We are all involved in supporting one another in our communities – together we are the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS). Everyone in the VCS is a partner in the Assembly and everyone’s voice counts.
The Dorset Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly (VCSA) aspires to greater representation of issues that are experienced by the VCS, creates stronger connections within the VCS, and facilitates increased networking and collaboration with partners from other sectors in the community.
- Dorset VCSA aims to be a respected and valued mechanism for the VCS to connect, work together and broaden the Dorset network.
- The Dorset VCSA aims to provide opportunities for high quality and equitable representation and promotion of the VCS and with public and private sector partners across the county.
The Assembly works by bringing together people and organisations to work on issues as they arise. At any point there may be a range of activities happening in the Assembly, run by different people, but connected under the umbrella of the wider purposes of the Assembly. Central to its work is a mission to build trusting relationships within the VCS and between the VCS and other partners, and to provide a fair and equitable way for people to be involved in its activities.
The VCSA was formed in July 2022. It formally agreed a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the new Integrated Care Board (NHS Dorset) and joined the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) in July 2022. The MOU ensures the involvement of the VCS in Dorset in the development of the Integrated Care System (ICS) and its full participation in the operation of the ICP, ICB, and the mechanisms that support these new integrated systems in Dorset.
The VSCA Board (GB) was established in May 2023. You can find out about the Board by via the VCSA Governance Board or Bios and Photos pages.
In the spring of 2024, a new Community Interest Company was set up to help to run the business of the Assembly. This allows the Assembly to pay for services, recruit staff, and trade as a business when it needs to. As a social enterprise with an asset lock, all money received by the Assembly is committed to carrying out the work of the Assembly. There are no shareholders, and no dividends paid. Governance Board Members are Directors of the CIC.
The company is set up to facilitate the engagement and involvement of the whole VCS in the activities of the Assembly, and to work with existing VCS groups and organisations to achieve this.
Since then, it’s been a busy and informative period establishing relationships and developing effective ways of working together.