The Road Ahead 2022 – how Pro Bono OR can support charities

Written by Ian Seath, Pro Bono OR Steering Group

In January, NCVO launched their “The Road Ahead 2022” report. It’s their annual analysis of the biggest trends, opportunities and events that will impact on charities and volunteering in the year ahead. This latest report identifies areas of stability as well as trends that go beyond the pandemic.

The report uses the well-known PESTEL framework to identify the key factors affecting the third sector. (PESTEL = Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) 

In this article, we build on the Road Ahead Report and highlight how Pro Bono OR (PBOR) can support charities and enable them to capitalise on 2022’s opportunities.

Political stability

The Road Ahead report suggests we’re in for a period of political stability with a General Election not expected before 2023. However, that was written before “party-gate” and the recent reshuffling of deckchairs at No. 10 Downing Street.

Despite all this apparent division and polarisation within society, charities often play an important role in bringing people together. Many of our PBOR strategy projects with charities adopt collaborative approaches for engaging with a range of stakeholders to bring about a whole-systems view of how best to make an impact. We’re also currently facilitating a project with a charity to improve their approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. And, it’s important to state that the OR Society is committed to EDI in all its activities. As far as our volunteers are concerned, we want to ensure that our project opportunities are accessible to our diverse pool of talent.

Economic situation

It’s already becoming obvious that, as we come out of pandemic restrictions, people are going to be faced with a tougher economic climate. Energy bills are going up significantly, inflation is rising, and a Bank of England spokesperson said people should not expect pay rises. That all suggests there will be even more demand for the work of charities that help address deprivation and poverty. The so-called Levelling-up Agenda may also require charities to step up their services in some areas of the UK or seek new sources of funding as the government places more emphasis on infrastructure investment. 

PBOR projects can, for example, help charities improve the logistics of distribution (food, clothes), with analyses to optimise stock levels, distribution routes and the location of shops or storage facilities. Charities may need to be looking at how they can cope with more clients/demands for their services and PBOR projects can help with this too.

With charities also facing a tougher economic outlook, many will also want to look at their internal efficiency and costs of delivering services to their beneficiaries. Process analysis, activity costing and process redesign projects are regularly undertaken by our volunteers, leading to cost savings or capacity increases.

Social drivers

Over the past 2 years the UK has seen a change in the pattern of volunteering and, given a likely hybrid model of working, it is likely this will continue. Formal volunteering through charities has declined but many people are engaged in volunteering by way of social support for vulnerable people and mutual aid within their local community. 

PBOR has a pool of around 1000 volunteers so one of our challenges is to generate enough projects to make use of this resource. We would be keen to hear from charities that work in local communities who might benefit from support from an OR person to help with their strategy, operational delivery or evaluating impact.

Technology

Over the past 2 years, virtually all of us have made the move to online working, using a range of cheap and accessible technology. Digital transformation has happened much more quickly than anyone would have anticipated. For some charities during lockdowns, IT tools have enabled them to reach new beneficiary groups who might have previously been hard to reach. There is much talk of AI and machine learning but many of the charities we have worked with have benefitted from our volunteers’ ability to develop measurement, analysis and reporting tools using readily available software such as Excel. While we are not usually able to advise on specific software solutions that might help address a charity’s problems, our volunteers have carried out process definition and improvement projects in preparation for automation.

We’ve also helped charities with contact centres with modelling tools to improve call-handling response times and to optimise shift patterns to match demand more effectively.

The environment

We have experienced massive changes in work and travel patterns over the past 2 years with associated (albeit temporary) reductions in emissions, for example. Most of the focus of environmental advocacy and sustainability has, hitherto, been in the private and public sectors. Much of the third sector is playing catch-up, but, with its values-driven culture it is well placed to take on the challenge.

Legal factors

The Road Ahead Report says one of the key things for charities to look out for in 2022 and further ahead is the number of changes to charity law arising from the Charities Bill that is currently progressing through parliament. Proposed revisions to the Human Rights Act may also be of concern to some in the sector.

