National Links

In this section we would like to carry links to a wide range of organisations and websites. We are currently mapping which links would be most useful. If you have a link you would like including please contact us.

Age

  • Age Diversity at Work - download this guide from the Age Positive web site.
  • Help the Aged - is an international charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect. They research the needs of older people in the UK and overseas and campaign for changes in policy. They provide community services and publish information for the elderly on finance, how to stay healthy as well as guidance on choosing a care home.

Cohesion

  • Commission on Integration and Cohesion - The Commission on Integration and Cohesion is a fixed term advisory body, announced by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, on 24 August 2006. The Commission considered how local areas can make the most of diversity while being able to respond to the tensions it may cause.
  • Ipsos MORI - Race relations and social cohesion have become increasingly important in the UK and the work done by the Ethnic Minority Communities & Social Cohesion Research Unit at Ipsos MORI has grown year on year. 
  • LSE - The Economic and Social Cohesion Laboratory.
  • Swansea University - Social Cohesion and Integration research.
  • The Centre for Social Cohesion - Civitas has established the Centre for Social Cohesion following widespread and longstanding concern about the diminishing sense of community in Britain. 
  • The Institute of Community Cohesion - The Institute of Community Cohesion was established in 2005 to provide a new approach to race, diversity and multiculturalism. Our work focuses on building positive and harmonious community relations. iCoCo represents a unique partnership of academic, statutory and non-governmental bodies, which combine the experience and expertise of four Universities - Coventry, Warwick, DeMontfort and Leicester, with practitioners from a range of diverse backgrounds and professions.
  • Community Cohesion -Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA) - Community cohesion is a hot topic for councils these days. Factors such as age, wealth, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality and political ideology can create divisions in communities. Councils – and especially councillors – have an important community leadership role to play in bringing communities together. This resource supports councils who want to work with partners and their communities to promote interaction and foster positive community relations.
  • Community cohesion - an action guide: guidance for local authorities from the Local Government Association.  In December 2002 the LGA published Guidance on community cohesion which gave local authorities practical advice about how to build and strengthen cohesive communities in their area.
  • Community Cohesion and Community Conflict Resolution – from the Communities and Local Government web site.
  • Community Cohesion guidance – related documents from the Communities and Local Government web site.

Community and Community Development

  • ASC - Academy for Sustainable Communities. 
  • BASSAC - bassac is the national network of multi-purpose community based organisations, dedicated to tackling the causes and effects of poverty, exclusion and discrimination.
  • Bassac web site - Supporting People Sustaining Communities. Bassac is the national network of multi-purpose community based organisations, dedicated to tackling the causes and effects of poverty, exclusion and discrimination.
  • Can Do Exchange - have a vision you might share. It is about creating a place where active people and organisations in the community can access resources and contacts previously impossible for them to access. 
  • Capacitybuilders - is a non-departmental government body (NDPB) set up in 2006 to take over the management of the ChangeUp programme and to work with other funders to build capacity of the Third Sector. We exist to create a more effective third sector and we do this by improving support for third sector organisations. 
  • Communities and Organisations: Growth and Support - COGS is an independent organisation specialising in policy and practice development in the areas of: community engagement, empowerment and development; people based regeneration; group and event facilitation; strategic planning and evaluation; performance management. 
  • Community Development Exchange - CDX is the UK-wide membership organisation for community development.
  • Community Development Foundation - is a leading source of intelligence, guidance and delivery on community development in England and across the UK. CDF is a non-departmental public body and a registered charity supported by Communities and Local Government (CLG). 
  • Business in the Community - inspires, engages, supports and challenges companies to continually improve the impact they have on society and the environment.
  • Community Relations Council - The Council's aim is to assist the people of Northern Ireland to recognise and counter the effects of communal division.
  • Development Trusts Association, Yorkshire and Humber - The national body for development trusts is aiming for a successful development trust in every community. Development trusts are: community owned and led; cultivating enterprise; developing community assets; transforming communities for good. The Development Trusts Association: helps people set up development trusts; helps existing trusts to work effectively; shares skills and experience; attracts support and investment.
  • Federation for Community Development Learning - Supporting the development of communities: advancing and promoting community development learning at local, regional and national levels, and creating opportunities for good quality training and qualifications.  

Communities of Interest

  • Black Information Link - The 1990 Trust's independent community interactive site for black communities.
  • BME Information - Yorkshire and Humber bmeinformation website which aims to: communicate key developments in the voluntary and community sector and regional policy with particular reference to BME issues; offer opportunities to share best practice; publicise relevant news and events; provide networking opportunities. The website is an initiative of the BME Regional Panel and is supported by Yorkshire and The Humber Regional Forum.

Cultural Diversity

  • Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity on the Arts and Humanities Research Council website.
  • InterCulture - has a track record of delivering a range of successful cultural and diverse programmes innovative events, publications and conferences designed to connect with diverse communities in the region. The outcome of our programmes and projects has raised regional and national awareness in race and diversity with strategic partners that worked effectively with government policies and guidelines. This enabled InterCulture to facilitate effective communication and build upon cultural connections to promote diversity and fully utilise the innovation and talents directly from those communities particularly in regeneration areas in the region.
  • Museums, Libraries and Archives. South East. - Cultural Diversity Links Page.

