More Details and FAQ
Working in partnership to offer opportunity
“I have never worked with an organisation that is so established yet so open to new and different ways of working as Global Xchange”
David Hynes, Chief Executive, Deafway
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1. How do we apply to be a Global Xchange partner?
2. How do we get more information?
3. What is expected of a partner?
4. What are the timescales involved?
5. What if we are not ready to run an exchange in year one?
6. What kind of support are partners offered?
7. How much money will be allocated to partners each year?
8. Will Global Xchange pay full cost recovery?
9. How long is the partnership?
10. How much will partners be expected to pay?
11. I am trying to complete the application form. How do I find my organisation’s data protection registration number?
12. What happens if we are unsuccessful in our application to partner, or if we are not in one of the stated Global Xchange communities?
13. Can we apply if we are a company or social enterprise? (not a charity)
14. Can we apply as a consortium?
15. How does Global Xchange select UK communities?
16. Which overseas regions will you be working in throughout 2011/2012?
17. In which UK communities will Global Xchange be calling for partners?
18. How will my organisation be assessed?
19. How will my organisation be paired up with an international counterpart?
20. Do you work with young people outside of the 18-25 age bracket?
21. Which other organisations do Global Xchange partner with?
22. How is Global Xchange funded?
1. How do we apply to be a Global Xchange partner? Simply complete the application form on Apply to be a Partner Section and send it to
globalxpartners@vso.org.uk. The closing date for applications is March 18th 2011 at 3pm. We will consider all applications and contact selected organisations for interview and a site visit to learn more about the operation of each organisation.
2. How do we get more information? If your question is not answered here, you can find further information in a number of ways:
- Call to speak with a member of the customer care team: 0207 780 7500
- Email us via globalxpartners@vso.org.uk with your question and we will respond as soon as possible.
- Common questions will be added to this page.
- Attend one of our information days. These are an opportunity to discuss the potential for partnership face-to-face, and will be held in various locations across the UK. For a list of upcoming information days see the Apply to be a Partner Section.
3. What is expected of a partner?
We are looking for partners to work with us to deliver youth exchange programmes in selected communities across the UK. We want to work with partners who are active in these communities in order to maximise positive local impact. To be selected as a partner, you will need to meet the selection criteria. (See Apply to be a Partner Section)
We are initially seeking partners who will be able to implement a Youth Xchange programme in their community starting October 2011. The partner will be expected to work to put the required components of the exchange in place in their community (such as host homes, volunteer placements, transport, etc) and manage the UK phase of the exchange.
The partner will be expected to recruit and manage the UK programme supervisor, who will be the person to develop the components of the exchange in the UK community, as well as work to support the volunteers in both the UK and the overseas phases of the exchange. The equivalent VSO salary for this post will be included in the funding.
Partners will be expected to work to reduce UK running costs of the exchange by providing in-kind contributions, such as venues, transport, etc. We would also expect to work together to fundraise for further activity after the initial fully funded exchange.
Other key responsibilities will be to monitor impact, manage finances and provide financial reports and help develop a strategy to sustain Global Xchange in your community.
4. What are the timescales involved?
The key dates are represented below but there may be other dates which will be communicated to selected partners at the relevant time;
• Application deadline 18th March 2011 at 3pm
• Interviews and site visits - week beginning 4th April 2011
• Interview result communicated to organisations mid April 2011
• Partnership development including signing agreements and preparing to recruit the programme supervisor starts early May 2011
• Offer made to Programme supervisor candidate mid June 2011
• Programme supervisor training late July (for 2 weeks)
• Programme supervisor starts developing the UK element of the exchange with the Partner in community in early August 2011
• Youth Xchange begins in early October 2011
• Youth Xchange ends in March / April 2012
• Partner evaluation and review in April / May 2012
5. What if we are not ready to run an exchange in year one?
Although we are primarily looking for partners who are able to implement an exchange in their community from October 2011, we are also open to receiving applications from organisations who would like to work towards this type of engagement, but lack the capacity at the current time.
If there were no suitable partners in your community able to run an exchange in year one, we would aim to work with a strong community based organisation to develop their capacity during the 2011-2012 cycle. An exchange would still take place, but the programme supervisor would be recruited and managed by Global Xchange, and the partner organisation would be involved in the programme as far as possible. This could mean providing office space and local contacts for the programme supervisor, or acting as a volunteer placement, whilst actively working towards running an exchange later in the partnership.
6. What kind of support are partners offered?
Partners will be provided with on-going support by an assigned Programme Development Manager who is based in the Global Xchange head office in London. They are responsible for supporting partners through the development of the exchange, particularly with supervision support to both programme supervisors and volunteers. They manage the relationships with overseas partners and will be able to facilitate links between the UK and overseas partner organisations. They are also on hand to provide support with volunteer learning, cross-cultural working and team dynamics. Partners will be inducted into the vision and expectations of Global Xchange and roles and responsibilities of both Global Xchange and the partner. We expect that partners will also come with a wealth of experience to offer Global Xchange so the learning is a two way process.
7. How much money will be allocated to partners each year?
| Overhead / running costs including management time & organisational costs |
Up to £8,000 although in line with our commitment to a partnership approach we expect partners to provide some in-kind contribution and work on a fundraising strategy with Global Xchange. |
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| Exchange activity costs |
All direct costs for the UK and overseas phases are covered e.g. volunteer accommodation, food, in-country travel and flights, visas, insurance. |
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*Full breakdown of costs will be covered during the information days, please go to the Apply to be a Partner section on the website to check for dates and locations.
