New Pro Bono OR Project: The Friends of Lucy’s Mill Bridge CIC

The Friends of Lucy’s Mill Bridge CIC Project

What’s accessibility worth? 

Project:

Evaluating the benefits of adapting an ancient, and well-used, footbridge to make it accessible to all.   

Project description:

Lucy’s Mill bridge is a footbridge dating from Shakespearian times, that is well-used both functionally (to get to work, school etc) and for leisure purposes. It is currently accessed only by steps on each side. Lucy’s Mill CIC wants to see it made fully accessible to wheelchair users, those with a mobility impairment, parents with pushchairs and dismounted cyclists. As one step in the process they would like a rigorous review of the benefits, in the context of the Stratford District Core Strategy, and the Warwickshire County Council Local Transport Plan. Benefits to be considered include public health, social, environmental and economic. Their next step, if the benefits are sufficient, will be to persuade the local authority to include this accessibility project in their strategy, so the analysis must be in a form acceptable to the local authority.

The evaluation will also need to take into account the key developments in the local area that the bridge serves, which will influence traffic; and recognise the time it will take to realise benefits as these are dependent on behaviour change in response to the changes.

The volunteer will be required to identify the relevant benefits (working with CIC members), construct a framework for benefits analysis in a suitable form, review the available data, and where possible use this data to populate the framework. The deliverables are likely to be: (i) a spreadsheet calculating the benefits, outputting benefits evaluation in a suitable form for the purpose, and (ii) a report identifying the weaknesses and gaps in the data and recommendations for whether these are filled through making assumptions, estimates based on literature review/other examples, or collecting additional site-specific data; the assumptions that have been made, and given that, the range of possible benefits (from optimistic to prudent/pessimistic).    

The volunteer should: 

• have experience in cost-benefit analysis in the public sector; 
• be able to take a constructively critical approach to the likely benefits that would be realised in practice.  

Time commitment:  

Ideally the volunteer would spend a minimum of 5 days: 

• 1 day on-site – CIC members would be delighted to host for a tour of the site and the historic centre of Stratford as well as discussing the project and finalising the terms of reference. 
• 1 day constructing an outline framework for the benefits evaluation, in spreadsheet form
• 3 days reviewing the available data, populating the model, and reporting back on outputs, assumptions and weaknesses.

It is very likely that more time could be usefully spent helping the CIC to address the weaknesses in the data and calculations. The volunteer may wish to do this themselves, or to scope this as a further project for different volunteers.

Location: Most of the project can be carried out remotely. Physical meetings would take place in Stratford-upon-Avon. 

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 1^st July.

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 Lucy’s Mill Bridge was started in 2013 to bring together people to promote the benefit of urban or rural regeneration in Stratford-upon-Avon and the surrounding area through the maintenance, improvement or provision of Public amenities, the preservation of buildings or sites of historic or architectural importance and the provision of recreational facilities for the public at large or those who by reason of their youth, age, disability, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances, have need of such facilities.Their main objective is to raise funds for a new architects review to present to the Warwick District Council for them to take in to consideration during their next review of Lucy’s Mill Bridge access upgrades.

For further information about The Friends of Lucy’s Mill Bridge please visit http://www.lucysmillbridge.co.uk/ or email admin@lucysmillbridge.co.uk

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