Friday, 7 December 2007
I left Jackie at 8:00, collected Jacquie at 8:30 and we arrived at the COVER offices shortly after 9:00.
Immediately on arriving, I had an intense ten minute discussion on ICT with Paul Ruskin. He is the region’s ICT Champion: technically skilled, good strategic overview, an intense ball of energy who makes things happen. But he plays golf apparently without shame; I worry about him sometimes.
Then we parted to attend different meetings. Along with representatives of all the other regional infrastructure consortia, Jacquie and I went into a briefing with Richard Weller of Capacitybuilders. Hertfordshire’s Infrastructure Consortium is generally regarded as a success. In large part this is because we have had sufficient funding to pay for a full-time Development Worker and 10 hours a week of management time bought in from Jacquie at North Herts CVS. Our core funding has now been cut to £32,000 pa. I know Consortia have to move toward sustainability etc, but why are other (frankly less inclusive and less successful) consortia receiving significantly higher funding?
The answer is that the formula is worked out depending entirely on the local government structure and each consortia receives: £25k for each County Council, £22k for each Unitary Authority, and (in two-tier local government areas) £1k for each District Council apart from the first three.
They might just as well have based allocations on the number of vowels in the consortium name, or the number of professional footballers produced in the inter-war period, or the mean annual rainfall across each consortium. Do they really have such little idea?
Then at 11:00 we met with the delightful Jonathan Moore (of SAVO) and Jenny Althorpe (South Beds CVS) to discuss support for trustees. This was useful as we agreed on three needs: to focus on empowerment rather than regulation; to offer more support for trustees in smaller charities; to offer more support for trustee boards rather than for trustees individually. These may seem like small points, but they prompted a very productive discussion, pleasing me greatly. There was talk of a COVER project bid under the Capacitybuilders Improving Reach programme.
After a brief cup of tea with Jacquie I was home before 5:00 pm and I was home at a sensible time. But by the time I had finished three telephone conversations (on IT, training, and volunteering) it was well past 6:00.
And Bryan was off to start a new job - a great end to a good day.
Immediately on arriving, I had an intense ten minute discussion on ICT with Paul Ruskin. He is the region’s ICT Champion: technically skilled, good strategic overview, an intense ball of energy who makes things happen. But he plays golf apparently without shame; I worry about him sometimes.
Then we parted to attend different meetings. Along with representatives of all the other regional infrastructure consortia, Jacquie and I went into a briefing with Richard Weller of Capacitybuilders. Hertfordshire’s Infrastructure Consortium is generally regarded as a success. In large part this is because we have had sufficient funding to pay for a full-time Development Worker and 10 hours a week of management time bought in from Jacquie at North Herts CVS. Our core funding has now been cut to £32,000 pa. I know Consortia have to move toward sustainability etc, but why are other (frankly less inclusive and less successful) consortia receiving significantly higher funding?
The answer is that the formula is worked out depending entirely on the local government structure and each consortia receives: £25k for each County Council, £22k for each Unitary Authority, and (in two-tier local government areas) £1k for each District Council apart from the first three.
They might just as well have based allocations on the number of vowels in the consortium name, or the number of professional footballers produced in the inter-war period, or the mean annual rainfall across each consortium. Do they really have such little idea?
Then at 11:00 we met with the delightful Jonathan Moore (of SAVO) and Jenny Althorpe (South Beds CVS) to discuss support for trustees. This was useful as we agreed on three needs: to focus on empowerment rather than regulation; to offer more support for trustees in smaller charities; to offer more support for trustee boards rather than for trustees individually. These may seem like small points, but they prompted a very productive discussion, pleasing me greatly. There was talk of a COVER project bid under the Capacitybuilders Improving Reach programme.
After a brief cup of tea with Jacquie I was home before 5:00 pm and I was home at a sensible time. But by the time I had finished three telephone conversations (on IT, training, and volunteering) it was well past 6:00.
And Bryan was off to start a new job - a great end to a good day.
