1. Connections and the Third Sector
Pleased to be here
Connection with third sector activity and interest
My background – working to enable voices to be heard – those marginalised or under-represented a running thread through all the work I have been involved with.
Gareth Allen
Scottish Government
Equality Unit, Third Sector Division

2. Third Sector Unit – Scottish Government
Part of the Equality, Human Rights and Third Sector Division
Within the Directorate for Local Government and Communities
Director General Communities
Working across Government and collaboration

3. Third Sector Unit Some of the work the unit supports
Policy and engagement
Supporting enterprising third sector organisations and social enterprise
Volunteering
Charity Law
Social Investment
Third sector infrastructure – local and national
Communities, prevention, public service reform and third sector

4. Priorities – Programme for Government
Economic competitiveness and fairness
Social justice and tackling inequality
Democratic renewal
Community empowerment and engagement
Key transformational role for the third sector and communities remains central

5. Strategic Conversation
What future approaches might best ensure a buoyant and sustainable third sector into the longer term?
Frame the big challenges
Approaches to creating the conditions necessary for a buoyant and sustainable sector
Ambitions for the sector
Look up to 10 years ahead

6. Strategic Conversation
Aims
share understanding of current context
surface significant issues for the sector
discuss ambitions for the sector
explore the conditions necessary for a buoyant and sustainable sector
reflect on the roles of State, sector and communities in this environment
consider what relationships are necessary; and
the conversations that need to be had to take thinking forward

7. Third Sector Interfaces
Each local authority area in Scotland has a Third Sector Interface (TSI) to support, promote, develop and represent the third sector:
Community groups
Voluntary organisations
Social enterprises
Volunteering
Slides 7-11 draw on information from the website of Voluntary Action Scotland

8. Third Sector Interfaces
The TSI is also the connection between the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) and the third sector
CPPs are made up of public, private and third sector bodies including the local authority, health board, fire, police, enterprise agency and others. They are tasked with ensuring “public services provided in the area of the local authority are provided and the planning of that provision takes place”

9. Third Sector Interfaces
Background
20 TSIs are single agencies and 12 of them are formed of partnerships across bodies historically associated with supporting their local voluntary sector, social enterprises and volunteers.
Some of these are ‘Volunteer Centres’, ‘Centres for Voluntary Service’ or ‘Social Enterprise Networks’. Your local TSI might be known by one of these titles, as a ‘TSI’ or a local ‘Voluntary Action’ agency.
They are independent from Government but the Scottish Government invests in four key functions

10. Third Sector Interfaces
A set of common standards, services and outcomes
Helping communities help themselves through the power of volunteering
Social enterprise development
Supporting and developing a strong third sector – harnessing the passion of individuals to come together to improve their community
Building the third sector relationship with community planning

11. Voluntary Action Scotland
Voluntary Action Scotland is the network organisation for Scotland’s TSIs
What a TSI is and does
Find a TSI

12. Other third sector connections
There are a range of national third sector intermediaries which form part of the third sector infrastructure
They can cover, for example, particular parts of the sector, or a particular policy area, or provide a function