How we support organisations
Local voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) groups and organisations play a central role in supporting the communities and people of Norfolk.
Often known as the 'third sector', these organisations
- Deliver services and support to people
- Support other community groups
- Lobby for a specific issue
Norfolk also has an active network of over 700 town and parish councils. They are the first tier of local government and are statutory bodies. These local councils work towards improving community well-being and providing better services. They
- Represent the local community
- Deliver services to meet local needs
- Strive to improve quality of life and community well-being
Given the key role that community-based groups organisations and local councils have, we want to make sure they get the support they need. We support local groups and organisations by:
- Funding Norfolk's voluntary infrastructure organisations to provide information, advice, training and hands-on support to enable the sector to flourish and grow. This is currently delivered through the Empowering Communities Partnership.
- Supporting the Norfolk Association of Town and Parish Councils to provide specialist information, advice and training to parish and town councils
- Supporting the Voluntary Sector Health and Social Care Assembly, enabling voluntary and community sector groups, to play a greater role in the future design and delivery of health and social care services in Norfolk and Waveney
- Offering a wide range of free courses available to clients of organisations through Norfolk Adult Learning. From well-being, employment and computer skills to budgeting, cooking and courses for families plus many more. Norfolk Adult Learning also provides the training for the Norfolk Volunteer Passport (opens new window).
We plan to develop an engagement charter that sets out how we will work with voluntary and community organisations. This will include setting out how we will listen and address their concerns, involve them and include their feedback when developing services, and consult on changes that affect the sector.