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Joined up government
After an early start and a few hours in the office, I headed off to the YMCA for a meeting of the Watford Learning Partnership (WLP).
The Hertfordshire Adult Learning Partnership (HALP) and the Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service (HAFLS) have jointly prepared a plan for the future of adult learning. This plan focuses heavily on local learning partnerships like WPL. I can’t see any connection between this plan and that of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The LSC is funding the VCS to set up county-wide training consortia that LSC supposes will then oversee all VCS workforce development training and all training delivered by VCS organisations to the public. The LSC think this Consortium will become constituted and will then be a major training provider. I don’t know why anyone would want to create such a monolith and nor can I imagine how such an organisation would be financially viable. And meanwhile it might destablise existing training providers like CVSs.
This looks like a government agency coming up with a “good idea” and then treating the VCS like some sort of experimental laboratory. But maybe it will work: I have been wrong before and doubtless I will again.
But meanwhile, the least I expect is that government agencies co-ordinate their policies.
Also present at the WLP meeting were Lyn Telford and David Brown of HALP, Phil Willerton of YMCA, Alison Stainsby of Watford Borough Council, and Marion of the Watford Community Housing Trust. Other regular attenders (LSC, West Herts College, Herts Trade Union Centre) sent their apologies.
After WLP I had a brief Staff Meeting at WCVS to discuss how best we can support volunteering and how we can improve some of our core services. There seems to be unanimity on all the key issues which makes things easier.
And then I attended a meeting of the WCVS’s Staffing and Remuneration Sub-Committee. This sub-group of trustees was meeting to review salary scales, expense payments, employment practices, one or two specific issues etc. These are difficult areas for charities. Of course everyone wants to be nice to their employees (like me) but the realities are that funding is short and life is tough. No-one works in the voluntary sector to get rich: there are other reasons for working here.
And on the technical / procedural issues I simply anticipated a few sympathetic looks. But I had underestimated my wonderful trustees. Phil Willerton in particular came prepared with possible solutions to several of the thornier technical and procedural problems including the possibility of a workable job evaluation scheme. What a star. Althea and John and Vivienne were also helpful and the meeting was completed within an hour and with far more progress than I had dared hope for.
After that, it was just one long slog through HIC business planning and making sure that I had done all I need to before leaving the office as I have a series of “out of the office” days.
I arrived home about 10:00 and Jackie and I enjoyed a sherry and a good read together before bed - what a lovely scene of domestic bliss.
After an early start and a few hours in the office, I headed off to the YMCA for a meeting of the Watford Learning Partnership (WLP).
The Hertfordshire Adult Learning Partnership (HALP) and the Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service (HAFLS) have jointly prepared a plan for the future of adult learning. This plan focuses heavily on local learning partnerships like WPL. I can’t see any connection between this plan and that of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The LSC is funding the VCS to set up county-wide training consortia that LSC supposes will then oversee all VCS workforce development training and all training delivered by VCS organisations to the public. The LSC think this Consortium will become constituted and will then be a major training provider. I don’t know why anyone would want to create such a monolith and nor can I imagine how such an organisation would be financially viable. And meanwhile it might destablise existing training providers like CVSs.
This looks like a government agency coming up with a “good idea” and then treating the VCS like some sort of experimental laboratory. But maybe it will work: I have been wrong before and doubtless I will again.
But meanwhile, the least I expect is that government agencies co-ordinate their policies.
Also present at the WLP meeting were Lyn Telford and David Brown of HALP, Phil Willerton of YMCA, Alison Stainsby of Watford Borough Council, and Marion of the Watford Community Housing Trust. Other regular attenders (LSC, West Herts College, Herts Trade Union Centre) sent their apologies.
After WLP I had a brief Staff Meeting at WCVS to discuss how best we can support volunteering and how we can improve some of our core services. There seems to be unanimity on all the key issues which makes things easier.
