Notice Board - News

OCVS work programme focusing on key issues

Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector,

The OCVS team is currently considering how its 2007/08 work programme can best respond to issues raised by community and voluntary organisations about their relationship with government.

We intend our work to build on the dialogue from June’s Community-Government Forum in Wellington where 150 people from the community and voluntary sector (the sector) met with 13 Ministers and 50 senior government officials to discuss common issues. The Forum, which was organised by a steering group of sector leaders supported by the OCVS, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and the Community Sector Taskforce, was the first time that such a diverse mix of people from the sector, Ministers, and officials had come together under one roof.

Key issues highlighted at the Forum included:

• the need for new processes to ensure the Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship is fully and consistently implemented
• the need for a change to the culture of government and for improvements to ways in which government engages with the sector
• the need for changes to government funding and accountability arrangements
• the need for greater recognition and support for volunteers, including through the tax system

The Forum highlighted once again that different parts of the sector express their ‘voices’ in very different ways, so Government needs to engage with a wide range of networks across sub-sectors and population groups in order to determine how best to hear a range of views and perspectives.

At the OCVS, we work daily to embody the principles of the Statement of Government Intentions and model best practice in community participation and collaboration. The OCVS 2007/08 work programme will continue our emphasis on long-standing issues affecting the community-government relationship, but we know these are not problems for us to solve alone.

At this stage, we anticipate three major collaborative projects will focus on:

• building better government engagement with the sector
• improving government funding and accountability arrangements with the sector
• developing non-tax incentives for volunteering and philanthropic giving.

We'll be working alongside a wide range of stakeholders in the sector and within government to help determine priorities and the way forward. Some work to address the key issues is likely to be lead by the sector, but we will aim to be an active partner, contributing where we can to make the most positive impact. Real progress will only be made with involvement from the sector at national and grassroots levels, local and central government officials, and where appropriate, business and academia.

We are already talking to some of you about how these projects might shape up, but if you're not directly involved you can stay informed of progress and learn of opportunities to provide input via this e-newsletter.

You can read notes from the two-day forum at
www.ocvs.govt.nz/publications/community-government-forum.html

Contact person	OCVS
Postal address
Phone	(04) 918 9555
Email	ocvs@msd.govt.nz
Website address	http:// www.ocvs.govt.nz
Submitted by	Ns