Issue 14 - 21 November 2007

The Hon Ruth Dyson is the new Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, and made her first official opening address in that role at VNZ’s Optimising the Energy of Volunteering conference. In the new Cabinet lineup, Minister Dyson retained the Disability Issues and Senior Citizens portfolios and also became Minister for Social Development and Employment.

The Minister said that she is looking forward to the opportunities that her new portfolios bring. In media statements, umbrella groups including COMVOICES, the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations and NZ Council of Social Services welcomed the community and voluntary sector portfolio’s move into Cabinet.

Former Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Luamanuvao Winnie Laban became Minister of Pacific Island Affairs in the changes.

The OCVS congratulates Volunteering NZ on its excellent Optimising the Energy of Volunteering Conference earlier this month. It was a well-run event that allowed plenty of time for discussion, had great presentations and didn’t try to pack too much in – we look forward to the next one!

As well as being a gold sponsor of the conference, the OCVS team was out in force at the event too. Senior Policy Analyst Kat Paton gave the final keynote speech on Leaving a legacy for volunteering in 2032 today, after past and present staff of the OCVS presented in breakout sessions on Differing cultural perspectives and Measuring the value of volunteering. The OCVS information table was also a hive of activity with many attendees checking they had key publications such as Mahi Aroha and Keeping it Legal E Ai Ke Te Ture.

The annual opportunity to celebrate the huge contribution of volunteers is just two weeks away. Once again the OCVS is supporting Volunteering NZ to produce posters and balloons to assist both national and local organisations to celebrate International Volunteer Day on 5 December.

A range of voluntary organisations should receive their support material this week, but if you want supplies and don’t have them by next week, please email office@volunteeringnz.org.nz with an indication of quantities required. Supplies may be limited depending on the number of new requests received.

Volunteering NZ is also keen to hear details of activities planned for the day. These will be added to a list used to brief the Minister, MPs, Mayors and the news media. Send your information as soon as possible to office@volunteeringnz.org.nz.

If you need assistance in planning your event, providing information to the news media or want to prepare certificates to present to your volunteers, visit the VNZ Tool Kits link.

The OCVS welcomed Policy Analyst James King to the team last month. As part of his work on the Non-Profit Institutions Account at Statistics NZ, James was involved in finding good data sources for volunteering in New Zealand. At the OCVS, he will be drawing out the policy implications of the data.

James studied at Victoria University, majoring in marine biology, marketing and commercial law, and joined Statistics NZ in February 2005 on the graduate leadership development programme. When he’s off duty, James heads to the beach for surfing, free-diving and spear fishing. He is Secretary of the Victoria University Anglican Chaplaincy and Treasurer of the Victoria University Ecumenical Chaplaincy. Welcome James!

The World Café is a way to apply collective intelligence to questions that matter.

World Café is a conversational technique to encourage dialogue and explore possibilities for action. Small groups of people sit at café-style tables and discuss different questions. They then change tables and the ideas are discussed and developed in further conservations with new people.

On the Good Practice Participate website, there is information about a range of specialised techniques that can be used to encourage community participation in decision-making, including World Café. Learn more about how the World Café works by visiting Good Practice Participate website.

Don't forget to visit the OCVS website for help in your work:

• Help and information for community groups highlights key resources such as CommunityNet, the Community Development Kit, Keeping it Legal, Managing Well, Grants Online and other sources of funding information.  
• Guidance material for public servants includes links to the two good practice websites, the policy development toolkit on the public sector intranet, and guidance from the Auditor-General and Treasury. If you're a public servant involved in consultation, stakeholder engagement, policy development, contracting or funding provision then visit this page today.

We welcome your feedback on how useful the pages and the links provided are to you.

If you have an event, conference or meeting related to community or voluntary issues, you are welcome to send a brief description of the event to us for inclusion in our email updates.

The tax treatment of honoraria and reimbursements paid to volunteers issues paper has been released by Inland Revenue.  It explores a number of options for clarifying and simplifying the tax treatment of reimbursements and honoraria paid to volunteers.  The 14-page paper seeks feedback on suggested ways of dealing with current uncertainties in the tax law relating to these payments. The aim is to minimise, as much as possible, compliance costs for volunteers and non-profit organisations.  Submissions close on 14 December 2007.

» For more information, see the government's media statement.

» The issues paper, The tax treatment of honoraria and reimbursements paid to volunteers, is published at www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz.

In September 2005, LTNZ updated its factsheet on Volunteers transporting passengers. The law says you must hold a passenger service licence and have a P (passenger) endorsement on your driver licence if:

• you carry passengers in your own car, and
• you are reimbursed for your expenses.
  

