Summer 2012 - 3VA

3View

The newsletter for the Voluntary and Community Sector in Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden

Summer 2012

Connecting People How Social Media can benefit your group, pages 6-7

Charity Insur ance 101 Are you covered? page 3

Master Class Series Fundraising courses, page 4

T he Power Of Number s How statistics help bids, page 11

And much mor e inside... Introduction, page 2; Funding, page 5; SpeakUp, page 8; Networks, page 10; Member profile, page 12

60 minutes This year’s Volunteers’ Week coincides with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. To celebrate 60 years on the throne, people are being asked to volunteer one hour of their time. Find out more on page 9

The official newsletter of

n topics e crowd o th d e s s re reforms add speakers Healthcare t n s e a v h E c u ig s B

Communication revolution and BIG successes Dear readers,

The BIG E vent was well a ttended

g Networkin at the t BIG Even

A phrase we hear a lot today is ‘social media’ – in fact to the point where it can almost be a cliché. I know some of you are already embracing the opportunities it can give you to reach people and raise awareness of what you do, to make your voice heard and keep informed on relevant topics. But it is not for everyone, and to decide if it can be helpful for you, and how, we’re taking a look at social media in this issue. We’ve given it a lot of thought at 3VA and are starting to use social media where it can add value to our work in either development support or representation for local groups, and we want to make sure you all have the chance to make informed choices about how you involve yourself with these communication and technology changes. Find out more on pages 6 and 7. It was fantastic to see so many people at the BIG Event at the end of March (pictured left) and take the opportunity to work together on some key issues such as the changes in health and benefits. In the voluntary sector many of us work with those affected by such change and bringing you together shows just how much good work is going on around us and how important it is. I am also encouraged by how many of you are engaging with our support services or opportunities to make your voice heard – we all know it’s a very challenging time for many local voluntary organisations and 3VA remains committed to doing all we can. One frequent support issue is insurance and I’m grateful to Keely Rust from Reid Briggs for providing a briefing on page 3. If there are other policy and/or practice matters you would like us to cover, please let us know. Finally, I’m writing this in the week 3VA met with our public sector funders for our annual review. We are able to report not only on meeting targets but also of many real examples where 3VA has made a difference to local voluntary groups. This was fantastic, and I wanted to say a public thank you to my staff and volunteers who make this possible. Best wishes,

Adam Chugg, 3VA Chief Executive Images on this page and page 8 © Val McManus

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Expert Eye Charity Insurance 101 With community groups operating on increasingly restricted budgets, having to foot the bill for a claim could be a financial disaster. Keely Rust gives an insight into what your insurance should cover What springs to mind when you think of insurance? It’s complicated, boring, endless red tape and questions? However, whether you are a drop-in centre, a line dancing club or a support group; whatever your purpose, taking out insurance provides you with essential cover to protect you from unforeseen financial loss. There are various kinds of cover available depending on the nature of your activities, but every group needs Public Liability insurance as a minimum. Public Liability insurance covers you in the event of injury to a member of the public (or their property) in the course of your activities. You do not have to have fixed premises to need this cover. If you visit service users’ homes or rent out a property for your group’s use, your public liability insurance would cover the cost of repairing any loss or damage to those premises or their contents which you are legally liable for as a result of your activities. For a liability claim to be valid, it must be proven that your negligence has caused the injury or damage. If, however, the injured person is your

employee or volunteer, the claim would be brought under the Employers Liability section of cover instead and this imposes a much higher duty of care on you. Even if you only have volunteers, you should check your insurance documents to see whether you have Employers Liability cover, as they should have the same insurance protection as paid employees. Though these are the basic levels of cover that all community groups should ensure are included in their insurance policy, different groups need to consider additional levels of cover. These may be specific to the type of service you provide, or related to other realities of your organisation, such as the insurance implications of having trustees. For information about these additional insurance considerations see the box below. Ultimately insurance cannot be overlooked when it comes to must-haves for any charity or community group. Though this article provides an introduction to insurance considerations, it is not a substitute for seeking professional insurance advice.