And then I attended a meeting of the WCVS’s Staffing and Remuneration Sub-Committee. This sub-group of trustees was meeting to review salary scales, expense payments, employment practices, one or two specific issues etc. These are difficult areas for charities. Of course everyone wants to be nice to their employees (like me) but the realities are that funding is short and life is tough. No-one works in the voluntary sector to get rich: there are other reasons for working here.
And on the technical / procedural issues I simply anticipated a few sympathetic looks. But I had underestimated my wonderful trustees. Phil Willerton in particular came prepared with possible solutions to several of the thornier technical and procedural problems including the possibility of a workable job evaluation scheme. What a star. Althea and John and Vivienne were also helpful and the meeting was completed within an hour and with far more progress than I had dared hope for.
After that, it was just one long slog through HIC business planning and making sure that I had done all I need to before leaving the office as I have a series of “out of the office” days.
I arrived home about 10:00 and Jackie and I enjoyed a sherry and a good read together before bed - what a lovely scene of domestic bliss.
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
I had a busy morning on paperwork and on a very useful meeting with Lyn Telford of the Watford Learning Partnership.
At lunchtime I travelled to Borehamwood to “facilitate” a joint meeting of Hertsmere CVS and Hertsmere Community Partnership, who are considering a merger. On my understanding of the briefing I’d received, I tried to facilitate the meeting through an exercise to consider a shared vision and mission. But this is rather an abstract exercise and people were too focused on tangibles and practicalities. Once I'd grasped this, the meeting was much more productive.
At lunchtime I travelled to Borehamwood to “facilitate” a joint meeting of Hertsmere CVS and Hertsmere Community Partnership, who are considering a merger. On my understanding of the briefing I’d received, I tried to facilitate the meeting through an exercise to consider a shared vision and mission. But this is rather an abstract exercise and people were too focused on tangibles and practicalities. Once I'd grasped this, the meeting was much more productive.
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
This morning, I read through several new policy pronouncements, and through paperwork about the possible merger of Hertsmere CVS with Hertsmere Community Partnership. In the afternoon, I drafted one-page summaries of each of the projects prepared for the Herts Infrastructure Consortium. Somewhere in the middle of this, I spent two hours talking on the telephone to different colleagues: how can some people use telephones recreationally?
Monday, 3 December 2007
Community Networking
We had a very successful networking lunch at the North Watford Mosque - or at least a very successful networking event. I will explain.
The event began at 10:45 with a tour of the Mosque hosted by the Mosque Committee. At 11:30 we began the meeting proper, and an audience of about 70 heard Qari Mohamed Salim (Watford Central Mosque), Khalil Mogul (Muslim Community Project), Riaz Hussain (Muslim Awareness Forum) and Zamir Shah (Anjuman-e-Ja’fariyya); all were excellent and received a warm reception. The speeches ended at 12:15 and we had allowed 15 minutes for questions. There were lots of questions on extremism, the role of women, youth work, mental health, education, racist attacks, further dialogue and so on. There were so many questions that I allowed another fifteen minutes. And then another fifteen minutes.
By this time it was apparent that things had gone wrong: our caterers had let us down badly. Those Muslims belonging to North Watford Mosque were leaving to attend lunchtime prayers. The event did not conclude with a relaxed sit-down meal for 75 people. I did my best to jolly things along, but there was no hiding the fact that people were hungry and disappointed and the meeting ended on a note of disappointment and confusion.
Some stayed behind for tea or coffee, and finally (45 minutes late) the food arrived with profuse apologies from our caterers. But my appetite had disappeared along with two-thirds of the participants.
Nevertheless, I think that the event was a remarkable success and will hopefully set down some markers and relationships for the future.
Lessons? This is the second networking lunch where we have got the catering wrong. We have been trying to do things cheaply using inexperienced caterers. From now on we will need to step up a gear and move the whole thing on to a more professional footing. Fortunately, our next lunch is at the YMCA who thankfully have their own on-site caterers. It’s on 21 January with the theme: “Improving Watford’s Mental Health”.