PBOR projects with charities who want to re-examine their strategy and delivery models continue to be a recurring theme for us and our volunteers have designed and facilitated a wide range of strategy review processes. These range from relatively simple Trustee Awaydays to more extensive SWOT analyses and Rich Picture models of stakeholders and beneficiaries.

The Road Ahead with PBOR

As we move out of Winter and continue to see declining Covid-19 hospitalisation levels, it looks like 2022 is going to be a very different year to 2021. PBOR is well-placed to support a diverse range of charities across the UK. Our pool of volunteers is skilled at carrying out research and analytical projects, either wholly from home, or in-person, depending on what works best for their charity partner.

Get in touch…

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

Marathon Kids UK – The Future of Donations

Project Summary

Working with the organisation, identify a set of feasible revenue generation alternatives and test these out.

Project description

Marathon Kids UK organises runs both in schools and in parks. It is looking to develop a revenue generation strategy to increase its income stream. 

It is anticipated that the volunteer will:

• facilitate a brainstorming session with the Marathon Kids UK team to identify a set of alternative revenue generation ideas to be tested out (some current ideas include weekly membership subscriptions and selling bottles of water at running sessions);
• set up tests of the different ideas at different schools/parks;
• compare results from these tests to see which ideas are most likely to be useful (some of the methods that could be used include cost benefit analysis, return on investment, sensitivity analysis);
• report findings and recommendations to the Managing Director.

Skills required: facilitation, design and analysis of trials, knowledge of techniques such as cost benefit analysis would be useful.

Location

The work can be done remotely. A visit to the office in Leamington Spa could be useful. 

Commitment

Time commitment to be determined by volunteer when completing detailed project proposal with Marathon Kids UK.

Desired project start date

As soon as possible.

Desired project completion date

To be agreed.

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 21st March 2022.

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

Marathon Kids UK inspires the next generation to become physically active through running. Marathon Kids UK believes that running has the power to show kids they can achieve more than they ever dreamed possible. The Marathon Kids UK programme and accompanying tracking systems encourages kids to set goals and run distances of multiple marathons over the course of an academic year.

For further information about Marathon Kids UK please visit www.marathonkids.co.uk

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

WECIL - Understanding demand

Project Summary

Improving service to customers by greater understanding of their requirements – in particular the “entry points” that they use to contact the charity.

Project description

This is an initial investigation into understanding the nature of all the demand placed on the charity: how does it arrive, when does it arrive, how may it be categorized.  It is expected that this first project, looking at the demand coming through the admin team and navigator service, may lead to further projects, investigating all entry points and thinking about the implications of what is discovered for data systems, staff, training etc. to ensure that the charity have their experts placed in all front-facing positions.

Location

WECIL are very happy to meet face to face at their premises in Bristol, but this is not a requirement.  The project could be done completely remotely. 

Commitment

Time commitment to be determined by volunteer(s) when completing detailed project proposal with WECIL. The volunteer(s) may need to consider allowing two half-days for briefing and de-briefing.

Desired project start date

As soon as possible.

Desired project completion date

To be agreed.

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 Friday 18th February 2022.

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

WECIL are a user led organisation dedicated to supporting independent living to create a more inclusive society. WECIL grew out of a need for disabled people to manage and run their own services. Twenty five years later, they've grown to be one of the country’s largest Centres for Independent Living - supporting disabled people with a wide range of services.

For further information about WECIL please visit www.wecil.co.uk

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

British Red Cross - Crisis Response

Project Summary

Help the British Red Cross Crisis Response Team identify potential improvements to efficiency and effectiveness.

Project description

The British Red Cross Crisis Response team manages people, equipment, space and resource to support people affected by emergencies – at individual, community, regional and national level.

The Head of Crisis Response Improvement would like to explore the scope for improving the service. Possibilities include, for example:  better use of forecasting to anticipate need; better understanding of fluctuations in number of volunteers available at short notice; better geographical and cross-departmental coordination to address those fluctuations; improved logistics including warehouse and emergency vehicle location planning. 