Diversity

Education

  • Campaign for Learning - National Workplace Learning Network. Workplace learning is invaluable for both the personal and professional development of employees and also has a strong positive impact on the success of any business, whether in the public, private or voluntary sector.
  • ECU - the Equality Challenge Unit works with higer education institutions.
  • The Grundtvig Programme is part of the European Commission's new Lifelong Learning Programme and aims to strengthen the European dimension in adult education and lifelong learning across Europe.
  • INSTED - Inservice Training and Educational Development provide consultancies on diversity and equality issues for schools, local authorities and government departments, and to the community and voluntary sector. 
  • Enterprise Week - 12-18 November 2007 - The national celebration of enterprise, inspiring young people to turn their ideas into reality. Last year there were 3,184 events organised by 1,410 organisations. 
  • LSC - Skills for Life Network will help keep you up to date with what's happening in the Skills for Life arena: developments, events, jobs and resources. They bring together need-to-know information from a wide range of sources and help save you valuable time. 
  • Research Councils UK - Each year the Research Councils invest around £2.8 billion in research covering the full spectrum of academic disciplines from the medical and biological sciences to astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economics, and the arts and humanities. 
  • Work Based E Learning - This website supports those working in the work-based learning sector wishing to make effective use of e-Learning and ICT to increase their business outcomes and improve the learner experience.  

Equality and Diversity

  • Equality and Diversity Pages from the Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council website.
  • Centre for Equality and Diversity- in the Borough of Dudley.
  • Equal Works - Equal is an European Social Fund initiative. It tackles discrimination and inequalities in the labour market, for those in work and those seeking work. Equal also includes actions to help the integration of asylum seekers.
  • Equality and Diversity Forum - A network of national organisations committed to progress on age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation and broader equality and human rights issues.  - E-newsletter.
  • Equality and Human Rights Commission. The following organisations have been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission: Commission for Racial Equality (CRE); Disability Rights Commission (DRC); Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
  • Equality Online - Their website will provide employers with information and updates on some of the main topics related to equality and diversity in the workplace. It will provide general guidance on the main topics to ensuring that employment practices and policies are unbiased and non-discriminatory. It will be developed over time in response to incoming legislation and new initiatives.
  • equalsoc - A Centre of Excellence on Social Research in Europe. Economic Change, Quality of Life and Social Cohesion.

Funding

  • Arts Council - Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts in England, distributing public money from Government and the National Lottery.
  • Comic Relief - Comic Relief's vision is a just world free from poverty. Their mission is to drive positive change through the power of entertainment. They do this by: Raising money from the general public by actively involving them in events and projects that are innovative and fun.  Informing, educating, raising awareness and promoting social change.  Allocating the funds they raise in a responsible and effective way to a wide range of charities which they select after careful research. 
  • Lottery Funding - Lottery Funding is a joint website run by all Lottery funders in the UK. This site allows you to search information on current funding programmes across the UK.
  • www.theBigGive.org.uk, a free-to-use website, is now live. It allows major donors (£100k to £10m+) to search for charity projects in their field of interest - and those projects could be yours.

Government

  • European Commission website.
  • Government guidlines on web page accessibility. This information is being maintained for archive/historical purposes only. It will not be updated. 
  • Health and Safety at Work - A new mini Health and Safety Executive web site has been created for all directors, governors, trustees, officers and their equivalents in the private, public and third sectors. 
  • Home Office - web site. The Home Office is the government department responsible for leading the national effort to protect the public from terrorism, crime and anti-social behaviour. 
  • IDeA - The Govnernment Improvement and Development Agency. The IDeA works for local government improvement so councils can serve people and places better. 
  • Local Govnerment Association - The Local Government Association (LGA), formed on 1 April 1997, promotes the interests of English and Welsh local authorities - a total of just under 500. These represent over 50 million people and spend around £74 billion a year on local services. 
  • Ministry of Justice - advice and guidance on all aspects of the justice system.
  • Neighbourhood Renewal - The neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU) is responsible for overseeing the Government’s comprehensive neighbourhood renewal strategy. A strategy that responds to local circumstances rather than directs everything from Whitehall. 
  • Preparing for emergencies - HM Government tell you all you need to know.
  • Yorkshire and Humber Regional Forum - The Regional Forum provides a coherent regional voice for the voluntary and community sector in Yorkshire and the Humber. It is a member led network of networks with over 165 members. The Forum brings together voluntary and community sector organisations to ensure that the sector has the right support and structures to contribute to regional activity.
  • Youth Work Unit - The YWU is the strategic youth work development agency in Yorkshire and the Humber region.     

Policy

  • IPPR - Institute for Public Policy Research is the UK’s leading progressive think tank, producing cutting edge research and innovative policy ideas for a just, democratic and sustainable world.
  • Policy Studies Institute - PSI undertakes and publishes research studies relevant to social, economic, industrial and environmental policy. The Institute is a charity, run on a not-for-profit basis. In 1998 it merged to become an independent subsidiary of the University of Westminster.  

