professional – VolResource

Professional Development and Structured Learning

Accredited courses, particularly in specific subjects (e.g. community, enterprise)

Introduction

Professional training for the sector is on the increase – at one time there were concerns from short course (open access) providers that their business would go down the pan as people focused on gaining qualifications and credits for ‘continuous professional development’ (CPD). There is room for both. While short courses are often seeing as having more immediate relevance to day-to-day work, part-time and distance/flexible learning (such as Open University) can also have direct, practical impact on your current job.

It would be a little foolish of us to give general guidance on how to decide what is most appropriate for you, as there are so many factors, courses and a lot of change too. Managing the time commitments, how much you can afford, whether your organisation has a training policy restricted on what it recognises for promotion, funding etc, are obvious questions. Bear in mind that some have entry requirements – postgraduate courses MAY take mature students with relevant experience rather than a degree but could require a lot of persuading; others will be aimed at those in particular stages of their career or from certain parts of the sector (possibly due to how their funding works). Above all be clear why you want to study, and what you hope to achieve. This may change as you go along, but it gives you a base to judge courses and your progress.

Accreditation and Qualifications

Accreditation can be by a number of different bodies, at different levels. At the moment we don’t cover CPD rated courses but short courses may count to ongoing development requirements for membership of professional bodies (e.g. accountancy, CIPD, law).

Institute of Fundraising has developed the Certificate for Fundraising Managers which can be obtained via a number of providers (some indicated on the training pages). It is worth checking out the other Professional bodies to see if they run, recommend or list development programmes.

Foundation degrees are relatively new – vocationally focused higher education courses at ‘intermediate’ level, the same as HND/C and NVQ level 4. Unionlearn has relevant info.

Also see Professional Qualifications page for degree courses, diplomas etc. in more general voluntary sector subjects (e.g. management).

Finding Courses

The National Open College Network site gives quality standards and local OCN contacts who may offer qualifications in community development, volunteering training, management.

voluntaryskills.com is for the North East.

Accredited courses, NVQ etc

Gloscat (Gloucestershire College of Arts & Technology) had qualifications and/or training through various routes for local voluntary sector. Haven’t located in new Gloucestershire College site but probably still there.

Money Advice Scotland is an (SQA) Approved Centre for the delivery of the Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Advice (money advice route) at levels 3 and 4.

Truro and Penwith College, Penzance. Charity Administration evening course.

No exam and/or formal qualification

Note: Some courses created with qualifications in mind do allow study excluding examination/assessment.

No current info at Nov 2013.

Professional Development in specific issues

Roughly grouped by issue. Not just NVQs.

See Volunteer Management, Trustee Resources for training in those areas.

Misc

Masters in Citizenship and Human Rights at Glasgow Caledonian University, created in partnership with Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (new August 2014?).

Community

Bachelor of Arts in Community Development from University of Glasgow. Also check Activate foundation course, under Continuing Professional Development.
Centre for Volunteering and Community Leadership at University of Central Lancashire.
Staffordshire University’s Creative Community Unit Graduate Certificate in Community Practice has Voluntary Sector and Community Arts as 2 ‘pathways’. Also an MA available, and short courses with titles such as Getting Communities Involved, Making it Happen with Community Arts.
University of Sussex Centre for Community Engagement, various courses.
University of Ulster has a BSc Hons Community Development. Those with experience in the sector may be able to take advantage of a short course – Accreditation for Prior Experiential Learning – to gain direct access to the second year.

Housing, Regeneration

Urban Studies at University of Glasgow has various Postgraduate and Continuing Professional Development courses in Housing, Regeneration.

Humanitarian, Development

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has various short courses, Diplomas and MSc studies in humanitarian studies etc. – search courses.
Humanitarian logistics certification, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport/Fritz Institute. See Society Guardian article (2006) for background.
Master of Advanced Studies in Humanitarian Logistics and Management in Switzerland (taught in English).

