Michael Fawole of the North East Law Centre on how the Law Centre is working with the Consortium to enhance the work of our members by helping them introduce legal and human rights work.

1. Blue Stone Consortium –
Rights Project

2. Background to the Project
Baring Foundation funded:
• strengthening the voluntary sector through better
use of human rights and the law
• The pivotal role of the VCS sector
• Successful use of human rights and the Law – by
some
• Non-legal sector organisations – rarely used
• Missed opportunity

3. Why Rights Based Approach?
Social Development Approaches in the
Voluntary Sector:
1. The Charity Model
2. The Needs Based Approaches
3. The Rights-Based Approach

4. Aims of the Project
1. To increase the understanding of how adopting a rights
based approach can increase the effectiveness of support
provided to service users;
1. Mobilise partners to work out the legal issues related to
their client-facing work;
2. Enable everyone to better support service users to claim
their rights
1. Plan and implement an effective approach(es) to further
the interest of service users;
1. Mount information campaigns so more people are aware of
their rights

5. Use of the law to.…
Individuals Empower Challenge/Enforce
Other Vol Sector Specialist Stakeholders
Other Parts of the organisations
Same Organisation
Inform/Persuade Statutory Agencies
General Public Specialist Statutory Agencies
Stakeholders

6. Project Implementation
Two Stages
Stage 1
 Questionnaire & Desktop Audit
 Selection of participating Partners
 Advice and Consultancy
Stage 2
• Sustainability & Support

7. • Started in March 2016
• 9 BSC participating partners
• 2 workshops completed
• Remaining 7 workshops by end of March
2017
Progress to Date

8.  Some partners already using RBA
 Some partners previously used RBA
 Anxieties around implications with funders
 Will RBA change anything with statutory
bodies/funders?
 Changing relationships with strategic partners -
challenging
 Positive feedback on the value of RBA
Emerging Themes

9. ProjectPlan
• Advice/Consultancy phase – end March
2017
• Capacity building and Action Planning
phase – End August 2017
• Sustainability and Support Phase – March
2017 – March 2018
• End of project - Information sharing &
Lessons Learned

10. Any questions?