Refugees and Asylum seekers

  • Don't Believe the Type - Information about asylum and refugees.
  • ICAR - Based at King's College, London, ICAR is The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK.
  • IMISCOE - International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion. A multi-disciplinary research programme comprised of 450 researchers from 23 established European research institutes, working collaboratively to: Create a joint research programme on migration, integration and social cohesion; Organise training in these fields; Disseminate research results to the public at large and specifically to policy makers.
  • Interskills - a commercial site that produces The Life-Guide  which is the UK’s only online resource dedicated to delivering tailored advice and support in any language - an essential tool for every statutory organisation, voluntary organisation and business that needs to communicate with non-native English speakers. Their site also has news and events listings. 
  • Refugee Council - Multilingual information from the Refugee Council Online.  

Regeneration

  • Integreatyorkshire - Integreat Yorkshire is the Regional Centre of Excellence for Regeneration & Renaissance for Yorkshire and Humber. Its clients are all those who want to be active in the regeneration and renaissance of our region contributing to the making of Great Places to live, work, play and invest. 
  • CESI - Centre for economic and social inclusion is an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to tackling disadvantage and promoting social justice.  

Religion/Belief

  • Churches Regional Commission for Yorkshire and the Humber - (CRC) is a Christian organisation that is proactive with public bodies and faith partners in promoting regeneration in the region.
  • Diversity and dialogue - Diversity and Dialogue was conceived at a meeting of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular NGOs in July 2002. Representatives were discussing ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the negative repercussions on interfaith relations in the UK. They thought about their potential to help counter these tensions and their conclusion was a commitment to run an interfaith education project in partnership.
  • Women's Interfaith Media Literacy website - This website has been set up by women from diverse faith communities in order to provide a resource for women who are interested in knowing more about how the media work, their influence and values and how to engage with them.
  • Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum - The Forum works in the region and beyond to advance the contribution of faith communities, to encourage partnerships and to challenge injustice and discrimination.

Voluntary Organisations

  • Community Service Volunteers - (CSV) was founded in 1962 by Mora and Alec Dickson who also founded the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). Their philosophy guides them today: everyone should be able to take part in the life of their community.
  • CompanySolutions - Professional support for fundraising and the voluntary sector.
  • COVER - The Community & Voluntary Forum: Eastern Region.
  • Directory of Social Change – Information and Training for the Voluntary Sector.
  • National Association for Voluntary and Community Action - NAVCA is the national voice of local voluntary and community sector infrastructure in England. Our 360 members work with 140,000 local community groups and voluntary organisations which provide services, regenerate neighbourhoods, increase volunteering and tackle discrimination, in partnership with local public bodies.
  • National Hubs – Improving support for the voluntary and community sector. This website is your portal to the free support, information and services the hubs can offer your charity, to help you achieve more. The hubs have a dynamic and evolving programme, so you will probably want to stay in touch. Sign up to be the first to hear about new services and get the most benefit from their ongoing work.
  • NAVCA - (the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) is the national voice of local voluntary and community sector infrastructure in England. Our 360 members work with 140,000 local community groups and voluntary organisations which provide services, regenerate neighbourhoods, increase volunteering and tackle discrimination, in partnership with local public bodies.  
  • ncvo – giving voice to voluntary and community organisations.
  • VolResource - information for voluntary and community organisations.
  • WREN - Waste Recycling Environmental Limited.

Other

  • Social Enterprise Yorkshire and Humber - Social enterprises are dynamic businesses with a social purpose working across the UK and internationally to deliver lasting social and environmental benefit. Social enterprises operate in a wide range of industries from farmers markets and recycling to transport and childcare. The social enterprise sector is incredibly diverse, encompassing co-operatives, development trusts, community enterprises, housing associations, football supporter's trusts, Social Firms and leisure trusts, among others.
  • The Economic and Social Research Council - Society Today. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's leading research funding and training agency addressing economic and social concerns. They aim to provide high quality research on issues of importance to business, the public sector and government.
  • The Runneymede Trust - Their mandate is to promote a successful multi-ethnic Britain - a Britain where citizens and communities feel valued, enjoy equal opportunities to develop their talents, lead fulfilling lives and accept collective responsibility, all in the spirit of civic friendship, shared identity and a common sense of belonging.
  • The Scarman Trust in Yorkshire and Humberside - is a national charitable organisation which supports and resources individuals and small community groups who want to improve their communities. They promote the concept of Asset Based Community Development – moving away from the deficit model of development that has been in currency for so long. They believe that people are willing and able to tackle issues that affect themselves and their communities, and that agencies like ourselves should be facilitating their work, rather than controlling or hindering it. They offer resources and support to individuals and small community groups, who have the passion, vision and drive to initiate change.
  • The TUC.
  • W3C - Web Accessibility Initiative - WAI.
  • Worksmart - from the TUC.