“We’re thrilled to have a new Business Plan in place and are excited by the opportunities this gives us. Nova is now in a strong position to help others make a positive difference to the lives and wellbeing of people across Wakefield District and to the communities they live in.” – Maddy Sutcliffe, CEO of Nova

Download your pdf copy of our Business Plan: What's Next for Nova.

A quick summary

Our Business Plan will steer how we work as an organisation and what resources we need to work towards our vision to support the VCSE sector and our members so that we can build and sustain...

A VIBRANT VOLUNTARY,COMMUNITY AND ENTERPRISE SECTOR IN OUR DISTRICT 

The plan details what, when and how we'll work towards our 3 new priorities, informed by a collaborative development process where we listened to feedback from our members and stakeholders.

Several examples are shown for each of our new priorities…

1. Support our members to develop based on local, diverse population needs 

• We'll offer support and space that provides greater coordination/connection of VCSE activity, and provide opportunities for our members to develop
• Nova will continue to work with local authority and NHS colleagues and act as a "super connector" to our members

2. Develop and strengthen community partnerships

• We'll develop the representation of the VCSE sector and the role of Nova as a strategic partner with a wide range of public and private sector organisations
• Our team will help to bridge the gap between community and organisations with the codesign, coproduction and codelivery of support and services
• We'll provide a platform for campaigning and engagement on key issues facing the VCSE sector

3. Secure funding for the VCSE sector

• Nova will continue to lead and develop the Third Sector Framework and support the transparent distribution of funding across the district
• Our team will actively support collaboration to maximise opportunities for funding and avoid duplication
• We'll ensure contracts are transparent and fit for purpose for our members

We want our Business Plan to be practical and actionable, so these priorities will be woven into our everyday work. We’ll be tracking our progress towards them and regularly reporting to the Nova Board.

Want to know more, but pushed for time? Explore more in our one page summary.

How will this benefit our members?

Nova is led by our members, for our members so our new Business Plan set out to help us support them in the best way we can. Our new priorities will do this by:

• Focusing our resources into areas of work that our members told us matter to them, such as development and funding
• Offering the skills and expertise to support member development and connect members toother specialist partners 
• Working towards milestones that benefit our members, such as a revised volunteer support model
• And lots more! Get a complete overview of what we offer at one of our Welcome to Nova sessions, now open to all members, and get expert advice from one of our advisers at an Ask Nova slot

“The economic environment is very challenging, but we are confident that…we can be both proactive and responsive in supporting Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations to deliver and develop.”

Not a member? It’s completely free and has loads of great benefits, apply here.

Our asks

There are asks that are important to recognise on behalf of the VCSE sector:

• The VCSE sector is treated as an equal partner and the professionalism, expertise, and agility of member organisations is recognised
• Transparent governance continues to be developed through the Third Sector Framework to enable the fair distribution of resources
• Local people and local organisations continue to have a voice and influence what, where, when, and how services are delivered

We'd like to thank all our members and stakeholders who have taken the time to provide feedback, ideas, and enthusiasm in shaping what’s next for Nova.