Enterprise

Glasgow Caledonian University has an MSc in Social Business and Microfinance. Also check Scottish Social Enterprise Academy for possible linked course.
University of Greenwich’s Executive MBA has Social Enterprise as one of its specialist strands, new for 2016 postgraduate programme.
MSc in Co-operative and Social Enterprise (by eLearning) from Centre for Co-operative Studies, University College Cork (Republic of Ireland).
Institute of Leadership & Management has a number of social enterprise support qualifications.
School for Social Entrepreneurs has a number of bases or projects around the country as well as London HQ.

Fundraising, charity marketing

BA Charity Development at University of Chichester.
Fundraising and Philanthropy Masters at University of Kent.
Postgrad Diploma/MSc in Grantmaking, Philanthropy and Social Investment at Cass Business School (London).

Philanthropy courses: see Philanthropy education in the UK and continental Europe: Current provision, perceptions and opportunities (pdf, 694KB) from Centre for Charity Effectiveness, Oct. 2014. Also check Centre for Philanthropy at University of Kent.

Professional Qualifications

Higher level courses in voluntary sector management and related subjects.

Introduction

Voluntary Sector Studies Network has a Courses section giving some details of those provided by its members. This may be updated quicker than our information below.

This page is for more general voluntary sector higher level courses in management, communications etc. See Professional Development page for specific topics (e.g. Community, Enterprise, Fundraising), and a section on Volunteer management courses.

Foundation degrees

Foundation degrees are employment related higher education qualifications. As experience can be as important as traditional educational qualifications, usually there are no, or flexible, set entry requirements. While not on the same level as honours degrees, they can lead on to these. See Professional Development page for such courses in specific topics.

Study online, open/distance learning

Open University Business School Runs a Management Certificate programme tailored to the voluntary sector, which can become part of Diploma or MBA. Various courses can be done online. Winning Resources and Support meets criteria for Institute of Fundraising’s Certificate. VolResource was (maybe still is) one of their Top 10 reference sites. Course Enquiry Services, Freepost, PO Box 625, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, phone 01908 858585.
Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Enhancement (Online) awarded through the University of Bradford, and meets criteria for full corporate membership of the Institute of Leadership and Management. Modules on supervision, managing change and others. Contact Norman Borrett, phone 01274 753425, email: N.Borrett@bilk.ac.uk
University of Wales Lampeter MA in Voluntary Sector Studies is dormant at spring 2015.
Masters in Public Policy and Management or postgrad diploma/certificate from University of York.
Others. Some of those listed by location below now also provide open, distance or e-learning options which don’t require regular physical attendance. It is worth checking websites for updates.

Educational institute based

Listed by location.

University of Birmingham College of Social Sciences Public Service MPA, with specific voluntary sector management option (may have changed at autumn 09). Full or part-time options, and MSc/postgrad certificate programmes too. MBA Programme Administrator, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, phone 0121 414 5006, email: m.furamera@bham.ac.uk
Newman College of Higher Education (Birmingham) Public and Voluntary Sector Management BA; also Foundation Degree in Voluntary & Community Organisation Development, 4 year part time course.
Bradford College Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma/MA in Managing Change in the Community. Phone 01274 433004.
University of Bristol School for Policy Studies. “The MSc in Management Development and Social Responsibility fully integrates concern with social values in its content and learning processes, and is intended to equip students with the knowledge, skills and awareness necessary for them to operate as reflective, competent and socially informed managers in a changing environment.” 2 year, part-time. Phone 0117 954 6755, email: sps-enquiries@bristol.ac.uk
Cambridge MBA – Judge Business School Have a Bursary Scheme for “UK professionals in the not for profit sectors”. Phone 01223 337051, email: mba-enquiries@jims.cam.ac.uk
Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Cass Business School (City University, London). Part-time postgraduate MSc or Diploma in Voluntary Sector Management; PgDip/ MSc Charity Accounting & Financial Management. Also from the Business School is the ICAEW Diploma in Charity Accounting. Occasional short courses. Contact Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8TZ, phone 020 7040 8667.
University of Chichester BA in Charity Development is purely about fundraising.
University of Derby Foundation Degree in Voluntary Sector Management, 2 year full time course. Email: admissions@derby.ac.uk
Edge Hill University, in Ormskirk, Lancs, has (at 2014) a third sector pathway for its MSc Leadership and Management Development – look under Modules.
Leeds Beckett University (was Leeds Metropolitan). Used to have part-time Professional Diploma, Managing in the Community and BA in Managing in Health & Social Care Organisations. No longer?
Charity Law and Policy Unit, Liverpool Law School, University of Liverpool. Postgraduate research opportunities. They also run regular seminars on various issues.
Birkbeck College, University of London courses includes Voluntary and Community Sector Studies MSc / Diploma / Certificate – search from the course index page. Completion offers pathways to research study at MPhil/PhD level.

