Pro Bono project- Sustainability through management transformation

Please find details of a new project below with Brandon Trust.  I have provided a brief summary and then attached a detailed project scope.  

Brandon Trust

Project summary:

Project: Sustainability through management transformation – Helping Brandon Trust design a lean, efficient, fit-for-purpose management structure to lead and deliver vital services in the context of falling social care budgets.

Time commitment: approx. 5 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting

Location: Bristol

Please read project scope and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Wednesday 23^rd March.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

Brandon Trust exists to improve lifestyles, opportunities and to deliver greater independence for people with learning disabilities. The Trust’s central focus is on places to live, life skills, jobs and educational opportunities for individuals with learning disabilities. 

Main activities of the organisation: 

Residential homes/supported living, residential nursing and care homes, enterprises, outreach services, employment services, day center’s supporting children

If you would like to volunteer on a project but are not able to commit to the full time requirement please let me know as it may be possible to pair you up with another analyst.  Lastly if you would like to work on a project as part of a pair or with the support of a mentor please indicate on your application and we try to facilitate this. 

For further information about the scheme please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Probono  

Connecting professional analysts with good causes - for free! Request support today

O.R. volunteers can help third sector organisations make better decisions, improve efficiency, improve effectiveness, and tackle the problems that are keeping their top team awake at night, applying scientific approaches to the organisations specific circumstances, people, data and needs.

To find our more or request support, please visit www.theorsociety.com/probono

This support is available to all UK based Third Sector organisations - please spread the word!

New projects requiring volunteers with #ProBonoOR

Please find details of a new project below with Hestia, plus several other projects we are also recruiting volunteers for.  

Hestia

Project summary:

Project: The Hestia Approach Performance & Impact Framework - To create a performance and impact framework to measure the impact of the Hestia Approach transformation project within the organisation and upon strategic objectives

Time commitment: approx. 10 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting

Location: London

Please read project scope and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Wednesday 28th February.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

Our mission is to deliver high quality and empowering housing, support, protection and care services in partnership with service users and local communities.

Main activities of the organisation: 

We support people fleeing domestic abuse, people who have been trafficked, people with mental health, older people, young people, ex offenders, people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities. Delivering support via accommodation based, outreach, community engagement and advocacy services.

We also have three other projects we are still recruiting for.  If you require the project scope as an attachment please sent me an email request.

NIDAS

Project summary:

Project: Activity analysis & cost recovery model: Develop a high-level process model of the organisation that can be used to capture where staff spend their time. For frontline delivery activities, quantify the proportion of costs that are recovered.

Time commitment: approx. 5 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting

Location: Nottinghamshire (a lot of the work could be carried out remotely)

Please read project scope and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Wednesday 22nd February.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

Area of benefit: Survivors of current or historic domestic abuse

Our core purpose is our fundamental reason for being

·        To keep people safe emotionally and physically

Main activities of the organisation: 

Support and advocacy, 1-1, group, specialist programs

EBP South

Project summary:

Project: Develop Performance Dashboard - EBP would like help to develop a Performance Dashboard to be used for internal management and Board Reporting.

Time commitment: approx. 4 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting

Location: Portsmouth (could be carried out remotely)

Please read project scope and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Wednesday 22nd February.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

For the Public Benefit, to advance, promote and assist in the effective education and development of young people and adults in order to develop their individual capabilities, competencies, skills and understanding in subjects of educational value including career and life skills together with collaboration with local businesses and business organisations in England and Wales in such ways as the charity Trustees think fit.

Main activities of the organisation: 

Work Experience placements; Mentoring programmes for young people linked to volunteers from business; employability programmes in schools; enterprise activities; career inspiration events; careers guidance and education.

Fulham Good Neighbours

Project summary:

Project: Assessing the impact of Fulham Good Neighbours

Time commitment: approx. 5 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer(s) in the light of information gathered at their first meeting.

Location: Fulham, SW6 7QT.

Please read project scope and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me asap (there is currently no deadline as the organisation is happy to wait).

