Involving Medway & Swale is a partnership between community organisations, Medway & Swale Health and Care Partnership and NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group aimed at building healthier communities.

In 2022-23 the Involving Medway & Swale programme will also give VCS groups and organisations opportunities to access community grant funding to develop 'quick win' initiatives with their service users in response to the issues they identify during the Focus Group activities (detailed below) - supporting a goal of 'meaningful engagement, lasting change'.

See below for opportunities currently available to the voluntary and community sector as part of this programme:

VCS Focus Groups Model

We are delighted to announce that funders have agreed to support a VCS Focus Group model of engagement that allows the local VCS to get their service users voices heard whilst recognising the costs incurred by the VCS to make engagement activities happen.

VCS organisations, groups or clubs delivering focus groups on behalf of the Involving Medway programme can receive a payment between £100 and £150, depending on the number of participants.

The VCS Focus Group model is now live and MVA will be inviting you to participate. This is how it works:

VCS invited to complete a FREE online Focus Group Facilitator training session (approx. 60-90 min duration) and become recognised as a Competent Facilitator.

Depending on the research topic (and the service user voices we therefore need to hear from), Competent Facilitators will be asked to join a research topic briefing session.

Following the research briefing, Competent Facilitators will then be asked to deliver a focus group within their own organisation (with their own service users and/or other community members). Focus groups will be supported by the CCG's engagement team. Once completed, they will need to send the results of the focus group to MVA for compilation and reporting to the CCG.

On receipt of the completed focus group report from the Competent Facilitator, MVA will release a payment to the organisation in recognition of the work required to undertake the focus group.

We hope that the VCS welcome this powerful opportunity to ensure the voice of your service users and beneficiaries is heard on upcoming topics that the CCG are exploring, the most current one being the improvement of Outpatient Services in Medway.

To watch a video 'How Involving Medway VCS Focus Group Programme Works' please click here.

You can complete the online training at any time and you will also be invited to attend a research briefing session when a new topic is being explored by the CCG.

To register your interest in participating in Involving Medway?s VCS Focus Group model, please contact Medway Voluntary Action on: involvingmedway@mva.org.uk or 01634 812850.

Community Health Researchers

If you have any volunteers in your organisation who are looking for some personal development opportunities, then you might be interested in the Community Health Researcher volunteering opportunity also available as part of the Involving Medway programme. For further details about this volunteering role and how to apply, please click here or contact Medway Voluntary Action as above.