There are certain exceptions for passenger services operated by or under the control of any area health board, local authority, or incorporated charitable organisation. Further passenger services that are exempt include transporting of school children by parents or caregivers in return for a MOE private transport allowance, and people providing home or community support services.

From 1 October 2007, two new Land Transport Rules apply.
You can read details of the changes at http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/rules/q-and-a/transport-service-industry-2007.html#small. 
The changes include:

• the exceptions are extended to include a passenger service involving the transporting of children and their escorts to or from any activity of a school or institution providing pre-school education
• further rules that impact on volunteer drivers are relaxed.

Statistics NZ is holding a series of events to discuss the content of the Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account. An event was held in Christchurch last week, and a presentation will be made in Wellington as part of the ANGOA research forum on 21 November, and one in Hamilton in conjunction with Trust Waikato on 22 November.

The Auckland event is organised in conjunction with Volunteering Auckland and the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations. If you’d like to attend the Auckland event on Friday morning, 30 November, contact Cheryll Martin at Volunteering Auckland (cheryll.martin@volunteeringauckland.org.nz).

This is your chance to hear about the contribution made by 97,000 non-profit organisations and more than one million people who volunteer for them. These free events include morning tea and optional workshops, where you can ask questions about the publication. The NPI Satellite Account is on the Statistics NZ website, you can access it via the OCVS site.

For an international perspective, check out reports on September’s first-ever global assembly to assess progress in measuring contributions by civil society, volunteering, and philanthropy, or the Initial Findings from Implementaton of the United Nations Handbook on Non-profit Institutions, which includes some initial comparative info on NZ.

• The National Library of New Zealand has launched KRIS (Kiwi Research Information Service), a New Zealand research database. This is to be a gateway to the open-access research documents produced at universities, polytechnics, and other research institutions throughout New Zealand. The site is still under development, but already has significant content.
• Officially launched this week, the Tangata Whenua, Community and Voluntary Sector Research Centre Clearing House will be the place to find good community research and researchers. It will offer free access to research, promote a code of practice for researchers, connect people to research, allow groups to find researchers, and has the potential for email lists, virtual conferences, and a 'how-to' section. The site is now live and ready to accept contributions, so if you’d like to upload your research or access research by others, visit www.communityresearch.org.nz.

Age Concern NZ consulted older New Zealanders as part of the Towards a Positive Future process. 

The three top concerns were:

• adequacy of income
• access to quality affordable healthcare
• issues around loneliness and lack of community support.

» Read more information on SeniorVoice, Age Concern's feedback panel.

The new NZ Curriculum launched this month is designed to support school students to develop the values and competencies and gain the knowledge they need for the 21st century. Consultation on the new curriculum involved input from more than 15,000 New Zealanders, with 10,000 submissions made on the final draft. It has been one of the most comprehensive consultations ever carried out by the Ministry of Education.

The curriculum contains eight areas of knowledge, but also includes a range of key competencies young people need to acquire. It represents a shift away from focusing on knowing facts and figures to knowing also how to use knowledge effectively and apply it outside the classroom.

The participating and contributing competency is about being actively involved in communities. Communities include family, whānau, and school and those based, for example, on a common interest or culture. They may be drawn together for purposes such as learning, work, celebration, or recreation. They may be local, national, or global. This competency includes a capacity to contribute appropriately as a group member, to make connections with others, and to create opportunities for others in the group. 

Students will be encouraged to value community and participation for the common good and to respect themselves, others, and human rights. The specific ways in which the NZ Curriculum values find expression in an individual school will be guided by dialogue between the school and its community. Schools will be supported to implement the new curriculum over a three year period from 2007 to 2010 with workshops, online resources and other school-based support.

The Community Outcomes Process is a key component of the Local Government Act 2002, where local governments identify and measure what is important to local communities through a process of consultation, planning and reporting.

Examples have been put together to provide a snapshot of what the Ministry of Social Development is doing to contribute to the Community Outcomes Process. The report highlights examples of collaborative projects in the regions, but is not intended to be a comprehensive stocktake.

• The NZ State Services Integrity and Conduct Survey - Summary of Findings reports on how state servants observe standards of integrity and conduct across the State Services.
  » See October media statement from State Services Commissioner.
• Transforming the State Services: State of the Development Goals Report 2007 reports on progress with each of the six Development Goals: Employer of Choice, Excellent State Servants, Networked State Services, Coordinated State Agencies,  Accessible State Services, and Trusted State Services.

The 'Working Together' conference will place an emphasis on establishing stronger links between government and non-government agencies. The Building strong partnerships workstream will showcase partnerships that are working well, and feature work being done to address barriers to effective partnerships.

Congratulations to the Hospitality Association of NZ, whose HANZ Training Passport is a finalist in the Not-For-Profit Network Project of the Year Award category.

