Fighting poverty, more cuts, disability rights, silencing dissent, privatisation, turning voluntary groups into sub-contractors, abandoning whole communities…… how can community action deal with this tsunami? These are some of the themes that will be explored at:
‘Protecting Democracy: independent community action in North East England’
Thursday 16th July (10am – 4pm)
At: Alington House … Continue reading
NCIA Transition Roadshows – Meet… Discuss… Debate…Act…
The NCIA Transition ‘roadshow’ is about to start. The first three are happening in Sheffield, Durham and Brighton, each organised by a local host in collaboration with NCIA. This is part of NCIA’s transition and goodbye handshake in its current form. Book your place directly with the local … 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
The government’s largely discredited ‘Big Society’ mantra promised to strengthen the capacity of civil society. More evidence of the empty rhetoric that surrounds the idea now comes from LSE’s Armine Ishkanian. In an article published in Critical Social Policy, Armine examines how “…. The Big Society agenda, coming alongside public spending cuts, is affecting the … Continue reading
This week sees the publication of a booklet that we have produced in collaboration with the TUC. ‘Localism: Threat or Opportunity?’ is a series of short essays from 12 contributors expressing a range of critical views about the intentions and likely consequences of the Government’s Localism Act.
Included are articles on:
Thursday 12th July 2012, 9.30am – 1.30pm including lunch
King’s House Conference Centre, Sidney Street, Manchester M1 7HB
How can small community groups survive and thrive in the current climate of cuts? Can new partnerships and peer support help groups become more resilient in facing these challenges? Or do we … Continue reading
Who creates, controls and measures knowledge in the voluntary and community sector? What role is played by service users and volunteers, universities, voluntary sector organisations and umbrella organisations such as NCVO? Join NCIA’s Andy Benson at the ARVAC annual lecture in London on 9 May 2011 to explore these questions and more.
Association of Research … Continue reading
The issue that has, by far and away, put the national gossips in a tizzy has been the award of the £15M community organisers contract to Locality, the pseudo-business quango formed by the merger of Bassac and the Development Trust Association. Expected by all (including Locality) to go to the Citizens Organising Foundation (which at … Continue reading
‘Big society’ is a bust, local authorities have problems of their own and economic recovery is unlikely any time soon, writes Andrew Climo, CEO of Community Leaders. His advice for people who work in the community sector? Question partnerships with the statutory sector, only do projects with profound community benefits, lobby for what your community … Continue reading