Later in the afternoon, I was stumped by the terrible news of Jim Lillington's death. He was a lovely man and a tireless activist: a real star for the voluntary sector, for Shopmobility and for the Disability Forum. Thanks Jim.
We had a very successful networking lunch at the North Watford Mosque - or at least a very successful networking event. I will explain.
The event began at 10:45 with a tour of the Mosque hosted by the Mosque Committee. At 11:30 we began the meeting proper, and an audience of about 70 heard Qari Mohamed Salim (Watford Central Mosque), Khalil Mogul (Muslim Community Project), Riaz Hussain (Muslim Awareness Forum) and Zamir Shah (Anjuman-e-Ja’fariyya); all were excellent and received a warm reception. The speeches ended at 12:15 and we had allowed 15 minutes for questions. There were lots of questions on extremism, the role of women, youth work, mental health, education, racist attacks, further dialogue and so on. There were so many questions that I allowed another fifteen minutes. And then another fifteen minutes.
By this time it was apparent that things had gone wrong: our caterers had let us down badly. Those Muslims belonging to North Watford Mosque were leaving to attend lunchtime prayers. The event did not conclude with a relaxed sit-down meal for 75 people. I did my best to jolly things along, but there was no hiding the fact that people were hungry and disappointed and the meeting ended on a note of disappointment and confusion.
Some stayed behind for tea or coffee, and finally (45 minutes late) the food arrived with profuse apologies from our caterers. But my appetite had disappeared along with two-thirds of the participants.
Nevertheless, I think that the event was a remarkable success and will hopefully set down some markers and relationships for the future.
Lessons? This is the second networking lunch where we have got the catering wrong. We have been trying to do things cheaply using inexperienced caterers. From now on we will need to step up a gear and move the whole thing on to a more professional footing. Fortunately, our next lunch is at the YMCA who thankfully have their own on-site caterers. It’s on 21 January with the theme: “Improving Watford’s Mental Health”.
Later in the afternoon, I was stumped by the terrible news of Jim Lillington's death. He was a lovely man and a tireless activist: a real star for the voluntary sector, for Shopmobility and for the Disability Forum. Thanks Jim.
Sunday, 2 December 2007
I spent a lovely day with Jackie and our grand-daughter Bethany.
Tottenham's dismal season continued with a 2-3 defeat by Birmingham City; I think I am right in saying that Spurs have now lost 493 consecutive matches.
Tottenham's dismal season continued with a 2-3 defeat by Birmingham City; I think I am right in saying that Spurs have now lost 493 consecutive matches.
Saturday, 1 December 2007
Jackie and I further contemplated the possible keeping of chickens: we still prevaricate. A quiet day at home was followed by a rather raucous evening with friends.
Friday, 30 November 2007
An incident of some sort meant that the Police had to close part of Beechen Grove this morning so it took me half an hour to travel the last mile into work. Then my day proper started with a half-day workshop for members of the Local Strategic Partnership One Watford.
This workshop was the Aspire 2 Perform model encouraging LSPs to be: Accountable, Strategic, Performance-managed, Inclusive, Responsive and Effective. The model actually looked at Engagement, Governance, Expectations, Planning, Meetings, and Communications. But obviously EGEPMC isn't as memorable as ASPIRE. One day people will again learn to develop management models without the use of contrived acronyms.
The event itself was very worthwhile and productive: it highlighted some important issues and gave LSP members an opportunity to talk together outside the usual arena of LSP meetings.
After this, I spent some time briefing myself for some forthcoming meetings: Compact, networking lunches, HIC, IT development, and so on. At Vanessa’s behest, I also wrote to staff suggesting we moved on from last year’s Secret Santa and instead each contribute some money though Oxfam to buy a donkey or some goats (not for Watford but for one of the communities where Oxfam work).
