Here are definitions of key terms and phrases often used when referring to the voluntary and community sector. This is not an exhaustive list and we welcome your suggestions for future additions to this glossary. Please email these to: ask@vawd.org.uk

 

Accidental techie

An employee or volunteer who does not have any background in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), database systems etc, but due to limited resources has ended up with the responsibility. This is very common in small to medium size voluntary and community organisations.

Asset Transfer

This describes local assets (usually buildings,) currently or formerly managed by local public bodies, being handed over to the community to manage.

Beneficiary

This refers to anyone who might benefit from the activity of a charity.

BME

This is the abbreviation for Black and Minority Ethnic.

Capacity Building

This aims to boost (often through resources such as staff training and development) the voluntary and community sector’s capability to manage projects, deliver services, be involved in consultations, policy development and partnerships etc.

Community Anchors

These are independent community-led organisations which provide a variety of functions, such as meeting space and events. They are a focal point for local communities, often own and manage community assets and support small voluntary and community organisations to reach their local community.

Community Cohesion

This is how the Government refers to the promotion of knowledge, respect and contact between different cultures to establish a sense of citizenship.

Community Planning

This refers to the process that Local Authorities use to work with their communities to produce a Community Strategy.

Compact

This is an agreement between the voluntary and community sector (VCS) and statutory agencies such as Wakefield Metropolitan District Council (WMDC) and the Police about how they will work together.

Consultation

A two-way process by which an organisation meaningfully and in a timely way seeks views to check whether proposals are right and supported, gauge their impact and identify alternatives before decisions are made.

Co-operative

"Organisation or business owned wholly by its employees or stakeholders, where the emphasis is on group decision making, usually on a one member, one vote system. Credit unions are an example of banking cooperatives. Usually based in local areas, members make regular contributions to the credit union, which is then able to make very cheap, small-scale loans to other members - usually for ethically sound, or sustainable projects."
Source: Society Guardian Glossary

Credit Union

This refers to a financial co-operative owned and controlled by its members. Members make regular contributions and the Credit Union offers cheap, small loans to members to carry out ethically sound projects.

Evaluation

This measures how well a project, service or organisation has performed against what was planned. It also establishes lessons learnt from the process to inform future developments.

Full Cost Recovery

"Full cost recovery means recovering or funding the full costs of a project or service. In addition to the costs directly associated with the project, such as staff and equipment, projects will also draw on the rest of the organisation. For example, adequate finance, human resources, management, and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) systems, are also integral components of any project or service.

"The full cost of any project therefore includes an element of each type of overhead cost, which should be allocated on a comprehensive, robust, and defensible basis."
Source: Acevo

Local infrastructure organisations (LIOs)

"In every urban and rural area in England, local infrastructure organisations (LIOs) work behind the scenes to ensure that local third sector groups and organisations get the support they need. They provide their members with a range of services and development support, and are the voice of the local third sector."
Source: www.navca.org.uk

Local Area Agreement (LAA)

“Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are three-year action plans for achieving better outcomes, developed by councils with their partners in local strategic partnerships (LSP).”
Source: www.idea.gov.uk

Local Strategic Partnership (LSP)

"A Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) is a non-statutory body that brings together the different parts of the public, private, voluntary and community sectors, to work at a local level. The lead role in the LSP is taken by the local council. Other major players could include the local police and the primary care trust (PCT). The LSP helps different organisations work together to improve the quality of life in an area and deliver public services more effectively.

LSPs carry out this role in nearly all the local authority areas in England – in a few cases they are shared between districts. Their main tasks are to oversee the preparation and delivery of the area’s sustainable community strategy (SCS) and local area agreement (LAA). While LSPs have existed since 2000, their importance has grown significantly in recent years." 
Source: www.idea.gov.uk

Participation

This involves empowering people to become meaningful and active partners in the regeneration of communities through contributing to and sharing in the decision making.

Public services

These are services, including local government and statutory agencies, wholly or partly funded through taxation.

Regeneration

This involves upgrading an area through economic, social and infrastructure improvements and investment.

Social enterprise

These are businesses which are not driven wholly by profit maximisation. They try to commit resources and adapt their processes to meet wider goals.

Stakeholders

These are individuals, groups or organisations with an interest (or stake) in what happens with a project, programme, group or organisations.

Third sector

This is a collective name for voluntary, community, charitable, non-government and campaigning organisations.

Voluntary Action (VA), Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) or Voluntary Sector Council

"A voluntary organisation which is set up, owned and run by local groups to support, promote and develop local voluntary and community action. CVS support their members by providing them with a range of services and by acting as a voice for the local voluntary and community sector. Usually funded by the local authority and other local statutory agencies, there is a CVS working in almost every district and city in England. Individual CVS differ in character and size, although they usually work to the same geographical boundaries as the local authority."
Source: NAVCA