GAVCA Countywide

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GAVCA Countywide

Over the past five years, GAVCA has had an increasing role in developing some of the function of a Voluntary and Community Action organisation (VCA) across the whole county, in areas of work which benefit from a countywide response or where it is more effective and efficient to provide a countywide service. This work has included:

1.  Training - we run a regular training programme covering such subjects as first aid, writing funding applications, how to chair meetings, partnership working skills etc.

2.  Liaison and Representation - bringing together local groups through a "County Assembly" and local Forums to provide an arena for consultations, information exchange and to act as a channel for local groups to voice their opinions on local and national policy.  Representatives from groups are elected and supported to represent the sector on a number of major partnerships with the statutory sector, in particular the Gloucestershire Strategic Partnership and now in the development of Local Area Agreements.

3.  The Compact - an agreement between the voluntary and statutory sectors in the way they work together - the Partnership and Participation project is taking the lead in this development.

4.  Information Services - including an internet discussion group, management of a website (www.gloshub.org.uk) for the Voluntary and Community Organisations (VCOs) across the county, weekly email news bulletins and the development of a countywide database of the Voluntary and Community Sector.

5.  In April 2006 GCVS merged with the Centre for Voluntary Services in Cheltenham, which was previously known as CCAVA, to create Cheltenham Voluntary and Community Action, and now provides capacity-building support and representational co-ordination to local groups in Cheltenham from an office in Cheltenham.