News bulletin January 2026

Published on: January 12, 2026

Happy New Year and Hello!

A message from Rachel Way, VSN Programme Director:

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a restful break and are feeling re-energised for the year ahead. I’m delighted to be stepping into the role of VSN Programme Director, taking over from Sandie, whose leadership and commitment have helped shape the strong foundation we continue to build on.

Looking ahead, 2026 will be an exciting year for VSN. We’ll be launching a new online space to make it easier to collaborate, share ideas, and connect across the network. Our focus remains on ensuring that the VCSE voice continues to be heard in all the right places – championing our shared priorities and strengthening our collective influence. We’ll also be developing new opportunities for proactive projects and collaborative initiatives that make a real difference in our communities.

I’m looking forward to working with all of you in the months ahead to make these plans a reality and to continue the fantastic work that defines VSN.

Meeting with Jan Thomas

In December we set up an online meeting with Jan Thomas, CEO of the Central East ICB. Jan brought us up to date on developments and her aspirations for the new ICB and relationships with our sector. She listened to our comments and answered many varied questions. In the coming months we will be setting up opportunities to meet other ICB senior leaders, keep your eyes open for invitations.

All ICB news will be in the stakeholder bulletins.

Data Catalogue

The Voluntary Sector Network (VSN) Data Catalogue is a collaborative effort to map the data collected by VSN organisations through a shared, secure platform hosted on NHS Futures. The catalogue enables better data sharing, strengthens funding bids, and supports evidence-based decision-making across the network.

Organisations already participating have reported benefits such as greater visibility of which CRMs and reporting tools are in use, and opportunities to share best practice. Looking ahead, the VSN will use the catalogue to demonstrate our data collection practices to the NHS and identify opportunities to influence service funding and design. To maximise impact, it is important that as many VSN members as possible join the initiative.

Please email Michael: michaelm@cambridgecab.org.uk to get access to the catalogue and to add your organisation’s data collection details. Alternatively, you can use this form to add your details to the catalogue, but you won’t be able to view the catalogue unless you sign up to NHS Futures.

Social Impact Calculator

A new tool created by the University of Hertfordshire called ‘Our Social Value’ is an online social impact calculator that integrates with the national Index of Multiple Deprivation to deliver a more accurate measure of social impact. The tool is free to use. Find it here.

We have contacted the researchers who have confirmed they are working on a detailed breakdown of the outcome values which will allow greater understanding and scrutiny of the social impact calculation. We recommend waiting until the detailed breakdown is released before using it in an official capacity, but it is a useful tool for better understanding your potential social impact in the meantime.

Collaborations

We’re looking for strong examples of collaboration across the VCFSE sector that are helping to improve community health. If you’ve seen projects or partnerships that showcase exceptional ways the sector works together, we’d love to hear about them.

This forms part of a small research project exploring how we can be more proactive and inclusive in our work with health and other public sector services. We’ll be looking at models such as the Cornwall Hub and others to understand what’s working well – and where there may be lessons to learn.

VSN meetings in 2026

Our next meeting will include a presentation on the new Central East ICB Commissioning Strategy. Please try to come along, as this is highly relevant to our sector. However, as ever, if you can’t make it, the meeting notes and future news bulletin items can help you catch up.

14 January 10am-12pm: Teams

25 February 10am – 12pm: Over Community Centre

1 April 2pm – 4pm: Teams

20 May 1pm – 3pm: Allia, Peterborough

Further information

More information about all of the above, including notes from previous meetings, newsletters and a range of health-related information are on our VSN webpage.