Useful Links
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Networks, Forums and OrganisationsAdvice and Information
Employment Services
Who's Who
Networks, Forums and Organisations
- ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations)
A nationwide membership association providing a wide range of bespoke services for Third Sector chief executives and senior managers. - ACF (Association of Charitable Foundations)
A nationwide membership association which promotes good practice among grant-making trusts and charity foundations. - British Institute of Human Rights
Provides a range of information and other resources including briefings and toolkits; develops and delivers training and consultancy for the voluntary, community and public sectors on both practice and policy. It also undertakes research, policy analysis and lobbies national government and parliament. - Community Development Foundation
A public body and a charity which aims to bridge government, communities and the voluntary sector. - Community Development South East
Community Development South East is a network for all those who adopt a community development approach in their work. CDSE encourages the participation of members in the organisation and operation of the network. The network covers the South East England. - Community Health Involvement and Empowerment Forum
A social enterprise & limited company, led by BAME (Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic) community service users, which aim to reduce health inequalities and improve the quality of life of the public, particularly BAME Communities in England & Wales. - Community Sector Coalition
A national coalition comprising of 25 umbrella bodies whose work is focused on issues vital to the community sector. - Council for Disabled Children
The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) is the umbrella body for the disabled children’s sector in England, with links to the other UK nations. It is hosted by the National Children's Bureau. - Directory of Social Change (DSC)
A national charity and the largest provider of information and training to the voluntary sector. Its independent status and well respected research means it can challenge and create debate around government policy, trust funding, and other issues which threaten the independence of smaller charities. - Disability Alliance
Disability Alliance is now Disability Rights UK - formed through a merger of Disability Alliance, Radar and National Centre for Independent Living. This is a national charity focussing on promoting meaningful independent living for disabled people, promoting disabled people's leadership and control, breaking the link between disability and poverty and campaigning for disability equality and human rights. - Disability Hub -Thanet & East Kent
This site aims to provide an interactive and information source for service providing groups and organisations who support people, carers and families affected by disability within Thanet and East Kent. - Disability Rights UK
Disability Rights UK is a national charity formed through a merger of Disability Alliance, Radar and National Centre for Independent Living. Its focus is on promoting meaningful independent living for disabled people, promoting disabled people's leadership and control, breaking the link between disability and poverty and campaigning for disability equality and human rights. Members pay a membership fee which is on a sliding scale. - Equality and Diversity Forum
A network of national organisations committed to equal opportunities, social justice, good community relations, respect for human rights and an end to discrimination based on age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation. - EREN (English Regions Equality Network)
The English Regions Equality and Human Rights Network (EREN) comprises of strategic Third Sector organisations from all 9 English regions with a broad equalities and human rights brief and a significant membership of associate networks in the region that they serve. - Government Equalities Office
GEO is a small policy Department, which has responsibility within Government for equality strategy and legislation and takes the lead on issues relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equality matters. - Guardian Voluntary Sector Network
An online network from The Guardian newspaper which gives updates on matters affecting the community and coluntary sector. It is free to join. - Health and Social Care Partnership
This partnership brings together health, adult social care, children and other services to support, advise and facilitate across a range of programmes which are linked to the implementation of health and social care policy. Their South East Carers Network and Telehealthcare Network meet regularly. - Interfaith Network
Interfaith.org promotes the principle of "knowledge shared is knowledge saved". Intended to serve as a general internet resource for human thought in all its diverse expressions and in a comparatively neutral manner. - National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers
a membership organisation for welfare benefits advisers. It costs £15 for individuals and voluntary organisations to join. Members can attend regular meetings, a conference and receive email updates on policy and welfare benefits changes. - National Voices
National Voices is a coalition of more than 200 national health and social care organisations, coming together to ensure a stronger voice for all those who come into contact with the NHS and care services, and the voluntary organisations that help them. - NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action)
NAVCA is the national voice of local Third Sector infrastructure in England. It aims to ensure communities are well served by the local Third Sector by supporting its members and their work with over 160,000 local groups and organisations. - NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations)
NCVO represents and promotes the work of the Third Sector. It undertakes research, develops policy positions in consultation with members, seeks to influence government nationally and at European level and helps organisations to plan for the future. - Office for Civil Society
