Community of support and advocate for change: celebrating CCPS on its anniversary

What’s been the organisation’s contribution since 1999? Marking our quarter century, five Board members give their views

This year CCPS celebrates its 25th anniversary as a registered charity. To mark the milestone, members of our Board have given us their perspectives on our contribution since 1999 – and why the organisation matters.

C-Change CEO Sam Smith reflected on our unique role and what she’s gained from being a Board member, commenting:

“CCPS is a membership organisation that helps not for profit social care providers do their best to support our citizens and communities to thrive. It provides a community of support and learning that ensures civil society organisations can evolve and develop to meet the changing needs of Scotland’s population.

“Through CCPS my colleagues have a network of similarly committed professionals to learn and grow with. And for me as a leader, it is a place where I am supported and challenged to do and be better.”

Richmond Fellowship Scotland Chief Executive Austen Smyth, the longest serving member of our Board, said:

“I have been an active CCPS board member for over 18 years. During that time I’ve seen CCPS grow, develop and extend its reach and influence.

“The organisation plays a pivotal role in amplifying the issues and voices of the third sector social care and support sector. It advocates for providers as an important agent for change.”

Viv Dickenson, CEO of CrossReach, told us about the value of CCPS as a collective voice:

“The voluntary sector plays a critical role in delivering social care to thousands of people across Scotland. Providers can see ways to improve the system we operate within, both for supported people and for the workforce, but individually our voices are often not heard.

“Being a CCPS member gives us the opportunity to get together, explore the big issues in social care, and collectively advocate for positive change. It has been a force for good for 25 years, and Scotland would be the poorer without it.”

VSA’s Chief Executive Sue Freeth highlighted our role in influencing and collaborating with government, stating:

“VSA is proud to be a member of CCPS. Scotland’s third sector needs a strong voice to improve the lives of people VSA and other members exist to support.

“CCPS enables us to escalate concerns, become a better networked sector, to share new approaches and provides the platform to collaborate with government on practice based policy.

Finally, Doug Moyes, Director of Customer Service at Blackwood, highlighted CCPS’s pivotal role during the pandemic:

“CCPS has been a consistent voice and support for Scotland’s care sector over the last 25 years. While care providers face incredible challenges year on year there has never been such a significant contribution than CCPS support and guidance during the Covid pandemic.

“CCPS united providers across the country, supporting us to navigate new legislation and infection control measures and raised our collective issues and concerns on behalf of our customers and staff with government.”

Thanks to all Board members who contributed their views.

 

 

 

“Our new priorities will define how we tune our collective voice for the next 18 months”

Rachel Cackett marks 25 years since CCPS became a registered charity – and says that continuing to be a successful membership body means being creative, focused and holding on to hope

We are the organisation we are today because for over a quarter of a century we have built on the strength and passion of our membership and our staff. I’d like to thank all those who have made CCPS – past and present – and a particular shout-out to the legendary CCPS powerhouse and rockstar, our former CEO Annie-Gunner Logan.

But in the here and now, times are tough for our members, for the people they support, for CCPS. Already in the last 18 months we have had to pivot this organisation from Covid crisis response to a sustainability crisis response to address the reality our members face. It’s not always been a comfortable ride.

Lurching from crisis to crisis without seeing the hope is not a place for any of us to effect good change. It’s been time to take stock.

For the last year we have been working with our members, our stakeholders, and our staff to hear how CCPS can best support our membership and change social care and support for the better. What you want of us, where we can have biggest impact, how we can rekindle hope.

Given that we are small team and we are not rich I need us to be incredibly focused and creative. That’s how we will continue to be a successful membership body.

CCPS priorities reflect what we have heard and define how we will tune our collective voice for the next 18 months – a deliberately short time for a song in a tumultuous world.

We will take stock again and refresh our priorities with you before the Holyrood elections where we hope that all parties will present manifestos that demonstrate their commitment to the true value of social care.

Read our Priorities for 2024-25

2024-25 Priorities launched

We will focus our work on persuading decision-makers to ‘Recognise the true value of social care’. Today also sees the introduction of an updated logo and new animation, reflecting human stories and member voice

Today, following extensive engagement with members, stakeholders and staff over the past year, we launch our organisation Priorities for 2024-25.

Read our 2024-25 Priorities

We will be focusing our work on persuading decision-makers to ‘Recognise the true value of social care’, with an emphasis on four key areas:

  • Secure sustainable, equitable investment for not-for-profit providers of social care and support
  • Ensure the reform of social care and support realises people’s human rights
  • Advocate for the expertise of not-for-profit providers in shared planning and decision-making
  • Demonstrate the positive impact of valuing social care on lives and communities.

Rachel Cackett, CEO of CCPS, said:

“As we celebrate 25 years as a registered charity, these new Priorities will continue to build our collective voice moving towards the important point of the 2026 Holyrood elections.

“We look forward to using these Priorities as the framework for all our activities over the next 18 months, on behalf of our membership.”

“We will refresh our Priorities in autumn 2025 to ensure our messages are honed by our members for the greatest possible impact with the next Scottish Government.”

Today also marks a change in CCPS’s communication, with an updated logo emphasising a less corporate and more people-focused style, and an animation restating of our role as the voice of not-for-profit social care providers.

Later this week we’ll be sharing reflections from Board members about the contribution CCPS has made over the past 25 years.