Can voluntary services survive? And survive as what? Launch of NCIA Inquiry, Friday May 10th, 2013, 11-3pm at Institute for Family Therapy, 24-32 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HX

Come and join our inquiries….

The pressures on local voluntary groups providing services are immense and getting worse. Cuts in their funding… Increasing need from desperate communities….. Competition from predatory corporate agencies, whether private or voluntary ….. Commissioning and contracts which undermine independence, purpose and sustainability.

Yes, it’s bad and it’s going to get worse. But what to do? If you bite the hand that feeds you, what will happen to your clients and communities? Should you stay silent, to get a least some crumbs from the table? Can your communities afford for you not to bite back?

This event will launch NCIA’s Inquiry into the role of voluntary services during this period of cuts, austerity and privatisation. We will discuss the areas that the Inquiry should examine, share how things are on the frontline and how people are coping, or not:

• Voluntary services – complementary to or a substitute for public services? Is your response part of the problem or part of the solution?

• Voluntary services – sub-contractors to the state and the private sector. Can you keep your funding, your integrity and your voluntary ethos?

• Behaving with principle – in the battle for funding, can you resist the shameful behaviour of corporate self interest and the ‘race to the bottom’? How to respond when you’re at the receiving end?

• Joining with local activists – can links between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ form effective  alliances for social justice?

• What’s a realistic future for us to expect and how do we get there?

Come join us in our usual animated and creative discussions. Do true voluntary services have a future?

Email penny@independentaction.net to book a place