As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office for Civil Society leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving Third Sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. - Office for Disability Issues
The Office for Disability Issues leads the government's vision of achieving equality for disabled people. - Office of the Third Sector
As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving Third Sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. - Progress through Partnership (PtP)
Progress through Partnership (PtP) is the support programme for Local Strategic Partnerships in the south east region. PtP offers a news service, funding, and a range of events and resources to every Partnership in the south east of England. - RADAR
Radar is now Disability Rights UK - formed through a merger of Disability Alliance, Radar and National Centre for Independent Living. This is a national charity focussing on promoting meaningful independent living for disabled people, promoting disabled people's leadership and control, breaking the link between disability and poverty and campaigning for disability equality and human rights. - Social Enterprise Coalition
The Social Enterprise Coalition represents a wide range of social enterprises, regional and national support networks and other related organisations. Advice and Information
- Ableize
Ableize is a directory, run by a team of disabled people providing a collection of disability, mobility and health related resources covering the UK and Ireland. - Barrier Busting
Communities and Local Government website offering individuals and members of local groups (and local authorities) the opportunity to get advice on how to overcome the bureaucratic barriers that are getting in the way of whatever they want to get done in their community. - BASSAC (British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres)
A membership body for community organisations, providing advice and guidance on issues affecting the community and voluntary sector at regional and national level. - Benefits and Work
A website run by a barrister and benefits expert. It is independent of the Department for Work and Pensions. It casts a critical eye over all the main changes affecting benefits and also has a free online test to test eligibility to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). - BIG Funding Advice
Big Lottery Fund has launched a new website called Funding Advisers, which replaces the previous Helper Agency website. This resource is specifically aimed at those who support and offer advice to groups who are interested in accessing funds from BIG. - BIG Learning Zone
Big Lottery Fund now has a website which focuses specifically on advice for prospective applicants to achieve the project outcomes required by BLF from successful projects. - Charity Builder UK
A website specialising in health and safety and human resources information. It is free to use and offers tips and checklists to assist organisations in devising their own policies while complying with the law. There is also a regular newsletter. - Community Care
Community Care magazine has launched a free daily email service, Daily Bulletin, to help keep up to date with the latest social care news. An email will be delivered each morning with the top headlines from the last 24 hours. - Community Resources
Community Resources is an online magazine which offers free advertising by the community sector to the community sector. It also promotes free or low cost resources. The magazine comes out each Monday. - Compact Voice
Compact Voice is the voice of the voluntary sector on the Compact — an agreement between the sector and the Government to ensure better working together. We provide training and resources, and represent the sector's concerns to the government. - Department of Communities and Local Government
Government department which aims to foster prosperous and cohesive communities, offering a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for all. - Disability Alliance
Disability Alliance is now Disability Rights UK - formed through a merger of Disability Alliance, Radar and National Centre for Independent Living. This is a national charity focussing on promoting meaningful independent living for disabled people, promoting disabled people's leadership and control, breaking the link between disability and poverty and campaigning for disability equality and human rights. - Disability LIB Videos and Toolkits
This site contains 30 short films about Disabled Peoples Organisations and Capacity Building. - Disability Rights UK
Disability Rights UK – the newly combined RADAR, Disability Alliance and National Centre for independent Living has a welfare rights service which offers member organisations advice on tax credits and benefits. Free factsheets on benefits, tax credits, social care and other disability related issues can be downloaded from the website. Two other public advice lines are also available – the Disabled Students Helpline and the Independent Living Advice Line. - Disability and the Equality Act
Directgov has a one page summary on Disability and the Equality Act with useful links to the Government Equalities Office and guidance relating to definitions of disability. - DisabledGo
'DisabledGo' provides free detailed access information for disabled people across the UK. - Equality Act 2010
The Government Equalities Office has produced this webpage which views the Act from the standpoint of the public, employers, third sector, public sector et al and outlines the obligations each sector has under the Act. - Friends, Families and Travellers
FFT seeks to end racism and discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers, whatever their ethnicity, culture or background, whether settled or mobile, and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life. - Gender Trust
Helps adults throughout the United Kingdom who are Transsexual, Gender Dysphoric, Transgender (i.e. those who seek to adjust their lives to live as women or men, or come to terms with their situation despite their genetic background), or those whose lives are affected by gender identity issues. - Giving World Online
