Representation and Voice
An important part of our role is to help ensure the voices of local charities, social enterprises and community organisations are heard. We strive to enable the ideas, experience and energy of these organisations to influence local councils, NHS, government departments, funders, and policy makers to improve conditions for the people and communities they serve. We gather intelligence and insights based on our learning from organisations. For a snapshot of the local VCSE sector see our short reports:
The Connected Voice team takes part in a range of meetings across the North East with public, private and voluntary sector partners to represent and give a voice to the voluntary and community sector in Newcastle and Gateshead. We do not aim to speak on behalf of VCSE (voluntary, community and social enterprise) organisations - because we know we cannot possibly represent the independent interests of thousands of different organisations. Instead we work to support an environment in which our sector is heard and respected. We use our position to champion the role and value of VCSE organisations, and to challenge decisions which could be detrimental to them.
Featured below is a list of the regular meetings Connected Voice staff attend. There are lots of other informal and ad hoc meetings that we don’t list here. Please contact us if you want to raise an issue, share information, or if you have any other questions.
Gateshead Council
| What | Who attends? | How often? |
|---|---|---|
Strategic Leadership |
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Our Chief Executive and senior leadership team have regular one-to-one meetings with Council leaders and staff in senior management roles in our local public sector organisations |
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Health and Wellbeing |
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| Health and Wellbeing Board | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Bi monthly |
| Healthy Weight Alliance | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Bi monthly |
Community Safety |
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| Community Safety Board | Giovanni Spatuzzi (Deputy Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
| Hate Crime and Community Tension Monitoring Group | Laurie Campbell (Senior Advocacy Coordinator) | Bi monthly |
Safeguarding |
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| Safeguarding Adults Board | Jane Kingston (Head of Advocacy) | Quarterly |
| Safeguarding Quality Assurance Group | Jane Kingston (Head of Advocacy) | Quarterly |
| Multi-Agency Resilience and Emergency Planning Group | Mark Shilcock (OurGateshead and Connected Voice Membership Officer) | Quarterly |
Gateshead Focus
| What | Who attends? | How often? |
|---|---|---|
Funding |
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| UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Local Partnership Group | Giovanni Spatuzzi (Deputy Chief Executive) | Monthly |
| Youth Investment Fund | Giovanni Spatuzzi (Deputy Chief Executive) | Monthly |
Health and Social Care Transformation |
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| Gateshead Health and Care System Board (Gateshead Cares) | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) Giovanni Spatuzzi (Deputy Chief Executive) | Fortnightly |
| Gateshead Food Network | Jeremy Cain (Support and Development Coordinator) Beth Reeves (Support and Development Officer) | Quarterly |
Newcastle and Gateshead
| What | Who attends? | How often? |
|---|---|---|
Health and Wellbeing |
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| Clinical Commissioning Group Directors Meeting (Mark Adams) | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
| CCG Patient, Carer and Involvement Forum | Carrie Rosenthal (Haref Engagement Officer) | Bi monthly |
Newcastle City Council
| Meeting | Who attends? | How often? |
|---|---|---|
Strategic Leadership |
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| Voluntary Sector Liaison Group | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
| Our Chief Executive and senior leadership team also have regular one-to-one meetings with Council leaders and staff in senior management roles in our local public sector organisations | ||
Safeguarding |
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| Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board | Jane Kingston (Head of Advocacy) | Every two months |
Community Safety |
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| Safe Newcastle Board | Giovanni Spatuzzi (Deputy Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
| Hate Crime and Community Tensions Group | Laurie Campbell (Senior Advocacy Coordinator) | Monthly |
Health and Wellbeing / Economic Development / Prosperity |
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| Health and Wellbeing Board | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
Welfare Reform / Poverty |
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| Welfare Reform Board | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
Climate Emergency |
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| Net Zero Task Force | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
Older people |
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| Age Friendly City Group | Several older people’s organisations including Search, Age UK, Disability North | Quarterly |
Health and Wellbeing |
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| Phase 2 Reducing Health Inequalities - Vulnerable Groups Task and Finish Group | Vicki Harris (Health and Equalities Manager) Carrie Rosenthal (Haref Engagement Officer) | Monthly |
| NCC Public Health Steering Group - ethnic minorities | Vicki Harris (Health and Equalities Manager) | Every two months |
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion |
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| Citywide Asylum Seekers Network |
Vicki Harris (Health and Equalities Manager) Gill Edgar (Senior Advocacy Coordinator) |
Every two months |
Newcastle Focus
| What | Who attends? | How often? |
|---|---|---|
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion |
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| Equity, Diversity and Human Rights working group at NuTH | Vicki Harris (Health and Equalities Manager) | Every two months |
Funding |
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| UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Local Community Partnership | Jeremy Cain (Support and Development Coordinator) | Monthly |
Health and Social Care Transformation |
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| Collaborative Newcastle | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) Giovanni Spatuzzi (Deputy Chief Executive) | Weekly |
| Newcastle Neighbourhoods (Collaborative Newcastle) | Jeremy Cain (Support and Development Coordinator) | Quarterly |
| Advice Compact | Laurie Campbell (Senior Advocacy Coordinator) Heather Goodhand (Independent Advocate) | Every two months |
Wider North East
| What | Who attends? | How often? |
|---|---|---|
Strategic Leadership |
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| Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) is the North of Tyne Combined Authority VCSE Ambassador and works closely with North Tyneside VODA, Northumberland CVA and VONNE on this via a stakeholder group. | ||
| North of Tyne Combined Authority - VCSE Stakeholder Group | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) | Quarterly |
| North of Tyne Combined Authority - Inclusive Economy Board | VCSE reps: Carol Botten (VONNE) Anne Lyall (Northumberland CVA) | Quarterly |
| VONNE - Local Infrastructure Organisations Meeting | Lisa Goodwin (Chief Executive) Giovanni Spatuzzi (Deputy Chief Executive) | Monthly |
Funding |
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| VONNE - NE and Cumbria Funders Network | Beth Reeves (Support and Development Officer) Francesca Crosby (Support and Development Officer) | Quarterly |
| Crowdfund North of Tyne Assessment Panel | Francesca Crosby (Support and Development Officer) | Quarterly |
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion |
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| North East Race Equality Forum | Vicki Harris (Health Equalities Manager) |
Quarterly |
| North East Migration Partnership health focused meeting | Vicki Harris (Health Equalities Manager) | Quarterly |
| North East Ambulance Service Equality and Diversity Group | Vicki Harris (Health Equalities Manager) Carrie Rosenthal (Haref Engagement Officer) | Quarterly |
| Social Justice Advisory Group | Debra Lagun (Support and Development Officer) | Quarterly |
Community Safety |
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| Victim and Witness Service Improvement Board (Office of Police and Crime Commissioner Northumbria) | Jane Kingston (Head of Advocacy) | Quarterly |
