Wednesday, 1 October 2008

We have received disappointing news from Capacitybuilders that they have turned down two of the three projects put forward by HIC for funding. They have declined to fund a project to raise the profile of the voluntary sector and support engagement with the LAA, and they have declined to fund a project looking to strengthen and extend the voluntary sector’s work on equalities. On a more positive note, they have agreed to fund a “Circuit Riders” project to provide IT support to voluntary groups - although I can't help thinking this is just to pander to the current vogue for social enterprise.

My biggest concern is that these (and other recent funding decisions) mean that the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium, rather than stepping up its programme and its presence, now looks more like the Bare Bones Parliament. Those of us committed to co-ordination in the County must rally round, but I sense the forces of reaction around us.

Elsewhere during the day I spoke with Caroline Tippin, Watford’s new supremo for Youth Connexions.

Our new website is beginning to take shape: we have finished designing the template site and we have identified a first tranche of 120-odd sites to create. The launch date is now only weeks away – but I seem to have been saying this for months.

In the evening, we had a meeting of the local Community Arts Network – a network which has brought together disparate people from Watford’s arts scene, but which has always lacked a clear focus. Although this was a (particularly) small meeting, I think the network has finally identified a focus for its activities: an annual community-based arts festival embracing all forms of the arts and loosely based on the Eisteddfod format. Marv and Amy from Inspiral Arts have agreed to push things forward and I am now very positive about the network’s future.