
• To focus on thematic, rather than geographical, infrastructure
support
• To provide a focus for joined up thinking and action and increase
the opportunities of agencies and organisations to collaborate in
order to increase the capacity and relevance of the sector
• To act where appropriate as a reference group for the VCS
• To help to maintain the distinctive identity of VCS organisations
• To support individual infrastructure bodies in their own
development
• To coordinate VCS infrastructure activity and information in
Cumbria
Membership Membership of the Forum shall be open to voluntary and community
infrastructure bodies in Cumbria, and to those non-voluntary and
community sector bodies which provide infrastructure support to the
VCS in Cumbria.

Infrastructure and infrastructure bodies are defined as:

• Infrastructure: The physical facilities, structures, systems,

relationships, people, knowledge and skills that exist to support
and develop, coordinate, represent and promote front line
organisations thus enabling them to deliver their missions more
effectively.
• Infrastructure organisations, often called ‘second tier’,
intermediary or umbrella organisations, provide support to
frontline organisations. They are usually generic (supporting all
frontline organisations in a particular geographic area) or
specialist (supporting a particular sub-sector of the voluntary
and community sector or offer a particular area of expertise).
Management Each year, the Forum shall elect an Executive Group to manage its
work.

CACVS, as the accountable body, will nominate a person to be on

the Steering Group in addition to those elected by the Forum.

Each year, the Forum will have a business plan which will set out its
activities for the year.
Resources Costs of time and expenses involved in Forum members attending
Forum meetings will not be met by the Forum.
Meeting cycle Meetings of the Forum will take place at least annually.
and quorum
Meetings will be inquorate where less than one sixth of the total
membership is present. A decision to change the Terms of
Reference and/or membership criteria will require the agreement of a
majority of the membership.
Governance The Forum will not be a legally incorporated body.
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The Cumbrian Association of Councils for Voluntary Service will be

the accountable body for the Forum. CACVS’ financial rules and
other relevant policies and procedures will apply to the Forum.
Review These Terms of Reference will be reviewed after 12 months and
process then every two years.

They can be changed at any time with the agreement of the majority
of the Forum.

Wingspan Consulting Ltd

39 Wordsworth St, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 4BZ
Telephone: 017687 80925
www.wingspan-consulting.co.uk
Company Number: 5778211
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Appendix C – Members of the Executive Group

The Executive Group consists of the following people:

• Kitty Booth-Clibborn, Cumbria Learning Links (KBC)

• Mary Bradley, Age Concern Northwest Cumbria (MB)
• John Brown, Cumbria Deaf (JB)
• Margaret Cheverst, Eden Volunteer Bureau (MC)
• Cath Clarke, Cumbria Youth Alliance (CC)
• Geoff Hine, Churches Together in Cumbria (GH)
• Russell Norman, Howgill Family Centre (RH)
• Juan Shimmin, Action for Blind People (JS)
• Lorrainne Smyth, Voluntary Action Cumbria (LS)
• Becky Underwood, Cumbria Sport (BU)