The Not-For-Profit Network received more than four times the nominations they expected for an inaugural programme and the judges (James Visser from Restaurant & Catering Queensland, Kevin Burrowes from Royal Life Saving Society and Susan Thorne from the Early Childhood Council of NZ) had a difficult time cutting down so many amazing nominees into the handful of finalists.

The winners of each category will be announced at a star-studded gala ceremony at Warner Bros Movie World on Australia's Gold Coast on 23 November.

MSS Professional is part of Methodist Social Services in Palmerston North. It focuses on delivering interactive workshops with no more than 25 participants with professional, nationally and internationally acclaimed presenters offering a more ‘hands on’ experience for participants. 

Dates for 2008 are as follows:

• Rickter Scale workshop on 27 March
  Of use to social workers and counsellors
• Adolescent Volcanoes on 3 April
• Superheroes for Boys on 4 April
  Both suitable for parents, community education, teachers, social workers, family workers, RTLB’s, nurses, health workers and care-givers.
• Brain Basics and Beyond! on 14 May
• The Next Step on 15 May
• It’s about Balance! on 16 May
  These three workshops are  suitable for all teachers,  Nga Kaiako of pre-schoolers, community educators, RTLB’s, counsellors, social workers, health practitioners and interested parents.

Contact Helen or Vicki on education@methodistsocialservices.org.nz, or phone 06 357 3277 for more information, prices and enrolments.

Youth Service America reports that the following are open to overseas applicants:

• Sport for a Better World Competition
  The Nike-Changemakers Competition: Sport for a Better World Collaborative Competition aims to find innovative solutions and catalyse a community of changemakers around the use of sport to improve community, accelerate development, and drive social change.
  
  The competition is open to all types of organisations (charitable organisations, private companies, or public entities) from all countries. Entries should be beyond the stage of idea, concept, or research, and, at a minimum, be at the demonstration stage and indicate success. The winners of the competition will be those entries that best demonstrate innovation, social impact, and sustainability. The three finalists that receive the most votes will be announced on 30 January 2008, and will each receive a cash prize of USD$5,000.
  
  » For complete program information, visit http://www. changemakers.net/en-us/node/728/.
  Deadline: 12 December 2007
• Action for Nature offers International Young Eco-Hero Awards
  The International Young Eco-Hero Awards recognise the individual accomplishments of young people (ages 8-16) whose personal actions have significantly improved the environment.
  
  Action for Nature will award cash prizes of up to USD$500 each to young Eco-Heroes for their outstanding accomplishments in environmental advocacy, environmental health, research, or protection of the natural world. Applications will be judged according to criteria including, but not limited to, originality, difficulty, organisation, length of time devoted to the project, influencing/educating others, use of outside resources (eg: library, experts, media, community leaders), degree of success in reaching goals, and the impact on the environment.
  
  » For complete program information and application guidelines, visit http://www.actionfornature.org/.
  Deadline: 28 February 2008.

» For more info, visit Youth Service America YSA.org/awards.

Australia’s only national conference focused on the use of information and communications technologies in charity and non-profit settings, is calling for expressions of interest from potential presenters.

The conference will have an emphasis on practical and hands-on workshops and opportunities to network.

Organisers want presenters to share practical stories, experiences, successes, applications, technologies etc with other delegates from all over Australia. 

Volunteering Canterbury offers free sessions with an experienced Volunteer Co-ordinator who can support you in your work with volunteers.  This is available at a time to suit you, at your place, or Volunteering Canterbury's office. Phone to make an appointment for this service (03 366 2442) or visit www.volcan.org.nz.

The OCVS congratulates Adam Awad and Koos Ali of ChangeMakers Refugee Forum, whose work was recognised in the Community Service category of the Welly Awards this month.

Koos and Adam played a crucial role in establishing ChangeMakers and driving the development of the Wellington Regional Action Plan for Refugee Health and Well-Being.  The Action Plan provides a strategic approach to providing services and support that contribute to the health and well-being of Wellington region's refugee communities. It pulls together the 60 or so government and non-government organisations involved in supporting communities with refugee backgrounds, and is a great model for engagement between community and government.  (OCVS team member, Glenda McCallum is currently working on secondment with ChangeMakers two days a week.)

If you do not want to receive any further email updates from the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector, please reply to this email with ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line, or e-mail ocvs@msd.govt.nz.

If you wish to be added to the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector distribution list for this e-newsletter and other regular communications, send an email to ocvs@msd.govt.nz with your name and postal address.

The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector exists to inspire co-operation and superb relationships between the government and the community and voluntary sector. You can find out more about the OCVS on our website: www.ocvs.govt.nz, by email at: ocvs@msd.govt.nz, phone: 04 918 9555, or by fax: 04 913 3080.