Engage With Us - NCOSS Forums
NCOSS continues to build on the ways in which we consult and collaborate with our members, the broader community services sector, people with lived experience and other stakeholders. We regularly convene stakeholder and policy advisory groups, and also represent the interests of our members, the broader sector and the communities they support in groups hosted by external stakeholders.
Forum of Non-Government Agencies (FONGA)
FONGA is comprised of leaders of non-government organisations in the community and health sectors providing services to people experiencing disadvantage in NSW. Services represented include ageing, disability, youth, women, domestic violence, housing and justice. FONGA meetings offer an opportunity for information sharing, problem solving, innovation and collaboration on shared challenges across the sector and vulnerable communities.
If you would like to be involved in FONGA, contact Executive Support Officer Sarah Barnett for further information.
Regional Members Meeting
The NCOSS Regional Members Meeting is convened online every three to four months. Regional Members Meetings bring together regionally-based non-government organisations and networks that work across a range of service areas and diverse communities in NSW. Members are leaders in their own region with close connections to their communities and strong knowledge of local and place-based issues.
Regional Members Meetings provide a dynamic platform for conversation and connection, highlighting the experience of disadvantage and the unique challenges faced by people living outside metropolitan Sydney.
Meetings will provide opportunities to:
- connect with politicians, decision makers and others to leverage and influence their impact on regional issues
- inform the NCOSS policy and advocacy agenda from a regional perspective
- engage in networking, skill-building, information-sharing and partnerships
- put a spotlight on growing inequalities and issues for diverse regional communities
- participate in consultations and important sector briefings.
The Regional Engagement Framework outlines the history and purpose of our regional engagement.
All members outside metropolitan Sydney are invited to the meetings. If you are based in Sydney but have regionally-based teams please contact us to have your regional staff put on the mailing list.
In addition to online Regional Members Meetings we also run in person Regional Forums. You can find reports from our forums at Taree (November 2023) and Dubbo (May 2024) here.
Email Policy Lead Francesca Cathie for further information.
Health Equity Alliance
The Health Equity Alliance brings together non-government organisations, peak organisations, representatives from academia and other interested parties to develop and advance the policy responses needed to improve health outcomes for people experiencing poverty and disadvantage in NSW. Health Equity Alliance meetings provide the opportunity for information sharing and advice on current and emerging health policy issues that affect access and equity in communities, and for identifying shared priorities and opportunities for collaboration.
Health Equity Alliance - Terms of Reference
If you would like to be involved in the Health Equity Alliance, contact Senior Project Officer Andrea Angeles for further information.
External stakeholder groups
NCOSS participates in a range of external stakeholder groups convened by other organisations. Some of these currently include:
- Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Ministerial Advisory Group
- NSW Health NGO Advisory Committee
- NSW Health Oral Health Advisory Group
- NSW Health Primary School Mobile Dental Program Reference Group
- NSW Women’s Alliance
- NSW Ageing Alliance
Engaging with people with lived experience
NCOSS is guided by a set of principles and practice guides that was co-designed with a group of Lived Experience Advocates and representatives from the federal, state and territory Councils of Social Services.