Migrant Organisations Agency (MODA) is a second-tier/infrastructure organisation set up in 1998 with research input and financial support from London Borough Grants Committee (now Association of London Government) with the aim of informing, supporting and giving a voice to migrant and minority ethnic community organisations across London.

Within eight years of its operation, the organisation has made a considerable progress developing an integrated programme of capacity building support targeting small migrant and minority ethnic community Organisations. MODA is working currently with 270 member organisations but it also provides different levels of information services to 1700 other migrant and minority ethnic Organisations and voluntary sector networks across London.

MODA is currently funded by ALG, the City Parochial Foundation and Ethnic Minority Foundation. It is managed by an elected committee representing user (migrant and minority ethnic) organisations.

Our Vision

MODA aims to make a positive proactive contribution within the voluntary sector values and ethos towards the creation of an inclusive society of active citizens enjoying equal access to rights, services, opportunities and civil liberties.

Our Mission

• To provide regular capacity building programmes of targeted, accessible and affordable services to migrant and minority ethnic organisations in order to enhance their capacity to deliver quality services to their communities and develop sustainable community projects
• To provide a co-ordination role to the migrant and minority ethnic sector through offering opportunities for sharing information, networking, exchange of skills and support and partnerships.

Our Objectives

We work to achieve our aims through:

• Providing strategic up-to-date information services
• Providing general and customised training programmes and courses
• Providing outreach capacity building /technical support.
• Providing specialist advice, consultancy and management development support.
• Supporting creation/development of newly formed/forming community organisations.
• Establishing partnerships and joint projects with other organisations.
• Providing ICT infrasctructure support.

Our values

• We believe that the voluntary sector is about managing by values. We will never seek funding or participate in forums and structures which compromise our values of transparency, fairness and genuine participation and equal opportunities.
• We are committed to operating in ways consistent with the values of honesty, transparency, equal opportunities, empowerment and inclusiveness. We will work with our users rather than for them to create processes and outcomes which respond to the needs and aspirations identified by our users.
• Our procedures will be explicit, simple and informative. We will deal honestly and openly with all staff, including our own, our users, our partners and all other agencies/organisations.
• We are committed to creating a fulfilling and satisfying working environment for staff and volunteers based on respect, trust, friendship, openness, integrity and commitment to common values and aims. We will as far as possible provide opportunities for learning, developing skills and knowledge and encouraging innovation and creativity.
• MODA is committed to being a learning organisation itself, so we encourage feedback from our users and stakeholders and seek to continually improve all that we do. We are committed to developing and providing learning opportunities to our staff , committee members, volunteers and users.
• We are proud of bringing together as our members and users a wide range of diverse community groups. We value the diverse and invaluable contribution made by migrant and minority ethnic organisations. We respect and celebrate the diversity of cultures, experiences, languages, skills, talents and ideas within the communities and organisations we work with. We value the experience of every organisation and individual and we are committed to working with our users to empower them, encourage and support the development of their own valuable skills, experience and potential. We are committed to providing a high quality, professional, flexible and friendly service, which makes a real difference to them.
• We are committed to enabling staff, volunteers and our users to participate in and contribute to the management of and decision making within MODA and member organisations. We recognise that fostering individual and team strength is the only sure way of achieving long term organisational success. We aim to work in genuine partnership with our users, our staff and all other agencies with whom we share our vision and values.
• We will demand best practice from our users and ourselves. We encourage learning from cultural and other differences. The range of our services, methodology and aims reflect the diverse society in which we live.
• We encourage and promote democracy, citizenship and integration.