Building Capabilities Fund : BIG Lottery Fund

•       Ongoing aim to enable voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises to get the support to develop their capabilities and navigate the challenges and opportunities posed by the current environment in which we are all operating.

•        January 2012 : BIG has put out a tender for a £6 million investment over three years to improve the quality of support services for voluntary organisations. The investment aims to develop the capabilities of local and specialist support providers so they can offer higher quality support to frontline voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises to increase their effectiveness as well as respond to changing needs and a changing funding environment.

•        The Office for Civil Society in the Cabinet Office and BIG are running a joint survey to seek views on how the web is used by civil society organisations to access advice and support, funding information and networking opportunities. They want to know how online services help organisations build learning, and develop skills and capabilities and hear the views of both suppliers and users. 

•        The survey is on the website, takes no more than fifteen minutes to complete - closes on Friday 20th January 2012.  http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/building_capabilities

 

•       A discussion paper has also been put together. It is intended to stimulate debate and thinking, giving an opportunity for voluntary and other organisations to influence their approach and inform future investment. This paper is for voluntary sector and social enterprise managers working in both frontline and infrastructure support and development organisations. It sets out the approach to ‘building capabilities within voluntary organisations’, and gives an opportunity for voluntary and other organisations to influence this approach.

•       This discussion paper includes a number of questions, which you can respond to through an online survey on the website. Deadline to respond : 15^th March 2012.

•       If you have any questions Email : supportingcivilsociety@biglotteryfund.org.uk