Different cover for different types of service... n Professional Indemnity: If you provide advice, such as counselling, a helpline or mediation services, this covers you for losses suffered by recipients due to errors or omissions in the advice you provide. n Trustees Indemnity: This helps protect Trustees so that individuals who may be held personally liable for their actions in managing the organisation’s assets can be granted insurance protection. n Business package cover: If you operate from fixed premises, you will need contents cover for your fixtures and fittings and many of the same covers that an office or business requires. An independent Financial Services Authority regulated insurance broker will review your cover needs and obtain quotations based on your specific requirements across a wide section of the market. n All Risks cover: This is for portable equipment such as a PA Systems or IT Equipment which are taken out of an insured premises. Usually these items would be individually specified as they need wider than usual cover. Cover can be UK, European or worldwide as necessary. Do check your policy schedule carefully for exclusions or restrictions on theft cover from unattended motor vehicles, for example, which users of the items should be made aware of. Keely Rust is a commercial insurance account handler with insurance broker Reid Briggs & Co, which is registered with the Financial Services Authority. If you have an insurance question you would like answered email [email protected] with the heading ‘3View question’, or call 01323 438843. Summer 2012 3View Page Three

Training news Summer Training At 3VAs n How to get Public Sector Funding Tuesday 15 May, 10am – 1pm, Lewes Town Hall Public sector service delivery and funding and support for voluntary and community groups are both rapidly changing as the impact of recession and austerity measures continues to play out. This training session will explore what this means in practice for voluntary and community groups, charities and social enterprises. Cost: £20 for community groups in East Sussex (normal cost £48, supported by the Big Lottery). n Covering your Costs Tuesday 22 May, 9.30am – 4pm, Uckfield Civic Centre This workshop will be split into two sections. The morning will look at preparing and using budgets; the difference between project and core costs; understanding the language involved and how to cover all your project costs. The afternoon will focus on identifying and calculating project costs and core costs, with emphasis on including hidden costs. There will be plenty of practice and advice to help you. Cost: £55 for 3VA Members (supported by the Big Lottery); £65 for all others. n Trustee Essentials Tuesday 29 May, 9.30am – 1pm, Lewes Town Hall This is an essential introduction to the role and responsibilities of trustees within voluntary and community groups. Developed and run by 3VA, we use our expertise in supporting local organisations to give trustees the best possible start (or update) on the day-to-day essentials, including: governance, legal obligations, competencies and liabilities. Cost: £50 for 3VA members; £60 for all others.

First Aid At Work The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has updated its ‘Basic advice on first aid at work’ leaflet, listing the priorities when faced with an emergency such as dealing with a person who is not breathing. However it is not a substitute for effective training, so contact 3VA if you are interested in first aid at work training. Page Four 3View Summer 2012

3VA Funding Master Classes are bite-sized courses aimed at taking you through the process of planning your fundraising to completing your funding applications. They can be attended as a series or as a stand-alone course. All of the 3VA Funding Master Classes are delivered by experienced funding advisers and include details of sources of further information and support. The first master classes are as follows: n Developing a Fundraising Plan Thursday 17 May, 10am – 12pm, Lewes Town Hall This session with Karl Parks will help you develop a plan of the funding needs of your group and how to achieve your funding goals. Cost: Free for community groups in East Sussex (supported by the Big Lottery). n Finding the Funds Tuesday 12 June, 10am – 12pm, Lewes Town Hall This session with Lorna Stagg will help you identify appropriate funding for your project and will include information on how to identify public, private, lottery and trust funding. Cost: Free for community groups in East Sussex (supported by the Big Lottery). n Making a Funding Application Tuesday 19 June, 10am – 12pm, Lewes Town Hall This session with Sue Shoesmith will take you through the process of completing a funding application with advice on how to explain your project. Cost: Free for community groups in East Sussex (supported by the Big Lottery). Note: Though free to attend, all of the above ‘Master Class’ courses will be subject to a charge of £10 per person for non-attendance. If you are interested in any 3VA training courses email [email protected] or visit www.3va.org.uk

Westminster Latest Sue Shoesmith looks at what the 2012 Budget means for the Voluntary and Community Sector Although the Chancellor did not mention the notfor-profit sector in his budget speech, the budget document published after his speech does include a number of measures that will have an impact on the sector: Not-for-profit advice: The Government will give £40 million to not-for-profit advice organisations ‘to support the sector as it adapts to the changes in the way it is funded’. Changes to Gift Aid: From April 2013 charities that receive small donations of £10 or less will be able to apply for a Gift Aid repayment without the requirement to obtain formal Gift Aid notifications to support repayments. The maximum amount of small donations that can utilise this less formal method will be £5,000 per annum per charity. Only charities that have been dealing with Gift Aid for three years and have a good compliance record will qualify. Online filing: HMRC is introducing a new online system for charities to register their details for Gift Aid and to make Gift Aid claims in 2012/13. Charity shop donations: The Government will work with the sector to simplify the administration of Gift Aid as it relates to charity shops.

