Lloyds Bank Foundation and Telford COG (Community Organisations Group) commissioned the charity In Kind Direct to co-design an action plan for strengthening the VCSE sector in Telford & Wrekin. On this blog, the In Kind Direct team shares useful learnings from doing this work.
The VCSE sector is a powerful force for good and one of the most trusted parts of societies. The coming together of charities, voluntary organisations, community interest companies and public bodies is essential to meeting today’s needs and driving the systemic change that improves people’s lives.
Across the country, VCSE organisations are facing the challenge of increasing need in our communities, fewer resources at local and national levels, and people at breaking point.
A number of recurring themes and reinforcing cycles of behaviour came through across five months of speaking to over 100 organisations, online surveys, and in-person events:
- Being in survival mode – firefighting
- Chasing funding that can lead to competition and erode some of the trust between sector partners; and
- Challenges around capacity and where people put their time and effort.
So three key changes were identified that are going to be crucial for breaking these cycles and moving forward:
- A shared commitment to collaboration, to build partnerships of equals and address power dynamics.
- Sharing current and new resources and expertise between organisations, to shape better services for communities.
- Having a shared language and understanding of what impact means to make better decisions for the region.
All the insights gained over the course of this research were used to create a 10-year theory of change, which was validated with several national infrastructure charities to ensure its utility beyond Telford and Wrekin. It centres on what’s going on right now, where we want to get to, and the action plan to get there.
From theory to practice
This first year focuses on the foundational things that will set up future changes to happen, and achieves some quick wins to lock in support.
The current structure and representation of COG – Telford & Wrekin’s Community Organisations Group are being reviewed to identify ways to improve representation and voice.
It’s also been identified that a searchable directory of services is essential, which lists out the needs that are being addressed and the organisations delivering them.
The second phase involves piloting new approaches, testing, and learning. The specific timing of activities will be guided by what is achieved and aligned on in the first year.
Discussions with stakeholders during this project identified benefits to engaging the business sector in local plans and adopting a more neighbourhood-based approach – learning from what’s already being piloted in healthcare to achieve positive wellbeing outcomes.
A review of commissioning processes has already started, and this will continue as a key activity.
It has been acknowledged that there may be some difficult conversations about what is important, what impact we want to make, and which organisations or partnerships are best positioned to take that forward.
As pilot projects and partnership working build a growing body of evidence, years 5 to 10 will be about using evidence-based frameworks to support rapid and transparent decision-making that centres the people all organisations exist to serve and move away from current feelings of competition.
Watch Louise Cross, Telford Citizens Advice CEO and part of the Telford COG (Community Organisations Group), summarising these three phases: