Management and Governance Support for Community Organsations
ACTCOSS provides one-on-one consultancy services to help community organisations become stronger and more sustainable. Consultancy services can be as little as a short phone-call to get an answer to a question, or could be a number of face-to-face consultations over several weeks.
Running a community organisation is a tough job – there are many things to know and remember. Organisations often find that they benefit from direct, one-on-one support from an independent adviser, who can work through an issue with them. ACTCOSS can tailor information and advice to the specific situation and needs of an organisation.
All ACT community sector organisations are able to receive consultancy services from ACTCOSS. You do not need to be a member and we welcome inquiries from ACT Government funded organisations, as well as groups with other sources of revenue or no funding at all. The consultancy service free of charge to ACT community sector organisations, subject to demand and availability.
If you’d like more information about the consultancy services offered by ACTCOSS, or think that consultancy services would benefit your community sector organisation call ACTCOSS on (02) 6202 7200 or email us on actcoss@actcoss.org.au. You can also look at our
Organisations Information Kit for a range of factsheets, information and examples on building capacity in your organisation.
A Wide Range of Support
ACTCOSS can help you in a broad array of topics to help you build the capacity of your organisation:
- Managing Staff: ACTCOSS can provide community sector managers with a number of skills and strategies to enhance their management of human resources and promote a stronger, more cohesive staff team. ACTCOSS can help you implement strategies to improve staff recruitment, retention, work environment, team building and morale.
- Strategic Planning: Strategic Planning is an important tool for organisations to identify and prioritise their vision, values and goals, and turn these into a logical program for improvement. ACTCOSS regularly advises on methods and tools for strategic planning, and can facilitate strategic planning sessions for your organisation’s board, management or staff.
- Governance: While community sector boards are full of enthusiastic and committed volunteers, many can benefit from gaining knowledge of their governance responsibilities and how to implement them. ACTCOSS can provide information on helping board members in their roles of providing strategic direction and oversight, developing an organisation’s culture, meeting their financial responsibilities and running effective meetings.
- Change Management: Times of change are often stressful for staff and service users alike, and ACTCOSS can assist with skills in change management that can help minimise any negative impacts on your organisation.
- Service Evaluation and Improvement: Increasingly, services and funding bodies are demanding more evidence that services are being effectively analysed and evaluated to ensure they are producing their intended outcomes. ACTCOSS can give you strategies to evaluate your services, and use the outcomes of an evaluation to improve your service.
- Consumer Engagementand Participation: The needs and voices of service users are increasingly being placed at the centre of service delivery. ACTCOSS is able assist you with ways to maximise the voices of consumers in service planning, from feedback systems and consultation through to including consumers in decision-making.
- Quality Standards: ACTCOSS is funded by the ACT Government to provide support and assistance in using the ACT quality standards self-assessment tool: Raising the Standard (RTS). ACTCOSS can advise your organisation on how to systematically use RTS for improvement, or work directly with staff or management to provide a meaningful way to utilise RTS, given the nature and resource-base of your organisation.
- Funding Agreements and Government Relations: ACTCOSS frequently advises community organisations of their responsibilities under the ACT Government Standard Funding Agreements, and can also advise on policy positions and funding submissions to government. ACTCOSS can point you to possible avenues for funding, and can also advise on strategies and protocols for building a relationship with Government.
- Policy and Procedure Development: In an environment where documented policies and procedures are required in human services delivery, organisations need to ensure that their internal policies and procedures are upto- date and address the appropriate standards and legal requirements. ACTCOSS can advise organisations of their responsibilities, methods of developing policies and procedures and provide model drafts that organisations can adapt for their own use.
- Incorporation and its Responsibilities: Most community organisations are incorporated under the ACT Associations Incorporation Act. ACTCOSS consultancy services can guide you through the incorporation process, and assist organisations that have already incorporated to ensure they are meeting its requirements in drafting constitutions and constitutional amendments.
