Infrastructure in 2020: A force for good or a spent force is discussed by Tony Okotie, Chief Executive of Community Voluntary Action Tameside. This presentation was given at the Evolve conference in June 2013. Find out more about the Evolve conference: http://www.ncvo.org.uk/training-and-events/evolve-conference

1. Infrastructure in 2020:
A force for good or
a spent force?
Tony Okotie,
Chief Executive
June 2013

2. Who are we?
• Tameside:
• East of Manchester city- 1 of 10 GM boroughs
• Population 220,000
• Mainly urban, traditional manufacturing, multiple
deprivation, ‘heart disease capital of England’
• State of the voluntary sector research:
• 1,000 VCS organisations – 70% income under £10k
• 26,000 volunteers; 1,200 employees
• worth £100m pa

3. Who are we?
• CVAT the joining of two ‘traditional’
infrastructure organisations:
• Tameside 3rd
Sector Coalition – formed 2001
• Volunteer Centre Tameside – formed 1975
• Employ 30 staff, income approx £1m
• No direct services (ish)
• New organisation opportunity to think about
infrastructure again

4. The overarching mission of CVAT:
‘to build, and support strong,
vibrant volunteering,
community and voluntary
action in Tameside’

5. Mission split into 5 aims
External: 1. Capacity building
2. Volunteering
3. Communities
4. Partnerships
Internal: 5. Our organisation

7. Looking to 2020...
• 2020 is just 7
years away
- the time it took
to build the
London
Olympics!
Does what infrastructure looked like 7 years ago (in
2006) offer any clues?

8. The unsettlement of infrastructure
1. changing demands and challenges facing
frontline organisations – tailored support for a
competitive environment?
2. withdrawal of central state support for national
and local infrastructure – ‘de-coupling’
3. income generation and a changing geography of
infrastructure; TLI as unfinished business from
ChangeUp? – ‘reconfiguration’
Rob Macmillan, Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham
Reproduced with permission

9. The unsettlement of infrastructure
4. changing delivery mechanisms - on-line
support; peer to peer learning; pro-bono;
community organising; prime contracting; ‘fiscal
sponsorship’, incubation and shelter
5. ‘demand-led’ approaches - market making in
infrastructure?
6. rethinking functions and staffing of infrastructure
organisations - hollowing out
Rob Macmillan, Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham
Reproduced with permission

10. Implications – challenges and opportunities
• ‘Customers’
o what support do we need, or want? (and do we know?)
o do we want to shop for it, and if so how do we choose?
o how will we know if it is any good?
• ‘Suppliers’
o how do we reach ‘customers’? how do they know about us?
o what is our business model and organisational structure?
o what niche can we occupy in relation to other providers?
o how do we set and adjust our prices?
• ‘Market makers’
o is there a viable market for chargeable support services?
o how far should it be ‘managed’ or left open?
o how is quality understood and assured?
o what support is available for new, smaller or marginalised groups?
o what about ‘voice’ and advocacy?
Rob Macmillan, Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham
Reproduced with permission

11. So , how have we responded?
• Merger to form CVAT
• Opportunity to rebrand, lose ‘baggage’
• Financial efficiencies
• Redefine services and ‘offer’
• The offer to VCOs– 3 levels:
1.Self Service / ‘digital by default’
 underpinning strategy
1.Free offer – because someone else is paying
2.CVAT+ -
our chargeable offer

12. Digital by default / self service
• Online access to:
• Self assessment of group needs (and online
signposting)
• funding portal
• e-learning
• Closed discussion space (s)
• Factsheets
• Good People – an alternative to ‘Do It’?
• Note: work in progress!

13. So , how have we responded?
• Collaboration
• Our offer to other organisations:
• Make – sell – buy – share?
• 3 touchstones for collaboration:
Can’t negatively affect the service local VCOs get
Must be better than cost neutral
Key stakeholders must approve
• Specialist support fund
• Way to buy / commission specialist support on VCOs behalf
• Tests out VCOs contributing / paying

14. So , how have we responded?
• Development of other services
• Consultancy
• Grant management
• Project management / consortia / supply chains
• Being ‘solution focussed’ with commissioners
• Tameside 4 Good
• Need to provide practical
support to help VCOs increase
work with business / community

15. Tameside 4 Good
• Increasing giving of time and skills, resources
and money – locally
• Business engagement
• community fundraising
• volunteering
• Replicable model -other infrastructure
organisations can licence

16. What have we learnt?
• We have no ‘right’ to be funded – we
have to be excellent
• Competition - baseline is private providers
• Demonstrate impact – to VCOs and
funder
• Voice is important
• Be clear – what is free, what isn’t

17. What have we learnt?
• Be lean / efficient
• the cake is getting smaller, so overheads
should be a thinner slice
• Avoid mission drift
• It’s a journey – which takes time
• If you haven’t already started.........?