Norwich City College Edexcel/BTEC Professional Development Certificate in Voluntary Sector Management, 1 day a week for 30 weeks.
University of Nottingham Business School Public Services MBA Programme – Voluntary Sector. Not sure that this exists still as a specific option – there is a Public Services Policy module to the MBA.
Robert Gordon University Part-time postgraduate Certificate/Diploma or MSc courses on Scottish Public Sector Management – not sure how much voluntary sector content. Course Leader is Kirsteen Davidson at the School of Public Administration and Law, phone 01224 263400.
Roehampton University, Centre for the Study of Voluntary and Community Activity link not valid at Dec. 2013, and Voluntary Action Management, MSc/Postgraduate Diploma no longer offered?
Voluntary Action Research Group, Sheffield Hallam University. Various charity management courses discontinued at autumn 2017? Worth checking.
University of Southampton may have something on the lines of Postgrad Certificate in the Management of Voluntary Organisations – try a search under social work.
St Mary’s University, Twickenham MA, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate in Charity Management.
National College of Ireland, Dublin, School of Business and Humanities. Certificate in Managing Organisations in the Voluntary and Community Sector, one year evening course.

Functional Support

Support and development bodies for specific internal sector functions – admin, comms, tech etc.

Function specific (professional) support and development organisations for charities and other voluntary organisations.

Also see: general national bodies, issue-based support.

Finance, Legal and Admin

For Community Accountancy projects dotted around the country, see Accountancy Services page.

Association of Charity Independent Examiners. See our Charity Accounts page – this is for those who do, or want to, scrutinise smaller charity accounts to SORP requirements. The Gatehouse, White Cross, South Road, Lancaster, LA1 4XQ, phone 01524 348920.
Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC) have a special interest group (SIG) for the voluntary sector. Phone 020 7480 7610. The Institute of Risk Management also has a Charities SIG.
Charity Finance Group. Monthly meetings in London, some regional presence; helplines for members on such things as IT and finance, accounting problems, VAT, charity law, investment. There is also a Scottish Charity Finance Group. Link for community accountancy services around the country (their network merged with CFG, now closed?).
Charities HR Network. Meets six times a year in central London.
Charities Internal Audit Network. Membership (free) is for anyone working, or having an interest, in internal audit and internal control within charities.
Charity Investors’ Group. Open to investing charities and charity sector investment managers – mainly concentrating on the big players. Focus is on exchange of views and information rather than lobbying.
Charities Responsible Investment Network, set up spring 2013 and managed by ShareAction, http://shareaction.org/Charityinvestment.
Charity Law Association This is more for charity lawyers, but membership is open to any individual or organisation with an interest in charity law. Subscription from £45.
Charities Safety Group Self help and support network for people with health and safety responsibilities.
Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply did have a Charity Sector Procurement Group as a Special Interest Group, but no longer any info on website.
Charity Tax Group Advice and lobbying on tax issues (including VAT, Gift Aid).
Honorary Treasurers Forum (was Charity Treasurers Forum). Set up to provide a source of information, research and knowledge for the treasurers of charities large and small.
ICAEW Talk Charity online forum from the chartered accountants body.
Institute for Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) no longer has information online about a Charity Secretaries Group – it was open to chartered secretaries and others taking on a company secretarial role in voluntary organisations. ICSA does however have plenty of relevant publications.
Lawyers in Charities (LinC), previously In-House Charity Lawyers Group, a special interest group of C&I Group.
PA to Chief Executives (PACE) Network or charity chief executive assistants. Information exchange, sharing of good practice, newsletters and networking sessions. Contact PACE co-ordinator Diane Bramson, phone 07932 604731.
For support and resources for charity trustees, chairs, management committees etc. see Trustee and member resources.
Social value/SROI – see Information/Research below.

