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Case Study: Sussex VCS Learning Consortium (SVCSLC)

SVCSLC Development

• Consortium started with a successful bid by RAISE (Regional Action and Involvement South East) to organise a short project to address the issue of support to help voluntary and community organisations to contract and engage with their local Learning and Skills Councils for funding to provide a range of training services.

• Sussex LSC has an active interest in working with the voluntary and community sector. They would prefer not to work through a host of different small organisations. Their aim is to reach individual learners but through larger contracts wherever possible.

• Several voluntary & community sector organisations in Sussex were enthusiastic about forming a learning consortium and an agreement was drawn up and signed by these organisations, forming the initial membership. This was in February 2003.

SVCSLC Structure

• Since SCVSLC is not legally constituted it has adopted a “lead body model”, with one organisation as the lead able to receive funding on behalf of the Consortium. Action in Rural Sussex is the lead organisation.

• There are currently 21 member organisations drawn from across Sussex, which comprises the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex and the city of Brighton & Hove.

• Membership is free and members can engage with the Consortium at a level that suits them. Some are delivering learning, others are “feeder” organisations signposting learners to deliverers. All are interested in being part of a network that encourages the sharing of information, experience and good practice examples.

• All members have signed to show their acceptance of the “Consortium Agreement”.

• There are currently meetings every two months held at Sussex LSC in Brighton. All members are encouraged to attend.

SVCSLC Function

• The Consortium exists to

  • Research existing provision and gaps within the voluntary and community sector, in order to identify particular training that the sector is best placed to deliver.

  • Raise awareness within voluntary and community organisations about the requirements and responsibilities of being a training provider and assist them to develop the management and quality systems required to deliver training.

  • To work with voluntary and community organisations to access funds for mainstream provision, to meet training and learning needs and efficiently manage those funds into provider organisations.

SVCSLC Operation

• The Consortium sees its current and potential activity as falling within the following four areas.

  • Partnership and policy.

  • Building the capacity of the Consortium & its members.

  • Delivery and advice to the VCS learning community.

  • Delivery and advice to other learning communities.

SVCSLC Projects

• Capacity Building and Research Project .

  • Research to identify the needs of voluntary & community organisations to help them develop as learning providers.

  • Provision of support informed by the research.

  • Three year project ending in July 2006.

  • Sussex LSC LID funding.

• Learning Together .

  • Courses designed to help people working in voluntary & community organisations to be more effective and to learn new skills together.

  • Courses delivered by four Consortium members.

  • Three year project ending in December 2006.

  • ESF Co-financed funding.

• Widening Adult Participation.

  • Initial stage to review previous widening participation initiatives that organisations have undertaken, to include a learner centred consultation, and make recommendations.

  • Second stage to assist participating organisations to redesign elements of their course delivery to ensure that the “learner’s voice” is more prevalent within them.

  • Theoretically a 2 year project but ending in March 2006.

  • WAPAF funding.

SVCSLC Staff

• The Consortium currently has the following staff to support its activity.

  • Coordinator - 35 hours per week.

  • Administrator - 5 hours per week.