UCVO represents and supports the Third Sector in Uist by:
- Representing the voice of the Third Sector at a strategic community planning level
- Supporting Third sector organisations and Social Enterprises with organisational planning and development
- Supporting Third Sector organisations and Social Enterprises to achieve good governance and manage organisational change
- Identifying sources of funding, and helping with completing and reviewing applications
- Producing regular e-bulletins with up-to-date information on funding, training and changes in policy and charity law.
- Identifying, promoting and facilitating training opportunities
- Providing support to meet the PVG obligations of Third Sector organisations
Roles performed by UCVO
The Scottish Government assigns key roles to Third Sector Interfaces:
- To Build the Capacity of the Third Sector
- To be a Central Source of Knowledge for the Third Sector
- To Connect the Third Sector including connection with Public and Private Sector Partners
- To be the Voice of the Third Sector
Role: Build Capacity (Direct assistance to individuals and groups)
We work towards:
- Third Sector Organisations in Uist are confident, skilled and active in their communities delivering high-quality services and activities that respond to identified and researched priority needs in their particular community of interest or locality.
- Third Sector Organisations in Uist receive support in order to comply with the legislation, regulation and codes of practice they need to observe.
- Third Sector staff and volunteers in Uist have access to relevant training and learning and development opportunities that improve their knowledge, skills and confidence.
Role: A Central Source of Knowledge (A source of knowledge ABOUT and FOR the Third Sector in Uist)
We work towards:
- Decision-makers are able to hear and learn about lived experience and have a stronger evidence base to make decisions.
- Third Sector Organisations are more informed about their statutory obligations and the support that is available to them.
- Third Sector Organisations in Uist are better able to make judgements about the quality of their work and identify areas for improvement.
Role: Connect (Connecting the Sector, promoting links and relationships)
We work towards:
- Third Sector Organisations will have increased knowledge of each other’s role.
- Third Sector Organisations will be better able to refer service users.
- Third Sector Organisations have more opportunities to work in partnership with others.
Role: Voice (Responding to the expressed needs and wishes of the community by promoting engagement and representation)
We work towards:
- Third Sector Organisations in Uist are aware of the representational role performed by UCVO and are able and encouraged to articulate their issues via this medium.
- Third Sector Organisations in Uist are actively encouraged to make representation in their own right.
- Third Sector Organisations in Uist are actively encouraged to represent their views about/to the Government, Local Authority, Health Board, Transport providers, other agencies, utility companies and others to secure the best deals for our communities.
Evaluation
We work towards:
- Systematically gathering evidence from the membership about their successes and challenges, and report these taking into account how well the Third Sector is progressing against the National Performance Framework (NPF) outcomes and the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP)