About NCIA
The Coalition is an alliance of organisations and individuals who have come together out of frustration and anger to object to the state of UK Voluntary and Community Sectors. We believe there is a crisis in our ability to act independently from Government and other powerful interests, and to be part of the checks we need within our democracy. This threat to independent action will, unless challenged, undermine our civil society, our political health, and the capacity of communities to get what they need for themselves.
We aim to mobilise, support and work with those who share our concerns. We will build a strong voice to give confidence to those wanting to speak out, to have our own agendas and take action, to create an alternative way of doing things; and to become actively involved in dissent where this is needed.
We will challenge and impede, as we can, the juggernaut that is rolling over us – whether it be driven by central government, local statutory bodies or compliant voluntary organisations.
Read on about who we are, what we’re doing and what YOU can do…..
We are a loose network of individuals, organisations and groups – and we’re growing with each day. The interests are wide:
- those involved in grassroots action – both individuals and groups
- local groups supporting them
- regional and national voluntary organisations
- academics and freelance consultants
- funders concerned about the future of the sector
The Coalition has a mailing list of more than 500 – register your interest with NCIA. On signing up to the mailing list you will get a bimonthly newsletter – read the latest newsletter. We also send information about particular interests or regions if you tell us about these when you sign up. This also allows us to organise activities in particular areas or topics. And if you say you want to get actively involved in Coalition action when you sign up we’ll contact you individually to find out what you’re interested in doing.
The mailing list is a way of telling the world what we are up to, attracting feedback and, most importantly, direct involvement. We want this list to be as big as possible and everyone involved in the campaign is asked to publicise our activities and get people added to the list by signing up through the website.
The Coalition gets some money from funders who share our perspectives but most of us are working on an unpaid basis, or are able to contribute through the organisations we work for. We reject ‘business’ and ‘command-and-control’ models of working. Our approach is based on trust, the creation and nurture of mutual interests, and shifting alliances. We expect that we will disagree with each other, as well as find consensus. We do not manage or control each other, nor are we a collective with shared decision-making. We are light on our feet, with each free to work in ways that suit them and their context. We are organised and efficient through flexible non-bureaucratic ways of working. Each contributes what they can, says no when they can’t and leaves us when they don’t like what we do.
We meet three times a year as the Coalition Assembly to share experiences, get ideas and guide our direction. The Coalition Planning Group provides co-ordination, agrees and reports on the practical work we do. The Coalition Directors take decisions about money and keep us legal.
The Coalition is not a lobby group. We do not have the resources or inclination to influence the policy or practice of government or state agencies. Our interest is in arguing and encouraging, as practically as we can, voluntary and community sector groups and organisations to adopt and pursue Coalition perspectives and ideas regarding the freedom and independence of voluntary action. Our focus is both on working directly with VCS groups individually and on influencing the practice of second tier and other support agencies. Indeed we regard the latter as important because they often have the structures, connections and resources to support the kind of organising that is needed within the sector.
We have debated and agreed three main priorities for our campaign work between 2010-12. These are:
Public services and privatisation - challenging current policy on the role of the voluntary sector in the provision of public services with particular stress on the damaging and regressive intentions and effects of privatisation (both for public services and for an independent voluntary sector), and the need for new understandings about the proper role of voluntary action and mechanisms for state funding;
Managing Independence - reasserting one of the historic strengths of the VCS – inclusive, participative, non-bureaucratic styles of organisation and management – and to defend these ways of working in the face of a management orthodoxy imported from the private sector;
Community action - promoting and trying to safeguard action taken within local communities by local people as a counterpoint to the increasingly tight focus on professionalised, service-providing voluntary agencies.
Our core work
This campaign work will be done through our core work:
Promotional and issue-raising work, often at national level (website, newsletter, speaking, articles etc)
Policy work – developing our position on issues of relevance to our themes (leading to leaflets, pamphlets or placed articles), organising around these themes, and monitoring other people’s positions
General networking and responding to approaches (answering queries, meeting with and putting people in touch with one another, maintaining a social network, etc.)
Building the alliance and keeping the show on the road (supporting the Planning Group and Assembly, servicing the CIC, managing the money, fund raising and general administration).
In addition, we aim to carry out specific pieces of work as ‘projects’ which will be undertaken as resources and capacity allows. Our shopping list of projects is currently:
Funding regimes
Voluntary action, recession and privatisation
The impact of managerialism on voluntary action
Local action on rights and advice work
Local second tier roles and activities
Supporting and promoting community action
Safeguarding advocacy and campaigning
The impact of individual budgets on health and social care
Building a critical research facility
Spreading the word
We are daily being contacted by people who have heard about and are interested in the Coalition. The point of our work is to bring together people and groups who act to safeguard independent voluntary and community action; and build a large and visible network.
Our future as a Coalition, and that of independent action, will depend on finding like-minded people and groups willing to take such action.
So here’s what you can do:
- join, and encourage others to join, the mailing list – register your interest with NCIA
- send the newsletter to others – see newsletter archive
- start talking and organising with others in your own neck of the wood, about the factors that stop you following your own agendas and what to do about it and tell us if we can help.
- join the Coalition Assembly – contact us
- check out our current activities to see if you want to get involved – what we’re doing
- contribute your views and news - feel free to post comments on our website and spark a debate or share experiences on our social networks
- send us your good and bad news, and your viewpoints
- go public about your support for the Coalition and put the NCIA logo on your own website and materials – right click on image and “Save Image as…”
Whatever way you want to get involved, we’re looking forward to hearing from you at indyaction@yahoo.co.uk.