Funding Update In-year repayment of tax to charities: The Government will legislate to amend Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC) and Gift Aid legislation to ensure it operates as originally intended, and to put on a statutory footing the practice by certain charities and CASCs of making claims for repayment of income tax including Gift Aid outside a tax return. Social Investment: The Treasury will conduct an internal review looking into the financial barriers to social enterprise. Cap on Tax Relief: A person will not be able to claim tax relief worth more than 25 per cent of their income, including higher-rate relief on gifts to charities, unless they are claiming less than £50,000. VAT on protected buildings: The Government will charge VAT on improvements to protected buildings. For VAT purposes, a protected building is a listed building or scheduled monument that is (or will become on completion of the work) a dwelling, a residential building or a building used by a charity for non-business purposes such as a place of worship or village hall. The 2012 Budget Statement and full Budget is available to view on HM Treasury website www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.

Funding Success: St Elisabeth's Church In May 2009 St Elisabeth's Church approached us for support in finding money to undertake building work on their church and make the building a ‘centre for the community’. EAVS (as we were pre-convergence) and then 3VA provided support to create a funding plan, break down the costs into fundable projects, provided funding searches and commented on bids. St Elizabeth’s secured: £48,500 from VEOLIA Environmental Trust (VET) to help create a lighter entrance; £4,000 from Allchurches Trust; £5,000 from Garfield Weston; £4,000 from Beatrice Laing; £3,000 from the Rank Organisation; and £3,000 from the Church and Community Fund. Church members donated funds and ran events, and St Elisabeth's Eliza Watson Fund also contributed to the total of around £165,000. This funding has enabled St Elisabeth’s to install a lift giving access to all floors and to renovate and install a kitchen and an accessible toilet. They are now on their way to becoming the community hub they aspire to be. Church member Jeannie Luck, who put together the bid for VET funds says: “There is a lot of preparation needed and I couldn’t have done this without the support from Maureen [Anstey] and 3VA. Many of the funders were identified from 3VA funding searches, bids were reviewed and support and advice was available whenever it was needed.”

Select Funding Deadlines Some Comic Relief programmes – 29 June BBC Children in Need – 15 July Comic Relief Local Communities (Sussex Community Foundation managed fund) – 20 July Heritage Lottery Fund’s Small Grants – 31 July ESF Community Grants – 24 August Sport England Inspired Facilities – 17 September BIG Lottery’s Village SOS (Chiddingly Community Shop secured £20,565 in the last round) – 12 September

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Feature

Connecting People Social media is a relatively new way to connect with large audiences. But what exactly does the term mean and how can your group benefit from it? What is it and why should you care? Though some people haven’t tried social media out for size yet, most will be aware of its existence. The catch-all term was coined for the emerging methods of sharing information, ideas, messages, and other content with people instantly through the internet. Social media went beyond being a passing fad even before it spawned an Oscar-winning film, and the most popular social network has over 800 million active users. It cannot be ignored and it is important to know what the revolution is about. While millions of social media users are dotted around the globe, lots of them are local. Some are your service users and others are potential funders. Social media platforms are also embedded in the communication strategies of local authorities, and these days information is often sent out in this form before any other means. Lots of charities are already avid users of social media, including Cancer Research UK, which has around 37,000 followers on Twitter, and the British Heart Foundation which has been ‘liked’ over 128,000 times on Facebook. Though local groups shouldn’t expect quite such a response from social media activity, there are advantages to getting involved for community groups of all sizes.

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Advantages of social media Community groups that have tried social media have found it has many advantages, including: Being the first to know about issues Groups get the news affecting them (e.g. new funding streams) as soon as it is available. It’s cheap and easy Groups can promote their activities to wide audiences for limited cost (the only cost is the staff time involved in minimal maintenance). Having conversations with new and old Social media allows meaningful interaction with existing contacts and encourages new audiences into conversations. Rather than email exchanges between a handful of people, or firing press releases into the ether and hoping they be taken up, social media builds engagement. Make connections beyond social media People linking with you on social media can become real life advocates of your work too. Contacts you develop online are a resource as they get to know you and talk about your work with other people. In this way communities of interest develop, either geographically or by topic, which allows more continuous engagement with people.

