New Pro Bono OR Project: Kissing it Better

Kissing It Better Project

Creating a data collection and monitoring system

Project:

Developing quantitative data monitoring that will provide supporting evidence of our service delivery, its value to stakeholders, society, potential fundraisers and donors

Project description:

Kissing it Better (KiB) need data collection systems in place, suitable for the organization, with minimal input required. The data to be collected concerns KiB’s various activities, such as visits of young people to residential homes or hospitals to enhance the lives of the elderly. They wish to use this data to be able to create reports for various stakeholders, such as funders. Further to this KiB would benefit from advice surrounding the implementation of a method of quantitative data collection that is both user friendly for young people who may have limited understanding of numeracy whilst also meeting project targets.

Time commitment:  12 days

Location: Approximately three visits will be needed to the Kissing it Better offices: at the beginning, middle and end of the project.  Contact with the COO at other times can be by phone or Skype.  The COO, Steph, works Monday-Thursday 8.30am-4.30pm. Office location: Henley in Arden, Warwickshire, B95 6JB.

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to amy.hughes@theorsociety.com by 18^th April.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities. As such, we welcome applications from the partially sighted or blind, or those with disabilities.

Information about the organisation: 

Kissing it Better is about sharing simple healthcare ideas. It is also about harnessing the energy of the most dynamic groups in a local community and inviting them to use their specialist skills to make a difference to the care of patients and their carers within hospitals and care homes. Through our website, events and training, we promote practical ideas and foster the mind-set that created them. With resources under pressure and rising complaints in the media, there couldn't be a better time for doing this. Kissing it Better aims to make a world of difference to health care, today.

For further information about Kissing it Better please visit http://www.kissingitbetter.co.uk/ or email stephaniejelliott18@gmail.com

For further information about the Pro Bono OR scheme, please visit:www.theorsociety.com/Probono  or email ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com

New Pro Bono OR Project: Family Action

Family Action Project

Bidding decisions: improving the chances of success

Project:

Family Action bids for around 30 contracts each year, to provide services. Around one-third are successful’ so a lot of effort is being put into bidding for contracts that are not successful. This project will analyse the data around the last few years’ bids, to identify any factors that may help the hard-pressed bidding team to target their resources on bids with a greater chance of success.

Project description:

This project could have several stages, depending on what appears most useful at the conclusion of the first and subsequent stages. The minimum currently asked of the initial volunteers is completion of the first stage below, and scoping for any subsequent stages requested by the charity. It is up to the volunteer and the charity, how much to undertake as part of this assignment.

Stage 1: analysis of the data on past bids, to see if there are any common factors or combinations of factor that may be used to help identify at an early stage bids that are unlikely to be successful, and assign a chance of success to each bid.

Stage 2: consideration with the team of the factors that make them decide to  bid, including chance of success, effort involved in bidding, strategic and financial value, alternative options, etc; and use this to put together a decision support algorithm or model to help in deciding on each bid

At this stage, it may also be appropriate to consider the very large number of contracts to put out to tender that the team has decided not to bid for. Most of these are filtered out at an early stage, but some have been given serious consideration. 

Stage 3: development of a management reporting tool that shows, at time of report, the pipeline of all the live opportunities, and conveys useful information about the likely future income from these projects bearing in mind the chance of success, and the fact that success actually is binary (either you are successful or not).

Skills required: consultancy skills; statistical analysis (including ideally understanding of Bayesian statistics and when this might be appropriate); basic knowledge of charity contracting and funding or ability rapidly to get to grips with that; general modelling. 

This may suit two volunteers, sharing the work between them. Please say when applying, if you are only interested in doing one or the other part of the project.

Time commitment:  Initially 5 days for Stage 1: 

• 1 day to understand the charity’s world and the data that is available 
• 3 days to analyse the data
• 1 day for reporting and high-level scoping of any future work

Any further work can be arranged by the volunteer(s) or a follow-on project can be specified

Location: The work needs some face-to-face time at the start with staff and databases, during the working day (London EC1V 2PT). Most of the analysis and reporting can be done off site. Final reporting should be done face-to-face, during the working day.

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to amy.hughes@theorsociety.com by 18^th April.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities. As such, we welcome applications from the partially sighted or blind, or those with disabilities.

Information about the organisation: 

Family Action transforms lives by providing practical, emotional and financial support to those who are experiencing poverty, disadvantage and social isolation across the country. They have been building stronger families since 1869, and today work with over 45,000 families through over 135 community-based services. Thousands more are supported with financial assistance through education and welfare grants programmes. Their innovative services reach out to those in need, strengthen families and communities, build skills and resilience and improve the life chances of children and adults.

