Part of the National Strategic Partnership Forum (NSPF)

The NSPF's role is to help the voluntary, community and public sectors work effectively together to deliver responsive, high quality health and adult social care services for patients, service users and carers.

The NSPF addresses the challenge of building a partnership at national level, and supporting local partnership working through a programme of project work that forms the work plan and is presented to ministers. It also reviews the Making Partnerships Work Strategic Agreement between the DH, NHS, social care and the VCS, as this is one of its objectives assigned by the Secretary of State for Health. Meeting four times a year, the NSPF has working conferences with wider stake-holders, enabling them to hear and feedback messages about the practical issues around partnership working.

Member of VITA (Volunteering in the Third Age Steering Group)

VITA aims to promote the value and impact of older volunteers and to increase the number of volunteers over the age of 65 by removing barriers across the voluntary and community sector. In addition, VITA aims to promote best practice within organisations and encourage older people to value their skills enough to want to use them within their communities.

VITA:

• Provides a national focal point for volunteering.
• Works to provide support and information to organisations who want to recruit older people.
• Raises the profile of older volunteers and promotes their value to voluntary and community organisations.
• Identifies barriers to recruiting older volunteers and works to remove them.

Link

Member of the National Leadership Network for Health and Social Care (NLN)

The NLN replaces the NHS Modernisation Board which advised and supported Ministers through the first phase of reform as part of the NHS Plan. Promoting shared values across the whole NHS and social care system, the NLN will work together with Ministers over the next five years to deliver lasting improvements in health and social care for people in the country. To do this, the NLN identifies and removes barriers to progress and ensures rapid and frank communication to and from patients, service users, staff and the public. Additionally, it promotes shared values across the whole NHS and social care system, champions successful national and local improvements, and offers early advice on emerging policy.

www.nationalleadershipnetwork.org

Member of the England Volunteering Development Council (EVDC)

The England Volunteering Development Council is a high-level representative mechanism for volunteering, engaging both with government and opposition parties in order to capture the collective intelligence of volunteer-involving organisations, volunteering infrastructure providers, and of volunteers to provide a powerful, coordinated lobby to steer government policy and community action.

The EVDC has responsibility for the monitoring and development of Building on success: strategy for volunteering infrastructure in England 2004-2014, has agreed to act as the Volunteering Hub Advisory Group and has established a Commission on the Future of Volunteering in England, which will report in 2007.

Link

Opportunities for Volunteering National Agent

Opportunities for Volunteering (OFV) is a Department of Health initiative which provides grants to local health and social care organisations in England. OFV grants aim to enable organisations to involve volunteers in the delivery of their services. Approximately £6.7 million is distributed every year to over 300 local projects. Attend is one of 17 national charities that distribute OFV grants on behalf of the Department of Health.

Additional information regarding OFV grants can be found in Benefits of Membership.

Volunteering England

Volunteering England is the integrated national volunteer development organisation for England. Vounteering England works across the voluntary, public and private sectors to raise the profile of volunteering as a powerful force for change.

www.volunteering.org.uk