Strategy planning and database insight: #skilledvolunteering for two projects

Pro Bono O.R. – enabling managers to make more effective decisions

Pro Bono O.R. is a scheme run by The OR Society that offers free support to third sector organisations in the UK. 

Please find details of a new project below.

Hope North East

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives: Hope North East exists to inspire, motivate, empower and support all those affected by substance misuse, to sustain long term recovery and lasting positive change.

Main activities of the organisation: We have a variety of funding from grants and a sub-contracting relationship. We provide psychosocial support through individual and groupwork, we have a housing team and provide supported housing and tenancy support. We have a volunteer coordinator with 34 volunteers as part of the organisation. We have 20 staff and 15fte.

Other relevant information: Hope North East started as a CIC and achieved charity status 2 years ago, it has had a rapid growth spurt 18 months ago which has left areas of the organisation in need of development and modernization. There is no strategy in place and I feel we need support to work up the beginnings of a strategy which informs future workstreams.

Project summary:

Project: Facilitating strategy planning: To aid the CEO, trustees and staff to develop a 3-year strategic plan

Time commitment: approx. 2 days

Location:  Middleborough

Please read the 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 31^st August 2015.

This project is suitable for an individual volunteer or pair of analysts.  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.  Lastly, if you are interested in working on a project but cannot meet the deadline specified please do register your interest in the first instance before the deadline.

We are still looking for volunteers for the following project:

Big Issue

Information about the organisation:

Main activities of the organisation: Enabling Big Issue vendors to access a wide range of ‘support’ agencies that will help them journey away from homelessness.

Charitable objectives: The relief of poverty with particular reference to the needs of homeless persons.

Other relevant information: Big Issue are seeking to gain further insights into the data that we hold on our supporters which, in turn, we hope leads to further growth again regular committed income (monthly direct debits) and seasonal appeals. The CRM database that we use is ‘Raiser’s Edge’

Project summary:

Project: Gaining insight from a CRM database: To analyse supporter data held on a Raiser’s Edge CRM database to gain insights that will help identify and target opportunities to grow income.

Time commitment: approx. 2 ½ days on site

Location:  London (SW8 2LN)

Please read the 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 17^th August 2015.

This project is suitable for an individual volunteer or pair of analysts.  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.  Lastly, if you are interested in working on a project but cannot meet the deadline specified please do register your interest in the first instance before the deadline.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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

Kind regards

Felicity McLeister

O.R. Pro Bono Project Manager

(Mon, Tue & Wed)
Direct Tel +44 (0)121 234 7826, Main Tel +44 (0)121 233 9300

If you are not already a member of The OR Society and are interested in joining please visit https://www.theorsociety.com/ or send an email to carol.smith@theorsociety.com

Additionally you may be interested in becoming a member of our Third Sector Special Interest Group (ORiTS). For more details visit:  https://www.theorsociety.com/Pages/SpecialInterest/ORThirdSector.aspx

Other webpages that may be of interest:

http://probonoor.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.theorsociety.com/Pages/Probono/Probono.aspx
http://www.LearnAboutOR.co.uk
http://www.ScienceofBetter.co.uk

Supporting volunteers

In order for skilled volunteering to be successful, for both the volunteer(s) and the recipient organisation, it is essential to provide good support.

When I first took on the role of Pro Bono O.R. Project Manager I put a lot of processes and systems in place to ensure this. From project guidelines, project proposal forms, case study templates and feedback forms there is plenty of information for both the volunteers and organisations to refer to. Additionally I ensure I check in with the volunteers and organisations on a regular basis to see how the projects are going.  Keeping an open channel of communication is key.

I was really pleased to receive this feedback from a volunteer who has just completed a project with Elfrida Rathbone Camden:

 'I found all of the templates provided by The OR Society really helpful, right from the project proposal in the initial stages and the feedback forms at the end. I also found it extremely helpful that Felicity would check in on our progress from time to time, as it would often serve as a good reminder if we had not worked on it for a while.'

Supporting volunteers and keeping them engaged and appreciated is something I am very keen to do and would welcome any ideas on what others do to do this.