For further information about Family Action please visit https://www.family-action.org.uk/ or email Anja.Bailey@family-action.org.uk

For further information about the Pro Bono OR scheme, please visit: www.theorsociety.com/Probono  or email ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com

New Pro Bono OR Project: CLIC Sargent

CLIC Sargent

Tracking and measuring supporter engagement

Project:

Tracking and measuring supporter engagement to help drive loyalty to CLIC Sargent and their cause.

Project description:

Central to CLIC Sargent's fundraising strategy, One Team, One Target, is a programme to ensure that the supporters engagement with the charity meets their expectations and is consistent across the charity as a whole. As part of this, it is vital that CLIC Sargent are able to track and measure supporter engagement to  gauge the impact of their work and more broadly whether they are deepening relationships and encouraging loyalty to CLIC Sargent and their cause. 

To date, the charity have used simplistic metrics such as number and type of contact points and retention to understand engagement and loyalty respectively. They attempted to measure this in the form of a weighted engagement score, but the broadness of the measure meant they were unable to explain any changes or diagnose issues for specific supporter groups in relation to their time with the charity. Therefore, CLIC Sargent would like to understand what they should pay attention to in terms of the key engagement points that drive loyalty at a level of detail that can inform their thinking regarding what to do next. 

CLIC Sargent record a wealth of data relating to each supporter and their engagement with them on a fundraising database, including all donation types, non-financial actions such as signing petitions or volunteer hours, engagement through opening and clicking through emails and data related to social media activity.
However, they currently do not have the capacity or skill base to draw out the insight on which data sets are the most valuable in respect of this project and which would value the support to do this.  

To help prospective volunteers, here is a link to a case study of a project with the RNLI that had similar objectives: https://www.apteco.com/our-clients/case-studies/rnli-qbase  

Time commitment:  12 days

Location: Mostly remote working, but perhaps three visits to the offices in London (77-85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JA) at the beginning, middle and end of the project. 

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to amy.hughes@theorsociety.com by 18th April.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities. As such, we welcome applications from the partially sighted or blind, or those with disabilities.

Information about the organisation: 

CLIC Sargent fights tirelessly to stop cancer destroying young lives. The charity provides grants and crucial financial support, social workers and play specialists, free places to stay near to hospitals to keep families together during treatment and gives families the right support to keep going if their child dies. 

For further information about CLIC Sargent please visit https://www.clicsargent.org.uk/ or email Angus.Kerr@clicsargent.org.uk

For further information about the Pro Bono OR scheme, please visit:www.theorsociety.com/Probono  or email ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com

New Pro Bono OR Project: The Friends of Windmill Gardens

The Friends of Windmill Gardens Project

Putting the Wind in Our Sails

Project:

A research project looking at reporting possibilities from recording system and into methods for deciding on income-generating activities.

Project description:

There are two mini research projects.

1. FoWG  is piloting a new system of recording volunteer time, replacing the paper-based system, and want to investigate the capacity of the system for reporting both on an ad-hoc basis and for producing regular automated reports.

2. FoWG has a challenging 5-year business plan which relies on several income-generation schemes, many of which are new. They want to investigate methods for deciding which streams are likely to be profit-making, identify opportunities for expanding potentially profitable activities, and decide for how long currently non-profit making activities should be continued in the expectation of future profits. 

Project 1

It is anticipated that the volunteer will:
• Meet with Marta Babecka who is in charge of admin; discuss with her what the system does and what reporting she would like to have
• Investigate the system to ascertain its reporting capabilities
• Produce an information sheet on how to interrogate the system to produce the required outputs

• And possibly, if feasible, design an automated system for regular reporting

Project 2

It is expected that the volunteer will:
• Obtain from Marta all relevant documentation (the most recent business plan, the budget and the recent accounts
• Investigate the planned income streams
• Investigate possible methods for deciding when and how long to continue income-generating activities, and identifying opportunities for expanding some activities.
• Write a report summarizing findings

• And possibly, present report to the Board

Requirements: 

The volunteer(s) should be comfortable with investigating different computer systems, and with methods of cost-benefit analysis. Experience of working with the third sector would be helpful. 

This project would suit a single volunteer or a team of two.

Time commitment:  6 days over 3 to 4 months

Location: Most of the work can be carried out remotely. The volunteer would need to attend an initial meeting with the administrator and, possibly, a presentation to the Board. The address for these is 24 Prague Place, London, SW2 5ED. 

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to amy.hughes@theorsociety.com by 18th April.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities. As such, we welcome applications from the partially sighted or blind, or those with disabilities.