Back home, Jackie and I resisted the temptation to attend a 1970s Night and instead spent an evening at home over a curry and a bottle of wine watching music on television: I particularly liked Kate Nash and The Who (although it seems that guitar legend Pete Townshend has been sacked and replaced by Phil Willerton of Watford YMCA).
This workshop was the Aspire 2 Perform model encouraging LSPs to be: Accountable, Strategic, Performance-managed, Inclusive, Responsive and Effective. The model actually looked at Engagement, Governance, Expectations, Planning, Meetings, and Communications. But obviously EGEPMC isn't as memorable as ASPIRE. One day people will again learn to develop management models without the use of contrived acronyms.
The event itself was very worthwhile and productive: it highlighted some important issues and gave LSP members an opportunity to talk together outside the usual arena of LSP meetings.
After this, I spent some time briefing myself for some forthcoming meetings: Compact, networking lunches, HIC, IT development, and so on. At Vanessa’s behest, I also wrote to staff suggesting we moved on from last year’s Secret Santa and instead each contribute some money though Oxfam to buy a donkey or some goats (not for Watford but for one of the communities where Oxfam work).
Back home, Jackie and I resisted the temptation to attend a 1970s Night and instead spent an evening at home over a curry and a bottle of wine watching music on television: I particularly liked Kate Nash and The Who (although it seems that guitar legend Pete Townshend has been sacked and replaced by Phil Willerton of Watford YMCA).
Thursday, 29 November 2007
I was eager to make the most of my first chance this week to do some work in the office and so arrived at 7:00 am.
I spent some time with the organisers of Hertsmere’s Com.Unity Choir who want to explore setting up a similar open community-based choir in Watford. Such a choir could be a catalyst for some great community development work across Watford so I spent plenty of time with them offering as much encouragement and advice as I could.
Other than this pleasant interlude, I had a fairly strenuous day regaining control of my workload. It was a bit of a battle but by the end of the day (8:30 pm), I had read 150 previously unread e-mails, dealt with 100 read-but-not-yet-actioned e-mails and sent 70 of my own e-mails. I am far from being a technophobe but I abhor the tyranny of e-mail. Looking back on the day and reflecting, I can barely remember what a single e-mail was about.
Having just checked I can see that there was actually some genuine purpose and value in my day’s correspondence. I arranged to work with Watford Borough Council on their new Directory of Council and Community Services, advised four local groups on legal and employment and development matters, advised two potential donors on groups they might like to support, made some arrangements for our January networking lunch on Mental Health, and so on and so on. In fact, I flatter myself that I had rather an effective day.
I suppose my point is that it doesn’t feel like real work and it doesn’t feel like real communication.
During the day, I also wrote 700 words for the next issues of Herts CVS News. My theme was the benefits of good communication and networking. The irony of this was lost on me at the time.
I spent some time with the organisers of Hertsmere’s Com.Unity Choir who want to explore setting up a similar open community-based choir in Watford. Such a choir could be a catalyst for some great community development work across Watford so I spent plenty of time with them offering as much encouragement and advice as I could.
Other than this pleasant interlude, I had a fairly strenuous day regaining control of my workload. It was a bit of a battle but by the end of the day (8:30 pm), I had read 150 previously unread e-mails, dealt with 100 read-but-not-yet-actioned e-mails and sent 70 of my own e-mails. I am far from being a technophobe but I abhor the tyranny of e-mail. Looking back on the day and reflecting, I can barely remember what a single e-mail was about.
Having just checked I can see that there was actually some genuine purpose and value in my day’s correspondence. I arranged to work with Watford Borough Council on their new Directory of Council and Community Services, advised four local groups on legal and employment and development matters, advised two potential donors on groups they might like to support, made some arrangements for our January networking lunch on Mental Health, and so on and so on. In fact, I flatter myself that I had rather an effective day.
I suppose my point is that it doesn’t feel like real work and it doesn’t feel like real communication.
During the day, I also wrote 700 words for the next issues of Herts CVS News. My theme was the benefits of good communication and networking. The irony of this was lost on me at the time.