Getting Started As it is relatively new, very few people have had any formal training in social media, and it can evoke the fear of the unknown. However launching onto social media is relatively simple, and free! How to... Twitter Twitter enables you to engage with your audience, so get into conversation mode. This will help make Twitter useful as people will be more likely to give feedback to your events, offer reactions to your announcements, and so on. Ultimately your aim is to develop relationships online that will complement your face-to-face work. Navigating your way around When you log into Twitter on your computer there are three tabs at the top of the screen. The ‘Home’ tab is where you will find Tweets [see ‘Glossary’] from all of the people/groups you have chosen to follow. The ‘@connect’ option shows all the interactions people are having with you, including when someone follows you or re-tweets any of your updates, and the ‘#discover’ tab shows topics that are trending in the world. You can also use the search function to enter topics that interest you (e.g. LotteryFunding) and this will show what is being Tweeted on the subject. Entering a hashtag (#) before a word or phrase will bring up the most relevant tweets. What should you Tweet? Literally anything you like – within the normal conventions and laws of internet land?! You could react to a piece of research, flag an event or just say how your day is going. Remember you only get 140 characters so don’t worry about perfect grammar... speak informally. Showing the human side to your organisation helps people feel they know you, and this makes them more likely to care about your work and become followers. Our advice, have a go and send some tweets, you can’t go too wrong. Other social media networks to consider Facebook is the major player in social networking with over 845 million active users. Groups can set up pages and post updates, be ‘liked’ by others, ask questions, publicise events, and more. This platform, and Twitter, are the most obvious options for groups that want to try out social media www.facebook.com Bebo is similar to Facebook in that users receive a personal profile page where they can post updates, photographs, and so on. However Bebo never achieved the popularity of Facebook and has had troubles behind the scenes www.bebo.com Flickr is an image and video hosting website, allowing registered users to post and share photos and videos online www.flickr.com LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site mainly used for professional networking uk.linkedin.com

Glossary Tweet - a short update limited to 140 characters in length. Follow - Following groups or people means you will see all tweets from them through your Twitter account. Followers - These are people who have chosen to follow your updates. They can opt out, so try to stay interesting! Re-Tweet - This is when Tweets people find interesting are shared with their followers. This helps tweets reach bigger audiences. Trending - This means lots of people are tweeting about a particular subject, and so you may find it interesting too. Hashtag (#) - These prefixes help you reach your intended audience, and find what you’re looking for. They are put before key words or phrases, e.g. #Wealden or #BigSociety, and you can use them to help others find your Tweets too. You can tag multiple key words in any Tweet to help it be found.

Top of the tweets The Independent newspaper recently named Britain’s most influential Twitter users. Bearded tycoon Richard Branson (@RichardBranson) topped the list, with campaigner and ex-Prime Minister’s wife Sarah Brown (@SarahBrownUK) second. Twitter aficionado and national treasure Stephen Fry (@StephenFry) also made the top ten. Though we at 3VA (@3VAsupportVCS) enjoy the light-hearted musings of comedian Rob Brydon (@RobBrydon), our own top list includes local and national bodies that you may find it useful to follow. East Sussex County Council’s support to the third sector (@ESCCCommunity) is worth following, and East Sussex’s Borough and District Council’s also have a Twitter presence. The Big Lottery gives out millions in funding (@BigLotteryFund) so may be worth following, and the NCVO (@NCVO) and DCLG (@CommunitiesUK) can also be useful. We’d also like to thank Kathryn Langley (@kathrynlangley) for helping with this article. Summer 2012 3View Page Seven

The Forum is supporting representation and a platform for networking in East Sussex. For more details of SpeakUp’s work email [email protected] or visit www.askcasper.org.uk/speakup

Useful Resources from the BIG Event The annual Big Event for 2012 brought together organisations from across the county to discuss important issues affecting the voluntary and community sector. SpeakUp countywide forum has now made resources available online, in case you missed out...

