African Voices Forum Strategic Plan 2008-2011

Promoting Good Practice and Partnership

African Voices Forum will reinforce the commitment of its member organisations to providing a high quality and comprehensive service to people in their communities and encourage replication of best practice among them. The forum aims to carry out its work in partnership with other agencies wherever possible in order to add value, reduce duplication and broaden its reach.

To achieve this AVF will: 

• Produce materials and support models to help African community  associations and organisations to implement the basic  standards and to work toward their achievement.

• To identify a set of African Experts and specialists from all works of life among the diverse membership of the forum, and to create a virtual database for the set which can be tapped into by the forum and other organisations and institutions specialising in education, research and policy.

• Promote Africa in the curriculum and African Voices in Schools 

• Forge and develop a formal ‘Community Alliance’ with Community Matters, the national federation of community organisations in England, to advance AVF Vision and Mission(in particular, the Community Anchor and Community Service Agreements concepts).

• Work in partnership with other organisations/networks as a default principle for new projects.  

Support Services, Networking and Partnerships

One of the key work areas of the AVF is to provide to African and African-Caribbean national community associations and community interest organisations, as well as other community interest organisations working to empower African and African-Caribbean communities. AVF aims to provide this support both directly and through other organisations that advise and support them. One of its principal strategic objective is to expand its reach and membership to cover the whole of Bristol, the South West of England and later nationally and Europe to help it better represent this rapidly expanding but often neglected constituency and to ensure spread of best practice.

• To gradually expand the membership and reach of the  AVF to cover the whole of Bristol, region, nation and Europe.

• Provide specialist advice, information and support to member associations and organisations with emphasis on existing gaps such as tackling issues requiring multiple interventions, tackling sustainability, marketing and developing specific support for managers, coordinators etc.

• Undertake research and development projects to produce new information and approaches to providing support.

• To create and build on partnerships  with local authorities and their national representative bodies, as well as other stake holding organisations to influence best practice in the support of African community organisations.

• Broaden its partnership with other specific community sector umbrella bodies in order to build their capacity and to influence best practice in the support of diverse community organisations currently beyond African Voices Forum Membership such as faith and other communities.

• To create links with local Infrastructure Organisations (such as CVS’) in order to provide more comprehensive local support to African community organisations.

• Ensure that it targets specific support to enabling African community organisations to tackle social exclusion and increasing the diversity of their local membership. This will include specific programmes targeting different groups, including young people.

National, European and International  Voice

African Voices Forum aims to authoritatively represent its constituency and to speak out locally, regionally, nationally and later at EU and international levels  in pursuit of its Vision and Mission.

To achieve this it will:

• Consult widely within its membership on matters of policy and  legislation relevant to the sector.

• Seek to influence government and other national and regional policy through responses to consultations and active participation in a wide range of policy groups and other national forums.

• Seek to promote the interests of its members through contact with the press and other media, and use its profile and resources to support other smaller African community networks.

• Play a leading role in the Community Sector Coalition, and promote this body as the most authoritative voice of the African community sector.

• Undertake formal and informal research to inform policy positions.

• Attempt a more pro-active policy stand through partnership and strategic alliances.

• Seek to extend its influence at  regional  and national levels through the targeted use of its National Executive Committee and specialist consultants.

• Raise the voices of African community organisations at local, regional, national and later European levels by way of empowering them to become active on local and global issues that concern them.   

Internal Development for sustainability and accountability

African Voices Forum will develop its organisational structure and procedures to best meet its other strategic objectives, ensure its sustainability and maximise accountability.

To achieve this it will:

• To provide effective leadership through the Forum’s management committee, and to have administrative members of staff that are dedicated and equipped with the required skills and competences..

• Ensure that its Management Committee represents the widest possible breadth of its membership and other stakeholders.

• To develop and execute an effective marketing plan for each desired result that is in concert with the mission.

• Ensure that new internal policies and procedures continue to uphold equality principles and tackle the discrimination often experienced by African Community groups.

• Ensure AVF achieves appropriate standards and recognition in its work.

• Encourage greater use of electronic communication amongst its membership to enable more rapid access to a wider range of information about training, funding, jobs and other opportunities through e-group mailings, newsletter etc.

• Develop its monitoring and evaluation procedures to enable the forum to better assess the impact of its work.

• To create a resource base through the provision and management of a community resource centre with office facilities for African community associations, where information about training, funding, jobs and other opportunities are provided.