Strengthening #dpulo Programme monthly update, no.4 (May 2012)

This is the fourth monthly update about the Strengthening DPULOs Programme, which aims to ensure DPULOs can provide a strong voice for disabled people by being more sustainable. You can find the last one here.

DPULOs Programme passes £500k mark

In the last monthly update, I mentioned that we were approaching a significant milestone. I’m pleased to say we have now passed the £500,000 mark for funding awarded through the Facilitation Fund. This has gone to 41 DPULOs so far, and there is still significant funding available.

You can read more about the milestone and find out details of how to apply here.

Thanks to DASH in Hillingdon, Mutual Support in Sheffield, and Communication for Blind People for featuring in this news.

Become a DPULO Ambassador

We are currently recruiting additional Ambassadors to further extend the Strengthening DPULOs Programme.

Ambassadors are well-respected people who, through their position, experience, expertise and work can promote the value of disabled people and Disabled People’s User-Led Organisations to a variety of stakeholders within their local area.

We anticipate that the additional Ambassadors will be located in areas not already covered by the current Ambassadors, particularly Wales, Scotland and northern England. They will also have a focus on developing a range of projects and activities that build skills, enable volunteering and create training opportunities.

To find out more, please visit here.

Alternatively, you can request a pack (or alternative formats) by emailing odi.businessperformance@dwp.gsi.gov.uk or calling 0207 449 5025.

Useful resources

One key part of the Strengthening DPULOs Programme is to share learning and useful resources. Some useful links to recent information we’ve published are below:

• Making It Real and DPULOs, by Rachael Wallach
• Sharing DPULO data
• Sport England has announced a new £8m fund for including disabled people in sport, which DPULOs can bid for
• Community Learning Innovation Fund – a new £4m funding stream for grants of between £10,000 and £65,000
• A fantastic guide on Best Practice in Direct Payment Support Services
• Dudley CIL’s community research report – a great example of community research
• An excellent video of My Life, My Choice – a DPULO led by people with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire
• The Guardian’s Public Service Awards – DPULOs should enter!
• Finally, an important piece of research from the Equalities National Council and Scope that presents new, wide-ranging evidence about disabled people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. It talks about how we can all improve BME disabled people’s access to services:

If you have any learning or resources you’d like to share or have any resources you’d particularly like, please let us know (contact details are at the bottom of this update).

Find out more about the Programme

To find out more about the Strengthening DPULOs Programme, you can visit our website.

We have now “liked” every DPULO we know about on Facebook and will regularly share news from them around the country. If you are on Facebook you can keep in touch with the programme through our regularly updated Facebook page.

If you are on Twitter, you can share information and find out more about DPULOs using the hashtag #dpulo. Every Tuesday night, between 8-9pm, we have a dedicated Twitter discussion – feel free to join us! The next chat topic is very useful: “What funding streams are there for DPULOs?”

You can read the key tweets from the previous Twitter discussions here.

As always, we’d be grateful if you can spread the word and publicise this news throughout your networks / newsletters / websites etc. We’d also be grateful for any feedback you have on this regular email.

Contact us

For information, biographies, contact details and details of the areas covered by each of the DPULO Ambassadors covers, please visit the Ambassadors page.

If you have any questions about the Facilitation Fund or any part Strengthening DPULOs Programme, please contact odi.businessperformance@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

Please feel free to forward this information on to any DPULOs, networks or stakeholders you think might find it interesting. If you didn’t receive the original email, please share your contact details with us so you can receive our monthly emails.

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