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
I went to NCVO via St Pancras this morning to see the new(-ish) statue The Meeting Place which is stunning.
At NCVO our PQASSO group met again and we went through the materials. There were some useful discussions and it is always useful to talk with other practitioners about how they approach things. The others on the course came from a wide range of groups and all were charming and erudite. I was (almost) sorry to say good-bye at the end of the day.
In the evening, I reviewed my Watford CVS workload. Tomorrow is my first day in the office this week. I can anticipate a backlog of about 200 unread e-mails. When I left on Friday I already had 133 e-mails bearing little red “to do” flags. I also have a list of 21 tasks that I simply must complete asap (most of which I have been postponing for several weeks). Added to this, I have four meetings scheduled for tomorrow (including one in the evening) and I need to speak with several members of WCVS staff. What are my chances of making progress on all this tomorrow? Are all my meetings really necessary?
In the evening, I completed Robert Harris's book Selling Hitler on the remarkable events of the early 1980s when Stern magazine and The Sunday Times paid vast sums to publish diaries supposedly written by Adolf Hitler. Why was anyone so interested? People have a worryingly large capacity for stupidity and gullibility. The failures of corporate management sparked a series of events that ultimately produced the Code of Governance.
At NCVO our PQASSO group met again and we went through the materials. There were some useful discussions and it is always useful to talk with other practitioners about how they approach things. The others on the course came from a wide range of groups and all were charming and erudite. I was (almost) sorry to say good-bye at the end of the day.
In the evening, I reviewed my Watford CVS workload. Tomorrow is my first day in the office this week. I can anticipate a backlog of about 200 unread e-mails. When I left on Friday I already had 133 e-mails bearing little red “to do” flags. I also have a list of 21 tasks that I simply must complete asap (most of which I have been postponing for several weeks). Added to this, I have four meetings scheduled for tomorrow (including one in the evening) and I need to speak with several members of WCVS staff. What are my chances of making progress on all this tomorrow? Are all my meetings really necessary?
In the evening, I completed Robert Harris's book Selling Hitler on the remarkable events of the early 1980s when Stern magazine and The Sunday Times paid vast sums to publish diaries supposedly written by Adolf Hitler. Why was anyone so interested? People have a worryingly large capacity for stupidity and gullibility. The failures of corporate management sparked a series of events that ultimately produced the Code of Governance.
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
PQASSO
Today (and tomorrow) I am with Vanessa (our Training and Development Officer) attending a PQASSO training course at the NCVO in London.
On arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to bump into Laura Cronshaw (of St Albans CVS) attending the same course, our trainer was fine and PQASSO is a good QA system.
But truly neither myself or Vanessa wanted to be there as we both know PQASSO pretty well and have been working with it for a number of years. However, PQASSO is the property of the Charities Evaluation Service and neither Vanessa or I can be licenced by CES to support groups through the PQASSO process unless we have attended CES’s three day PQASSO Mentor programme. At a cost, or course. And guess what? We can’t attend the three day PQASSO Mentor programme unless we have already completed CES’s two day programme Implementing PQASSO. At a cost, of course.
I think this is what is known as a sustainable income stream.
Today (and tomorrow) I am with Vanessa (our Training and Development Officer) attending a PQASSO training course at the NCVO in London.
On arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to bump into Laura Cronshaw (of St Albans CVS) attending the same course, our trainer was fine and PQASSO is a good QA system.
But truly neither myself or Vanessa wanted to be there as we both know PQASSO pretty well and have been working with it for a number of years. However, PQASSO is the property of the Charities Evaluation Service and neither Vanessa or I can be licenced by CES to support groups through the PQASSO process unless we have attended CES’s three day PQASSO Mentor programme. At a cost, or course. And guess what? We can’t attend the three day PQASSO Mentor programme unless we have already completed CES’s two day programme Implementing PQASSO. At a cost, of course.
I think this is what is known as a sustainable income stream.
