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Support organisations

Support organisations 

A variety of organisations exist in Midlothian to support community groups develop and become sustainable, these include:  

Midlothian Voluntary Action (MVA)

Midlothian Voluntary Action is the umbrella organisation for the voluntary sector in Midlothian. They are set up to serve the needs of, and represent the local voluntary sector, to support and assist organisations in coming together for common purposes, and to enable local people to gain access to decision making processes which affect their personal lives and community.

There are three key areas in which MVA carries out its work – development, representation & joint working and support services:

Development
- Help new organisations in Midlothian set up by giving advice about committees of    management, constitutions, who to contact or where to get help.
- Training sessions for voluntary groups
- Information on sources of funding
- Provides lots of information through newsletters, e-briefings, and e-mail lists

Representation & Joint Working
- Help organisations work together through forums like the Community Care Forum, Voluntary Sector Forum and sub-groups.

Support Services
- Have a resource room with full disabled access.
- Can provide low cost office services like photocopying and printing by arrangement

MVA have also developed a Resource Guide, which is a directory of key organisations (primarily in community care issues) which serves Midlothian. This guide is aimed at helping voluntary and statutory organisations together with carers and Midlothian residents. The guide also helps to raise the profile of the lesser-known groups.

To find out more about MVA or to access the online Resource Guide please see their website http://www.mvacvs.org.uk/


Social Enterprise Alliance Midlothian (SEAM)

SEAM is a cross-sector partnership of agencies involved in the provision of support, training, guidance and services for social economy organisations based and/or working in Midlothian. The core purpose of this partnership is to co-ordinate the skills, resources and expertise of existing agencies in order to form an effective support infrastructure for new and developing social economy organisations. SEAM will also work to support social enterprise growth in key strategic areas.

SEAM has the following principle aims:

• To form an effective support network for new and developing social economy organisations based and/or working in Midlothian;
• To raise the capacity of social economy organisations to make sustainable and effective contributions to the well-being of Midlothian communities;
• To raise the profile of local social enterprises and expand awareness of social enterprise generally throughout Midlothian.

To find out more about SEAM http://www.seamidlothian.co.uk/



Regeneration Development Team (Midlothian Council)

The Regeneration Development Team (RDT) provides support to community groups in a number of ways, including:

• Co-ordinating and monitoring community funding streams
• Providing support and advice to groups wishing to apply for new funding
• Supporting groups to develop
• Supporting the coordinatation of specific projects/ campaigns
• Signposting groups to other support networks
• Support communities to consult and engage with stakeholders

If you have any questions, or your group would like support, please contact the RDT on 0131 271 3424.