Thursday 13 April 2023

Making the most of Employer Champions

 


Project summary

To ensure the Employer Champion programme is adding value, is cost effective and is the best use of Science Council resources. 

Project description

One of the Science Council’s key roles is to maintain and improve standards and accountability in the science workforce by providing professional registration. Registration is provided in partnership with “Licensed Bodies”: organisations like The OR Society which provide a professional home for scientists. 

Through its “Employer Champions” programme, the Science Council supports large employers to help their scientific staff to navigate the busy landscape of professional membership organisations and the rigorous application process through to professional registration. The Science Council now wants to understand: does its provision meet the needs of employers, how effective is the programme in achieving its aims, and how might it be improved.

The volunteer would be asked to work with the charity to:

- Firm up on what information needs to be collected from the key stakeholders, through interview or survey. Stakeholders include Employer Champions and prospective Employer Champions, Licensed Bodies, and individual ‘Registrant Champions’ (employees who are themselves registered scientists and help others to register)

- Conduct interviews or surveys

- Evaluate the findings and discuss their implications.

The platform used by the Science Council for candidates to apply for registration, the Common Application Process, is itself currently being reviewed as part of a Pro Bono project, and we expect some overlap and liaison between the two projects. 

The volunteer(s) should be experienced in structuring and carrying out interviews/ surveys, and using fairly small amounts of semi-structured data to develop robust, valid conclusions.

How will this project benefit the organisation?

The professional registration programme is one of the most important components of the Science Council charitable objectives and public benefit, and building the number of registrants is a crucial part of its mission. Because of this, the business model of the Science Council is dependent on numbers of registrants, so maintaining registration levels is key to sustainability. The Employer Champion programme is one of the more resource-intensive ways of attracting registrants, so understanding how cost-effective it is and whether this can be improved will be of enormous importance not just in improving efficiencies but also in helping achieve the overall goal. 

Location

Remote

Commitment

This may be a project that will suit two or more volunteers working as a team, though it can also be undertaken by an individual.

Desired project start date

The client would like the work to be run in parallel with the project on the CAP, so that any findings can be coordinated. This means starting as early as possible.

Desired project completion date

June/July 2023

If you are interested but not able to comply with these dates, please get in touch anyway to discuss options.

Apply

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com by Monday 1 May 2023.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities.

Information about the organisation

For further information about the Science Council, please visit https://sciencecouncil.org/

Information about Pro Bono OR

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

Wednesday 5 April 2023

Review and improvement of key processes and workloads


Saola Foundation Logo

Project summary

Saola Foundation is relatively new and needs to identify opportunities to improve its work processes to ensure resources are used effectively.  

Project description

Saola Foundation is a relatively young organization, having been formed in 2020. A strategic development theme for 2023 is “efficiency and wellbeing in the work place”, recognising that, with a small staff team, it is important to ensure best use is made of staff time and to protect against staff burn out. The CEO believes now is a good time to identify and review Saola’s key business processes and to analyse where and how staff spend their time. The aim of this project is to identify opportunities for improvement that would, for example, reduce individuals admin-based works loads (for all technical and development staff) and free-up more time for fundraising activities and reduce the overhead of internal processes. 


Key stages in the project are likely to be as follows (subject to agreement between Saola and the volunteer): 

  • Project initiation (background and objectives) 
  • Identification of key business processes & prioritisation of those in scope for this project (via 1-1s or workshop) 
  • Process analysis, including staff time/resource usage 
  • Development of improvement options and recommendations 
  • Reporting and presentation to CEO/Board 
  • Evaluation of success  

How will this project benefit the organisation?

Discovered by science only in 1992, the Saola was perhaps the most spectacular zoological find of the 20th century. It is now probably the world’s most endangered terrestrial mammal. The race to save Saola is one of the highest priority conservation challenges of our time, requiring an unprecedented level of global support and cooperation. 


The Saola Foundation team is a small, deeply committed group of field conservationists and this project is a real opportunity to help the team “step up a gear” in the way they work together. 

Location

Remote

Commitment

Estimated volunteer commitment: 4-5 days. 

Desired project start date

April/May 2023

Desired project completion date

End of August 2023

Apply

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com by Monday 24 April 2023.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities.

Information about the organisation

For further information about the Saola Foundation, please visit https://www.saolafoundation.org/  

You can also learn more about the Saola here: https://www.saolafoundation.org/saola-status/

Information about Pro Bono OR

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

Pro Bono OR moving elsewhere

Pro Bono OR projects can now be found here:  https://www.theorsociety.com/get-involved/pro-bono-or/open-pro-bono-projects/ This blog will no...