8. Will Global Xchange pay full cost recovery?
Full cost recovery means recovering or funding the full costs of a project or service. Global Xchange will not pay full cost recovery, although there is a contribution to the running costs of the organisation, which will be negotiated, as well as the costs of the exchange. There is an expectation for partners to provide in-kind contributions and work with Global Xchange on a fundraising strategy.
9. How long is the partnership?
We envisage a long-term engagement with partners, the first year being vital in order to determine future work. This is currently dependent on the level of funding Global Xchange receive to work with partners and also how successful the partner is at working with Global Xchange and other agencies to fundraise. Initially we are looking at one year with a view to this being extended.
10. How much will partners be expected to pay?
There is no payment or start up costs expected from the community organisation in order to become a partner. Any costs incurred by the partner, excluding the negotiated sum paid by Global Xchange for management of the exchange, will be contributed to the partnership in-kind or covered as a result of joint fundraising towards the programme.
11. I am trying to complete the application form. How do I find my organisations data protection registration reference number?
You can search the Data Protection Public Register at the following link
If you are not registered then please visit www.ico.gov.uk select ‘notifications’ from the ‘quick link’ drop down box at the top of the page. Go to the ‘How do I notify’ section and follow the instructions – for more information call the notification helpline on 0303 123 1113. It takes roughly 3-5 working days to process.”
12. What happens if we are unsuccessful in our application to partner, or if we are not in one of the stated Global Xchange communities?
Global Xchange are part of the UK Programmes team in VSO and are also partnered with the British Council. There are a number of opportunities with our sister programmes / partners that you may be suited to. Global Xchange would be happy to give some general feedback on request and if relevant refer you to a more suitable programme where possible.
If Global Xchange isn’t right for you there are other opportunities to work with VSO and the British Council, see below;
Global community linking
Global Community Links supports organisations around the world to work together to improve understanding of global issues. It provides grants and learning and networking opportunities.
Hosting professional volunteers
Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are three-month placements for mid-career volunteers from developing countries. UK host organisations develop their capacity while supporting the development of the volunteer.
School linking
Global School Partnerships encourages schools to explore global issues by connecting with schools overseas. It provides advice, guidance and professional development for teachers running links.
Diaspora networking
VSO works with the Diaspora Volunteering Alliance to provide free training and mentoring to diaspora organisations. Training focuses on fundraising, finance, organisational development and managing international volunteering programmes.
Active Citizens
Actvie Citizens is a British Council global programme supporting community leaders to connect local social action to global agendas.
13. Can we apply if we are a company or social enterprise? (not a charity)
We welcome applications from any organisation in our selected communities that is able to meet the selection criteria and has similar strategic goals to those of Global Xchange.
14. Can we apply as a consortium?
Consortium applications are also welcome, however we would expect there to be a clearly identified lead organisation, which would negotiate with the other members of the consortium to meet the partnership expectations.
Lead consortium members will need to complete and submit the Appendix One form along with the main application. Each additional consortium member should be included in this form.
Part C (Selection Criteria) of the main application form should include the strongest examples across the consortium. The relationship of the consortium will be discussed further should you be invited for interview15. How does Global Xchange select UK communities? We have recently undertaken extensive mapping of communities across the UK to determine suitability for longer-term Global Xchange engagement. We have been very encouraged by the results of our community mapping exercise, which confirmed the very valid reasons for Global Xchange engagement in many of the communities we had explored across the UK, as well as the potential for community partnership working.
However, in the climate of funding cuts, we had to plan for the very real possibility of financial restrictions meaning we would not be able to work in so many communities in the immediate future. Therefore we prepared a rationale for choosing between communities based on a number of priority criteria, aligned with our objectives, whilst also ensuring a geographical spread of selected communities across UK regions.
16. Which overseas regions will you be working in throughout 2011/2012?Africa and Asia. The full list will be confirmed at the end of February 2011.
17. In which UK communities will Global Xchange be calling for partners?Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Newham (East London), Newcastle, Plymouth, Swansea (Wales), Derry / Londonderry (Northern Ireland), Dundee (Scotland).
18. How will my organisation be assessed?Shortlisted applicants will be contacted following the application deadline to arrange a panel interview and a site visit. Partners will be expected to do a short presentation during the interview.
19. How will my organisation be paired up with an international counterpart?If selected as a UK Partner, Global Xchange will match you with an international partner organisation shortly after selection. This could be based on a number of factors including existing international links, the focus or client base of your organisation, community issues or support needs. We will do this by gathering information about your organisation and your community at the application and interview stage.
20. Do you work with young people outside of the 18-25 age bracket? Our youth exchange programmes are specifically for 18-25 year olds. However, volunteers on many of our programmes have engaged with younger groups through their volunteer placements and host homes, as well as wider community action and global citizenship education activities. Global Xchange volunteers act as role models to young people both of their own age and younger and have worked successfully as volunteers in youth groups, childrens homes, schools and other recreational and educational settings.
21. Which other organisations do Global Xchange partner with? Global Xchange is a partnership between Voluntary Service Overseas and British Council, and has had long experience of working with local implementing partners in the overseas countries where we operate. We have also worked with various partners on specific programmes in the UK and now wish to roll this approach out further.
22. How is Global Xchange funded?As a partnership between VSO and British Council, Global Xchange receives funding from both of these organisations, as well as specific arrangements with funding partners connected to individual exchanges. Volunteers are also expected to fundraise, although in reality this is a fraction of the investment made in them, they are gaining valuable fundraising skills and at the same time building up their confidence.
