Monday, July 16th, 2007

EVDC & Shared Efforts

The VE webpage for the England Volunteering Development Council (EVDC) website describes its role as:

a high-level representative and advocacy mechanism for volunteering. It engages both with government and opposition parties in order to capture the collective intelligence of volunteer-involving organisations, volunteering infrastructure providers and of volunteers to provide a powerful, coordinated lobby to steer government policy and community action.

The South East EVDC is one of 9 regional bodies informing the work of the national council. It seems obvious that that much of the content discussed at the meeting will be of interest to our network members.

At our last meeting discussions with Simon Richards of VE the idea of sharing dates/venues with the EVDC was raised as possible means of conserving resources and to encourage the two groups towards a productive and mutual exchange of information. From the point of view of the SENVC it would be useful if  a group of VCs (8 or 10-ish?) attended the EVDC in a morning session then those VCs could be joined by the other network members in the afternoon. 

Having attended their last meeting I can report that this not likely to be practical. The EVDC were happy to work together and do want VCs to be represented but are not keen to invite the enough VCs to attend at any one time as to create any real benefit. And if you factor in the fact the afternoon session would then be moved to a less travel-friendly timetable (ie not 11-3 but perhaps 2-5?) for those attending the afternoon session only.

Like SENVC the EVDC are currently reviewing their role & aspirations as a group and planning a way forward. They now have an appointed Chair and the secretariat will firmly placed with VE. The most productive activity the network can pursue now is to build consistent and open communication links with them and watch this space.

A separate entry will be made regarding the general content of the EVDC meeting.