Voluntary and community sector support

Southwark has a strong and vibrant voluntary and community sector (VCS) which delivers a wide variety of services to local people. The sector reflects the diversity of cultures and interests in the borough.

We are committed to being open and transparent in all our dealings with the VCS. This is set out in the Southwark Compact, which is an agreement between us, the voluntary sector and other partners on the way we work together.

We work with VCS organisations to achieve the goals set out in the
Council Plan,  supporting organisations through:

• Provision of resources, through contracts and grant aid
• Involvement in policy and service development
• Access to physical assets
• Advice and information

We commission the VCS through both contracts and grant aid. 'Commissioning' can be defined as ''the cycle of assessing the needs of people in an area, designing and then securing an appropriate service'.

There are several funding programmes available. We commission
Community Action Southwark to be the 'umbrella' organisation for the VCS in the borough, acting as the voice for the sector and providing support services.