Further information on the Pro Bono O.R. scheme can be found here: http://ow.ly/QdMy7

How volunteering will lift your firms performance

There is increasing evidence to suggest how good skilled volunteering can be for the volunteer and the recipient organisation.

Additionally our feedback has shown a big benefit to organisations that send volunteers to carry out skilled volunteering as part of their CSR initiative.  The best example to date is a team of skilled volunteers who carried out a project with RSPCA.  The team were from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (part of GORS - The Government Operations Research Service).  You can read about their experience here

The article below from Cranfield Trust explains further how volunteering can lift you firms performance:

http://cranfieldtrust.org/article/2015/jun/24/how-volunteering-will-lift-your-firms-performance

If you work for an organisation that has operational researchers/analytical staff then you could benefit from signing up to Pro Bono O.R.

For other more general skilled volunteering opportunities please visit:
Career Volunteer
Cranfield Trust
Reach Skills

Measuring Impact: recommended resources #ORblog

O.R. in the Third sector

Measuring impact: sources of information

1. There is an enormous amount of material available on this topic. If your project requires impact measurement, outcomes measurement or evaluation, you should first review as much of the material below as you have time for – the charity may well be aware of it, even if you aren’t. CES and NPC, in particular, are well known in the charity world and are partially responsible for the recent increased importance attached to impact measurement and evaluation.

Outcomes, impact, evaluation

2. Some organisations use these terms interchangeably, some don’t – there is not much consistency. A useful guide to the terminology is produced by the Big Lottery Fund; worth reading if only because you may have been asked to undertake the analysis to support an application for funding to Big Lottery or to another funder that takes a similar approach. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/er_impact_measurement.pdf
3. Optional extra reading, or for reference if you feel the need: http://www.jargonbusters.org.uk/

Charities Evaluation Services http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/tools-and-resources

4. CES have useful material on planning for monitoring and evaluation, and outcomes and outcome indicators
5. They discuss purpose of evaluating impact:

5.1  reflect on and develop work

5.2  report to funders

5.3  identify gaps in services

5.4  bid for new work

and have a nice template (used by a Pro Bono O.R. volunteer carrying out a project for Elfrida   Rathbone Camden) demonstrating impact and effectiveness.

Outcome	Outcome indicators	Data collection	When and who by	How this will be used

Impact measurement and ‘theory of change’

6. The charity/think-tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) has been instrumental in promulgating the importance of impact measurement.  Its methodology, based on the idea of a ‘theory of change’ (a mapping of actions to outputs and outcomes which should be a familiar way of looking at the world to an O.R. professional), is now widely accepted. It is described in: http://www.thinknpc.org/publications/npcs-four-pillar-approach/
7. For more tools:  http://www.thinknpc.org/blog/7-practical-outcomes-tools/
8. To read about different approaches in practice: http://socialvalueint.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/SIAA-Challenge-Report_2014.pdf

Social return on investment (SROI)

9. SROI is a principles-based method for measuring extra-financial value (i.e., environmental and social value not currently reflected in conventional financial accounts) relative to resources invested. It can be used by any entity to evaluate impact on stakeholders, identify ways to improve performance, and enhance the performance of investments.  Useful introductions are:

9.1 http://socialvalueuk.org/

9.2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_return_on_investment

9.3 http://evpa.eu.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/SOCIAL-EVALUATOR-SROI-an-introduction.pdf

9.4 http://evpa.eu.com/publication/a-practical-guide-to-measuring-and-managing-impact-2015/

HMT Green Book: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-book-appraisal-and-evaluation-in-central-governent

10. The Green Book is a guide to best practice appraisal (before investment) and evaluation (post-implementation) of public sector initiatives, which applies equally well to any initiative where there is no market value of the outcome.
11. It covers:

11.1   Valuing costs and benefits where there is no market value (value, utility, welfare, well-being)

11.2   Weighting and scoring

11.3   Critical success factors (met or not)

11.4   Discounting

11.5   Risk management

11.6   Valuing risks (uses ‘expected value’)

11.7   Performance management and measurement (tracking the success of a policy, programme or     

          project in achieving its objectives and in securing the expected benefits)

