Questions about the future: What kind of VCFSE sector do we want to build?

By Tracy Hopkins, Chair LSC VCFSE Alliance, Partner Member LSC ICB, CEO Citizens Advice Blackpool and Non-Executive Director Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

As Chair of the VCFSE Alliance, I often use this blog to share updates, reflections and observations from across our sector. This month, however, I find myself with more questions than answers.

They are questions that have emerged through conversations with colleagues, partners, volunteers and senior leaders across Lancashire and South Cumbria. They are questions that reflect both the challenges we face and the opportunities ahead. Most importantly, they are questions that I believe deserve a wider audience because answering them will require collective thinking and collective action.

So, as we move through the summer and look ahead to the autumn, I would like to share some of the questions I have been considering.

How sustainable is our current model for the VCFSE sector?

At a time when many organisations are grappling with rising costs, increasing demand and continuing uncertainty around funding, are we asking enough questions about the long-term sustainability of our sector? How do organisations continue to deliver exceptional support while managing increasing staffing costs, inflationary pressures and additional employer contributions such as National Insurance increases?

And perhaps the bigger question is this: are we still relying too heavily on short-term solutions to address long-term challenges?

How do we build and maintain the workforce the sector needs?

Across Lancashire and South Cumbria, VCFSE organisations tell a similar story. Recruitment can be difficult. Retaining talented staff can be challenging. Volunteers remain the lifeblood of many organisations, yet attracting new volunteers is becoming increasingly complex.

What does a sustainable VCFSE workforce look like in the future? How do we create pathways that attract people into the sector and encourage them to stay? How do we ensure volunteering remains accessible, rewarding and valued within our communities?

I’ve enjoyed a career of almost 30 years in the VCFSE sector, and like many of you, I couldn’t think of a better place to work.  However, I wonder how many young people consider our sector when they are thinking about their future?

How do we respond to growing demand when resources remain constrained?

While public discussion around the cost of living crisis may have diminished, many people and communities continue to experience its effects every day.

What are we seeing in our communities that others may not yet recognise? How do we continue supporting people facing financial hardship, loneliness, poor mental health and wider inequalities? And what happens if demand continues to rise faster than the resources available to meet it?

Are we doing enough to recognise the true value of the VCFSE sector?

When we talk about the VCFSE sector, do we talk enough about our contribution to the health, wealth and wellbeing of the people of Lancashire and South Cumbria?

How do we better demonstrate the social value created through community action, volunteering, peer support and prevention? How do we ensure that the sector is recognised not simply for the services it delivers, but for the relationships it builds, the trust it creates and the resilience it nurtures within communities?

What opportunities does Local Government Reorganisation create for the VCFSE sector?

Much has been said about the structural changes that Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) will bring, but what could it mean for communities and the organisations that support them?

Could this be an opportunity to strengthen the role of the VCFSE sector within local decision-making? Could new arrangements create stronger partnerships between communities, public services and voluntary organisations? As new structures emerge, how do we ensure that the voice and experience of the VCFSE sector is embedded from the beginning rather than added as an afterthought?

And perhaps most importantly, what role should the VCFSE sector play in helping shape the future of local places?

What would happen if we focused even more on place, neighbourhoods and population need?

We know that people experience health, wellbeing and inequality locally. We know that communities possess significant strengths, assets and expertise of their own.

So how do we build on these strengths? Could a greater focus on place-based working help us align resources more effectively around the needs of local populations? How might neighbourhood-level partnerships unlock new opportunities for collaboration, prevention and community-led solutions?

And if we truly organised ourselves around the needs of people and places, what might become possible?

What do we need to do now to create a VCFSE sector that is fit for the future?

If we want a sector that continues to thrive over the next decade, what needs to change now? What should we stop doing? What should we do differently? What should we invest in together?

And perhaps the most important question of all: how do we move from talking about the importance of the VCFSE sector to taking the practical, strategic decisions that will sustain it for generations to come?

I do not pretend to have all the answers to these questions. However, I believe they are questions worth asking and worth sharing. The future of our sector will not be shaped by any single organisation or partnership. It will be shaped by our collective willingness to think differently, challenge assumptions and work together around a shared ambition.

As ever, I would welcome your thoughts. What questions are you asking? What opportunities do you see? And what do we need to do, collectively, to build a stronger, more sustainable VCFSE sector for Lancashire and South Cumbria?

I look forward to continuing the conversation.