LEP group shortlisted for top award

Social inclusion group in running for Compact Award A group which brings together the voluntary and community sector in the Marches on behalf of the region’s Local Enterprise Partnership is in the running…
Social inclusion group in running for Compact Award
A group which brings together the voluntary and community sector in the Marches on behalf of the region’s Local Enterprise Partnership is in the running for a top national award.
The key role of the sector in the social and economic future of the region was officially recognised by the Marches LEP earlier this year when it signed up to an agreement, called a Compact.
The agreement says the LEP and its partners in the sector will work together in the most effective way, ensuring the benefits each can bring to individual initiatives, as well as to overall economic and social development.
Now the Marches LEP’s working group has been shortlisted in the National Compact Awards which celebrate excellence in partnership working between the voluntary sector and the public sector.
Named the Marches Social Inclusion Mini Group, the nominated project brings together Shropshire Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly (VCSA), Shropshire Providers Consortium (SPC), Telford & Wrekin CVS, and Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service (HVOSS) to secure voluntary sector engagement with the LEP.
Chairman of the Marches LEP, Graham Wynn OBE, said: “With the introduction of a new EU funding programme, joint work between the voluntary sector and LEPs is vital. The group met the challenge of designing an engagement mechanism to cover the entire Marches area, with a population of more than 660,000 people, 27,095 businesses, 4,109 registered voluntary organisations and an estimated 290,737 formal volunteers.
“This is a tremendous achievement and we’re delighted their efforts have been recognised with the shortlisting for the National Compact Engagement Award.” This new Social Inclusion partnership also includes and receives support from Shropshire Council, Telford & Wrekin Council, Herefordshire Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Marches LEP signed up to its three local Compacts in April this year. They set out good practice in relationships between commissioners and the VCSE and highlight agreed ways of working.
For copies of the Marches Compacts see the following webpages:
Shropshire Compact: http://vcsvoice.org/the-compact/
Telford & Wrekin Compact: http://www.telford.gov.uk/info/200101/volunteering_and_voluntary_organisations/71/the_local_compact
Herefordshire Compact:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/advice-and-benefits/grants-and-aid/herefordshire-compact
To find out more about the work of the Marches Social Inclusion Mini Group, and to sign up to the e-newsletter for details of events, contact Katherine MacDonald:
Email: VCSAssembly@shropshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01743 252740