Our Action Plan
We believe that the key to a stronger voice for the voluntary sector in Manitoba is communication. Our mandate is to gather essential information about its nature, needs, and impact.
With that in mind, we are meeting with our communities, our volunteer organizations, groups and leadership (a massive exchange of information), with which we can create a Made-in-Manitoba data-base to build closer co-operation between our voluntary sector, government, business and labour.
In order for the sector to establish its agenda we are reaching out to leaders in many ways:
Two people from each invited group, one from its board of directors and one senior staff will attend.
At every workshop, participants follow our Discussion Guide (click on the Resource Centre to examine it ), facilitated by Power point. They also fill out a background form, which more clearly defines
their organization (size, funding source, etcetera.)
Information from all workshops were sent to everyone for their comments - for
those who attended the workshops, as well as those who couldn't attend and
finally to an additional 900 organizations throughout the province.
In April 2002, a survey has being distributed to approximately 5500
organizations and groups to collect and analyze information that focuses on
their sustainability within Manitoba’s Voluntary Sector.
Both of these sources will provide a wealth of information, which will clarify
the status and challenges of Manitoba’s voluntary sector and will be shared with
government, business, and labour and the public.
This source information was analyzed, shared and provided to a conference in
March 2002 to voluntary sector leaders (see report) to determine the recommendations required
to identify a range of actions necessary to address the sustainability question.
A report from that March event confirmed
the learning from the focus group engagement process. (see March Report)
In May 2002, with the facts in hand, as well as the strategies to minimize the
challenges faced by the sector, voluntary sector leaders, government officials,
business and labour representatives met to identify future solutions to sustain
the sector in Manitoba. This event was video conferenced to three other
locations in Manitoba from the Winnipeg base of operations. (The Pas, Dauphin,
and Thompson)
This process began in the morning with Stephen Lewis the Special Envoy from the
UN in Africa speaking about building solutions to our challenges; a full day
workshop applying four strategies identified by our research to sustain the
sector, and a final public address by Mr. Lewis in the evening to the public
titled "Embracing the Ideal" Civil Society post Sept 11; the need to strengthen
the voluntary sector in Manitoba.
(see the May report in Resource Centre)
Culminating in January 17 and 18, 2003 in Winnipeg and video linked to Brandon
a POLICY SUMMIT of the Voluntary and non-profit sector will launch a new era of
on-going collaboration of the voluntary and non-profit sector with its partners
of government, business, and labour.
If you wish to comment on any part of our process, our findings, the
working documents
for the event and more importantly willing to contribute your time and expertise on a committee or task group
following the January event, please email us at: volsec@mb.aibn.com.
We will be taking some of the email received and reading this to the audience
at the event in January.
We have started a follow-up process to bring the rural and northern voluntary
and non-profit sector together in April at the RURAL FORUM in Brandon. If you
are interested in participating in the planning of this event or are interested
in receiving more information as this develops, please
email: marquisp@mts.net or the Secretariat
at: volsec@mb.aibn.com.
