Exactly 50 people came to the NCIA Assembly on Friday 17th April at the London Welsh Centre and we had apologies from almost the same number again. People came from as far as Scotland and Wales, from Durham, Bristol, Manchester, the Midlands, London and the South East.
What happened? We had lightening speakers including Armine … Continue reading
Sussex is one area of the country lucky enough to have a feisty local Defend our NHS campaign. Lately the group has been taking a look at the role of voluntary agencies in the struggle to stop the break-up of the Health Service. The result is an impressive paper. Whilst voluntary groups can both oppose … Continue reading
A quick reminder for those of you who are booked into our Assembly meeting this week – Friday 17th April starting at 10.45am and finishing at 4.30pm. The venue is the London Welsh Centre, 157-163 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8UE http://www.londonwelsh.org/contact-us That is a 12-15 minutes walk south from Kings Cross Station (Nearest station: … Continue reading
NCIA director Adrian Barritt, of Adur Voluntary Action, driven in from a chilly Bodmin Moor, took the opportunity to ponder four reports recently published that examine the state of the voluntary sector and its possible futures. The result is an elegant analysis of the issues and of the forces and factors that explain the responses … Continue reading
The Barings Panel on the Independence of the Voluntary Sector finished its work with the publication of its fourth report. Faithfully repeating the evidence it received – the state of the sector is bad and getting worse – the report broadly supports what NCIA has been saying for years. But sadly lacking is any kind … Continue reading
If you’ve visited our website recently you may have noticed that we have started a conversation about the future – both the future of NCIA and how the campaign issues that we stand for can best be carried forward (http://archive.independentaction.net/future-of-ncia/) .
As part of this process we are holding a special ‘Assembly’ … Continue reading
Voluntary Groups, Workfare and Benefits Sanctions – the Perils of Participation
Wednesday 19th March 12.30pm-3pm
LIFT Islington, 45 White Lion Street, London N1 9PW
The ‘Help to Work Programme’ (introduced last April) is specifically designed to attract the involvement of charities and voluntary groups.
Has your voluntary group received offers of ‘too-good-to-be-true’ 6-month long ‘volunteer’ … Continue reading
Launching the final report from their Inquiry into the Future of Voluntary Services, the National Coalition for Independent Action (NCIA) has today called on voluntary and community services to face up to a decisive moment in its history. In a blistering critique of the systemic threats posed to the values, work and freedom of the … Continue reading
Responding to Mike Aiken’s report on campaigning and voluntary services, and with the General Election looming, Gavin Barker explores what we might actually do to counter our “hollowed out democracy hijacked by a corporate elite”. Linking the muzzling of dissent to the general weakening of democracy, Gavin argues that the election provides the opportunity to … Continue reading
Do voluntary groups delivering services still campaign for the interests of their service users and communities? This is the question examined by the latest in our series of reports on the Future of Voluntary Services. “Saying Less and Doing More” by Mike Aiken reaches troubling conclusions. Though small informal groups and activists are still very … Continue reading