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Recognising Community Engagement in London Application Workshop
Recognising Community Engagement in London
Application Workshop
Workshop overview
• Hopes and expectations• What makes it worth applying for an award • What qualifies for an award• Making the most of the application• The judging process and judges• What happens next• Final thoughts and questions
What makes it worth applying• External recognition
- Profile with clients/customers and the wider community - Media coverage for the business (in the past 3 years Dragon Awards
publicity has been estimated to be worth over £760,000) or community partner
- Profile within CCI and CSR networks- Profile with community partners and with corporates
Some more reasons to apply• Internal recognition
- Senior management engagement- Recognition of staff and volunteers- Gain traction for community involvement programme/projects
• Other reasons- The statuette- Invitation to the dinner- Professionally produced films for winners- It’s free
What qualifies for an award?
• For businsses: activities that- Are above and beyond the core business of the organisation making
the application- Have an impact on the community- Are already ‘up and running’ – i.e. beyond the planning stage- Take place in Greater London – any of the 33 boroughs
• For community partners: work that - Demonstrates good practice and innovation in working with
businesses and facilitating their involvement in the community
The categories
• Education Award• Economic Regeneration Award• Social Inclusion Award• Community Partners Award• Heart of the City Award• Lord Mayor’s 25th Anniversary Award
Education Award
• Raising the aspirations of students • Improving educational attainment• Maximising career-development opportunities
• Providing professional skills and expertise to small businesses / community organisations
• Helping local people become more employable • Local procurement of goods and services • Targeting local residents for job opportunities• Providing financial or “in kind” assistance to small businesses / community organisations
Economic Regeneration Award
• Helping to improve the quality of life for socially-excluded people through:- Life skills- Befriending programmes- Healthy eating programmes- Programmes that support financial inclusion- Sports- Cultural activities- Improved access to goods and services- Youth clubs and after-school clubs
Social Inclusion Award
• Recognising the contribution of community partners and how they:- Engage and manage corporate interest and enable the corporate to
be involved in the community- Build and maintain relationships- Engage, manage and support employee volunteers- Evaluate the value of the partnership and how
it can be strengthened- Look to the future
Community Partners Award
• For all businesses (not only Heart of the City members) that have:- Started community involvement activities in the last 3 years- Category judges the totality of your Community Involvement
Programme – all of the community projects which make up your programme are taken into account
- NOT previously won in this category
Heart of the City Award
Heart of the City provides free support for companies that are interested in Corporate Community Involvement and the wider area of Corporate Responsibility.
• For businesses that have:- Shown a long term commitment (at least 5 years) to a wide range of
community involvement activities - Outstanding levels of staff involvement at all levels
Lord Mayor’s 25th Anniversary Award
A local law firm provides support to a community centre. Staff attend the centre once a week and provide legal advice and support to local residents. It is the firm’s policy for all members of staff (including partners) to work there
for at least one shift a year on a pro bono basis.
Does this work qualify? If so, in which category
Does the work qualify?
A construction company is involved in a new residential development and is required to provide a small park and leisure facilities as part of their planning consent. They have decided to “go the extra mile” and make the facilities a core part of their community involvement. They will fund and provide extra
facilities including a café that offers an apprenticeship programme in catering and football training with coaching provided by company volunteers
Does this work qualify? If so in which category?
Does the work qualify?
A national food retailer has set up a programme to support the government agenda on tackling obesity. The programme aims to raise awareness of the
dangers of obesity and offer support. It provides: - Educational materials for use in schools - Staff volunteers to go to schools / community centres to talk about the issues
and raise awareness- Discounts on healthy food in store- Vouchers for a range of different (healthy) activities. - A nutrition advice line
Does this work qualify? If so, in which category?
Does the work qualify?
A not for profit company provides advice and support to individuals who are in debt and unable to cope financially. The company offers advice on how to budget as well as a full debt management service. They do not charge the individual who is in debt as they are able to recover costs from the many
different creditors they work with. To date they have enabled 2000 Londoners to deal with their debt problems.
Does this work qualify? If so in which category?
Does the work qualify?