11.8   Benefits categories:

11.9   Financial quantitative

11.10  Non-financial quantitative

11.11  Non-financial qualitative

11.12  Outcomes qualitative and quantitative

11.13  Objectives and outcomes; outputs and targets.

11.14  Social Cost Benefit Analysis which seeks to assess the net value of a policy or project to

           society as a whole

11.15  Utility: the satisfaction a person gets from consumption of a good, or to a change in their  welfare or well-being

Specific types of charity

12. If your charity works with offenders or their families, you should be aware of Clinks: http://www.clinks.org/support-evaluation-and-effectiveness/demonstrating-outcomes
13. If your charity works with young people, you should be aware of Project Oracle: www.project-oracle.com  and http://inspiringimpact.org/listing/project-oracle/
14. If your charity is involved in overseas aid or development, you should be aware of the Logframe approach (“Logical framework”, which you can find out more about via google): http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/PW77.pdf  and https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/253889/using-revised-logical-framework-external.pdf

Pro Bono Economics  http://www.probonoeconomics.com/

Pro Bono Economics matches volunteer economists with charities to address questions around measurement, results, impact and value. Volunteers produce a full, peer-reviewed report on each project, and all reports are published on the website, constituting a valuable resource.

Skilled O.R. volunteer required for project with Big Issue #ORblog

Pro Bono O.R. – enabling managers to make more effective decisions

Pro Bono O.R. is a scheme run by The OR Society that offers free support to third sector organisations in the UK. 

We are currently recruiting a volunteer to work with Big Issue.  Please find details of the new project below.

Big Issue

Information about the organisation:

Main activities of the organisation: Enabling Big Issue vendors to access a wide range of ‘support’ agencies that will help them journey away from homelessness.

Charitable objectives: The relief of poverty with particular reference to the needs of homeless persons.

Other relevant information: Big Issue are seeking to gain further insights into the data that we hold on our supporters which, in turn, we hope leads to further growth again regular committed income (monthly direct debits) and seasonal appeals. The CRM database that we use is ‘Raiser’s Edge’

Project summary:

Project: Gaining insight from a CRM database: To analyse supporter data held on a Raiser’s Edge CRM database to gain insights that will help identify and target opportunities to grow income.

Time commitment: approx. 2 ½ days on site

Location:  London (SW8 2LN)

Please read the 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 17^th August 2015.

This project is suitable for an individual volunteer or pair of analysts.  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.  Lastly, if you are interested in working on a project but cannot meet the deadline specified please do register your interest in the first instance before the deadline.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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

Kind regards

Felicity McLeister

O.R. Pro Bono Project Manager

(Mon, Tue & Wed)
Direct Tel +44 (0)121 234 7826, Main Tel +44 (0)121 233 9300

If you are not already a member of The OR Society and are interested in joining please visit https://www.theorsociety.com/ or send an email to carol.smith@theorsociety.com

Additionally you may be interested in becoming a member of our Third Sector Special Interest Group (ORiTS). For more details visit:  https://www.theorsociety.com/Pages/SpecialInterest/ORThirdSector.aspx

Other webpages that may be of interest:

http://probonoor.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.theorsociety.com/Pages/Probono/Probono.aspx
http://www.LearnAboutOR.co.uk
http://www.ScienceofBetter.co.uk

Episode 2 of #ORiginals #thisisOR #ORblog

I think this initiative to bring 'outstanding research into everyday language' is a fantastic idea and worth a plug on my blog.

The second instalment of #ORiginals looks at research using mathematics to analyse obesity.

To view the episode and see previous episodes please visit: ORiginals

ORiginals: a YouTube channel about outstanding research in everyday language #ORblog #thisisOR

Check out this blog by Laura McLay which announces the launch of the YouTube channel ORiginals.

The first episode has Laura McLay talking about her research on ambulance routing.

New episodes will be released on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Check it out on YouTube here