It’s been a quiet September on the government front for public services, with parliament only back briefly before conference season – expect to hear more in terms of announcements next month, once ministers rejoin the fray. With the Labour Conference having just finished, there were some encouraging noises coming from the fringes, where Manchester mayor Andy Burnham highlighted the opportunities presented by devolution to the voluntary sector. We’ll be following conference season closely – keep an eye out on my colleague Chris Walker’s blog post once they finish in early October for a round up.
A Day in the Life
NCVO’s work shadowing scheme for voluntary sector and civil service staff is returning for its seventh year. A Day In The Life matches voluntary sector staff with staff from government, giving each the chance to spend up to a day in each other’s work place. The scheme aims to help strengthen understanding and build relationships between the sectors, and allows participants to find out about the roles of staff in another organisation and the context within which they operate.
The scheme opened for applications on 25 September and is free to all voluntary organisations in England. You can apply or find out more at www.ncvo.org.uk/workshadow. Drop us a line at workshadow@ncvo.org.uk if you have any questions.
NCVO budget submission
Paul Winyard, our funding expert, has published a blog post discussing our two key asks of government ahead of this November’s Budget, around the future use of dormant assets and what the replacement of European funding should look like. This latter issue will be incredibly important in defining what public services in the employment and skills sphere will look like once the UK leaves the European Union.
How commissioning is changing
The Kings Fund have published a handy guide explaining what commissioning is and how it’s changing in the health sector. You can read about commissioning and procurement processes in more detail on NCVO Knowhow Nonprofit.
Training and events
- The Kings Fund have a number of events coming up on charities delivering services in the health sector – Working with the Patients and the Public on 7 November looks at new care models, pathways and commissioning structures like STPs and ACSs, and they’ll also be looking more broadly at the Future of Commissioning on 11 October.
- Our chief executive, Sir Stuart Etherington, will be speaking at the Annual UCL & Bindmans Debate, which this year discusses the role of charities in the modern welfare state. Attendance is free, but you’ll need to register.
- NCVO has a range of upcoming training courses available that can help charities involved in public service delivery, including training on funding strategies, influencing and challenging public decision-making, and improving outcome and impact reporting.
As ever, if you have any questions of comments, drop me a line.
Michael was our senior policy officer until January 2019, covering issues around charity tax and finance (including social investment) and the impact of the economy on the sector. 