Appendix D – Action Plan for Forum in Year 1
Objective
Commission admin support
Undertake a mapping exercise to identify
VCS representatives and development of
thematic groups
Clarify the relationship between the
Forum and CACVS
Support the development of thematic
groups
Production of Communications Plan
Secure funding for year 2
Review of Forum-identified actions
Produce business plan for year 2
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Implementation/responsibility Budget Deadline
• Agreed BU would take on responsibility for this • Admin support: ~£2,000 (0.5 1 Aug 06
days/wk @ £15k plus on costs
pro rata over 10 months)
• Exec Group: None
• Produce brief for mapping exercise (MB, CC, LS) • Consultants: ~£6,000 1 Aug 06
•
• Commission consultants to undertake work (MB, CC, LS) Exec Group: None
• Research & consultation to identify thematic areas in need
of, and ready for, development of ‘reference group’
(Consultants)
• Meetings between representatives of the Exec Group and • Exec Group: None Mid July on
CACVS Capacity
Builders/
• Production and agreement of Memorandum of
15 Sep 06
Understanding (JS, LS / CACVS) and agreement on
Capacity Builders bid
• Selection of thematic areas for support (Exec Group) • Consultants (group development): 1 Jun 07
• Provision of support for development of agreed thematic ~£12,000 (4 groups at £3,000/per
reference groups (Consultants – commissioned on group group)
by group basis) • Exec Group: None
• Formal establishment of thematic reference groups
• Production of draft plan (CC) • Exec Group: None 1 Aug 06
• Review of draft plan (Exec Group)
• Production of final plan (CC)
• Research & appraisal of potential funding sources(JS) • Exec Group: None 1 Nov 06
• Production of draft funding bids(JS)
• Review of draft funding bids(Exec Group)
• Production/submission of final funding bids(JS)
• Review of the actions identified by the Forum in May, • Exec Group: None 1 Dec 06
against resources available (BU)
• Production of draft business plan(JS, GH) • Exec Group: None 1 May 07
• Review of draft funding bids(Exec Group)
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Objective Implementation/responsibility Budget Deadline
• Production/submission of final business plan(JS, GH)
2nd Forum meeting • Make all necessary arrangements (Exec Group) • Exec Group: None June 07
Contingency • • £5,000
Total Budget • £25,000

Wingspan Consulting Ltd

39 Wordsworth St, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 4BZ
Telephone: 017687 80925
www.wingspan-consulting.co.uk
Company Number: 5778211
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Appendix E – Actions identified by Forum meeting in May 2006

These actions are reproduced verbatim. Where no prioritisation is shown, the group had run out of time.

Action Urgency7 Importance8

Communication plan for Infrastructure and then to constituency 3 3

Forum means we are serious - promotion role
Use Neighbourhood Forums to spread information 2 2
Promote social enterprise- we do this 2 2
Build a process to lobby on behalf of VCS 2 3

Develop a template for responding to issues in a common format 2 3

Promote as one post box, one point, to gain engagement 2 3

Needs to clarify (internally and externally) how it is different from CACVS and why it is needed 3 3
Implement communications plan

Use existing networks to extract and distribute information

Negotiate or discover the role descriptions of VCS infrastructure personal/LSP reps etc

LAA is required by regulation to engage with VCS - so forum must take this up
Champion partnership working

Structure itself as soon as possible to get the VCS engaged with the LAA 3 2

Strong voice for VCS infrastructure Groups in county and region 2 2

7
3 = within 3 months, 2 = within 6 months, 1 = within 24 months
8
3 = vital, 2 = important, 1 = desirable

Wingspan Consulting Ltd

39 Wordsworth St, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 4BZ
Telephone: 017687 80925
www.wingspan-consulting.co.uk
Company Number: 5778211
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Action Urgency Importance

Expectation by CCC and PCT that this is the VCS forum - rise to the challenge 3 3

Engage internal and external (to the VCS) infrastructure bodies to add resources and richness
Get infrastructure Executive Group working

Develop an operating plan for admin, communication , funding and future work

Use the £25K to support the forum development and activity

Double the budget

Get current people involved in LAA together (support, communication, check representation, find mechanism for new
communications) 3 3
Draw together existing plans so we can be pro-active
Accurate view of the infrastructure needs of the sector

Build capacity in sector for the sector to use to meet research needs 3 1

Support, influence, inform etc etc concentrating on tendering process and G9 3 3

Effect the Capacity Builders programme delivery in Cumbria 3 3

Unify the various geographical regions within each sector

Facilitation of groups to become able to engage and have representation

Exec group responsibility to define appropriate membership for 12/12

Wingspan Consulting Ltd

39 Wordsworth St, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 4BZ
Telephone: 017687 80925
www.wingspan-consulting.co.uk
Company Number: 5778211