ADVANCING LOCAL VOLUNTARY ACTION
Ashton House
1a Gatefield Street
Crewe
Cheshire
CW1 2JP
Tel/Fax 01270 211545
Registered Charity No. 506632
Cheshire East Congress
The Third Sector, working together, in Cheshire East
GOVERNING DOCUMENT
The Third sector in Cheshire East is an essential player in Cheshire East as it represents a constituency that engages with some of the most vulnerable groups in that community and is able to operate at a “grass roots” level which can be harder for larger organisations. It is able to harness the goodwill and commitment of people giving their own time and resources to see important improvements achieved in the quality of people’s lives. These improvements can often prevent the need for intervention by statutory agencies.
Cheshire East Congress is committed to working with our statutory and other strategic partners to ensure the delivery of excellent, value for money services to the community of Cheshire East. Cheshire East Congress is an overarching network of well established Third sector organisations, mandated by the sector in June 2008, to deliver our core objectives.
1. Aims:
1. To improve communication within the sector and between sectors
2. To enable the views of the Third Sector to be represented to others
3. To enhance and improve the communities of Cheshire East
4. To promote the sector as a service deliverer as well as a strategic partner
5. To ensure that the voice of the sector and its needs are recognised by other sectors
6. To achieve a Compact way of working in partnership, in order to encourage thriving engagement between sectors
2. Objectives:
1. To co-ordinate communication, to influence and to improve relationships with partners
2. To provide an effective forum for Third Sector networking and support, able to agree and champion positive Third Sector solutions to challenges facing the sector, statutory bodies and the communities we serve
3. To provide an effective voice and to act as advocate for the Third Sector in Cheshire East
4. To build strong, effective and sustainable working relationships with partners, within the Third Sector in Cheshire East
5. To provide a mechanism to support the Third Sector’s independent and effective contribution to statutory strategies and consultations
6. To champion the vital role of volunteers in the Third Sector
3. Principles and Values (Congress will):
1. Have a commitment to collaborative partnership working in a supportive and constructive way
2. Take a proactive approach in all of its activities
3. Recognise the varied and complex organisational environments existing in the Third Sector
4. Value and encourage the diversity of views, approaches, and perspectives which exist in the Third Sector
5. Build transparency and openness into all of its workings
6. Build on existing and planned Third Sector activity and relationships
7. Not create unnecessary new layers of bureaucracy
8. Be straightforward, clear and timely in its presentation and communication
4. Structure and membership:
1. Membership of the Congress will be open to all Third Sector organisations whose area of benefit lies within Cheshire East
2. Each member organisation to have one vote
3. The Congress will have a Steering Committee formed from representatives of district and wider networks
4. Membership of the Steering Committee will be decided through a voting process
5. Purpose and role of Steering Committee:
1. To produce, in consultation with members, an Action Plan for the development of the Congress
2. Ensure that the Third Sector has appropriate representation on partnership bodies such as the LAA, LSP and Area Partnership Boards
3. To act as ambassadors for the Third Sector
4. To support communication within the sector and to ensure that the Cheshire East Congress communicates to all its members
5. If appropriate to act as an accountable body for resources
6. Each member of the Steering Committee will attend as a representative of their organisation/network and will undertake to liaise between their organisation and the Steering Committee
7. A fair and agreed voting process will be agreed
8. The Steering Committee will be constituted from reps from local and wider networks and CVSs
9. The Steering Committee shall convene a meeting at least once per year of the Congress
10. The Steering Committee shall meet not less than four times per year and elect its own Chair and Vice-Chair for one year at a time
6. Administration:
- The Cheshire East CVS partnership will provide administration, manage the links between the networks and support and advise on the future development of the Congress
