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Hackney CVS is relaunching its networks and forums, creating new opportunities for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCS) organisations to connect, collaborate and shape decisions affecting communities across City and Hackney.
With renewed investment through City and Hackney’s Place-Based Partnership, we are strengthening our VCS infrastructure to ensure that community organisations have meaningful opportunities to contribute their knowledge, expertise and experiences to local health and care priorities.
Our ambition is to create more than spaces for information sharing. We want to support networks that are member-led, connected to strategic decision-making and able to influence change.
We are beginning with two priority forums taking place in November and December 2026.
Working together to strengthen outcomes for children, young people and families across City and Hackney.
This forum brings together organisations working with children, young people and families to share experiences, identify emerging needs, strengthen collaboration and influence local health and care priorities.
Whether your organisation supports early years, young people, families, education, wellbeing, safeguarding or community development, we welcome your involvement.
Children, Young People and Families Forum
3 December 11am-12.30pm.
Building a stronger, more connected community voice for mental health and wellbeing.
This forum brings together organisations working across mental health, emotional wellbeing, prevention, community support and related areas.
Members will have opportunities to share intelligence about community needs and inequalities, develop relationships, identify shared priorities and contribute to shaping local mental health services and strategies.
Whether you’re a grassroots group, community organisation or established VCS provider, your voice belongs in this conversation.
Mental Health Forum
30 November, 12pm-1.30pm.
These forums form part of a wider programme to strengthen City and Hackney’s VCS infrastructure.
Alongside Children, Young People and Families and Mental Health, we will also be reconvening:
We also want to strengthen connections with existing networks, including the Hackney Advice and Inequality Partnership (HIP), Food Network and other spaces convened locally for the VCS.
Each network will retain its distinct purpose while contributing to a more connected approach to sharing community intelligence, developing partnerships and identifying opportunities for collective action.
Strengthening VCS leadership and sharing power
An important part of this work will be renewing the VCS Leadership Group, which will bring together chairs from the networks and forums alongside VCS leaders, including representatives from smaller, grassroots and Black and Global Majority-led organisations.
The group will connect priorities emerging across the networks and strengthen opportunities for the sector to influence strategic partnerships, commissioning and decision-making across Hackney.
We will also introduce open and transparent processes for nominating and electing network Chairs, ensuring that members have a voice in determining their leadership.
Our ambition is to support VCS leaders and network members to take up meaningful representative roles across partnerships, boards and other strategic spaces, with opportunities to develop their confidence, capacity and influence.
This reflects our commitment to challenging inequalities in access to decision-making, dismantling siloed approaches to power and creating more opportunities for leadership to be shared across the sector.
All City and Hackney VCS organisations are welcome, whether you’ve been involved in a network before or are joining for the first time.
We particularly encourage participation from smaller grassroots organisations, Black and Global Majority-led organisations and groups whose voices have historically been underrepresented in strategic discussions.
You don’t need to be a large organisation or have previous experience of participating in strategic forums. Your knowledge of the communities you work alongside is valuable.
We want these networks to reflect the priorities, strengths and experiences of City and Hackney’s VCS.
Join one of our upcoming meetings, share your perspectives and help build a stronger, more connected and influential sector.
For further information or to express interest in other networks, contact: reception@hcvs.org.uk or pepsi@hcvs.org.uk.
Together, we can strengthen community leadership, share power and ensure that the VCS has a meaningful voice in shaping City and Hackney’s future.