Representation
A vital part of the Community and Voluntary Sector Forum's (CVSF) work is supporting community and voluntary sector groups to influence local policy. We work hard to extend the contribution of community and voluntary sector representatives to the governance, planning and delivery of local services.
We currently have 34 elected representives who serve on a range of city wide partnership boards. They represent the views of our members and bring specific strengths to the partnerships, particularly with respect to their understanding of local needs. They do this through:
- connectedness to local communities;
- their ability to engage hard to reach communities;
- encouraging the active participation of service users
As a result, our representatives are able to make a significant contribution to the partnership boards through their experience and expertise in:
- collaborative partnership working to provide joined-up services;
- identifying gaps in local services being provided;
- developing and extending further services that meet the complex needs of marginalised people.
The contribution made by our CVSF representatives to partnership working continues to evolve and grow in importance. If you would like to consider being a CVSF representative look at what's involved by downloding a copy of the representatives manual >>>
CVSF has created a range of 'position statements' which reflect the key priorities of our members. These position statements help CVSF elected representatives to clearly and confidently represent the views of members, particularly at strategic partnership meetings.
