"FEED: The 2009 Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report. As you may or may not know, FEED is Razorfish's annual consumer behavior report that traditionally charts how consumers are adopting new internet technologies and digital services. This year we changed tack and focused our efforts on understanding how digital is changing the way that consumers interact with brands. What did we find out? Experience matters. A lot. So much so that experiences are becoming the new advertising or marketing. And these experiences are having an inordinate amount of impact on how consumers perceive a brand and ultimately purchase products. Moreover, we also found that consumers are actively engaged with brands across the entire digital spectrum. Consumers may be in control but so are brands which are so deeply embedded in the culture that consumers can't imagine not making them a part of their world - on Facebook, Twitter or even their own blogs."

"Building Cohesive Communities: What frontline staff and community activists need to know 20/10/2009 This CLG publication provides guidance at a glance for frontine workers on techniques which can help build community cohesion."

"2007-08 Citizenship Survey: Empowered Communities Topic Report 02/11/2009 Using 2007-08 Citizenship Survey data, this report provides an in-depth examination of community empowerment: whether people feel they can influence local and national decisions; whether they would like to be more involved in decision making; what would make it easier to influence decision making; and how people would influence decisions if they wanted to. It also looks at people's trust in institutions and what activities people actually take part in (civic activism, civic consultation, civic participation and volunteering). It is one of a series of annual reports from the 2007-08 Citizenship Survey. Other reports cover Volunteering and Charitable Giving, Identity and Values, Community Cohesion and Race, Religion and Equalities."

"Second phase of increasing third sector public service delivery 09/11/2009 The second phase of the government's National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning has started. It aims to "increase the awareness and understanding of how utilising the third sector's specialist knowledge will benefit the delivery of public services", increasing third sector involvement throughout the commissioning cycle and improve bidding practice."

"New Research into Support for Third Sector Organisations 09/11/2009 Research published by Capacitybuilders highlights the importance of identifying the support needs of third sector organisations through effective diagnosis, and of avoiding a one-size fits-all approach to support provision. The report also highlights the extent to which smaller or newer groups can benefit from more intensive, regular one-to-one support as they develop and grow, and identifies a range of critical factors that contribute to the successful development and growth of smaller third sector organisations."

"Skills - Third Sector's online forum now live 10/11/2009 Are you involved in learning and development within your organisation? If so, Skills - Third Sector's online forum needs you! Skills - Third Sector is the new independent, sector-led organisation for the sector, which has been established to enable people in third sector organisation to develop their learning and skills, so they can make an ever growing contribution to their communities. The new website at www.skills-thirdsector.org.uk is about to officially launch and we would welcome any feedback you had. The site offers the ability to search for the right learning, training and development resources for your needs. The site's forum is a place for you to network, ask questions and discuss latest developments - and we need your help to get this started!"

"One Year On: the Defra Third Sector Strategy 10/11/2009 Defra's Third Sector Strategy 'One Year On' report discusses the progress Defra have made on the range of commitments in their Third Sector Strategy. The report is accompanied by a detailed annex which contains a commentary on the progress they have made on every commitment in the strategy. Go to page to Download the Third Sector Strategy 'One Year On' report. (1MB PDF) Go to page to Download the Third Sector Strategy. (4.17MB PDF) Congratulations also to Defra for winning the Compact Award for Excellence at National level. Full details (and sign up for updates) are available at blogs.defra.gov.uk. "

Mentoring and Befriending Foundation free PDF reports, toolkits and resources linked to mentoring and befriending

£110 - training course for post-16 peer mentoring by: mentoring and befriendking foundation.

Free PDF guide to the commissioning process from the NCVO

"Not for Profit Contribution to Pathways to Work Highlighted in New Research 30/10/2009 Provider-led Pathways is the final research phase of the Pathways to Work initiative that was first introduced in 2003. It provides information, advice and practical help to people receiving incapacity benefits to help them take up paid employment. Provider-led Pathways is delivered by private companies and not-for-profit third sector organisations rather than Jobcentre Plus. This report presents findings from qualitative research carried out in 2008 to explore experiences of the early implementation of the Provider-led Pathways programme from the perspectives of incapacity benefits recipients, staff of provider organisations, and staff of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus."