The West of England Civil Society Partnership
<
The West of England Civil Society Partnership (WoECSP) is a partnership established by Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE) infrastructure and support organisations across the West of England. The partnership, originally established in 2011, brings together Voscur, CVS South Gloucestershire, Voluntary Action North Somerset, Wesport, West of England Rural Network and the newly formed B&NES Third Sector Group.
The role of the Partnership is to provide:
- Leadership, support and coordination for the VCSE sector across the West of England
- A voice and focus for the VCSE sector to engage in, influence and scrutinise policy development at a West of England level with the new and emerging governance structures
Achievements of the Partnership to date:
- Supported the development of and work of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
- Supported the development of the LEP Economic Strategy, in particular the approach to supporting Social Inclusion
- Enabled the development of and supported a successful grant application to the EU Social Fund Building Better Opportunities programme led by Weston College, which has secured £6 million of funding
- Enabled activity delivered by 25 local VCSE organisations across the West of England to support people furthest from work
The Partnership’s current work includes:
- Supporting the VCSE in its engagement with the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and Joint Committee
- Working with the WECA Skills Group, the Rural sector group, the Social Enterprise Sector Group and the Growth Hub
- Supporting the development of the Local Industrial Strategy and leading on Inclusive Growth
- Representing the VCSE on the EU Structural Investment Funds Committee
To get in touch with us about this partnership, please contact our CEO Rebecca Mear at rebecca@voscur.org
The West of England explained, created by Chris Head of the West of England Rural Network:
