The Consortium

Our Vision:

Our vision is that the VCS have access to high quality, coordinated and sustainable support whic reflects and promotes diversity to enable them to influence policy and programme development and to fulfil, to their highest potential, opportunities for voluntary action and the delivery of services to the people of Devon.

Our Mission:

The Devon Consortium exists to provide a framework within which VCOs in Devon feel that they are:

  • Represented
  • Influential
  • Respected
  • Sustainable
  • Engaged
  • Receiving appropriate services to required standards.

The Devon Consortium is made up of:

- The Devon Consortium itself
- A wider Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly
- The Management Board
- Communities of Interest
- Project Leads

More of which is detailed below.

Any organisation or network can join the Devon Consortium providing they deliver services to frontline organisations within the Voluntary and Community Sector in Devon.

The consortium agrees the strategy and business plans as determined by the Management Board, and based on the needs of the sector and other external factors.

The Consortium supports, as a matter of principle, Communities of Interest (COIs) and agreed leads of those agreed COIs will automatically be participants in this group.

Other organisations wishing to join the Consortium must be able to confirm that they deliver one or more of the following:-

• Management of an active membership of community and voluntary organisations
• Provision of networking opportunities to frontline organisations
• Practical Support which includes training and capacity building to frontline organisations
• Opportunities to enable the voice of the sector to be heard
• Provision of representation either on behalf of other organisations within the sector or management of processes to enable frontline organisations to represent others in the sector
• Ensuring equality of opportunity for contributions to be made to and participation in, the wider debate on the needs of the sector especially in the area of rurality, diversity and equality

All members of the Consortium will be expected to contribute and actively participate to meeting the objectives of the consortium. Failure to do so may result in membership of the Consortium being withdrawn.

The Consortium meets twice a year. At other times, where appropriate, decisions and input will be requested electronically.

Any member of the Consortium will be eligible to lead projects but are expected to declare an interest in these and other matters where appropriate.

Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly

The VCS Assembly is open to any voluntary and community organisation who wishes to contribute to the debate on how our sector can be developed. The Consortium acknowledges that there are many different ways of contributing to this debate and will seek to provide avenues to achieve this by developing Communities of Interest and by using members of The Consortium to canvas views and opinions from their memberships/contacts.

The Assembly is convened annually and enables The Consortium to inform frontline organisations of their activities, and also gather input into future plans.

Input is gathered on a more regular basis, as outlined above.

Communities of Interest (COI)

These are supported by The Consortium and are open to any frontline voluntary and community organisation who has registered an interest in being involved in shaping the debate about the sector.

An organisation will state the level of which they would like to be involved and, through the COI leads will be contacted and communicated with as appropriate. For more information, please click here.

For information about the Management Board, please click here.

For information about Project Leads, please click here.