Inclusion and Participation

The biggest asset any organisation has is its staff. This is perhaps even more true for the third sector where dedicated and committed staff are often working in difficult circumstances with few resources. The third sector in Greater Manchester employs over 36,000 people (source: GMCVO) and in England there are 20 million volunteers with around 2 out of 5 people in Greater Manchester engaged in some form of volunteer work (source- Citizenship Survey 2005). Retaining staff is vital as the cost of replacing them goes beyond just the cost of recruiting and training, lost staff take with them skills, knowledge and experience that are invaluable for any strong workforce.

Ensuring your organisation responds to the needs of your services users and is representative of the local community is sometimes easier said than done. However, ensuring that this happens is vital to the sustained success of your organisation both in order to satisfy funders and to ensure future growth and new opportunities.
The Sustaining Change programme will help you to continue to value your staff, volunteers and service users by identifying new ways for continuous professional development and recognising and rewarding achievement.