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Third Sector Strategic Partner Programme  2010/2011

Strategic Partner Programme recruits second cohort for 2010/2011

The programme designed to foster closer working between Third Sector organisations and the Department of Health will be expanded to include five more organisations, Care Services Minister Phil Hope announced today.

The Third Sector Strategic Partner Programme was launched in April 2009 to improve communication and dialogue between the Department and the 35,000 third sector health and social care organisations across England.

The new group of organisations will extend the reach of the programme by providing representation to additional areas of this diverse sector, including mental health, military services and women’s health.

Eleven organisations were originally selected to become strategic partners, and today’s announcement will see this number increase to sixteen. The new strategic partners are:

  • Mental Health Providers Forum
  • Carers UK, Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads
  • Women’s Health and Equality Consortium
  • Royal British Legion / Combat Stress
  • NACRO and Action for Prisoners’ Families

The new partners will extend the reach of the programme by providing representation and engagement from additional areas of this diverse sector, such as mental health, military services and women’s health. Each organisation will receive a share of £950,000 for 2010/11.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:

'Third sector organisations are involved in so many areas of healthcare today, from frontline services right through to advocacy and support for service users, patients and carers.

'The Strategic Partner Programme plays a key role in supporting third sector organisations to work with the NHS to deliver better health and social care services for everyone. I’m delighted to announce five new strategic partners and look forward to working with them in future.'

Background information

On 19th February 2009 the Department of Health announced the eleven partners for the Strategic Partner Programme 2009/10.

They are:

  • National Association for Voluntary and Community Action - NAVCA
  • LifeLine on behalf of Faith Action Network
  • National Heart Forum
  • Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR); National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL); Shaping Our Lives National User Network (SOLNUN)
  • Age Concern England
  • Men's Health Forum (MHF)
  • National Children's Bureau (NCB)
  • Race Equality Foundation
  • Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG)
  • Regional Voluntary Sector Networks Forum (RVSNF) - led by Y&H Regional Forum
  • National Council for Palliative Care

The eleven original strategic partners were given a share of £5.5 million pounds in funding from the Department over three years, starting in 2009/10.

The programme focuses the work of strategic partners on:

  • Improving the third sector's understanding of commissioning processes;
  • The role for the sector in the personalisation agenda;
  • Increasing understanding of health inequalities across the sector;
  • Raising awareness of how emergencies such as a pandemic flu outbreak may affect the sector;
  • Equality issues — including work to improve assessments of how policies affect minority groups;
  • Improving the way the sector works at a regional level.

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