V4CE BME Manifesto Survey: Have Your Say NOW!
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LAST CHANCE! BME Third Sector Manifesto Survey
Closes 23 April 2010
Voice4Change England invite you to take part in a short (10 minute) online survey to inform our Manifesto for the BME third sector. The survey is open to all those working and volunteering in the BME third sector so please feel free to pass this on to your colleagues.
In the past week all three main political parties have launched their election Manifestos. The third sector has been recognised by all parties and we have seen a range of commitments including:
• Giving people a greater voice in public services
• Changes to CRB checks.
• Creating a fair deal on grants.
• Money for training independent community organisers.
• An annual Big Society Day.
• Changes to National Lottery funding.
• Creating a Social Investment Wholesale Bank.
• Protecting free speech and the right to protest.
Issues of key relevance to the BME third sector around immigration, equality and the criminal justice system have also featured prominently in the run up to the election.
This is a key time for the BME third sector to make sure its role in providing services to disadvantaged communities and in tackling discrimination is recognised by all parliamentarians.
Voice4Change England invites you to respond to its BME Third Sector Manifesto Survey to add your perspective on what support should be given to BME third sector service providers.
For more information on the survey and Manifesto next steps, please visit www.voice4change-england.co.uk or contact Jemma Grieve on 020 7843 6128.
Have your Say: The BME Third Sector Manifesto Survey
Agenda4Change
How will Voice4Change England ensure continued focus on BME needs?
Why do we need a Manifesto?
Who should participate in the Survey?
Will there be other ways to engage?
When will the Manifesto be published?
The Manifesto survey builds on Voice4Change England’s publication, Agenda4Change, published in December 2009, which outlined key asks and aspirations for the sector.
Why do we need a Manifesto for the BME third sector?
The BME voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises are facing a challenging time. Recent research shows that more and more BME third sector organisations are having to close their service or reduce it to an extent that it cannot meet the demand for targeted services for the disadvantaged communities. The situation is getting worse by the current recession and subsequent funding cuts. It is also being argued that ‘failure to ensure proper resourcing of BME charities is (itself) a consequence of racism.’
Furthermore, the policy environment in which the BME third sector operates has seen significant shifts. The Single Equality Bill is likely to be an Act before the next general election. It will subsume the Race Equality Amendment Act (2000) and will have implications for many BME third sector organisations currently receiving statutory and trust funding. Commissioning and procurement of public services is already known to be a struggle for BME groups. And the sector has also lost the BME Code of Good Practice of the Compact.
These are pressing challenges for our sector. Voice4Change England aims to produce a BME third sector Manifesto to raise these concerns. With the valued input of BME groups the Manifesto will present solutions to the next government to support and strengthen the sector. It will put forward ‘key asks’ to the new government and Parliament and will identify policy issues most needed to be prioritised.
Vandna Gohil, Director Voice4Change England in promoting the Manifesto survey to BME third sector organisations said, ‘‘Too often the voice of the BME third sector has not been heard in Parliament or by those working in the corridors of power and we want to change this. The 2010 election will bring many new MPs and this gives us an ideal opportunity to put the sector firmly on the radar of parliamentarians. By working with the BME third sector to develop a Manifesto we want to make sure the aspirations of the sector are communicated and inform the development of policy’.
How will Voice4Change England use the Manifesto to ensure that the focus is kept on BME needs?
• Building a campaign to ‘Value BME Voice’: support and strengthen the BME third sector
• Influencing parliamentarians and senior civil servants
• Influencing funders
• Cascading campaign and provide support to BME groups across England to influence local MPs, civil servants and funders
• Influencing Voice4Change England’s policy and advocacy work and services it provides to BME groups.
Who should participate in the Survey?
Voice4Change England wants to hear from all those working in the sector: from Chief Executives to frontline workers to trustees and other volunteers. We need to hear from the huge diversity of groups, big and small, across the country, working in areas including: social support; legal advice; supplementary education; day care; health services; youth work; domestic violence; language support; and organisational development.
Remember, by taking part you can ensure that your concerns are heard and that you inform a stronger and shared vision for the BME third sector.
Need help? Should you have any problems in completing the survey, call Arjumand Kazmi or Jemma Grieve on 020 7843 6128-29.
Will there be other ways to engage the BME third sector?
Voice4Change England will hold one-to-one interviews with 8-10 BME third sector leaders to further inform the findings of the online survey. The interviews will take place in April 2010.
When will the Manifesto be published?
BME third sector Manifesto will be published after the 2010 general election, ready to help newly elected MPs understand and support the BME third sector.
