Blog | Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency

What’s in the box?

23 August 2018 - 6:05pm

In June, I was asked to listen in on a conference call about a ‘public living room in a box’, not going to lie, I only said yes out of intrigue.

The power of digital to support collaboration

7 August 2018 - 9:13pm

Ordinary Radical – Lucy Cuzzocrea

We need to get prevention back on the agenda!

25 July 2018 - 4:38pm

If I’d known then what I know now!

A few of us at MVDA were having one of those ‘I wish I’d known then what I know now’ conversations last week. We, parents of now adult children, were recounting the very real, and unchanging struggle of parenthood in the context of our awareness of the many things we’ve got wrong with our kids. We shared some things we probably don’t admit too often and things we certainly wouldn’t admit beyond the bond of our developing friendship as colleagues.

How can we get the JSNA to talk our language?

18 June 2018 - 12:38pm

Anyone who has “read” a JSNA (Joint Strategic Needs Assessment) will understand that sometimes it is speaking a different language. The JSNA looks at the current and future health and care needs of local populations, to inform and guide the planning and commissioning (buying) of health, well-being and social care services within a local authority area.

Leaning into discomfort - the challenge of partnership working

15 May 2018 - 11:04pm

‘Lean into the discomfort’ is a little mantra I’ve been speaking over myself a lot lately. I picked it up as a concept in personal development training and it’s something I always come back to after reflecting upon my frustrations about partnership working, frustrations I guess we all have when working outside of our own organisional boundaries. It’s one of those concepts, which basically means ‘this is going to feel really scary but it will be worth it’ -sounds great in theory but the reality will cost you!