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

Our aims are to enable elderly, disabled and vulnerable people to:

-        Live independently and to contribute to society,

-        Help overcome isolation and loneliness,

-        Be at the heart of the local community.

Main activities of the organisation: 

Fulham Good Neighbours support mainly older people, including those with dementia, with practical tasks at home such as basic DIY, gardening, and decorating. We do what any good neighbour would: collect medication, escort to appointments, accompany shopping and take care of pets to name just a few of our free services delivered by over 50 volunteers, many of whom are older people.

If you would like to volunteer on a project but are not able to commit to the full time requirement please let me know as it may be possible to pair you up with another analyst.  

Lastly if you would like to work on a project as part of a pair or with the support of a mentor please indicate on your application and we try to facilitate this. 

I look forward to hearing from you and once again thank you for your help and support.

For further information about the scheme please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Probono  

New projects with NIDAS and EBP South #costrecoverymodel #dashboard

Please find details of two projects below with NIDAS (Midlands) and EBP South (remote or Portsmouth).  I have provided a brief summary and then embedded a link to a detailed project scope.  

NIDAS

Project summary:

Project: Activity analysis & cost recovery model: Develop a high-level process model of the organisation that can be used to capture where staff spend their time. For frontline delivery activities, quantify the proportion of costs that are recovered.

Time commitment: approx. 5 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting

Location: Nottinghamshire (a lot of the work could be carried out remotely)

Please read project scope and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Wednesday 22^nd February.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

Area of benefit: Survivors of current or historic domestic abuse

Our core purpose is our fundamental reason for being

 To keep people safe | emotionally and physically

Main activities of the organisation: 

Support and advocacy, 1-1, group, specialist programs

EBP South

Project summary:

Project: Develop Performance Dashboard - EBP would like help to develop a Performance Dashboard to be used for internal management and Board Reporting.

Time commitment: approx. 4 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting

Location: Portsmouth (could be carried out remotely)

Please read project scope  and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Wednesday 22^nd February.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

For the Public Benefit, to advance, promote and assist in the effective education and development of young people and adults in order to develop their individual capabilities, competencies, skills and understanding in subjects of educational value including career and life skills together with collaboration with local businesses and business organisations in England and Wales in such ways as the charity Trustees think fit.

Main activities of the organisation: 

Work Experience placements; Mentoring programmes for young people linked to volunteers from business; employability programmes in schools; enterprise activities; career inspiration events; careers guidance and education.

If you would like to volunteer on a project but are not able to commit to the full time requirement please let me know as it may be possible to pair you up with another analyst.  

Lastly if you would like to work on a project as part of a pair or with the support of a mentor please indicate on your application and we try to facilitate this. 

I look forward to hearing from you and once again thank you for your help and support.

For further information about the scheme please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Probono  

New Pro Bono projects with Save the Rhino and Form the Future

Pro Bono O.R. is currently recruiting for 3 new projects with Form the Future and Save the Rhino.  Below is a brief outline of the projects and a link to detailed project scopes.

Please do get in touch if you require any further information.

Form the Future (1)

Project summary:

Project: Process improvement: Reviewing Form the Future’s two main service delivery processes, to help them move to an online system.

Time commitment: approx. 4 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting

Location: Cambridge, CB4 2HY. Mix of onsite and remote working

Please read project scope  and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Monday 21^st November.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

To help young people learn about the world of work and prepare them for employment

Main activities of the organisation: 

Link schools and businesses to help young people understand the world of work. We run career and employability skill related events at schools, we undertake Health and Safety Checks for Work experience and run a mentoring programme.

Form the Future (2)

Project summary:

Project: Impact and performance measures: enabling Form the Future to understand, measure and report their impact and effectiveness

Time commitment: approx. 3-4 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting.

