Empowering Communities
II
Our Strategic Plan
For a Stronger Staffordshire
2025-2035
6 February 2025 (v1.1)
This Strategic Plan will be lightly reviewed annually and more thoroughly reviewed before each Business Planning period commences
Vision
A strong & resilient voluntary sector creates a strong, resilient community
Our support enables this ∙ Creating a Stronger Staffordshire
Mission
We deliver the four functions of Local Infrastructure as recognised and promoted by the National Association for Voluntary & Community Action (NAVCA):
- Volunteering
- We empower neighbourhoods and communities
- Capacity Building
- We increase skills & knowledge through great value information, advice & guidance
- Partnerships & Collaborations
- We build resilient networks between charities, public and private organisations
- Leadership & Advocacy
- We are the largest independent voice for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSE) in Staffordshire
| Values | What we believe | How we behave |
| Community Driven | We believe that people create their own futures together | We champion mutual understanding, collective learning & local decision making |
| Inclusive | We are fair & believe in the potential of everyone | We support everyone to achieve their goals, but focus on equity for marginalised people |
| People Powered | We are positive about people & their talents | We recognise everyone’s skills, experiences, knowledge, connections, passion & potential |
| Trusting | We value empathy, integrity, transparency, & respect | We spend time & energy building relationships, listening, and collaborating |
| Ambitious | We are brave, inquisitive, imaginative, & adaptable | We continuously learn with communities, leading & dreaming big together |
| Sustainable | We are all responsible for a healthy & prosperous future | We ensure future generations can thrive as we do |
Strategic & Economic Outlook
Historically known as CVS (Council for Voluntary Service), most often referred to nowadays as Local Infrastructure Organisations (LIOs); have been on something of a rollercoaster journey in the past 25 years. After a period in favour, between 2005 and 2014, which saw both central government (Change Up, Capacity Builders, TLI) and National Lottery (BASIS I & II) investment of significant funding, the sector has been out of favour nationally for over a decade now. At the same time, more traditional sources of local funding from local authorities and the NHS have faced sustained pressure through wider austerity since 2008.
Marketisation has remained something of an underlying concern with some ongoing external pressure towards the ‘customer’ paying for services from the bottom up. This has remained marked amongst some influential independent trusts and foundations who have increasingly adopted ‘funder +’ models based around so-called independent advice from private consultancies and individual self-employed persons (some who are former LIO employees).
Whilst this has increased competition between LIOs and other providers, there has concurrently been an ongoing rationalisation through merger and closure of traditional district (or smaller) CVSs nationally, regionally and of course in Staffordshire (from 9 to 1, from 2013-2018, including the Community Council).
There have been several external, academic and government reports and commissions on LIO services over the years, from the 2014 Independent Commission on the ‘Future of Local Infrastructure’, through a 2021 Local Government Association (LGA) County Councils Network Report, which reflected extremely well on the role of LIOs following their role in the Covid-19 pandemic response. To a recent DCMS research call in 2024.
In the period since the Covid-19 Pandemic, our national body, NAVCA has capitalised on awareness of LIO involvement in the response, to build a strong and consistent case for infrastructure, often working collaboratively with the Centre for Social Research (CSR) at Sheffield Hallam University. These studies not only endorse the four functions but make the case for their integrated provision being greater than the sum of their parts.
More generally, the role of the VCSE sector alongside government, has diminished through successive governments since 2015, running roughly parallel to the Brexit years and successive crises since then. The Office, now Department (or perhaps sub-department) for Civil Society and associated junior Ministerships have been degraded and inconsistently held. Little has emerged by way of strategy, though one was published in mid-2018, you would hardly know it.
The 2024 new Labour Government offers a potential turning point for government-VCSE relations and has set this out in broad terms through its Civil Society Covenant.
Fiscally, Support Staffordshire continues to:
- Manage costs effectively, sustaining balanced or surplus performances of recent years
- Sustain and build upon our relationships with a wide range of third party investors in the statutory and independent funder sector, that allow us to maintain a free core offer of information, advice and guidance, based primarily on presenting need
- Develop unrestricted support & income from donors, both corporate and individual
- Further grow our now established paid for consultancy, research and training services; and developing new services based upon the needs of our members
- Actively manage cash through investments and cashflow vs savings management
- Continue to lead on partnerships and collaborations where it makes sense for us to do so, having weighed up the different factors objectively, with particular regard to our values and culture
Aims & Objectives
Aim 1: Sustain & Develop the Four Functions of Local Infrastructure
Objective 1.1: Volunteering
- We empower neighbourhoods and communities
Volunteering is integral to thriving communities. We encourage & nurture volunteering opportunities, so that people can build connections & work together on things they care about, driving positive change locally
Objective 1.2: Capacity Building
- We increase skills & knowledge through great value information, advice & guidance
When local voluntary & community organisations have access to practical support, people & communities become more resilient & able to flourish. We provide training, resources & advice to facilitate community development.
Objective 1.3: Partnerships & Collaboration
- We build resilient networks between charities, public and private organisations
We create opportunities for collaborative working by building networks & partnerships between local organisations & strategic partners. Through nurturing these relationships, communities are better equipped in both the development of ongoing projects & times of crisis.
Objective 1.4 – Leadership & Advocacy
- We are the largest independent voice for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSE) in Staffordshire
We are leaders in our communities, strengthening our sector’s voice & influence on key decision-makers & funders. We support & empower vulnerable & marginalised communities, working towards a more equal society.
Aim 2: Evidence Informed Opportunities:
Acting within our vision & values, operating with particular regard to our role as Leaders of place, working in Partnership & Collaboration, we will seek opportunities for a Stronger Staffordshire, rooted in evidence of need & assets of communities.
Aim 3: Local Infrastructure Collaborations
Working collaboratively with near neighbour and nationally relevant Local Infrastructure Organisations to strengthen the LIO sector, and for mutual benefit.
Aim 4: Operational Excellence
Working to achieve continuous improvement that benefits the organisation as a whole. All personnel, members and stakeholders receive the best possible experience when working for and with Support Staffordshire.