 It feels like well and truly the end of summer, with leaves turning on the trees. I came back from holiday this week to a sense of new term, and that is certainly playing through in the policy space. The Local Government Reorganisation pause will impact some of you significantly. As we find out more, we will keep you updated. Beyond that, I have a sense of anticipation, as we expect more detail on devolution of decision-making, fiscal autonomy and implementation to combined authorities. Over the summer, many of you have made significant steps in how you are working with combined authorities, and that will be an important agenda through the rest of this year. Alongside that, the importance of neighbourhoods and neighbourhood working will also grow – we are looking to influence on the critical role LIOs play in connecting within neighbourhoods, and connecting neighbourhoods with statutory authorities. That plays through in neighbourhood health, governance, Pride in Place and more. Earlier this month, the announcement about Reach Volunteering impacted many of us, but I have been delighted this week that they have secured funding to remain open. It does highlight the precarious nature of infrastructure funding, and we'll continue make the case for a more sustainable future. There won’t be one single answer, but we will keep using research and evidence from members to demonstrate the value and importance of infrastructure. You'll see more on that in our upcoming infographic series, so keep an eye on this newsletter and LinkedIn for that. NAVCA events and resources NAVCA AGM and trustee nominations Free tickets to Emergencies Partnership event for NAVCA members Responding to the changing political landscape - NAVCA member event Barking Owl - communications strategy Understanding social investment - supporting your members Thank you from Barry Health ICIC26: Our reflections on neighbourhood health Policy NAVCA statement on the review of local government reorganisation Charity Commission updates reporting and accounting guidance to reflect new SORP Common Ground Award open for applications External events and resources Catch up on Good Finance LIVE! Festival of Trusteeship 2026 The impact of London’s voluntary sector infrastructure DBS Annual Conference: 6-7 October Funding and support for organisations tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness NAVCA AGM and trustee nominationsJoin us online on Thursday 19th November 2026 (10am - 11am) for the NAVCA Annual General Meeting (AGM). All members are welcome to attend.
The AGM is your opportunity to hear about NAVCA's work and take part in the election of a new Trustee. Sign up for the AGM here. Interested in becoming a Trustee? We're seeking nominations for two Trustee positions. We would particularly encourage members to think about nominating people who are not currently in a CEO or similarly senior role. We’re especially looking for people with experience of leading work on volunteering and capacity building within the NAVCA membership network. This could be a development opportunity for a member of staff, or an opportunity for a member’s Trustee to take a more active role at national level. You can download the recruitment pack (which includes the nomination form) via the NAVCA member hub (search 'trustee recruitment pack'. If you don't have an account on the NAVCA website, you can register for one here. Small number of free tickets to Emergencies Partnership event for NAVCA membersEP: LIVE will bring together partners from across resilience, climate, volunteering and community leadership sectors to strengthen connections, share learning and showcase the powerful impact of community-led resilience. The event will take place in Leeds on Thursday 8th October. You can find out more about the event and the full programme here. The Emergencies Partnership team are keen that local infrastructure organisations can attend and contribute, and we therefore have five funded tickets available for NAVCA members that might not be able to afford to attend. If you are interested in attending, please contact Maddy by Monday 28th September at 5pm, so we can allocate tickets in good time. Responding to the changing political landscape - NAVCA member eventJoin NAVCA members at 11am - 12pm on Wednesday 7th October to discuss what you're seeing in your local areas, including working with new Reform-led councils, supporting community cohesion, working in partnership, and more. This is a supportive space for all NAVCA members to bring your challenges and experiences to share. Book your place via the NAVCA website here. Barking Owl - communications strategyThe Barking Owl is the NAVCA network for communications workers, and anyone who covers communications as part of their role. Each month, we chat about a specific comms topic, asking questions and sharing ideas in a safe and friendly space. This month's topic will be all things communications strategy and planning - from starting out with strategy development, to implementing your ideas across the organisation, we'll share tips, tricks and questions to help us be the most effective communicators we can be. Join us on Tuesday 29th September, 10am - 11am. Book your place via the NAVCA website here. Understanding social investment - supporting your membersWith the voluntary sector facing challenges around sustainable funding, being able to support and advise your members about alternative funding sources is more important than ever. That's why we're working with Good Finance, to share information, tools and resources that you can use with your networks to learn more about social investment. Read our latest blog to get started with understanding social investment and how you can build your confidence to support your members. We've also included a list of useful resources that you can copy and paste to share with your networks. If you want to learn more about social investment, whether it's for your own organisation or one you support, come along to meet the team from Good Finance at our event for NAVCA members on Wednesday 21st October, 11am - 12pm. Book your place via the NAVCA website here. Thank you from BarryPlease see the message below from Barry Knowles, our Projects Officer, who will be leaving NAVCA at the end of September after over a year of working with us on the Local Trust project: The time has finally come for me to take the plunge into retirement! I will be leaving my post as Projects Officer at NAVCA at the end of September, after 13 months delivering the Local Trust Big Local Legacy Building project. I will look back on my time at NAVCA fondly. The staff are incredibly supportive and have made it easy for me to feel part of a small high functioning and professional team. I want to say a big thank you to them all. While working on this project, I have also been privileged to meet some amazing people around the country from the Local Trust, our members, and the Big Local legacy organisations. It has been a very rewarding and inspiring journey seeing the project develop and gain traction over the past year. That is in no small part down to the skills and tenacity of our members and the efforts of the Big Local legacy bodies to engage during what has been a challenging transition period for them. Good luck and best wishes to