Monday, 26 November 2007
I spent a morning at home working on an accommodation strategy for Watford’s voluntary sector. I am having trouble separating this from the Community Development Strategy on which I have also started work: are they one strategy or two?
In the afternoon, I travelled to Hertford to meet with Andrew Burt of HCC and Jacquie Hime of N Herts CVS to discuss the future of the Herts Compact Group. Jacquie and I are joint chairs of the Working Group which has a meeting scheduled for mid-December. I have been worried for some time that nationally the whole Compact agenda is drifting aimless towards the rocks. Jacquie, Andrew and I met to try and agree a way forward in Hertfordshire.
Andrew argued that Compact should be re-aligned to the LSPs and to the new LAA2 agenda - and particularly to the new targets for local authorities: a thriving Third Sector, more volunteering, community engagement and so on. Jacquie took to the idea almost immediately. My brain works a little more slowly and had to clunk through several “what if” scenarios before I finally accepted that Andrew’s proposal was indeed the best way forward.
Having convinced us both of the wisdom of his vision for Compact, Andrew then told us that he might not be at the December Compact meeting as he is scheduled to have his wisdom teeth removed that day. Lovely.
In the afternoon, I travelled to Hertford to meet with Andrew Burt of HCC and Jacquie Hime of N Herts CVS to discuss the future of the Herts Compact Group. Jacquie and I are joint chairs of the Working Group which has a meeting scheduled for mid-December. I have been worried for some time that nationally the whole Compact agenda is drifting aimless towards the rocks. Jacquie, Andrew and I met to try and agree a way forward in Hertfordshire.
Andrew argued that Compact should be re-aligned to the LSPs and to the new LAA2 agenda - and particularly to the new targets for local authorities: a thriving Third Sector, more volunteering, community engagement and so on. Jacquie took to the idea almost immediately. My brain works a little more slowly and had to clunk through several “what if” scenarios before I finally accepted that Andrew’s proposal was indeed the best way forward.
Having convinced us both of the wisdom of his vision for Compact, Andrew then told us that he might not be at the December Compact meeting as he is scheduled to have his wisdom teeth removed that day. Lovely.
Sunday, 25 November 2007
A relaxing day at home. In the afternoon, Jackie and I went for a walk together. I lasted less than a mile and then shuffled off home. Jackie powered off around WGC and must have covered at least three miles. I suspect she is in secret training for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, I completed The Shadow of Elisa Lynch by Sian Rees, the story of an Irishwoman’s relationship with a Paraguayan dictator and tyrant. Interesting stuff, but like so many modern books it would have benefited from a more assertive sub-editor.
Meanwhile, I completed The Shadow of Elisa Lynch by Sian Rees, the story of an Irishwoman’s relationship with a Paraguayan dictator and tyrant. Interesting stuff, but like so many modern books it would have benefited from a more assertive sub-editor.
Saturday, 24 November 2007
Jackie and I collected our grand-daughter after breakfast and drove up to Ampthill to attend the opening of the new wing of the Agate House Cheshire Home. My sister is one of the first residents moving into the rooms now complying with the latest standards. Bethany of course wowed everyone.
On the homeward journey, we returned Bethany to one of her other grand-dads in Baldock. Grand-dad Tarlok was his usual self. His Mum barely seems to have aged since I first met her in the 1970s. And Amerjit was so grown up - he was in his mid-teens last time I saw him and now suddenly he’s forty.
On the homeward journey, we returned Bethany to one of her other grand-dads in Baldock. Grand-dad Tarlok was his usual self. His Mum barely seems to have aged since I first met her in the 1970s. And Amerjit was so grown up - he was in his mid-teens last time I saw him and now suddenly he’s forty.
Friday, 23 November 2007
Another day of catching up and correspondence. I completed another funding bid, started preparing thoughts for our next Trustees’ meeting, and met with Helen on volunteering, Maria on networking lunches, Vanessa on Training, Anne on Fundraising, and our Connexions Team.
