Reflecting on 2023: favourite moments and more

As we approach the end of 2023, the NAVCA staff team have been looking back at our highlights from the year. We're sharing them with you in this blog post, including some exciting funding news and what we're looking forward to next year.

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Developing Quality Accreditation

We launched the LIQA (Local Infrastructure Quality Accreditation) in April, enabling our members to further explore and demonstrate their local impact. We also awarded 22 organisations the VCQA (Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation). Alongside this, we continued to develop and improve the accreditation process, including the launch of a new submissions portal to make things easier for applicants.

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Demonstrating the value of local infrastructure

We held a roundtable event in May, where we had policy makers  government and sector funders discussing – and agreeing – on the value that local infrastructure delivers for the VCSE sector. We're looking forward to continuing to develop this work in 2024.

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Collaborating with members

We continued to run our Anti-Racist Group, exploring interesting and challenging topics together. We also set up a Climate Network in response to member feedback, where we will explore the role of local infrastructure in tackling the climate emergency. In both of these networks, we have developed a programme of events for 2024.

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Running an online conference

It was great to see so many people at our online conference in April. We ran many different workshops for different job roles within the NAVCA membership, continuing to broaden our reach. We're particularly looking forward to meeting even more members at our in-person conference in 2024. You can buy your ticket here.

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Developing a new website

We're so pleased to be working on developing a new website, to showcase our work and the importance of local infrastructure. Keep your eyes peeled for the launch of the new website in 2024.

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Publishing health resources

We published our report, Snowballs and Eels, and launched the ICS resources webpage, to support the voluntary sector's integration into health and care systems. Next year, we will continue to work with members to develop this work. We're also hiring a new Integrated Care Lead - the deadline is 21st January.

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Welcoming new members

In 2023, we welcomed 6 new NAVCA members  – Community360, Social Enterprise Kent, Voluntary and Community Action East Cambridgeshire, North Devon Voluntary Services, Voluntary Action Harrow, and Kent Coast Volunteering. We're so pleased to continue to grow our reach and bring in new members to strengthen the network.

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Getting some exciting funding news

Towards, the end of the year, we heard the news that we have received development funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. This marks the culmination of a lot of work within NAVCA and alongside members. We're so pleased to see recognition of the importance of local infrastructure from a key funder, and we look forward to continuing to work with members on this project.

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We'd like to say a huge thank you to our members, our project partners, our trustees, funders, and everyone we've worked with to make 2023 a great year. See you in 2024!