CVS Directors’ Network
We are attending regular meetings of the CVS Directors’ Network organised by London Plus. This allows us to share problems and solutions with other London Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) and raise them at a pan-London level with the Greater London Authority.
Locality
We are a member of Locality – the national membership network for community organisations.
NCVO
We are a member of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations which in turn represents the sector at a central government level.
South East London ICS (Integrated Care System)
We are in conversations with colleagues in the other five South East London CVSs about VCS representation at South East London ICS. Currently, there are plans to create a South East London ICS VCS Steering Group, which would have 2-3 organisations from each borough on it and which would advise an independent VCS Director; this post would be funded by the South-East London ICS to represent the local VCS at its different groups and fora.
Please also look at our November 2021 update on South East London ICS.
VCS Emergencies Partnership
We are taking part in the VCS Emergencies Partnership organised by the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action.
The Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership (VCSEP) is offering additional support to the VCS and other local organisations or groups during emergencies. This might be in a number of areas, including logistical support (e.g. transport), sourcing volunteers, personal protective equipment (PPE) or specialist equipment. You can find a useful overview of the support they were able to provide during the covid-19 pandemic is here.
You should use this service for needs that local councils for voluntary service, local authority hubs and local resilience forums cannot answer.
Community Southwark will be acting as a representative of the local VCS so if you have any questions, please contact us at: info@communitysouthwark.org. You can request VCSEP support directly by filling in this form.
The VCSEP represents a range of volunteer organisations collaborating on emergency responses regionally and nationally. See further information about VCSEP here.