The fourth annual Big Event took place at Eastbourne Winter Gardens on 13 March, attracting 190 people. The conference featured five speakers, round table discussion groups and an Advice Fair with 30 stalls offering information about free and low-cost services available to community organisations. This year’s speakers focused on national policy changes within Health and Social Care, and Welfare and Legal Aid, and the event opened with a stand-up dialogue on stage by Becky Shaw, Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council, and County Councillor Tony Freebody, Lead Member for Community Services. Feedback has been excellent, with delegates describing the event as ‘really informative’, ‘useful’ and ‘a great chance to make contact with other organisations’. Delegates highlighted ‘networking’ and ‘updating current knowledge of current national policy’ as the two most useful aspects of the day. People from 102 different organisations were present and over 90 per cent said they would like to attend the event annually. SpeakUp has made resources from the day available online at www.askcasper.org.uk/speakup, including the PowerPoint slideshows used by speakers Katherine Atkinson (RAISE South East), Julie Eason (East Sussex Advice Plus) and Sue Hennell (Brighton Housing Trust). Briefs are available to download to help update knowledge of the rapidly changing situation in Health, Social Care, Welfare and Legal Aid. New material will also be added, including comments and outcomes from the round table discussion groups. Major Changes to Police and Community Safety In November elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will replace police authorities. The PCC’s responsibilities will include setting local community safety priorities and funding activities to meet them. These changes to existing funding and commissioning structures will affect the local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS). There will be one PCC for Sussex and the local VCS needs to be prepared to influence local community safety priorities, access funding, and Page Eight 3View Summer 2012

develop partnership opportunities. SpeakUp Forum is a local lead for the VCS in this area and will be promoting information about the PCC, working with groups to support their voice, and establishing relationships with the candidates prior to election, and afterwards with the elected PCC. If your organisation has an interest in addressing issues such as crime and reoffending, antisocial behaviour, substance misuse, violence against women or youth crime, we encourage you to contact us or visit www.askcasper.org.uk/speakup.

Volunteer Centre East Sussex is a countywide service that offers support and advice to groups who involve volunteers in any aspect of their work. You can contact VCES by email to [email protected]. Changes to the Volunteer Centre Team Sarah Hodgetts, manager of Volunteer Centre East Sussex, returned to 3VA from her six month sabbatical on 2 April. Sarah said: “I thank Lee Shepherd, Volunteering Support Officer for Eastbourne and Lewes District, for managing the Centre in my absence and congratulate the team on their hard work and dedication to completing the Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation in February.” VCES is awaiting the result of the Accreditation process and should receive notice of the outcome in May. The VCES team appreciated the fantastic work of acting Projects Assistant Anke Thurm during the last six months, and she now moves to work with SpeakUp Forum and take on additional work with 3VA supporting Personnel and Governance. Patrycja Czyz is returning to work as Projects Assistant within VCES and remains as the VSO for Eastbourne and Lewes one day a week. Sarah would like to thank everyone at VCES and 3VA for their warm welcome back and support during this period. Criminal Records Bureau Update In the Coalition Agreement, the Government committed to review the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) and the Criminal Records check procedure to scale them both back to common sense levels and ensure a more proportionate system. As a result of the review, several changes have been recommended: 1. The abolition of the registration and monitoring requirements of the employment vetting scheme 2. Reducing the range of posts to which barring arrangements apply 3. Launching Criminal Records Status Checks (CRSC). Unlike the existing CRB checks, the CRSC would allow for criminal records disclosures to be continuously updated and the status of existing disclosures in relation to any new relevant information could be checked by employers. The VBS review also recommended that services of the CRB and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) be merged to create the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) which will provide barring and criminal records disclosure services.

Give an hour This year, National Volunteers’ Week coincides with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Organisers of the Jubilee Hour initiative – which will be officially launched later this month – hope more than a million people will sign up to volunteer an hour of their time for a local cause (a minute for every year that the Queen has been on the Throne). More than 70 organisations across the UK have already signed up to the scheme, and the Volunteer Centre team members will also be joining in, donating their time while promoting the work of some of the volunteer involving organisations across East Sussex. Final plans are still being developed, but to keep up to date, please visit the VCES website at www.vces.org.uk.

