Home-Start Project 3: Definition of local demographics

Project:

Home-Start Kirklees (HSK) wants to create an up-to-date profile of their local demographics to inform grant applications for future projects.

Project description:

Home-Start Kirklees (HSK) is an independent charity which has been working with some of the most vulnerable families across Kirklees for over 20 years.  Our early intervention programmes reach the families others consider ‘hard to reach’ –  families with young children aged 0-5, living in very challenging circumstances and struggling to cope.  HSK helps these families to build their skills, capacity and resilience.  Since 1999, over 550 of our trained community volunteers have supported over 2000 families alongside specialised staff – 169 families with 356 children in the past year alone.

We need to create an up-to-date profile of the demographics of the areas we serve. When we apply to the larger funders (e.g. National Lottery, Charitable Trusts) they invariably ask for a profile of the local community. We know that there are several possible sources of data (e.g. Kirklees Observatory, CHIMAT, PHE reports, and research organisations such as the Rowntree Trust) but we need advice on putting an appropriate profile together that we could easily update from year to year.

Time commitment: Up to 5 days 

Location: All the work can be done remotely/virtually.

The project would suit someone with an understanding of the various sources of national, regional and local social care data/statistics. The output would be a current summary of relevant demographics (e.g. age, ethnicity, deprivation index) that could be updated easily each year.

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 16th March 2021.

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: 

Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. We are there for parents when they need us the most because childhood can’t wait.

Home-Start works with families in communities right across the UK. Starting in the home, our approach is as individual as the people we’re helping. No judgement, it is just compassionate, confidential help and expert support. Last year Home-Start supported 56,000 children in 27,000 families, in communities across the UK.

For further information about Home-Start please visit https://www.home-start.org.uk

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

Home-Start Project 2: Longitudinal evaluation

Project:

Home-Start Kirklees (HSK) wants to develop a process for recording and measuring the longitudinal impact of interventions to support future projects.

Project description:

Home-Start Kirklees (HSK) is an independent charity which has been working with some of the most vulnerable families across Kirklees for over 20 years.  Our early intervention programmes reach the families others consider ‘hard to reach’ –  families with young children aged 0-5, living in very challenging circumstances and struggling to cope.  HSK helps these families to build their skills, capacity and resilience.  Since 1999, over 550 of our trained community volunteers have supported over 2000 families alongside specialised staff – 169 families with 356 children in the past year alone.

HSK has been running for many years and is good at measuring the difference that is made between the start of a family becoming involved and the end of it, but we have not had the resources to follow through what happens to parents and children in the longer term. We know that our time is needed to identify and contact past clients but we need some help and guidance on how to set up such a project, how to conduct it and how to record and evaluate the outcomes.   

Time commitment: Up to 5 days 

Location: All the work can be done remotely/virtually.

The project would suit someone with experience of designing long-term impact studies. The requirement is to develop a process, not to implement it. This would include developing the structure, questions and sampling guidance.

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 16th March 2021.

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: 

Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. We are there for parents when they need us the most because childhood can’t wait.

Home-Start works with families in communities right across the UK. Starting in the home, our approach is as individual as the people we’re helping. No judgement, it is just compassionate, confidential help and expert support. Last year Home-Start supported 56,000 children in 27,000 families, in communities across the UK.

For further information about Home-Start please visit https://www.home-start.org.uk

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

Home-Start Project 1: Proving our worth

Project:

Home-Start Kirklees (HSK) wishes to investigate research being done in the Children’s Social Care area to provide them with evidence to support their case for future funding.

Project description:

Home-Start Kirklees (HSK) is an independent charity which has been working with some of the most vulnerable families across Kirklees for over 20 years.  Our early intervention programmes reach the families others consider ‘hard to reach’ –  families with young children aged 0-5, living in very challenging circumstances and struggling to cope.  HSK helps these families to build their skills, capacity and resilience.  Since 1999, over 550 of our trained community volunteers have supported over 2000 families alongside specialised staff – 169 families with 356 children in the past year alone.

HSK wishes to investigate research being done in the Children’s Social Care area to provide them with evidence to support their case for future funding.

The project is about what we call ‘proving our worth’.  Many people think of Home-Start as though it is a glorified playgroup when really its work is early intervention in families to avoid children from being referred into care.  The savings from early interventions can be significant. We have a need for someone to investigate research that is being done in this area to provide us with evidence to support our case.

Time commitment: Up to 10 days 

Location: All the work can be done remotely/virtually.