To help understand the potential for improvement, the charity is seeking a volunteer with experience of applying OR to emergency response, and in particular to NGO involvement in emergency response. The project is expected to start with a conversation with the relevant senior manager to confirm what is required and some of the potential, followed by a half-day workshop with a wider group of staff to give a clearer picture. This project would conclude with a report from that workshop. There may be follow-up work, paid and/or pro bono, but that would be decided by British Red Cross subsequent to the workshop.

Location

All work can be done remotely. 

Commitment

Time commitment to be determined by volunteer(s) when completing detailed project proposal with the British Red Cross.

Desired project start date

Initial conversation, as soon as convenient. Workshop: ideally late spring.

Desired project completion date

To be agreed.

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 Friday 18th February 2022.

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 British Red Cross helps anyone, anywhere in the UK and around the world, get the support they need if crisis strikes. They provide practical, local and emotional support to people around the UK. They provide international aid to help people in emergencies, support refugees and survivors of trafficking, and those facing chronic hunger. 

For further information about the British Red Cross please visit www.redcross.org.uk

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

In Kind Direct - Measuring the number of people we support

Project Summary

Review, and design improvements to, the way In Kind Direct estimates the number of end users benefiting from the distribution of products.

Project description

In Kind Direct (IKD) distributes consumer goods, donated by companies, to UK charitable organisations in its network working in the UK and overseas. Working with corporate partners, it also passes on discounts on other types of products and services to its charitable network. 

One of the drivers that motivates both IKD and their corporate partners is knowing that their work ultimately benefits people in need and the charitable organisations supporting them, and it is therefore important to them to understand the scale of benefit.

However, as IKD does not work directly with end users of products it can only use indirect ways of assessing their numbers.  This is even more the case with charitable organisations who act as ‘Coordinating Partners’ with IKD and distribute products out to their member organisations who in turn pass them on to end-users. 

The data to derive a figure for number of end users benefiting is currently collected through:

• a regular survey of IKD’s network;
• e-commerce data on number of charitable organisations receiving products through its online platform;
• manual records of charitable organisations receiving products through offline placements;
• a survey of Coordinating Partners;
• take up of some of the ‘affiliate’ products and service discount schemes.

The volunteer(s) are required to review the current methodology, the nature of the data, how the data collected is analysed and used, and whether there are any alternative sources of data that IKD could make use of, in order to make recommendations for whether and how IKD can develop more robust and dynamic measure(s) of the number of end users benefiting.

The expectation is that the deliverables will be a re-designed questionnaire, with associated recommendations for analysing the returns; re-worked calculations using IKD’s existing data and additional data sources to get an even better measure; and recommendations for other measures for number of end users benefiting in conjunction with the number of people receiving products.  However, this may be adjusted in the detailed project scoping or during the project.

The project could readily be undertaken by a single volunteer, but may also suit two volunteers working together.

The project will particularly suit a volunteer with experience of performance or outcome measurement.

Time commitment: The actual time required will need to be agreed during the detailed scoping meeting between the volunteer(s) and IKD; and will depend on how well the existing methodology stands up to external scrutiny.  It may be as little as two person-days, and is not expected to exceed five person-days unless the recommendations include extensive questionnaire piloting, post-questionnaire analysis and review, or alternative non-questionnaire methods recommended

Location: The work can be done remotely.

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 Wednesday 5 January 2022.

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: 

In Kind Direct is the UK charity distributing consumer goods donated by companies to UK charitable organisations working in the UK and overseas. Founded in 1996 by HRH The Prince of Wales, they offer a simple solution to connect companies and their products to thousands of charities, community groups, foodbanks and schools supporting our communities. Together they make a difference to 174,000 people each week.

For further information about In Kind Direct please visit www.inkinddirect.org

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

British Trust for Ornithology - Ways of Working Review

Project Summary

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has established a Ways of Working (WOW) Group and would value some OR volunteer input to help with a project to improve project processes. 

