Networks and consortia work
Your Prescap works with a range of sector and cross-sector networks in the county – leading some and actively participating in others. As part of our work with these networks, we operate a range of activity that provides infrastructure support to the VCFS (Voluntary, Community and Faith Sectors) in Lancashire; as well as working with partners to assist VCFS organisations (especially small organisations) to become more sustainable.
Examples include;
Consortium of Participatory Arts Learning (C-Pal)
Your Prescap is the accountable body for the Consortium of Participatory Arts Learning (C-Pal), formed of participatory arts organisations in the North West. C-Pal is the forum for exchanging best practice, advocating for VCFS participatory arts organisations, developing the arts sector and increasing the quality of work throughout the sector. The consortium has created a Core Competencies Framework to establish agreed standards for participatory artists and project managers, enabling other sectors and organisations to be assured that personnel engaged in participatory arts work are working to a benchmarked level of competency.
Your Prescap developed and ran a project management training course that was highly successful and has recently engaged a new development worker to roll out the Core Competencies Framework and provide further arts project management training. (link here for C-PAL)
The Pan-Lancashire Arts Network.
Your Prescap has been instrumental in creating this network, which links up all the arts organisational networks and in turn links them to the VCFS consortium and Third Sector Lancashire. (link here for Third Sector Lancashire)
Civic Society Lancashire
Your Prescap is a founder member of this VCFS consortium, created for the specific provision of educational and family learning services in Lancashire. As well as building capacity within the sector; this network provides a conduit for Young Lancashire, Curious Minds, Your Prescap, Lancashire Learning Consortium and Step it Up to work together to develop consortium bids.
Lancashire Community Media Forum
Your Prescap leads the Lancashire Community Media Forum, which brings together six community radio stations operating in Lancashire.
We host a Business Development Manager post which works on behalf of these six VCFS organisations, generating income for all partners through sales of advertising, sponsorship, social action campaigns, training delivery, recording and production facilities and consultancy. Your Prescap is also represented on the board of the UK-wide Community Media Association, and is recognised as a leading practitioner nationally in this area of our work. (link to CMA and LCMF here)
Your Prescap also works closely with other organisations to develop and support consortium based approaches to delivery of county-wide contracts. And we create excellent outcomes for individual beneficiaries; this work builds the capacity of the VCFS sector to move away from grant funding, and toward contract and outcome-based income generation.
Current examples include:
A consortium led by Young Lancashire, where Your Prescap is a key partner in delivering youth engagement activities to the areas of Lancashire that is unresourced by other partners, as well as fully participating in the development of the consortium.
The Ambassadors for the Future consortium, led by UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire), where Your Prescap is a founding member and is one of five organisations delivering targeted intervention for NEET (not in employment, education or training) young people across the county under contract to the Skills Funding Agency.
The Digital Switchover Help Scheme, where we led 19 VCFS organisations across the North West to deliver a contract for the BBC providing public service information on community radio, aimed at hard-to-reach older and disabled people who required assistance with the switch to digital TV.
The Central Lancashire Arts and Health Network that is currently utilising the wealth of knowledge and experience in this area of work, and is embarking on an arts led initiative to improve the well being of people in workplace settings, including VCFS organisations.