Location: Cambridge, CB4 2HY. Mix of onsite and remote working

Please read project scope  and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Monday 21^st November.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

To help young people learn about the world of work and prepare them for employment

Main activities of the organisation: 

Link schools and businesses to help young people understand the world of work. We run career and employability skill related events at schools, we undertake Health and Safety Checks for Work experience and run a mentoring programme.

Save the Rhino

Project summary:

Project: Analysis of fundraising data: SRI wishes to understand where its return on investment to raise unrestricted income is greatest and where it should focus its activities on growing

Time commitment: approx. 5-6 days, although though this will need to be checked by the volunteer(s) in the light of information gathered at the first meeting. 

This project would be suitable for a small team of volunteers who could then, perhaps look at more data, or carry out more in-depth analysis.

Location: London, SE1 4PR. 0.5 day on-site for kick-off meeting. Most of the analysis can be done remotely.

Please read project scope  and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Monday 21^st November.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

     Raising funds to protect and increase rhino numbers and population distribution in African and Asian range states

     Facilitating the exchange of technical support and information between rhino conservation stakeholders
     Ensuring that local communities in key rhino areas benefit from employment, capacity building, education, outreach and the sustainable use of natural resourcesDeveloping and delivering behaviour-change campaigns to reduce the demand for rhino horn in consumer countriesRaising global awareness of the need for urgent action on rhino conservation

Main activities of the organisation: 

Fundraising through trusts and foundations, companies, events, donations, campaigns, membership and merchandise

If you would like to volunteer on a project but are not able to commit to the full time requirement please let me know as it may be possible to pair you up with another analyst.  

Lastly if you would like to work on a project as part of a pair or with the support of a mentor please indicate on your application and we try to facilitate this. 

I look forward to hearing from you and once again thank you for your help and support.

For further information about the scheme please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Probono  

Understanding the Benefits of a Social Care Programme #ORblog

CORDA recently completed a project for the WAVE Trust - a charity committed to improving the welfare of children – as part of its support of The OR Society’s Pro Bono scheme. The scheme connects volunteer analysts with charities and other not-for-profit organisations to work on short-term projects to help them to make evidence-based decisions for operational improvements.

Ben Ludford, a senior consultant at CORDA, led the project and explains: “Working with the WAVE Trust was a great experience. Not only were we able to support a charity that provides such a valuable service for children but it also gives volunteers like me the opportunity to tackle different kinds of problems in their entirety, using a range of OR and analytics techniques, and other skills to help good cause.”

The WAVE Trust has a particular focus on improving social and emotional development and mental health, and preventing child maltreatment. The project saw CORDA work closely with the charity to develop a business case for it to present to local authorities in a bid to secure funding for a pilot of its social care programme Pioneer Communities.

CORDA’s analysts worked with the Trust to understand its current business case and to identify where further work was needed. This highlighted that the WAVE Trust had a good understanding of the costs and delivery of the programme, but that there was a need to develop a better understanding of the benefits and how this tied to financial savings for the local authorities. This benefit information could then be linked with the cost data to create a cost benefit model showing the payback of the programme over time.

Using its modelling expertise, CORDA planned several ways in which benefit data could be collected, delivering a report with advice on how this could be achieved. It also built a model that provided a cost-benefit analysis.

This is the first pro bono project CORDA has delivered through The OR Society’s scheme. Projects through the scheme usually involve data analysis, impact measurement, options appraisal, risk analysis, strategic planning/review, scheduling & process improvement.

As well as providing companies with an opportunity for its employees to get involved in pro bono work, it also provides third sector organisations like The Wave Trust with a range of benefits including access to analytics experts, help with identifying and clarifying problems and finding real solutions that improve what they do.

To find out more about the scheme or to request support for a charity or third sector organisation, please visit www.theorsociety.com/probono

Free software software/tools available to O.R./analytical professionals

A variety of analytical and modelling techniques have been used for Pro Bono O.R. projects so far, including:

·       discrete event simulation,

·       statistical analysis/data mining,

·       forecasting,

·       process modelling,

·       system dynamics.