The project mostly requires desk research and would suit someone with an understanding of cost-benefit analysis and economic assessment of social care interventions. Numerous research papers are available and the volunteer would be required to review these, identify other source information, and pull together a summary HSK could use to support future funding bids.

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 16th March 2021.

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: 

Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. We are there for parents when they need us the most because childhood can’t wait.

Home-Start works with families in communities right across the UK. Starting in the home, our approach is as individual as the people we’re helping. No judgement, it is just compassionate, confidential help and expert support. Last year Home-Start supported 56,000 children in 27,000 families, in communities across the UK.

For further information about Home-Start please visit https://www.home-start.org.uk

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

New Project with The Trussell Trust: Help to end the need for food banks in the UK.

Project Green Revelation

Project:

Investigation of external data to discover factors affecting food poverty and using this information to identify areas where local initiatives may be needed.

Project description:

The Trussell Trust has recently launched a new and ambitious vision to end the need for food banks in the UK. The Trussell Trust has considerable internal data on its foodbanks but wants to use external data in order to gain further in-depth insights to provide strategic direction towards delivery of the vision. Details of this project will be negotiated with the client; it is anticipated that the volunteer will:

1. Discuss detailed requirements and available internal data with Dave Massey, the Head of Strategic Intelligence.

2. Investigate the relevant Trussell Trust data and reports, together with potential sources of external data, such as ONS data. 

3. Produce a detailed specification of the project deliverables and timescales, and agree this with the client.

4. Analyse the available internal and external data, producing results in the form of clear charts. Identify factors affecting food poverty and examine areas that are outliers. Identify areas where local initiatives are required.

5. As agreed in the specification, produce a written report with findings together with any other agreed deliverables such as a presentation of the findings and an accessible tool which the Trussell Trust could continue to use as data sources are updated.       

Requirements: 

Some experience in the use of government and other open statistics would be useful. Knowledge of which datasets are available and appropriate to use would be helpful.  Production of a tool in Tableau would be of interest.  This project would suit either a single volunteer or a team.

Time commitment: To be discussed and agreed with the client. The scope of the project can be negotiated to suit volunteer availability.

Location: All the work can be carried out remotely. 

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 11th December 2020.

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 Trussell Trust is a NGO and charity that works to end the need for food banks in the UK. It supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres to provide emergency food and compassionate, practical support to people in crisis, while campaigning for long-term change to the structural issues that lock people into poverty.

For further information about The Trussell Trust please visit https://www.trusselltrust.org/

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

New to volunteering? Some top tips for successful outcomes (Guest blog from Ruth Kaufman)

Many thanks to Ruth Kaufman OBE, FORS for writing this guest blog.

New to volunteering? Some top tips for successful outcomes

“OR” is one of the most adaptable disciplines imaginable, and its practitioners are among the most flexible, prepared to bring scientific rigour and methods to any question even if it is outside their previous specialism. Given this adventurous approach, it is always a good idea to see if there are any tips from previous explorers.

For Pro Bono OR, there are two types of novelty for many of us: working with charities, and working as volunteers. Neither of these are terribly difficult areas, but they both bring special issues which are worth noting. This post looks at working with charities for the first time, and a second will look at working as a volunteer.

In most ways, working as a consultant to a charity is no different from working as a consultant anywhere, and the same success factors apply. Here are five top tips for charity special features.

1) before you meet the client, do prior research. Make sure you understand the basics of the charity sector (there is a useful summary available as part of the Pro Bono resource set). Armed with that, find out, for your client: what are their charitable objects; who are their beneficiaries; what are their main funding sources; how many staff, volunteers, and trustees do they have. These will all be part of your client’s day-to-day reality, and they’re all things you may not have come across in a non-charity organisation, whether or not it is not-for-profit.

2) identify the stakeholders In particular, find out about how the work is split between paid staff, volunteers and trustees (who are usually also volunteers); and in particular how they manage the interface between staff and trustee board

3) understand clients’ time constraints. Charities – small ones, especially – are run by volunteers to an extent that is unthinkable in other organisations. Trustees, in particular, will have a significant role in decision-making, but will be doing this as a tiny part of their day-to-day life. Only rarely will a trustee have signed up in advance to commit a significant amount of time, at regular well-specified intervals, to the charity. This can also be an issue for paid staff, depending on sources of funding; sometimes there is no money for staff to do anything other than deliver services specified by the funder, so thinking about strategy or change is all done in ‘spare time’ snatched from other activities.

4) build communication and trust A critical issue here can be language. Many charities will have staff who are suspicious of ‘business agendas’ and anxious that commercial considerations may be used as an excuse for driving out the qualitative aspects of their work. This is mainly a matter of being sensitive to the fact that terminology or arguments that sound professional and normal in the business world may bring different connotations to people focused on helping beneficiaries. Of course it is important to say what you mean; just do it in ordinary human language.