The application form (1)
Dropdown menu
www.dragonawards.org.uk
The application form (2)
Award categories
Click to register and access form
The application form (3)
Questions
Save application
Download Word version
The application form (4)
Submit
Application advice (1)
Judges can only base their decisions on the information that is on the application form, so…• Give a clear description of the project• Explain why it is necessary / what need(s) have been met?• Explain how the business is involved and who is involved • Talk about the challenges and how were these overcome• Talk about the programme’s potential for the future
Application advice (2)
In particular show the impact of the programme. • Show the benefits to the community and to the business • Use facts and figures
Application advice (3)
Community benefits (Q3)• The difference your work has made to the community showing the end
result not just the business inputs• Quantitative benefits using relevant statistics • Qualitative benefits including quotes from community partners /
beneficiaries, a short case study
Application advice (4)
Business benefits (Q4)• Benefits to your staff and to the organisation• Where possible use statistics• Talk about skills development• Include feedback from staff and volunteers• Include external recognition of the work
Application advice (5)
Make sure you tell us why you should win!• Showcase the best of your project or programme• Talk about why it is special or possibly even unique• Talk about what makes it a success and the challenges you have
overcome
Application advice (6)
Community Partners Award• Be explicit about what the business does for the community organisation
and the different needs they meet• Focus on what makes the partnership work and why• Highlight anything that is innovative or different• Demonstrate how the partnership makes a difference to the community
Jonathan Brookes
Corporate Social Responsibility Manager
Lakehouse
Economic Regeneration winner 2011
The voice of experience
• The finalists are selected by the Preliminary Judging Panel• The winners are selected by the Final Judging Panel - chaired by the Lord
Mayor• Judges work in pairs and focus on specific categories – assigned a
primary and secondary category to judge• Conflicts of interest are declared at the start• A mix of experience and expertise
The judging process (1)
• Heather Barker – CSR Consultant• Linda Barnard – Community Affairs
Manager, Bank of England• Jenny Field – Deputy Chief Grants
Officer, City Bridge Trust• Patsy Francis – Director of
Community Affairs, UBS• Carolyn Housman – Director, Heart of
the City• Sophie Hulm – CR Manager, City of
London
The preliminary judging panel
• Nina Kowalska – CSR Consultant• Louise Muller – Hackney Programme
Director, East London Business Alliance• Poorvi Patel – London Operations
Director, Business in the Community• Mike Tyler – Director, Tower Hamlets
Education Business Partnership• Andrew Wilson – Director, Corporate
Citizenship• Vicky Clark – London 2012 Employment
and Skills Legacy Manager, Greater London Authority
• Alderman David Wootton– The Lord Mayor of the City of London
• Gerry Acher Esq CBE LVO – Chair, Heart of the City
• Lady Diana Brittan DBE – Chair, The Connection at St Martin’s in the Fields
• Martyn Lewis Esq CBE – Chair, Youthnet
• Harvey McGrath – Chair, London Development Agency
• Amanda Jordan – Co-Chair, Corporate Citizenship
The final judging panel
• John Phizackerley – Chief Executive Officer, Nomura
• Richard Sumray Esq MBE – Chair, London 2012 Forum
• Cyrus Todiwala Esq MBE – Proprietor & Executive Chef, Café Spice Namaste Group
• Catherine Usher – Regional Managing Partner - London, DLA Piper
• Lord Richard Newby - Head of Corporate Responsibility, FTI Consulting
What the judges say (1)
It was hard what the impact of the programme had been on the
individuals. I wanted someone to “speak to me” and tell me a story.
It was a good programme but there was no mention of how it helped Londoners
…. And yet I knew it had!
There was nothing in the application that made it stand out
from the others. It needed that special ingredient
It assumed I knew all about the project. It really would have
benefited from a short explanation!
What the judges say (2)
I am sure this will be a great project – but they need to prove it. Come back next year and tell us
the story.
It was hard to work out just how much support there was for the programme
within the company as a whole…
It would have been useful to have feedback from the beneficiaries –
stories and quotes bring applications to life
This was their core business
Application Deadline – 28 May
Preliminary Judging – 20 June
Finalists announced
Final Judging – 16 July
Annual Dinner – 3 October
What happens next
The annual dinner
• 3 October• Hosted by the Lord Mayor at
Mansion House• Black tie• All applicants receive a
complimentary invitation• Finalists receive a second
invitation• Good opportunity to get
senior buy-in