Enables charities and community groups registered with the website to access free quality goods which are surplus to requirements. Companies can make their surplus goods available via the website and by disposing of them save on storage costs and reduce waste. - Governance Pages
A resource for information on governance for small voluntary organisations and community groups. There are a variety of sample documents, quick guides to finding new finding new committee members and user involvement for example and 32 FAQs on most aspects of governance. - Guides to Disability Hate Crime
The ODI –Office for Disability Issues and Disability Rights UK have produced three new guides to disability hate crime. Two are for individuals and one is for disabled people’s organisations who might be considering setting up third party reporting centres. - Information from Central to Local Goverment
A useful website to enable local authorities to link into central government consultations, publications and related topics. Information can be selected by region and by content (including benefits, education, employment, health, wellbeing and care and social issues). - KnowHow Non Profit
An e learning website which gives access to a variety of 'How to' guides written by users who wish to share their knowledge with others in the sector. - Lasa Knowledgebase
Lasa provides a fact sheet concerning good practice for making websites as accessible as possible for all users. Other articles include how to devise a fault log, alternatives to Windows Outlook email and the legal responsibilities of organisations with regard to workers' health and safety. There is also a forum for ICT technology workers in the voluntary sector. - Oneplace
Official government website that provides independent assessments on local public services in England by geographical area and by local authority. - Stonewall
A registered charity working for equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in the UK. - Surrey Welfare Rights Unit
SWRU provide specialist benefits training and bespoike training packages for organisations in the South East region. - The Women’s Resource Centre
A registered charity which provides training, resources and support to women's organisations alongside campaigning and lobbying on key issues for the sector. - Touchbase
A monthly e-bulletin produced by the Department of Work and Pensions which has useful information on welfare benefit changes and other items of news related to the work of the DWP. - True Vision
True Vision provides information for victims and the public about what hate crime is, why it is important to report it when it happens, and sets out the range of ways hate crimes can be reported, including via a new online reporting form. The site also provides links to organisations that can offer support and advice on hate crime related issues. - VolResource
VolResource is a website with information on anything to do with running a voluntary organisation (whether a community group, charity or other non-profit body). Employment Services
- ACAS
ACAS and Community Legal Service Direct offer free advice and information on employees' rights at work. - Disability Dynamics
A limited company specialising in disability and diversity awareness training, consultancy, research and evaluation for businesses across the UK. - Diversity Group
The Diversity Group is a recruitment website with the primary objective of promoting equal opportunities to people from every kind of minority background or lifestyle, including race, gender, disability, age, faith and sexual orientation. - Diversity Job Board
A diversity focused job site targeted at candidates from diverse social or ethnic backgrounds. - Diversity Jobs
Diversity Jobs is a website for employers and candidates from diverse backgrounds. The Diversity jobs network also hosts websites specific to ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality and disability recruitment. - Diversity Link
A website for diversity and equality practitioners which hosts the latest diversity news, events and job opportunities. - My Training Resources
My Training Resources has a number of training manuals and materials on topics such as equality and diversity, training volunteers and trustees. - Small Charities Coalition
The Coalition helps small charities to access the direct skills, experience and resources they need to achieve their aims. - Third Sector Skills
Each day ThirdSector.co.uk provides the latest news and readers can sign up for free daily email updates. The site also offers subscribers a comprehensive resources section giving case studies and expert advice to help them do their jobs better. Other features include a detailed event listing giving details of the most important conferences, seminars and training sessions in the voluntary sector and a searchable archive of past Third Sector articles. - Travel Matters
Travel Matters Enterprises Ltd operates as a Travel Agency and also as a training centre for clients recovering from mental health problems. - Volunteering England
Volunteering England is a volunteer development agency committed to supporting, enabling and celebrating volunteering in all its diversity. Its work links research, policy innovation, good practice and grant making in the involvement of volunteers. Who's Who
- Andrea Sutcliff
New CEO at Social Care Institute for Excellence as from April 2012 - Andrew Lansley MP
Secretary of State for Health - Andy Burnham MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Health - Chris Grayling MP
Employment Minister - Eric Pickles MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government - Iain Duncan Smith MP
Minister for Work & Pensions - Jeremy Moore
Newly appointed Director of Independent Living & the Office for Disability Issues - ODI - Lynne Featherstone MP
Under Secretary of State, Equalities Office - Maria Miller MP
Minister for Disabled People - Mike Smith
Commissioner for Disability, Equality & Human Rights Commission - Nick Hurd MP
Civil Society Minister - Paul Burstow MP
Care Services Minister - Sarah Teather MP
Minister for Children - Steve Webb MP
Minister for Pensions - Tim Loughton MP
Children and Families Minister