Community Impact Bucks is the independent charity which provides comprehensive support services to other charities, community groups, social enterprises and rural organisations throughout Buckinghamshire. It is also the Volunteer Centre for Buckinghamshire, helping members of the public to get involved in community activity. How can we help you today?

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The Big Society in Buckinghamshire

big societyThere are lots of exciting initiatives around the Big Society in our county. On this page we will bring you latest updates and resources as they emerge.

Are you aware of the following?

Bucks Big Society Bank

12 May 2011, Voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in Bucks will get a major boost to their funds with the launch of the Bucks Big Society Bank.

The idea for the Bank was developed through a partnership between Buckinghamshire County Council , Community Impact Bucks, The Clare Foundation and Bucks Community Foundation.

Read the full press release

Further information is available by contacting Bucks Community Foundation on 01296 330134.

The Big Society in Burnham

Address to Bucks County Council Leadership Group re. Burnham Health Promotion Trust in the context of "The Big Society", Dec 16th 2010 by Dr Bev Daily

The Burnham Health Promotion Trust - A model for the Big Society

Emily Shaw, University of Reading, undertook research between July 2010 and February 2011 for her undergraduate dissertation into the potential for the Big Society in Burnham, South Bucks. Entitled 'immense, invaluable and irreplaceable'? The implications of policy and legislation upon volunteering in Burnham, the research has explored the nature of challenges currently facing the sector and how these influence organisations' use of volunteers and individuals' propensity to volunteer.

Summary of research findings and how to contact Emily

Social Capital the barriers and benefits

Scrutiny review of the Big Society in Buckinghamshire

Community Impact Bucks has assisted elected councillors in Buckinghamshire to review the role that they and their local authorities can play in supporting the development of the Big Society in Buckinghamshire.

The group is not a replacement or substitute for high quality services but rather it is a different way of ensuring that communities have access to the services and opportunities that they need.

Some of the key recommendations from the report are:

  • A Big Society conference in Autumn 2011 to develop the awareness and skills of councillors of their role in the Big Society (Rec 2)
  • A development programme for councillors to help them fulfil their role in the Big Society (Rec3)
  • Look for innovative ways to maximise the impact of funding to support communities (Rec 4)
  • All Bucks councils to promote the take up of volunteering and to encourage their own employees to do this via Employer Supported Volunteering Schemes (Rec 5)
  • Support the development of online toolkits and guidelines to help community groups to set up and deliver services (Rec 6)
  • Ensure that new build developments include provision of community facilities (Rec 8)
  • Develop a shared approach to measuring the social return on investment (Rec 9)

The report will now be considered by each of the district and county scrutiny committees and cabinets for them to consider how to respond to the recommendations. The full review is available here.

Presentations on the Big Society

The Big Society: Opportunity or Threat - Caroline Slocock Director of the Civil Exchange presentation from the 2012 Showcase.

The value of trustees and the Big Society - notes from Dominic Grieve's talk at the Buckinghamshire Trustees event 29th October 2010.

Cohesive and Strong Communities Debate - including an overview of the Big Society - presented by Diane Rutter to the South Bucks Partnership in October 2010.

Bucks Strategic Partnership - Notes from the Big Society Workshop 16th September 2010.

National level information and resources that may be useful

Overview of the Government's policies to support the Big Society:

Cabinet Office

Department for Communities & Local Government

The Big Society Network

ACEVO Commission on the Big Society. Meeting between January and March 2011, this commission aims to articulate a civil society vision for what charity leaders want to achieve through the Big Society agenda, and to recommend practical steps that Government, third sector organisations and others need to take to make that vision a reality.

Our Woman in Whitehall...  Growing the Big Society...

Vicky Westhorp, who many of you will remember from her work at Government Office South East, is now working in the Office for Civil Society in Local Intelligence around growing the Big Society.

She will be providing local information to cabinet office, helping to understand existing and emerging challenges and opportunities; supporting the development of some Big Society pilots; and providing briefings and support for Ministerial visits.

She is keen to hear  issues and stories from Bucks. So if you have something that you want the cabinet to know about, views, examples, concerns or things to shout about, then please let Vicky know.
Alternativly Tel. 01483 885121 M 07786 190025 Click here for Introduction letter to Local Intelligence and Role of local intelligence

County and District joint Scrutiny Review

Community Impact Bucks has assisted elected councillors in Buckinghamshire to review the role that they and their local authorities can play in supporting the development of the Big Society in Buckinghamshire.

Findings and recommendations are in the attached report: Big Society in Bucks, produced by the County and District Joint Scrutiny Review, onto which Cora Carvey and Diane Rutter from Community Impact Bucks were co-opted. We are grateful for the opportunity given to us to bring the perspective of the voluntary and community sector into this review.

The group has asserted its view that the Big Society is not a replacement or substitute for high quality services but rather it is a different way of ensuring that communities have access to the services and opportunities that they need

Some of the key recommendations from the report are:

  • A Big Society conference in Autumn 2011 to develop the awareness and skills of councillors of their role in the Big Society (Rec 2)
  • A development programme for councillors to help them fulfil their role in the Big Society (Rec3)
  • Look for innovative ways to maximise the impact of funding to support communities (Rec 4)
  • All Bucks councils to promote the take up of volunteering and to encourage their own employees to do this via Employer Supported Volunteering Schemes (Rec 5)
  • Support the development of online toolkits and guidelines to help community groups to set up and deliver services (Rec 6)
  • Ensure that new build developments include provision of community facilities (Rec 8)
  • Develop a shared approach to measuring the social return on investment (Rec 9)

The report will now be considered by each of the district and county scrutiny committees and cabinets for them to consider how to respond to the recommendations. The full review is available here.

Who is ready for the Big Society? Report produced by Consulting Inplace, which uses official government statistics to answer 2 questions: 

  • Which local authority areas in England seem to be best prepared for the Big Society based on local people's participation in volunteering and their involvement in local decision making?
  • Are there any areas where the level of participation is surprisingly high or low?

Lots of statistics are included if you wish to compare your area with others in the country.

Chiltern features as an area where the degree to which local people participate in volunteering is much higher than might be expected, given the main economic and social drivers that generally explain participation.

A PDF Containing details can be viewed here.