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service Community Volunteers ESFRS Community Volunteers scheme was created to support the work of the service in achieving its vision of ‘safer and more sustainable communities’. By June 2012, the Scheme will have 60 volunteers, with six volunteer groups in the service areas of the City of Brighton and Hove, Lewes, Wealden, Eastbourne, Rother and Hastings, enabling all Borough Commanders, Headquarters staff and fire stations to access the support of the volunteers, regardless of where in the county they are based. In the winter months volunteers have supported the Service with a variety of activities including working alongside Sussex Police to educate drivers on the consequences of dangerous driving. In the coming months, volunteers are involved in station open days, supporting fundraising activities of the station crews and Safety in Action week activities for local schoolchildren. Volunteers have even been able to draw on their own experiences in their volunteering, including one volunteer, disabled as a result of a road traffic accident using her experience to talk to the public about the importance of road safety. For more information visit www.esfrs.org/communityvolunteers. Summer 2012 3View Page Nine

Community Networks Update The latest from the community networks, which exist to represent the interests of the voluntary and community sector in local decisions Connecting People II Feedback ‘Connecting People II’ was a networking event run earlier this year by 3VA in partnership with Eastbourne Strategic Partnership and East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. The event was designed to bring together all organisations in Eastbourne who work with elderly people in their homes so they are aware of what each organisation does and how to access their services. For example, Meals on Wheels might go into a person’s home and find the smoke alarm not working, and as a result of this event would know who to contact to get it put right.

“Another excellent event. There is so much help out there and this event really is valuable for informing us all”

Community Transport Week Eight community transport providers in 3VA’s area of operation (Eastbourne and Wealden and Lewes Districts) have expressed an interest in taking part in East Sussex’s first Community Transport Week, being organised jointly by the three Councils for Voluntary Services in the county. Look out for their presence during the week beginning 16 July 2012, when there will be events around the county to showcase what community transport can do for everyone in the community and encourage members of the public to use their services or volunteer to help. For further information about Community Transport Week contact Angela Alexander at Rother Voluntary Action. One of our member groups that is community transport provider is profiled on page 12.

Delegate at ‘Connect People II’

Over 60 people from 50 organisations attended the event, with some very positive feedback, and asked for this type of network event to be repeated in the future. Feedback from the event included one delegate commenting that: “It’s nice to know that there are many services out there for the elderly”. Following on from this event, 3VA will be looking at how this network of organisations working with older people can be utilised to help deal with fuel poverty and the countywide winter warmth campaign. Page Ten 3View Summer 2012

Future of Eastbourne Community Network Our Big Lottery funding for the Eastbourne Community Network comes to an end in September 2012 and it is time to review how the network is run. We are applying for alternative funding and will know the outcome in the summer. However 3VA is meeting with the existing team of representatives to the Eastbourne Strategic Partnership and will also be talking to the ECN membership about the future structure. Further announcements will appear in this newsletter and the 3VA eNewsletter, or email Jenny Watson at [email protected] for more details.

Jenny Watson looks at how groups can use statistics to argue their case for funding and introduces some resources that may come in handy...

Using Statistics To Back Your Bids tatistics, it seems, can be used to prove anything as Wallace Irwin illustrated when he asserted, “Statistics show that, of those who contract the habit of eating, very few survive.” Nevertheless, for any organisation building a case for support, statistics can add credibility to an organisation, explain the rationale behind decisions and be a powerful means of changing opinion. They make us consider facts rather than opinions and, used properly, can help to shape the work of organisations by better understanding the problem. Sue Shoesmith, an experienced funding advisor at 3VA, says, “No matter what the size of the grant you are applying for, you will have to demonstrate a need for your project or service. Statistics can provide evidence that there is a problem, or that a need exists.” Large organisations will collate a huge amount of information about their service users. However, even the smallest voluntary group should be able to keep a minimum amount of information about the extent of the problem they are tackling. For example, this may include the number of people it has helped, what their problems were and the different ways the group helped them. There is also a vast array of other free information available which can be used to demonstrate need. For reliable data about Sussex, one of the most useful sources is East Sussex County Council’s East Sussex In Figures (ESiF) website. It contains data relating to 11 themes, including: crime and community safety; deprivation; education, environment; health; housing; population and transport, with sub-themes which make it possible to analyse the data at an even more detailed level. The site makes available and accessible the latest statistics on the social, economic and demographic character of East Sussex and its communities. It can even be used to create tables, charts, maps and area profiles and access published materials including survey results, maps, reports and briefings. Training sessions are run by ESiF regularly (see box below for details). Another useful website is the new East Sussex Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) website (www.eastsussexjsna.org.uk), which presents detailed information on health, wellbeing and health inequalities. It draws on local and national sources to cover, not just health, but topics such as education, employment, housing and transport, which impact significantly on peoples’ health and wellbeing. These websites, together with data collated by an organisation itself, can serve to demonstrate the breadth of a problem or need that an organisation is seeking to tackle. Sue emphasises that groups need to use data carefully though, “If your project is going to address a need in a village, do not use data that shows the position in a county.” However the poor interpretation of statistics is not always about malicious intent. Not taking into account the context in which the statistics were produced, who produced them and for what purpose, what was being measured and the assumptions behind the measurement can all lead to the misinterpretation of statistics. So when you next come to bid for funding don’t forget the power of statistics. Happy counting!