5) co-producing with the client It takes two parties to deliver a successful consultancy project. Agreeing terms of reference, project plans and deliverables; adapting these as necessary; managing expectations; keeping commitment through to the end; these crucial success factors rely on both consultant and client . The difference with charities is that the charity is less likely to have experience of such things than other organisations you have worked with. Make allowances! Watch out for risks such as specification changes, project drift, misunderstandings, reprioritisation. Never put these down to incompetence or lack of interest from the client, unless the evidence for that is overwhelming – they are much more likely to be due to inexperience with project management, or the organisation’s vulnerability to external events temporarily blowing it off course. Responding with a suitable mix of empathy, sympathy, and professionalism will make all the difference.

To see some of the projects we've worked on and to find out how to get involved please visit the Pro Bono OR webpage

New Project with Blast Fest: Help this charity with their mission to explore science and technology through Black arts and culture

Making and Measuring Change: collecting data that counts

Project:

Blast Fest needs help with strategic planning, deciding how the impact of its festivals should be measured, and investigating data collection..

Project description:

The Blastfest Science Festival was first piloted in Manchester in 2017; by 2019 it had expanded to 4 cities. The Director now wants help with strategic planning for the next 5 years. 

The volunteer will need to work with the Director to plan and then run a half-day facilitation session (presumably online due to the current social distancing restrictions) which should cover strategy, impact and how this could best be measured. 

The Director would like a short report summarising the outputs from the facilitation session together with recommendations for data collection.

The volunteer should have experience of facilitation. Some knowledge of impact measurement would also be helpful.

Time commitment: 3 - 5 days 

Location: All the work can be done remotely (Blast Fest is based in Birmingham). 

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 26th June 2020.

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: 

BLAST Fest is a new genre of Science Festival where science and technology is explored through Black arts and cultural spaces. Piloted in Manchester Summer 2017, the 3-day event included a BLAST Marquee at the Manchester Caribbean Carnival - providing a weekend of fun, hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activities for everyone to enjoy. BLAST Fest leverages the cultural assets that already exist within local, diverse communities such as Caribbean Carnivals, and other cultural events. They have designed a method called ‘flipped engagement' where the ideas for science engagement are generated and initiated from within the community. We then ‘reach out’ to the STEM sector to help co-create an exciting programme of activities and events.

For further information about Blast Fest please visit https://www.blastfest.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: Help to carry out an organisation review for this women and children's charity

Hamlin Fistula UK 

Organisation Review 

Project:

HFUK are dedicated to restoring the health and dignity of women who have survived the horrendous – and preventable – childbirth injury: obstetric fistula. HFUK need a PBOR volunteer to help carry out a stock-take of its organisation and performance prior to recruiting a new CEO.

Project description:

With the current CEO due to retire in the next year, now is a good time to review HFUK’s organisation and performance. The review would likely focus on a SWOT analysis with a view to identifying options for:

• Recruitment profile of new CEO

• Opportunities for improvement of marketing and fundraising processes

• Targeting current and future donors

HFUK’s primary role is to raise funds for hospitals in Ethiopia and has been successful in this for around 50 years, but largely dependent on major donations made several years ago. The donor base is ageing and this presents a challenge for the future. The organisation is also immature in its use of digital technology and sees this as an improvement area/opportunity.

Project Stages: 

• Agree Terms of Reference with Chair & CEO

• Information gathering from staff & trustees (e.g. SWOT)

• Analysis of donors (donation patterns & demographics)

• Identify key issues and opportunities (report/present) 

This project would suit a volunteer with experience of helping senior managers with strategy (options/decision-making/systems thinking).

Time commitment: 3 - 4 days 

Location: All the work can be done remotely (HFUK is based in Birmingham). 

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 May 2020.

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: 

Hamlin Fistula UK is a charity dedicated to the treatment and prevention of childbirth injuries in Ethiopia.  The first Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia in Addis Ababa to help women in need, which has now treated close to 60,000 women. Today the organisation in Ethiopia has expanded and includes five regional hospitals, the Hamlin College of Midwives and Desta Mender, a rehabilitative farm and training centre for long-term patients. All centres are run sustainably in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health.  

HFUK believe in a world without maternal death, birth injuries or obstetric fistula, and support Hamlin Ethiopia to work towards this vision. 

For further information about HFUK please visit https://hamlinfistulauk.org/ or email Chair@hamlinfistulauk.org

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