Project Description

The BTO is a UK charity that focuses on understanding birds and, in particular, how and why bird populations are changing. Their vision is of a world where people are inspired by birds and informed by science. BTO has a new CEO who is looking into improving ways of working. 

The organisation has identified some challenges in the way research projects are initiated, prioritised and allocated to scientists. Work comes in from multiple sources, with competing priorities, but there is a lack of coordination of resource planning and work allocation. MS Project is used for overall tracking of projects and timekeeping, but does not work well for resource planning.

The project would be suitable for a volunteer with experience of helping teams define and structure messy problems. Knowledge of resource modelling and/or managing programmes and multiple projects would be useful. 

Location

All work can be done remotely. The BTO office is based in Thetford, Norfolk.

Commitment

Time commitment to be determined by volunteer(s) when completing detailed project scope with the BTO.

The BTO would like this support ASAP in 2022. Possible support approach could be:

• Familiarisation with BTO & WOW group;
• Information gathering on current challenges with managing and resourcing research projects;
• Facilitating problem definition, scoping and prioritization sessions;
• Developing recommendations for ways forward;
• Presentation/Report to Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

Initial support to the WOW group could be 4-5 days.

Desired project start date

As soon as convenient, ideally Jan 2022, to be agreed between BTO and volunteer(s).

Desired project completion date

To be agreed between BTO and the volunteer(s).

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 Wednesday 5 January 2022.

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 BTO strive to achieve their vision by harnessing the skills and passion of thousands of volunteers to advance their understanding of ornithology, in particular, through their bird surveys and schemes. They combine the resulting scientific outputs with interesting stories and powerful images to engage more people in this work and to inspire people to take action. Working in partnership with volunteers, they have been monitoring the UK’s birds since 1933 and have extended their coverage to include other wildlife too.

For further information about the BTO please visit www.bto.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

Porchlight - A Better Helpline: improving the effectiveness and efficiency of call response

Project Summary

Review the data produced by Porchlight’s helpline system, and advise on its use; especially to improve triaging of callers, and better match staffing to demand. 

Project Description

The first contact that most potential clients have with Porchlight is through Porchlight’s helpline (which Porchlight also operates on behalf of other homeless services in Kent). 

People call with a wide variety of needs, which can vary from routine non-urgent to high-risk, such as those who may be suicidal or at imminent risk of violence in the home.

Porchlight would like to systematically analyse the data available from the telephone system, and understand how it can be used to support planning and decision-making. In particular Porchlight would like to use the data (and if necessary collect additional data) to:

• review and improve the triage and signposting practices, to ensure that the right response service is engaged, and with the appropriate level of urgency;

• improve the match of staffing to caller demand; including understanding how operational decisions (for example introducing an extra service, or having an awareness-boosting campaign) affect numbers and types of callers, and how that can be managed.

The project could readily be undertaken by a single volunteer, but may also suit two or more volunteers working together. It may also be undertaken in stages, with data analysis as the first stage, and subsequent stages including triage and staffing taken forward in the light of that analysis.

The project will particularly suit a volunteer with experience of modelling and analysing call centre operations, but as long as the volunteer has experience of appropriate consultancy, modelling and analysis methods, specific call centre experience is not necessary. 

Location

All work can be done remotely. Porchlight is based in (and serves) Kent, and staff would welcome physical meetings with anyone based within easy travelling distance.

Commitment

Time commitment to be determined by volunteer(s) when completing detailed project scope with Porchlight.

Desired project start date

As soon as convenient, to be agreed between Porchlight and volunteer(s).

Desired project completion date

To be agreed, but significant progress by end-March 2022, to support Porchlight’s retendering for a major contract.

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 13 December 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

Porchlight is Kent's leading homelessness charity. They work with people who are living on the streets, in supported housing and in local communities. They work with more than 9000 individuals and families every year. They help people to reach their full potential by breaking down the barriers to housing, mental and physical health, work, education, financial independence or daily living skills.

For further information about Porchlight please visit www.porchlight.org.uk

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