Primary Services
Development
EPNAVCO supports
the sustainable development of voluntary and community organisations through
the provision of advice, information and individual support for organisational
development. EPNAVCO has a number of systems available to organisations to help
them in their development. These are Grantfinder,
grants on line, ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary
Organisations) full cost recovery system, Funderfinder
system, including information leaflets and Community Matters information.
Support
EPNAVCO has
provided accessible services and resources to local organisations and supported
the building of their capacity in order to enable them to operate more
effectively. It has a resource centre which organisations can access which
contains a variety of literature and information. Information to the sector has
been provided through its quarterly newsletter and more recently an online
monthly Funding Bulletin has been produced for both local and regional
voluntary organisations. The bulletin has been produced with support from the
Change-Up Consortium working group on funding. The bulletin will remain a
fundamental element of the support provided to the sector, as funding is the
main priority for all voluntary groups
Liaison
EPNAVCO has good
links with the voluntary and statutory sector and is looking to facilitate
effective communication within the sector. It has played a significant role in
the development of the local Compact and has been entrusted with the
co-ordination of the responses to the draft Compact circulated to all relevant
organisations as part of the consultation on the Compact. EPNAVCO is also a
member of the Local Strategic Partnership and has attended the Officers meeting
of this group which includes representatives of the statutory bodies. We are
particularly involved in the delivery of the Local Strategic Partnership’s Community Engagement Strategy.
Close links have been developed with all three of the main statutory bodies.
Community Development workers from Cheshire County Council (CCC) work closely
with our own Community workers within the P2 areas and meet regularly to
discuss progress. CCC provides our core funding as a CVS (Community and
Voluntary Service), which requires the submission of quarterly progress
reports. A close relationship exists also with the Borough Council who acted as
the Accountable Body for the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) funding
used to set up EPNAVCO during its first year of operation. Regular meetings
take place with the members of the Policy and Economic Regeneration
Departments. The relationship has been enhanced with work on Neighbourhood
Forums and report given to the Overview 1 Scrutiny Committee. The Borough
Council is now looking at ways in which the Forums could assist the move
towards a local community structure, which gives local communities a stronger
voice.
Representation
One of the main
aims of EPNAVCO is to establish clear leadership on behalf of the voluntary and
community sector in Ellesmere Port and Neston and so that joint working between
agencies in both the voluntary and community sectors can be conducted on a ‘partnership
of equals’ basis with statutory organisations.
Strategic Partnerships
EPNAVCO is one of
a number of voluntary and community organisations sitting on the Local
Strategic Partnership, the Neston Market Town Partnership Board and also the
local Compact Working group. EPNAVCO plays an active role in these
partnerships.
Detailed Services
In addition to
the primary services provided to member organisations EPNAVCO provides the
following services to its members and all voluntary and community sector
organisations operating in