Voluntary Sector Gateway West Lothian

As the new interface between West Lothian’s Community Planning Partners and the Voluntary Sector, the Gateway has three core objectives: Capacity Building for the Voluntary Sector, Volunteer Development and Social Enterprise Development.

The Gateway also

Co-ordinates volunteering projects that support West Lothian’s communities
Provides information and advice on issues such as: funding, governance, training, legal structure, start up, staff and volunteer recruitment, monitoring and evaluation, and networking.
Delivers a variety of learning and skills development courses
Organises networking events and represents the Voluntary Sector at local and national forums

Click to view the 2010-2012 Operational Action Plan (Leading the Way)

Mission Statement

To be a leading edge organisation with the capability, capacity and confidence to shape the future of a strong and thriving Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Sector, enhancing the quality of life for the people of West Lothian

Business Hours

Our office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and we can be reached by Email – vsg@vsgwl.org – Telephone (01506) 650111 – or Fax (01506) 650222.

Training and Meeting Rooms for Hire

For more information download our leaflet or contact vsg@vsgwl.org (preferred rates for members).

Tough Choices Consultation

The Voluntary Sector Response to the Tough Choices Consultation can be viewed here.

Organisations should develop their own responses to complement the Voluntary Sector response and forward to their respective Convenor’s of PDSP’s.

Advice to Voluntary Sector Organisations on Responding to Tough Choices Consultation/PDSP’s

With the West Lothian Council Tough Choices consultation now underway, nine PDSP’s (Policy, Development and Scrutiny Panels) have been set up covering specific areas of Council and Voluntary Sector Service Delivery Areas. To view the PDSP meeting dates and areas to be covered by each PDSP plus the member of the Voluntary Sector Strategic Group who will represent the Voluntary Sector Gateway at each of the meetings click here.

Each PDSP will be held in the Council Chambers at the Civic Centre, Livingston and are open to the public. I would encourage representatives from your organisation to attend the respective PDSP as a visitor, in this capacity you will not be allowed to contribute to the meeting but it will give you a better understanding of the process and progress of any legitimate issues that you have submitted through your representative.

I have been encouraging organisations to submit a minimum of a one page document that states their organisations case succinctly for the minimum reduction in funding that is due to take place from 1^st April 2011 onwards. When constructing your response please consider the following:

Your organisations details and core objectives
Your organisations fit with Council priorities. (The service you deliver may be legislated for as part of Government Policy, other parts of your service delivery may be aspirational. You have to differentiate between both, but apply appropriate emphasis)
Itemise the fit with the Single Outcome Agreement and West Lothian Life Stages model
Emphasise the added value of your service in line with all of the above.

It is not sufficient to be telling the Council just how good an organisation you are without justification. If you take time to construct your response, and I would encourage every organisation to do so, in line with items 1 – 4, then you will have the desired impact on members of the PDSP.

Please ensure that your response is submitted at least 7 days before the PDSP meets to allow time for consolidation of responses.

The PDSP’s, as you will note have a range of meeting dates, these are not a repeat of previous business, it is because that area is so large that they need several days to cover the subject matter.

As a courtesy I would request that organisation’s responses are copied into the Voluntary Sector Gateway at jim.gallacher@vsgwl.org

Click here for a list of the nine Executive Councillors and the portfolios held.

E-mail addresses for all councillors are in the format – firstname.surname@westlothian.gov.uk for example jim.walker@westlothian.gov.uk

Click here for the services to be discussed at Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) meetings

Voluntary Sector Gateway will be organising training and awareness events on the subjects of Outcomes,Efficiencies,Working Smartly, Strategy Planning and Collaborative Working. Dates and times of these events will be published in due course. If other areas of training are required and have not been highlighted please contact the Gateway and make your views known

Register a Volunteer Opportunity

If you would like to register a volunteering opportunity on the national database, VBay, please click here and complete and return the form to vsg@vsgwl.org or return by post.

The Community Toolkit

This resource has been developed for and with the help of community groups to help improve skills and knowledge and bring benefits to local communities. There are guidelines on a range of topics, including setting up and running a community group, legal requirements and good practice, planning and fundraising for a particular project and where to obtain useful statistical data on the local area.

To access the Toolkit click here

Training Calendar 2010/11

The following courses will be made available to all Voluntary Sector Organisations throughout the year. All courses are expected to be half-day courses but some may require a full-day due to their content. Additional courses will be announced shortly.