Background and Further Reading

ChangeUp is the governments' Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) infrastructure capacity building programme that was first unveiled by the Active Communities Unit in September 2004 with the aim of improving the capacity of the voluntary and community sector to deliver public services by 2014.

“By 2014 the needs of frontline organisations will be met by support which is available nationwide, structured for maximum efficiency, offering excellent provision which is accessible to all while reflecting and promoting diversity, and is sustainably funded”

This is being achieved through strengthening voluntary, community and faith sector (VCFS) infrastructure organisations. Infrastructure organisations are those whose primary purpose is to support other voluntary, community and faith sector organisations. An infrastructure organisation could be a locally based organisation such as a Council for Voluntary Service or a thematically based organisation dealing with issues such as disability, faith or social inclusion. These are the organisations that provide the sector with the capacity to deliver and provide a voice for the sector.  Nationally, the ChangeUp programme is managed by Capacitybuilders, an agency at arms length to government, led by a board of sector experts. Locally, the ChangeUp programme is delivered through a number of sub-regional consortia.

In East Sussex, the ChangeUp Consortium consists of 15 infrastructure organisations, with Action in Rural Sussex being the lead and accountable body. To view details of the members of the Consortium: Click HereThis website has been developed to enable voluntary, community and faith sector organisations access to an extensive range of information, advice and resources that have been designed to help them to become more effective and efficient.

As an investment programme ChangeUp had its origins in the Cross Cutting Review of the Role of Voluntary and Community Organisations in Service Delivery published by HM Treasury in 2002. In broad terms the review concluded that there were lots of opportunities for voluntary and community organisations to become more involved in delivering services to both communities of interest and geographical communities. It was soon recognised that to be able to take full advantage of these opportunities frontline organisations would have to be able to satisfy a whole range of expectations; expectations of commissioners, of service users, of the public in general; and that additional support in meeting those expectations would be vital.

In an unprecedented public acknowledgement of the role played by infrastructure bodies in providing services to frontline organisations, the Home Office put forward its ideas for a one off programme of investment in the development of universally high quality, accessible, fit for purpose support services which became ChangeUp. Early phases of ChangeUp were administered nationally by the Active Communities Unit and regionally by Government Office. In April 2006 Capacitybuilders, a non departmental public body, was set up to look after ChangeUp. It is the job of Capacitybuilders to manage the funding awarded by Government for 2007/08, to look towards other funding opportunities in the future and to provide advice, information, commission research and provide evidence to others about how investment can improve support services.

What exactly is ChangeUp setting out to achieve?
A "bold but achievable" high level outcome has been set by the Home Office for ChangeUp namely that: "by 2014 the needs of frontline voluntary and community organisations will be met by support nationwide, structured for maximum efficiency, offering excellent provision which is accessible to all while reflecting and promoting diversity, and is sustainably funded"  

Who looks after ChangeUp in East Sussex?
Every sub region in England has a ChangeUp Consortium. The composition of each consortium is unique to its subregion. In East Sussex the consortium is made up of 16 infrastructure organisations: Click Here

Further reading:

1996 : Deakin Commission Report

Report on the future of the voluntary sector and a significant factor behind the creation of the Compact, the Office of the Third Sector and ChangeUp, as well as regulatory reform and the introduction of a public benefit text for charities.

2002 : HM Treasury Cross Cutting Review Report - The Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Service Delivery, A Cross Cutting Review

This report recognised that many voluntary and community organisations were unable to access the support required to meet the needs of their users. The report recommended that the voluntary and community sector and central and local government develop a shared strategy to underpin the capacity of the sector.

2003 : Civil Renewal Unit, 2003-2004 consultation

The Community Capacity Building Action Plan summarised action rising from the Building Civil Renewal consultation and put forward proposals about how community groups and community capacity building could be better supported.

2004 : Home Office Report – ChangeUp – Capacity Building and Infrastructure Framework for the Voluntary and Community Sector

This report outlined the idea of the ChangeUp programme, a framework for addressing the problems outlined in the HM Treasury Cross Cutting Review in 2002. Ten year vision (to 2014) is set out to build the capacity of frontline organisations and out in place the infrastructure support they need.

2004 to April 2006: Launch of the ChangeUp programme

Substantial government investment was made available throughout
2004-2006 to help achieve the ChangeUp vision and fund some of the key actions. This investment came from the Home Office and was coordinated through the nine regional Government Offices, who were charged with setting up consortia, by bringing stakeholders together in strategic partnerships at regional, sub-regional and local levels. Nationally, investment enabled the creation of six hubs of expertise; these were partnerships of national infrastructure organisations working together to deliver more coordinated support for infrastructure organisations on identified strategic areas of need.

April 2006 : Launch of Capacitybuilders

In 2005 the Home Office decided that the management of the ChangeUp programme could be better delivered by an organisation which was at arms length from government, sector-led, and would “take on the challenges of ChangeUp and ensure that the step-change required in the delivery of support to front line voluntary and community sector organisations is realised.” “Developing Capacity: Next Steps for ChangeUp” , Home Office, March 2005 . Capacitybuilders was set up in April 2006 and took over responsibility for the management of the ChangeUp programme and inherited the ChangeUp programmes and delivery structures set up under the Home Office.

July 2007: HM Treasury Third Sector Review

The government’s final report of its review of the third sector, setting out a strategy to work with third sector organisations over the next ten years to promote social and economic regeneration.

October 2007 : HM Treasury Comprehensive Spending Review

The conclusion of the Comprehensive Spending Review confirmed the resources available to the Office of the Third Sector to implement the policy porgrammes originally set out in the Third Sector Review.

Key Documents