IT and Communications
I also reviewed the IT and Communications paper I’d drafted for the HIC. Several recent studies have shown that the voluntary sector is lagging behind other sectors in the use of IT. Our findings certainly confirm this. We also found little enthusiasm for a voluntary sector agency delivering IT services, and that the sector's communication systems are simply not “fit for purpose”.
The question then is how can this state of affairs be changed? How can the value of effective ICT be demonstrated? How can HIC demonstrate its leadership? How can the ICT environment be transformed?
What I proposed was creating a communication and information centre for Hertfordshire’s voluntary sector. This centre could include contact details of all groups, offer opportunities for groups to create e-mail addresses and websites, provide access to support services, house discussion groups, and offer individuals the chance to subscribe to a range of information streams.
Revisiting the proposals today, I was pretty confident that they are the best opportunity we have of securing a "step change" in ICT.
IT and Communications
I also reviewed the IT and Communications paper I’d drafted for the HIC. Several recent studies have shown that the voluntary sector is lagging behind other sectors in the use of IT. Our findings certainly confirm this. We also found little enthusiasm for a voluntary sector agency delivering IT services, and that the sector's communication systems are simply not “fit for purpose”.
The question then is how can this state of affairs be changed? How can the value of effective ICT be demonstrated? How can HIC demonstrate its leadership? How can the ICT environment be transformed?
What I proposed was creating a communication and information centre for Hertfordshire’s voluntary sector. This centre could include contact details of all groups, offer opportunities for groups to create e-mail addresses and websites, provide access to support services, house discussion groups, and offer individuals the chance to subscribe to a range of information streams.
Revisiting the proposals today, I was pretty confident that they are the best opportunity we have of securing a "step change" in ICT.
Thursday, 22 November 2007
I spent the morning catching up with people at the office and dealing with the correspondence that has accumulated since last week.
At lunchtime, I was joined by David Fitzpatrick of the Hertfordshire Community Foundation. He has been involved in some of the discussions about possible futures for Watford’s five Community Centres and he wanted to see some of the Centres for himself. We paid flying visits to the Holywell and Meriden Centres and then had a talk through options for the various sites.
By the time I left the office, I had cleared the backlog of 200+ unread e-mails. But I had 133 e-mails bearing little red flags to remind me that the mails needed a reply or some other action.
At lunchtime, I was joined by David Fitzpatrick of the Hertfordshire Community Foundation. He has been involved in some of the discussions about possible futures for Watford’s five Community Centres and he wanted to see some of the Centres for himself. We paid flying visits to the Holywell and Meriden Centres and then had a talk through options for the various sites.
By the time I left the office, I had cleared the backlog of 200+ unread e-mails. But I had 133 e-mails bearing little red flags to remind me that the mails needed a reply or some other action.
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
One last day away from the office
Today I spent in Letchworth reviewing all ten plans that have been prepared to support the Development Plan for voluntary sector support in Hertfordshire. These were:
Today I spent in Letchworth reviewing all ten plans that have been prepared to support the Development Plan for voluntary sector support in Hertfordshire. These were:
- my own two on Training and on IT and Communications;
- Funding Advice from the Funding Advisors’ network;
- Sustainable Funding and Raising the Profile from David Fitzpatrick of the Hertfordshire Community Foundation;
- Supporting Small Groups from Ian Richardson of East Herts and Broxbourne CVS;
- Sustainability from Kate Belinis at Herts CDA;
- Equalities from Moreen Pascal late of MENTER;
- Volunteering from Julie Street of Volunteering Herts;
- and Quality Assurance and Developing the Consortium from Steph.
I was very impressed that we had all managed to complete something. I think we were all impressed. All need some work. Some of them need quite a bit of work. But all lay out a clear direction.
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
I spent another day out of the office, this time at the CDX conference in Newport Pagnell - a surprisingly pleasant little town. I went to get a good solid framework for a Community Development strategy for Watford and I came away with plenty of good ideas and some very useful models and tools.
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