Main navigation

Capacitybuilders

Improved access to appropriate advice and support is one of the most pressing concerns of frontline organisations; Capacitybuilders is a non-departmental public body, set up in 2006 to help address that need. 

The purpose of Capacitybuilders

Capacitybuilders’ overall aim is to help create a more effective third sector. It does this by improving support for third sector organisations.

Capacitybuilders’ vision is for every third sector organisation to be able to access high quality support that meets their needs, when they need it. By improving support, Capacitybuilders will strengthen the sector, increasing its ability to create a better quality of life for individuals and communities.

Support includes a wide range of services that help organisations become more effective, while ensuring they have the freedom to develop in their own way. This can involve provision of information, advice, mentoring and training on a host of topics.

Capacitybuilders and its programmes are funded by the Office of the Third Sector. Over the period 2008-2011 the Office of the Third Sector will provide up to £88.5 million. Capacitybuilders invests this in a variety of programmes that make support services available to the third sector. Capacitybuilders may also take on funding from other sources for further programmes. Full details are available on the Capacitybuilders website [external website], but programmes are summarised below.

See background for further information on the development of Capacitybuilders and the ChangeUp framework.

Capacitybuilders programmes

National Support Services Programme

Launched in September 2007, the National Support Services will give support providers the resources, evidence and good practice they need. Over three years, nine national workstreams target key issues where support services need to change and expand to meet the needs of frontline organisations. The total funding for the National Support Services is £13.8 million. Each of the nine workstreams is delivered by a partnership, with lead agencies, as follows:

• Campaigning & Advocacy: NCVO (Campaigning Effectiveness unit)
• Collaboration: bassac
• Equalities & Diversity: Women’s Resource Centre (National Equalities Partnership)
• Income Generation: ACEVO
• Leadership & Governance: NCVO
• Marketing & Communications: Media Trust
• Modernising Volunteering: Volunteering England
• Performance Management: Charities Evaluation Service
• Responding to Social Change: NCVO

More information is available from www.improvingsupport.org.uk

To complement the themes of the nine National Support Services, Capacitybuilders has ringfenced £1 million each year from 2008-11 in a National Priorities Fund, focused on particular areas, such as ICT and workforce development.

Investment in Consortia

Since 2004, investment in delivering the ChangeUp framework has supported over 100 local and regional consortia, bringing together local support providers to plan and deliver more effective services for frontline groups in their areas. Capacitybuilders’ investment for 2008-11 has three principal strands:

• During 2007-08, each consortium developed new business and strategic plans, and was assessed to check that they are robust, informed, engaged with members and stakeholders, and learn from their experiences. 90% of consortia demonstrated that they are fit-for-purpose, and by June 2008 were receiving a baseline Consortium Development Grant to continue their work. The others were offered one-year improvement grants, tied to an improvement plan. The total funding available is up to £12 million.
• The £18 million modernisation project fund aims to achieve a step-change in the way sector support services are planned, delivered and evaluated. It involves a competitive process between local and regional projects sponsored by consortia. By June 2008, 67 projects had been awarded funding.
• A £5 million capital investment will focus on modernising the premises and facilities available from local support providers.

Improving Reach Programme

Capacitybuilders supports the role the third sector plays in challenging discrimination and disadvantage. The £18 million Improving Reach programme provides extra resources to extend support services to frontline groups working in and with excluded and marginalised communities (those facing problems such as unemployment, poor housing, high crime levels or family difficulties).

Improving Reach particularly prioritises organisations developed by and working with black and ethnic minority, refugee and migrant communities, faith groups and isolated rural groups. Specialised support will help these frontline groups to represent their community’s voice and deliver services that meet their specific needs. 70 three year grants were announced in June 2008.

Social Enterprise Programme 

In June 2008 Capacitybuilders announced a new £6 million investment in social enterprise support, over three years.

In each region Capacitybuilders will work with social enterprise networks and other local partners to identify the best ways to meet local needs. The programme will help increase collaboration and sharing of best practice between social enterprise support and the rest of the third sector, through consultation on priorities and collaborative projects. It will fund improvements like new mentoring schemes, more accredited advisers and work to develop emerging markets.

Learning and evaluation at Capacitybuilders

Capacitybuilders aims to support a learning culture – evaluating and learning from its own investments; stimulating information sharing by its grant-holders; and enabling others to learn from Capacitybuilders’ experience.

In June 2008 Capacitybuilders began the process of commissioning a major independent evaluation of progress in delivering the ChangeUp framework. The evaluation will focus primarily on the impact on support services from local to national level, and on the frontline organisations they help.

Capacitybuilders will work with a range of partners – including the new Third Sector research centre funded by OTS – on a new Learning and Research Programme. This will commission research to build evidence on the value of support services to frontline organisations.

An Innovation Fund will support a small number of projects that extend the understanding of approaches to capacity building in the third sector.

• Capacitybuilders [external website]