all as I ride off into the sunset for my next chapter! Health ICIC26: Our reflections on neighbourhood healthWe were delighted to contribute to an international roundtable at the International Conference on Integrated Care 2026, exploring how integrated care can work with, rather than for, neighbourhoods and communities. NAVCA brought the perspective of local infrastructure organisations working alongside communities and the wider VCSE sector every day. It was a privilege to be invited and to share the room with such an incredible group of people from policy, practice, research and communities around the world. Read the full blog here. Policy NAVCA statement on the review of local government reorganisationThe Government’s decision to review and pause 14, and withdraw 4, parts of the local government reorganisation (LGR) programme will create further uncertainty for those councils, communities and the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector. Across areas affected by LGR, local infrastructure organisations (LIOs) and VCFSE organisations have invested significant time and resources in building relationships, developing partnerships and preparing to work across proposed new council boundaries. Much of this work is about ensuring that communities have a voice in shaping the changes that affect them and that new councils can draw on local knowledge, relationships and expertise. While the detail and implications of the review become clearer, it is important that the relationships built through this process are maintained. Whatever the eventual shape of local government, strong relationships between councils, LIOs, the wider VCFSE sector and communities will remain essential to effective local government and strong places. Read our full statement and join the conversation here. Charity Commission updates reporting and accounting guidance to reflect new SORPThe Charity Commission has updated its guidance on reporting and accounting to reflect the introduction of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) 2026. The guidance includes one guide for each of the three main structure types (a trust or an unincorporated association, a charitable company, and a charitable incorporated organisation) to better reflect that charities have different accounting requirements based on their legal structure. The guidance – first published in 2016 and last updated in December 2025 – reflects the new income thresholds in charity law at which charities must follow the SORP and have their accounts examined or audited. Find out more here. Read the full guidance here. Common Ground Award open for applications The application window for the Common Ground Award is now open. The application window will close at 2pm on 12th October 2026. The Common Ground Award will recognise good practice across England in promoting social cohesion, by directly investing in organisations making a positive impact. It will shine a spotlight on organisations across England that are making a real difference in building social connections across and between communities and promoting community cohesion and resilience. Please find the link to the application form here. You can also find the Prospectus for the Common Ground Award here, for further information. External events and resources Catch up on Good Finance LIVE! Good Finance Live 2026 has wrapped and if you missed it, you can now catch up on everything on the Good Finance website. The event brought together charity and social enterprise leaders to build knowledge, spark conversation and explore the real world of social investment. From the power of partnerships and collaboration, to what happens when things go wrong, the sessions were packed with honest, practical insight for anyone navigating their social investment journey. Watch all the sessions on demand now. Festival of Trusteeship 2026The Festival of Trusteeship 2026 will be taking place between the 9th and 13th November, online as part of Trustees' Week. Hosted by social enterprise charity consultancy & recruitment service Eastside People, the Festival of Trusteeship, is a week-long online series of events, with exciting panel discussions, workshops and webinars for people who want to become trustees, trustees who want to keep learning and developing, and for charity leaders who want to understand best practice in board governance, trustee recruitment and diversity. What to expect:
Weekly passes are available from £30, and ‘Bring Your Board’ tickets (£120–£200) give your whole board access to the week. Find out more and book your place here. The impact of London’s voluntary sector infrastructureLondon Plus' final report in their series about infrastructure in London focuses on the collective role, value, and impact of London’s local infrastructure organisations, demonstrating why they are essential to a thriving voluntary, community and faith sector. It makes the case for sustained investment in the infrastructure that enables organisations, volunteers, and communities across London to thrive. Find out more and read the full report here. Funding and support for organisations tackling the causes and consequences of homelessnessApplications are now open for The DPS Social Commitment Programme by School for Social Entrepreneurs and The DPS. It is a specialist accelerator learning programme and grant funding for organisations in England and Wales tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness. Grants of £7k or £10k available. Find out more here. DBS Annual Conference: 6-7 OctoberRegistration is now open for the Disclosure and Barring Service’s (DBS) annual conference – a FREE event bringing together the safeguarding community to share expertise and drive better protection outcomes. This two-day virtual conference takes place on 6 and 7 October and will offer insights from leading safeguarding experts through keynote speeches, interactive workshops, panel discussions, fireside chats and live Q&A sessions. Day one explores safeguarding, legislative change and partnership working, including mandatory reporting, safer recruitment, barring decision-making and the role of effective partnerships in protecting children and vulnerable adults. Day two explores information sharing, digital transformation and public protection, with sessions covering safeguarding adults, the DBS Strategy, customer experience and the role of regulators in supporting safer recruitment and safeguarding. You’ll hear from speakers including Dr Gillian Fairfield, DBS Chairman, and Dr Jeff James CBE, DBS Chief Executive. DBS has also partnered with key organisations in the safeguarding space, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Ann Craft Trust, to deliver sessions on regulation, data and safeguarding adults. This conference is open to anyone working in or interested in safeguarding, including professionals from statutory services, voluntary organisations, and partner agencies. If you are unable to attend on the days you can still access all the conference sessions after the conference has finished so please still register for access. Browse the full two-day agenda and then register your attendance on the DBS Conference 2026 page. Let's keep in touch! Follow us on LinkedIn Comments are closed.
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