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Where to find help with statistics n The House of Commons’ Library has produced a guide, ‘How to spot spin and inappropriate use of statistics’, to help avoid the pitfall of drawing the wrong conclusion from the right data www.parliament.uk n ESiF offer training that will help you understand the resources available on ESiF and to become confident in extracting data in a variety of formats to suit your needs www.eastsussexinfigures.org.uk Summer 2012 3View Page Eleven

3VA Member Profile North Wealden Community Transport Partnership The Partnership, which is registered as both a charity and a company limited by guarantee, operates the Wealdlink community bus service. Our vision is to be a sustainable and enterprising community transport organisation Service Users working with local appreciate the communities to meet Wealdlink Service their transport needs. Our service users are individuals and groups who, by dint of age, disability and mobility problems, cannot access normal commercial forms of transport. We cover the High Weald and principally the villages located on and around Ashdown Forest where there is considerable rural isolation, but we are willing to extend to a wider area if needed. Our core shopping service operates on a daily basis, Monday to Friday, and at evenings and weekends our vehicles are available to operate group trips when required. On average, the shopping service operates at approximately 60 per cent capacity, but ideally we would like to see it at least 90 per cent. For 2012, we plan to identify youth and other community groups in need of our trips service on a regular and occasional basis, enlarge our Board of Trustees with additional dedicated individuals prepared to oversee the business, and we hope to widen the scope of our door-to-door shopping service to a broader range of passengers over a larger area. We are also setting up a team of drivers and escorts to operate our dementia transport contract. The Company's main sources of income are fares, donations, grants, Parish contributions, and contract and trips income. We also plan to consolidate the business opportunities we developed during 2011. To find out more visit the Partnership’s website: www.4weald.co.uk. n Other community transport providers that have expressed an interest in taking part in East Sussex’s first Community Transport Week are: Age Concern Eastbourne, Cuckmere Community Bus, Community Transport Lewes Area, Mayfield and Five Ashes Community Cars, the Red Cross Sussex Community Rail Partnership and Newhaven, Peacehaven and Seaford Lions. Keep an eye on 3VA’s weekly eNewsletters for details.

Notice: 3VA Room Hire Rates We have just completed our annual review of room hire charges at 3VA. We are pleased to say that, thanks to judicious housekeeping, we have managed to hold down the charges at the current rate. This means that there will be no price increase this year. Visit www.3va.org.uk for details. Page Twelve 3View Summer 2012

Contact Us Notices of publications, events and services do not necessarily carry an endorsement by 3VA, nor do they represent the view of 3VA 3VA Registered Office, 8 Saffrons Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1DG Tel: 01323 639373 Fax: 01323 410977 Email: [email protected] Website: www.3va.org.uk Facebook: 3VA Twitter: @3VAsupportVCS 3VA Lewes Office Bizspace, The Malling Business Centre, 112 Malling Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2RG 3VA Wealden Office 79c High Street, Uckfield East Sussex, TN22 1AS 3VA is a Company limited by Guarantee Registered in England and Wales Number: 4637252. Registered Charity Number: 1096788. 3VA is a Member of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) and a Member of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). 3VA is supported by Eastbourne Borough Council, East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust, East Sussex County Council, Lewes District Council and Wealden District Council. The CASCADE Project and specialist funding advice are funded by the Big Lottery Fund. 3View is also available through the website: www.3va.org.uk. 3View Editor: Matthew French, ICT and Marketing Officer, 3VA