Information about the organisation: 

The Friends of Windmill Gardens is a local residents’ group that was set up in 2003 to campaign for the restoration, preservation and enhancement of Brixton Windmill and Windmill Gardens. The charity aims to support the restoration, preservation and continued use of the Grade II* listed windmill, build a unique education facility for schools and the local community and provide community events that bring local people together.

For further information about the Friends of Windmill Gardens please visit http://brixtonwindmill.org/friends or email vwhittingham@hotmail.co.uk

For further information about the Pro Bono OR scheme, please visit:www.theorsociety.com/Probono  or email ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com

New Pro Bono OR Project: STandTall Project

STandTall Project

Building a business plan

Project:

Help StandTall produce a properly budgeted business plan as it prepares  for significant changes to its funding model. This may also require some work on strategy and on output/outcome measurement.

Project description:

STandTall has been operating for two years, with a single source of funding that helped it get started. This funding is due to end, and the charity plans to grow its activities based on grants,  contracts and other sources of funding. The team has a list of activities planned for 2019, based on three strands of work they have successfully undertaken in their first years of operation. 

The volunteer is asked to help the trustees and project manager to construct a business plan. Their main aim is to have a set of activities and a budget representing the plan for the year. To ensure that this is robust and sustainable, the volunteer may need to cover  the whole process  from strategy to output/outcome measurement, possibly also touching on issues such as the ‘market’ for each of the activities, objectives, target outputs and outcomes, the budget and the sources of income, details of the steps to be taken for each strand of work, risk identification and mitigation, and performance measurement. It might also be appropriate to consider how this fits into longer-term strategy, and the rationale for the activities perhaps using a Theory of Change perspective.

The volunteer should have experience of strategy/business plan development, and either have experience of working with small organisations, or be able to adapt to small organisation needs. Their main role will be to ask questions, put a structure in place, and provide a reality-check, in order to convert the project manager and trustees’ ideas, plans and knowledge into a viable plan

Time commitment:  3 -5 days

Location: There is likely to be the need for  one or two meetings or workshops with trustees.  The location of these meetings would be Central London – Google Campus or other office location convenient to volunteer. The remainder of the work can be completed remotely, using Skype for communication as necessary. 

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to amy.hughes@theorsociety.com by Tuesday 26^th February.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities. As such, we welcome applications from the partially sighted or blind, or those with disabilities.

Information about the organisation: 

STandTall helps women and girls who are experiencing abuse/bullying to find help and the right support to get back on their feet and sTandTall again. sTandTall is a one-stop-shop for anyone looking for information on abuse and bullying and they ensure that any women looking for help online finds it. sTandTall make sure that the information provided is accessible, accurate, and relevant.

For further information about the STandTall please visit https://www.standtall.org/ or email nanda@standtall.org

For further information about the Pro Bono OR scheme, please visit:www.theorsociety.com/Probono  or email ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com

New Pro Bono OR Project: National Autistic Society

National Autistic Society Project

Modelling capacity and demand for Autism Diagnostic services 

Project:

Waiting times for an autism diagnosis are unacceptably high, especially for children. This project will explore the demand and capacity for provision of diagnostic services.

Project description:

The National Autistic Society (NAS) thinks that a queuing model might help the organization to understand how much diagnostic capacity would have to increase by to bring down waiting times to within NICE guidelines. The number of services might be analogous to the number of servers (though some will have more capacity than others). There is a diagnosis rate (assessments that lead to a positive diagnoses of autism, per referral) which could be estimated, as well as the average time to conduct an assessment. Population data combined with prevalence estimates could be combined to estimate numbers joining the queue. If a national model is too ambitious, then a model for a ‘typical’ area would still be extremely useful for advice and campaigning and planning any expansion of the diagnostic services which NAS provides.

Volunteers may consider another approach may be appropriate for this project but some form of simulation/modelling of processes will be needed. NAS believes the current process design for autism diagnosis is straightforward and the issue is capacity, not flow or bottlenecks.

Time commitment:  5-6 days

Ideally, the project will be completed by the end of March as NAS is currently in a strategic planning period and would like to use the results to inform plans.

Location: This project could be done remotely but it may be desirable to meet key staff either in London or Bromley.

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to amy.hughes@theorsociety.com by Friday 15^th February.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities. As such, we welcome applications from the partially sighted or blind, or those with disabilities.

Information about the organisation: 

NAS are the UK's largest provider of specialist autism services. Their trained staff and volunteers bring passion and expertise to the lives of 100,000 autistic people every year. Their goal is to help transform lives, change attitudes and create a society that works for autistic people.

For further information about the food poverty working group please visit https://www.autism.org.uk/ or email Ian.Dale@nas.org.uk

For further information about the Pro Bono OR scheme, please visit:www.theorsociety.com/Probono  or email ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com