Sixth National Assembly
November 2008

The Sixth National Assembly of the Coalition was held in London on 14th October. This year's gathering saw a major input from colleagues from the Advocacy Resource (ARX), which is our main partner organisation. Discussion groups recommended actions for work in the coming year. These include work on facilitating consortia bids and collaborative partnerships to enable local groups to meet the challenges posed by both the imminent IMHA services and changes in commissioning trends. Recommendations from other discussion groups related to the development of a person-centred evaluation tool for issue-based advocacy and to the expansion of the regional networks. There were also recommendations for the future promotion of informal volunteer citizen advocacy. All of the recommendations were agreed by the Assembly and will direct the work of the Executive Committee in the year ahead. The agreed actions include:

  • Reviewing the name of the National Coalition of Citizen Advocacy Schemes to reflect the changes in its membership
  • Collaboration with the Advocacy Resource Exchange and other potential partner organisations in consolidating and expanding the existing regional groups
  • Further collaboration with the Advocacy Resource Exchange (ARX) in promoting the concept of Advocacy Plus
  • Further options for partnership work with ARX, which would reflect the clear distinction between being a representative body and a resource, and how the activities of the two organisations might complement each other
  • Seeking funding to promote informal rights focussed relationships that are in keeping with the social inclusion element of citizen advocacy.
ELECTIONS

At the Assembly, the Executive Committee of the National Coalition of Citizen Advocacy Schemes for the coming year was confirmed:

  • Eastern - Debra O'Neill - CALL Lincolnshire
  • London - Vacancy
  • Midlands - Dave Bradshaw and Paddy Elmore - Sandwell Advocacy
  • North East - Susan Newson - Spiral Skills
  • North West - Maggie Harwood - East Cheshire Advocacy
  • South East - Jan Deane - Kingston Advocacy Group
  • South West - Sheryl Seeley - Dorset Advocacy
  • Chief Officer - Joe Monaghan


Commissioners' Events

The Communications Project held four events in October and November on the theme of 'Advocacy Plus - Connecting advocacy to other key activities and services'. These Free briefing events were aimed at those involved in the funding and commissioning of advocacy and related services.

Joe Monaghan for the Coalition explained the Advocacy Plus approach, which recognises that independent advocacy services are just one, vital part of a continuum of activities that promote human and civil rights. In order for them to be fully effective they need to be connected to the local provision of other elements of that continuum.

Speakers from ARX explained how when people who need support in securing their rights contact the national Advocacy Helpline, they are often looking for support from different components of the continuum. That could include, for example, either being signposted to supports that assisted them to self-advocate or being connected to an independent advocacy service.

Speakers from local advocacy groups explained how they are involved in the delivery of the IMCA service. This involvement ranged from being the provider of the service to having good links with another organisation that is providing the service. The common experience here was of the necessity of connectivity between the different roles and of effective active signposting to more appropriate services and supports.

Speakers from Liverpool City Council and Primary Care Trust explained how they had embraced the Advocacy Plus and Rights Hub approach. They were doing so because there was wide recognition within the city of the continuum of advocacy and related supports. They wanted to ensure that people had fuller access to this and were assisted both in identifying which support they needed and signposted to it. They also wanted to ensure that when people specifically needed independent one-to-one advocacy it was provided to agreed standards and principles. Liverpool's Advocacy Strategy has three underpinning values:

  • Advocacy must be located within a rights based framework
  • The principle of independent advocacy must be at the heart of commissioning decisions
  • That those most at risk of social exclusion are most likely to need independent advocacy


The Coalition is shortly to publish a more detailed paper on 'Advocacy Plus', if you would like a copy please contact joe@cacoalition.org.uk