1. East Midlands Regional Volunteering Conference 9 th September 2009 Sarah Benioff, Deputy Director, Office of the Third Sector, Cabinet Office

2. Contents About OTS Our Work in East Midlands Government and Volunteering Where next for volunteering? Where next for OTS?

3. What is the Office of the Third Sector? Set up in May 2006, based in the Cabinet Office. Vision - A thriving third sector, enabling people to change society. Aims Enable campaigning and empowerment, particularly for those at risk of social exclusion. Strengthen communities, drawing together people from different sections of society through community participation. Transform public services, through delivery, design, innovation and campaigning. Enable social enterprise growth and development, combining business and social goals.

4. Our work in the East Midlands v – has put £7.3million into the region. For example the Artemis project develops volunteering opportunities in Mansfield for young offenders and ex-offenders. The project develops opportunities that tap into young people's passions and interests, and help re-vitalise areas of the local community affected by vandalism or neglect. Grassroots Grants –In the East Midlands; small grants distributed totalled £1,8m in ’08-’09 and endowment donations raised reached almost £400K. In ‘09-’10 a further £1.9m is available to be distributed in small grants and up to £1.7m to match fund local donations. Futurebuilders – has offered over £3 million to 22 third sector organisations in the East Midlands to help them build their capacity to win public services contracts.

5. Our Work in the East Midlands - Continued Community Assets Programme – This programme has funded the renovation and refurbishment of two run-down community centres in the East Midlands, which will be transferred from local authority to third sector ownership. Grants awarded are for £1.27 million. Targeted Support Fund – In the East Midlands, a total of 32 organisations have been awarded grants of between £10,000 to £40,000, enabling them to provide recession-focused support to their communities this year. The grants are worth £778,883 in total. CapacityBuilders Modernisation Fund – 81 bursaries worth £1k have been offered to organisations in the East Midlands. The bursaries buy advice on collaboration or merger. The second phase of funding will be opening shortly.

6. Why does the Government support volunteering? Community benefits. Cohesion- bringing people together Reducing isolation Individual benefits. Increased self confidence Improving skills Route into training or employment Benefits to public services. Helping services relate to service users needs Reaching those that can be ‘hard to reach’

7. OTS aims for volunteering To improve the experience of volunteers. To reward and recognise volunteers. To create new opportunities for people to volunteer. To increase the number of volunteers. To reduce the institutional/ policy barriers to volunteer involvement.

8. Volunteering is important across Government Department for Work and Pensions - volunteer brokerage programme. Department for Health - consultation on volunteering strategy. Department for International Development – platform2 for overseas volunteering. Department for Children, Schools and Families - peer mentoring. Home Office – review of volunteering in the Criminal Justice System by Baroness Neuberger. Department for Culture, Media and Sport- the 2012 Games.

9. Gaps to address Still a significant gap in participation levels, particularly amongst disabled people and people without formal qualifications. Need for robust evidence of the impact of volunteering on communities and individuals. ‘Not having the time’ is still the major barrier to volunteering. How do we address this? Getting the balance between the supply of volunteers and the demand for volunteering opportunities right.

10. Future focus of OTS Volunteering Policy Evidence of the impact of volunteering. The role of volunteering at a time of tight public spending. Youth volunteering. The 2012 Games’ legacy. The European Year of Volunteering.

11. New Volunteering Programmes Access to Volunteering, focusing on removing barriers to disabled people volunteering. Intergenerational Volunteering: Generations Together Volunteer Managers programme, continuing the focus on best practice. DWP programme: volunteering brokerage for unemployed Continuing to tackle barriers and confusion with guidance on the new Vetting and Barring Scheme

12. What happens next in OTS? Challenges: The economic downturn Improving the evidence base to prove the value of the Third Sector. Challenges of contracting culture, particularly for smaller organisations. What are we doing to support you? Economic Downturn Action Plan: Real Help for Communities National Indicators on Third Sector involvement Research Centre to build the evidence base

13. For more information: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/thirds ector www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/thirds ector Sarah Benioff, Deputy Director, Office of the Third Sector Sarah.Benioff@cabinet- office.x.gsi.gov.uk