Monday, 13 November 2006

Monday meetings

I attempted to arrive early for work, but was frustrated by traffic and finally arrived just before 9:00 am. Almost immediately I was straight into a meeting with Sha-Lee, who has joined us for six months to update the Watford Community Directory, and to begin this she first needs to reconcile and standardise several competing sources of information. We spent an hour talking through the project, and Sha-Lee gave every sign of understanding its complexities and subtleties.

After this, I went straight into a meeting with Anne (our funding advisor) and Vanessa (development and training officer) to talk through our funding bid to the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities fund. We eventually agreed we could show matching funding of approximately £150k against a bid for £300k. But I still need to do some work on our Business Plan before the bid is submitted in early December.

Immediately after this, I met with Bukky Jackson, the new Tenants’ Participation Officer at Watford Borough Council. She is keen to understand what support Tenants Groups will receive should they affiliate to WCVS.

Suddenly it’s lunch time and I’ve not yet had time even to check my e-mail. I quickly trawl through the accumulation of e-mails since I was last in the office on Thursday night. The most important e-mail is from WBC passing over full details of their leases with voluntary groups. This is really helpful. We have undertaken to speak with the various groups and produce a report on the likely consequences of the WBC proposals. This information will benefit WBC, our members and ourselves, but now WBC have provided the information, I have to make sure that the report is produced accurately and promptly. Hopefully, I will be able to complete this by Christmas, but I suspect it will take until then just to collate the information (thirty-six properties are involved).

I’ve also received a mail from Frazer (editor at the Watford Observer) confirming a meeting date, a mail from one of our trustees concerned about the future funding, a mail from Councillor Shirena Counter confirming a meeting date next week, various e-mails from other CVSs asking about IT issues, confirmation that mobile telephones will be delivered this afternoon for our three new Connexions workers (this isn’t profligacy in the charity sector, but a contractual requirement), and 60+ spam mails.

I’ve barely begun responding to these when Anne (funding advisor) and Helen (Volunteer Centre co-ordinator) arrive for a scheduled meeting on future funding of the Volunteer Centre. This continues for sometime, interrupted by my need to take delivery of three mobile telephones, and to have a quick word with Laura our Voluntary Transport scheme co-ordinator. The future of the Volunteering Centre is not a simple matter: Hertfordshire County Council plan to increase volunteering over the coming two years, Watford Borough Council reflect this target in their Local Strategic Plan, Volunteering England seem constantly to nudge up the administrative burden on running a Volunteer Centre, there is an important strategic commitment to engagement with Volunteering Herts, and there is a steady stream of people offering to volunteer. Yet the Volunteer Centre is supported only by a half-time co-ordinator and few funders show the remotest interest in supporting Volunteer Centres. Nevertheless, Anne, Helen and I slowly focus in on the key issues. I call an end to discussions at 4:00 and we schedule a follow up meeting for next week.

I talk with our Services Officer Sue, mostly talking through the needs of our volunteer reception team, and the ongoing programme of internal decorations and relocations that Sue is co-ordinating.

Funding

Then a return to e-mails. Finally we have received the recommendations made to WBC’s cabinet meeting on 20 November for voluntary sector funding over the next three years. I quickly scan the details. Some organisations will receive broadly continued funding, including WCVS (phew!), Age Concern, the Women’s refuge, Herts Young Homeless Project, New Hope Trust, Watford Recycling Arts Project, Watford Philharmonic Society, HomeStart and Relate. CAB and Shop Mobility continue to be funded, but at a lower level. Final decisions have been deferred on Watford Palace Theatre, Watford Women’s Centre, the Watford Indian Association, the Watford African Caribbean Association, the Watford Muslim Project, the West Watford Community Association and the Multi Racial Community Centre. No organisations receives any significant increase in funding, many groups have larger bids rejected, and no new organisations receive funding despite a large number of applications.

These groups have invested hours of time constructing bids to secure their futures for another three years, promoting their activities, struggling to meet deadlines, producing impact reports, and so on. Services and jobs are, literally, dependent on this report to WBC’s cabinet. Although it shouldn’t, reading the cabinet report feels a bit like surveying the bloody aftermath of a battle. In this instance, WCVS’s role is to contact the wounded and offer whatever support we can.

The deferred decisions are perhaps the most interesting. WBC is worried about the possible implications of funding community groups that work with only one section of the community. I gather WBC want evidence that the community groups will work together, and with others, or promote social cohesion. This is all part of the new debate about the future of multi-racial and multi-cultural society.

The other deferred decisions (Watford Palace Theatre and Watford Women’s Centre) are probably related to the extent to which people from outside Watford benefit from this funding, and the extent to which these organisations can raise money from fees. But there may of course be other issues I am unaware of.

Before leaving the office, I have a pleasant and helpful chat with Helen. I left shortly after 7:00 and arrived home at 8:00. After eating, I prepared some work for one of the volunteers to progress on Tuesday afternoon.

Crossword

Before turning in, my partner and I tackled another Daily Telegraph crossword. Lately, there always seems to be one clue that completely confounds us. I invested 20-30 minutes to tackle a crossword because it’s a form of relaxation. It’s a little frustrating to fail to complete a crossword, but I feel ok if my failure arises just from my own stupidity or lack of imagination. But I feel cheated if I discover that the answer to 26-across is xanthemia (what?) or that the clue “Blue gibbon reads the classics” is somehow meant to suggest the answer “Frottage” (why? how?). It’s like watching an hour long episode of Midsummer Murders only to discover that the postmistress did, after all, die of natural causes. Or reading Agatha Christie and finding that the character of the murderer is only introduced in the final few pages. What’s the point? Where’s the satisfaction in that? There ought to be some national quality standards for crossword compilers. Or perhaps compilers who frustrate should be forced to publish an apology, or to carry a government health warning. My wonderful lovely partner Jackie tells me there is a simpler solution. It’s called “Get a life”.