Importantly, infrastructure bodies operate at a range of levels and offer a lot of avenues for driving change. A range of infrastructure bodies that support organisations working at the local level are brought together through the Community Sector Coalition. Local level intermediaries have a key role to play in increasing community resilience and action on climate change through their ability to share information and resources, create local partnerships, raise awareness, gather evidence and, critically, use this evidence to shape national policy. Given the range, quantity and under-resourcing of many community groups, the role of intermediaries is central to capitalising on their unique reach – both geographically and thematically. However, their varying levels of resource should be noted when considering their ability to respond to the ideas and actions presented in this report. Securing the engagement of the many infrastructure bodies that support organisations working on particular issues across the sector is also essential to achieving widespread action on climate change. For example, the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) is a support body for the children and young people’s sector and the Social Enterprise Coalition is an important national voice for the social enterprise sector. NCB’s efforts to engage their members and embed climate change in their work is catalysing progress across their sector and they have developed important learning about effective organisational change models in relation to climate change. This is discussed more in section 4.4 and other organisations will also have their own learning. Infrastructure bodies are well placed to lead such work and share the learning from it.
Box 2: Leadership from NCVO Climate change is one of four major themes
their mission and their beneficiaries and how
in NCVO’s ten year strategy, Civil society: a
they can address it. This will be available as an
framework for action. Their key focus is raising
online resource and through one-to-one direct
awareness of the likely impact that climate
support with training and support for trustees,
change will have on the work of front line
chief executives and senior managers of non-
third sector organisations. An online guide for
environmental organisations.
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organisations thinking about climate change has been developed and the issue is built into key
They will also be setting up a members network
events and publications, as well as informing their
on sustainability in 2010 that will enable NCVO
analysis of trends that will affect the sector and
members to share information and learning.
the support they provide to their members.
Finally, they will be promoting the work of a small group of sector champions from among their
Most prominent among their commitments is the
members whose stories and achievements will
intention to create a new climate unit, subject to
inspire other organisations to take practical steps
funding. This will provide information, advice and
to reduce their carbon footprint and integrate
direct support to organisations to help them
sustainability.
understand the impact of climate change on
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