South London ESF RoadshowOpportunities for Voluntary & Community Sector Organisations

Tuesday 12th May 2015

Hilary ChisnallOrganisational Development Officer (Interim)Sutton CVSEmail: hilary@suttoncvs.org.ukTelephone: 020 8641 9543

My involvement with European funding all started around 20 years ago in 1994/5!

-ESF

-ERDF-EQUAL-Transnational

1998 – LondonESF Capacity Building Priority 4

ESF Reflections

Lasted seven years spanning two operational Programming Terms!

ESF Priority 4

LBS

RESEARCHValuing

the VoluntarySector

ResearchReports

P’SHIPSNetworks

Cross Sectoral

Collaborative bidding

Shared learning

Innovation

capacity building

Programmeto VCO

SystemsSkills

Project Management

Social Enterprise

TrainingProgramme

Grants Pragramme

KIT

Capital Investment Programme

London’s ESF

Objective 3 Priority 4

Ex Sector ESFers …

COLLABORATIVE BIDDING

Resulted in Over £2M

Partnerships between

VCO’s and:

•Local Authority

•Private sector

•Job Centre/

+/Connexions

•Local Colleges

•NHS (ST Georges)

Supporting those furthest from the

labour market to move towards/into

meaningful employment and/or

Capacity Building VCSE sector

-View looking back-incredible

-Massive sense of achievement

-Worth it!

IT’S EASY TO BE PUT OFF!•Jargon

• Bureaucracy

• Paperwork

•Outcome £

•Audits

•Rules/Regulation

•Eligibility

YEI

Intervention Logic

LAGS

A Little Pain for

Significant Gain

Enabled us to work together in new ways to achieve

improvement to the quality of life for individuals.

ESF also brought added value for us as a sector in

so many ways. It built capacity in our local

communities, the benefits were far reaching ……

ESF has always been about

helping those individuals most

in need.

Election Individuals may be elected at an Annual general Meeting and /or by post. Individuals may be elected by; for example:The entire membershipThe ‘electoral college’ where the right to appoint trustees(s) rest with a specific group of members or stakeholders, e.g volunteers, interests groups, geographical areas.

Co option A number of trustees may be appointed by the board of trustees themselves.

Appointed from outside

One or more trustees may be appointed by an external organisation e.g a local authority.

Ex-Officio One or more trustees may be appointed by virtue of the office they hold e.g a mayor or vicar.

P’s & D’sPartnership •At the time working across sectors a new

undertaking for the sector. Initially struggled with high level priorities of some strategic partners.

•Could be a bit of a tussle to achieve equal partnership status

Development •Matching activities/actions to ESF and regional priorities whilst also ensuring relevance to local issues and sectors priorities•Match funding could be a nightmare•ESF jargon and bureaucracy •Lead organisation/Managing Risk

Delivery •The fun bit! No real problems in actual delivery of services and interventions – significant success!Administration & Project Management•Often systems and procedures were inadequate (and not just within VCS)

PARTNERSHIP-Collaboration IS in the best interests of your

beneficiaries. Together we can do more!

However….lessons learnt

1. Check that any ESF P’ship work you propose contributes to your

objectives as set out in your governing documents (Mission Drift)

2. Ensure absolute clarity and understanding of your roles and

responsibilities

3. Think about systems development, project management, risk

capacity and staffing

4. Work at building solid partnership relationships, ensure good

communication channels with accountable/lead body

5. Involve your Trustees – ultimately responsible for managing risk

and ensuring your organisation acts legally

Be Clear On What We Can Bring

to The Table

•Wide range of skills, experience and capability

•Can very often mobilise a wider range of capabilities

•Very experienced in engaging and progressing hard to

reach and vulnerable individuals (and those furthest

from the labour market)

•Experienced specialist training providers

•Innovative (new solutions to old problems)

•Value for money/SROI - (although be careful no

underselling!)

DEVELOPMENTKnowledge is key!

As a sector we seem to understand and know our

client groups very well – although can be

narrowly and locally focused.

•For ESF have to build knowledge and

awareness more widely

•Improve upon your position as the local experts

in your field

•Familiarise yourself with relevant research

reports

•Explore what key organisations are saying

•Dare I say it ? If you haven’t already read the

reports referenced in the Operational Programme

Guidance (2014-2020)

Fulfilling Potential –

Making it Happen

(Disability) Gov 2013

National Social Justice

Strategy

More Affordable

Childcare

OECD PIACC Survey

of Adult Skills

DEVELOPMENT

Look at what’s worked else where – can it be adapted and replicated?

CLLD – Community led Local Development – model used successfully in

previous European Programmes

Remember the distance that needs to be travelled by an individual

Employment

Esta, single parent, no formal qualifications, low self

esteem/confidence, suffers panic attacks, only real

interaction for last 4 years is with Homestart for 2 hrs

a week. English not her first language and Esta is a

carer for her daughter who has Aspergers and her

elderly sick mother.

Things That Don’t Change

•demand led

•actively removing barriers to engagement

•meeting a gap in provision

•aligned and building upon national policies & programmes

•applied to provide additional and complimentary interventions

•pay attention to transitions between unemployment and work (retention)

•Inclusive of solid outreach strategies to engage hardest to reach groups

•tailored to the needs of beneficiary target groups AND local employers

•Incorporate flexibility and contingency plans

• structured over a longer time frame for those facing multiple disadvantage

Development & Delivery

An Ex ESFers Experience

Amanda McGrath

Age UK Sutton Age UK Sutton

Concluding ThoughtsI believe there is a real opportunity here.

This New ESF Operational Programme 2014- 2020 could benefit:

1. Us as a sector

2. Your organisation

3. You as an individual, and

4. Most importantly, those in society we exist to help

• Any ESF £ pursuits, development, delivery, and accountability

on the scale of collaborative required WILL be hard work

• BUT then nothing worth doing has ever been easy

• We can reach and go where others can not - we are needed

and critical to delivery

• Worth remembering it’s the beginning of a new Programme

and as such no one can claim to be the expert …….. YET

Thank YouAny Questions

?