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Step by step guide to developing Voluntary and Community Sector Learning Consortia?

This section offers a step by step guide to setting up and running voluntary and community sector learning Consortia. Consortia are all different in some aspects of their work and how they are structured. This website does not seek to produce a definitive model, but rather gives the principles and practices which our partner consortia have adopted to achieve their success. They have faced similar challenges, and so commonalties emerge in terms of how they operate, have maximised opportunities and overcome barriers.

Section Map:

• What are Consortia?

• Why have voluntary and community sector learning Consortia?

• Getting started.

  • Pulling together a partnership.

  • Identify the need.

    • Research.

    • Building on the existing infrastructure.

    • Funding for research.

• Developing Consortia – first steps.

  • Who to involve.

  • Building on what already exists.

  • Encouraging diversity .

  • Leadership to drive the process.

• Next steps - Values and ways of working.

  • An enabling approach.

  • Transparency.

  • Credibility.

  • Partnerships.

  • Governance structures and accountability.

    • Governance.

    • Accountability.

    • Staffing.

• Next steps - roles and functions of Consortia.

  • Capacity building.

    • Raising awareness.

    • Supporting funding.

    • Workforce development.

      • Delivering learning and development opportunities to VCOs.

      • Promotion of the sector as an employer.

      • Supporting progression frameworks for career development.

      • Skills for Life.

      • Support VCOs as learning providers.

  • Strategic.

    • Research and mapping.

    • Lobbying and Influencing Policy.

    • Formulate sector wide learning and development strategies.

• Continuing steps - Networking and communication.

  • Facilitate networking.

  • Communication.

• Continuous steps – achieving quality and sustainability.

  • Funding for Consortia.

  • Quality, monitoring, evaluation and managements systems

• Helps and Hindrances for developing Consortia.