 As a result we have started compiling an evolving list of software / tools which may help to solve different types of problem. These tools could be useful not only for those working on our 3^rd sector projects but O.R./analytical professionals looking to develop their all-round “O.R. toolkit”.

The list so far includes 40 tools across a range of areas including:

·         Statistical analysis (e.g. PSPP, R)

·         Data visualisation (e.g. D3, Gephi, Vizable)

·         Geospatial and mapping (e.g. QGIS, GDAL, MapsData)

·         Programming languages (e.g. Python, Ruby)

·         Databases (e.g. PostGres, SQLlilte, ArangoDB)

·         Optimisation (e.g. Pyomo, OpenSolver)

·         Simulation (e.g. SimPy, Insight Maker)

·         Supply Chain (e.g. OpenBoxes, Odoo)

The list is ever-evolving and we would welcome further contributions or to hear about any tools or software you have successfully used in the past. Ideally the software should be free to use. The list can be accessed at https://www.dropbox.com/s/crkoc002bo0j37p/Useful%20Software%20list.xlsx?dl=0.

Please email any suggestions to felicity.mcleister@theorsociety.com.

If you want to find out more about volunteering for a project more information on the scheme is available here

Volunteer(s) required: Market Segmentation and Analysis for Training Course

Pro Bono O.R. is a scheme operated by The OR Society that connects professional analysts with short term projects in third sector organisations in the UK. 

Projects require skilled professionals who work in operational research, analytics or related professions. If you have the skills required for a project, we’d love to hear from you.

Please find details of a new project below that we are seeking a volunteer(s) for.

Redbridge CVS

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:
To support the local voluntary sector.

Main activities of the organisation:
Weekly newsletter, website, bi-monthly magazine, training, fundraising advice, Volunteer Centre, development advice, health awareness and fitness projects, representing sector with public sector partners, room hire.

Project summary:

Project: Market Segmentation and Analysis for Training Courses: Analyse training course booking data in order to better understand and segment our potential market.

Time commitment: approx. 3 days


Location: This project can be carried out REMOTELY. Ilford, IG1 1BA

Please read project scope  and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Friday 2^nd September (please not the deadline has been extended due to annual leave over the summer holiday).


Please note this project is suitable for an individual or pair of analysts. If you would like to volunteer on a project but are not able to commit to the full time requirement please let me know as it may be possible to pair you up with another analyst.  Lastly if you would like to work on a project with the support of a mentor please do specify in your application and I can try to arrange this.


I look forward to hearing from you and once again thank you for your help and support.For further information about the scheme please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Probono  

Follow me on  twitter and LinkedIn 

Volunteer(s) required: Market Segmentation and Analysis for Training Course

Pro Bono O.R. is a scheme operated by The OR Society that connects professional analysts with short term projects in third sector organisations in the UK. 

Projects require skilled professionals who work in operational research, analytics or related professions. If you have the skills required for a project, we’d love to hear from you.

Please find details of a new project below that we are seeking a volunteer(s) for.

Redbridge CVS

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:
To support the local voluntary sector.

Main activities of the organisation:
Weekly newsletter, website, bi-monthly magazine, training, fundraising advice, Volunteer Centre, development advice, health awareness and fitness projects, representing sector with public sector partners, room hire.

Project summary:

Project: Market Segmentation and Analysis for Training Courses: Analyse training course booking data in order to better understand and segment our potential market.

Time commitment: approx. 3 days


Location: This project can be carried out REMOTELY. Ilford, IG1 1BA

Please read project scope  and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return to me along with your CV by midday on Friday 2^nd September (please not the deadline has been extended due to annual leave over the summer holiday).


Please note this project is suitable for an individual or pair of analysts. If you would like to volunteer on a project but are not able to commit to the full time requirement please let me know as it may be possible to pair you up with another analyst.  Lastly if you would like to work on a project with the support of a mentor please do specify in your application and I can try to arrange this.


I look forward to hearing from you and once again thank you for your help and support.For further information about the scheme please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Probono  

Follow me on  twitter and LinkedIn