Vision and Criteria for Membership of the National Coalition of Advocacy Schemes Vision - The purpose of the Coalition is to give locally based Advocacy schemes a voice at local, regional and national level and to assist in developing and strengthening them. It will meet this purpose by the following means:
	Developing robust and democratic structures
	Providing a mandated voice at local, regional and national levels to promote and protect the interests of locally based advocacy schemes to policy makers
	Promoting the concept of Advocacy Plus as a means of ensuring that people have choice in the type of advocacy support that they use.
	Ensuring, working with other organisations when appropriate, that: Effective training is offered to its members Good practice is shared between its members Mechanisms are developed for feeding back on Social Policy
	Criteria for Membership Membership of the National Coalition of Advocacy Schemes is open to independent organisations that undertake any model of advocacy provided that: •They are not for profit organisations, which are accountable to, and directed by, the communities in which they work •They work to a collaborative Advocacy Plus approach that respects the importance of all forms of advocacy •That they respect the important place that informal volunteer advocacy has in the Advocacy Plus continuum What is meant by independent? By independent is meant separation from those agencies that provide or potentially might provide services to advocacy partners. This is essential if conflict of interest is to be avoided. Separation from carers, whose own needs could potentially conflict with the needs and interests of advocacy partners, is also important. In some circumstances, advocacy groups are managed by other agencies – some by national charities and some by local C.V.S. These groups have secured independence by having an autonomous Steering Group or Management Committee. The Coalition seeks to foster the development of groups that are committed to the principle of independence. Commitment to this principle and evidence of steps taken to achieve it will be sufficient to secure membership of the Coalition. In such circumstances, it would be the local group and not its host or managing organisation that would be eligible for membership. The Coalition will seek to ensure that assistance is offered to groups that wish to attain greater independence.