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12. Future Support
40 organisations commented on what they thought support services should look like in the future. Comments tended to fall into the following five categories:
1. The need to be well connected and co-ordinated;
2. The need to be well promoted, accessible and help with the identification of support needs;
3. The need to be locally relevant;
4. The need to provide the appropriate skills and expertise;
5. The need to be affordable and properly funded.
Some individual comments are shown below under each of these headings.
The need to be well connected and co-ordinated
- "Well funded, connected and promoted!"
- "Joined-up with clear remits"
- "The need for monitoring agencies to act in unison in steering funding applications and management information"
- "Support should be co-ordinated nationally, with continuity of services provided and delivered at local level. There should be suitable investment in Local Enterprise Companies and CVS's to ensure resources are available to support voluntary organisations without incurring demands on their depleted financial income."
- "I would like to see more clarity / honesty about what each support agency actually provides."
- "Clearly integrated support network developed through Community Planning Partnership in partnership with SCVO, HISEZ, Development Trust association, national support bodies etc."
The need to be well promoted, accessible and help with the identification of support needs
- "There should be more 'one-stop-shop' support where clear directions can be given as to where and how to obtain support."
- "Relevant, accessible and fit for purpose. Should be leaders in best practice not followers."
- "One door and specialist. They should support rather than criticise."
- "A clinic and referral system to assist with diagnosis, access to advice guidance and org. devt problem solving backed up by best practice info on line or through networks"
- "As a new voluntary sector organisation, looking to raise funds and recruit staff, we need to be provider with a clear idea of the areas where we may need support ( e.g. employment law) and where we can access that support and advice."
- "I think that if the voluntary sector is to develop into social enterprise / social economy, there is a need for an efficient 'business gateway' type approach but run by probably a consortium of voluntary sector agencies able to recruit the right type and level of expertise. There is a lot of time-wasting involved in seeking help or support or external consultancy that does not add any value.
The need to be locally relevant
- "The support should be local and reflect community provision and strengths, not a one size fits all approach. Geographic and network approaches can be different and appropriate to what is on the ground locally. It is local networks that should be strengthened and supported rather than a national body. There must be recognition of the differences between voluntary sector agencies and volunteering and the variety in the third sector."
- "Support in the future should be local, independent but assessed/approved to provide a range of 'professional' advice and assistance to a diverse range of organisations. The wealth in the sector will be distributed more widely as a result."
The need to provide the appropriate skills and expertise
- "Support services should be developed centrally by the Scottish Executive in key areas of common need for the voluntary sector. e.g. They should centrally employ a voluntary advisory group including legal, personnel and accountancy professionals skilled in voluntary sector aspects of their profession. This would provide free focused advice to vol orgs saving huge wastage of money from the sector at a small cost."
- "Support services in the future will be shifting and responsive to the needs of organisations. They work with organisations to forecast future needs rather than rolling out a fixed plan of events"The need to be affordable and properly funded "Support services should be offered free of charge to voluntary organisations or at least at a much reduced cost.""No allowance made in current funding streams by Local Authorities who profess to support the voluntary sector but in actuality do not themselves have the funding capacity, skills or knowledge to achieve very much." "Any infrastructure bodies set up by a particular part of the sector [also need]… supported themselves to the degree necessary for them to carry out their mandated role.""The key issue is that it is recognised that vol orgs need professional support and must be funded at a level that enables them to access this. We are consistently told by funders that all funds must be spent within the one financial year but support and advice needs to do not fit into such tight timetables."
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