Funding

Association of Charitable Foundations Exists to promote and support the work of UK grant-making trusts and foundations, membership open to all such bodies and some administrative trustees. Web site has guidance notes available for both funders and applicants, and alphabetical list and web links (with basic info) to ACF members. Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0AE, phone 020 7255 4499.
Community Fundraisers’ Forum (started 2007) designed for fundraisers in smaller charities who are working by themselves and need a bit of support. This may be the same as the IoF special interest group.
Institute of Fundraising Park Place, 12 Lawn Lane, London, SW8 1UD, phone 020 7840 1000. Has various national, regional and special interest groups.
Institute of Legacy Management promotes professional standards in legacy administration and provides consultancy, training and support services to its members.
London Funders is “open to all London-based local authorities, public, independent and corporate funders and to all charitable funders and investors in the capital’s voluntary and community sector”.

Information, Research, Impact

ARVAC (Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector) provides researchers with a supportive network, amongst other things. See Sector Research page for more.
Society of Archivists has a number of special interest groups, including Community Archives and Heritage Group, which has its own website.
Information and Records Management Society Third Sector Group – new 2015.
LMSC – the Legislation Monitoring Service for Charities, voluntary organisations and their advisers. ‘Subscribers (are) kept abreast of developments in Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels’. Policy as well as law, quarterly reports. Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ, phone 020 7222 1265.
Social Value UK, membership network for people interested in measuring and accounting for their social value / impact (also see Social Value International).
Third Sector OR Special Interest Group of The OR Society – for operational research analysts in the sector.
Voluntary Sector Studies Network is for those with an interest in academic research about the sector.
Also see Information Technology below.

Communications and Campaigning

CharityComms “The professional body for charity sector communications from internal communications and publishing to media relations, marketing communications and new media, as well as reputation and crisis management.”
Chartered Institute of Marketing Charity and Social Marketing Group “for marketers who are directly or indirectly working to deliver services, campaigns, communications, fundraising initiatives or general support to the charity and not-for-profit sector”.
Community of Mission Information Workers.
Digital Charities – a forum which includes digital campaigners, web editors & designers and digital managers.
Not-for-Profit Group of Chartered Institute of Public Relations “aims to support anyone in the not-for-profit sector who has public relations in their job description”.
Sheila McKechnie Foundation “Connecting, informing and supporting campaigners“. There’s a connected Campaign Central, with resources, discussion forum etc.
Building Activist Networks Forum for people who support activist networks in capacity-building roles – website disappeared at Aug. 2017.
Also see NCVO’s Campaigning material, and its public affairs, policy and campaigns network (on LinkedIn) which provides a forum for campaigners to share experiences and advice.
Our Getting the message across page.

Technology

Charity IT Leaders (previously Charities Consortium IT Directors Group) For Heads of Information Systems/Information Technology from the major UK charities.
Charities Security Forum “the premier group for Information Security Professionals working in the charity sector”.
Charity Web Managers Forum An informal but helpful discussion group with knowledgeable members. Uses Yahoo Groups web/list service, sometimes also meets in the real world.
Community of Christian Mission IT Support Workers.
Third Sector membership of Socitm, the public sector IT body, may be of interest.
eCampaigning Forum Network International eActivism Practitioners Community aiming to share expertise and increase capacity to use new media to stimulate change.
ICT resources at NCVO.
Institute of Fundraising Technology Group has its own website.

Other

Charity Retail Association (was Association of Charity Shops). Brings together over 300 member charities which have about 7,000 charity shops between them. Aims to help member organisations through the sharing of information and representing their interests by lobbying and informing. Has developed kitemark scheme. 5th Floor, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0AE, phone 020 7255 4470.
Community Transport Promotes safe and efficient use of community and accessible transport.