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JOURNEY CASE STUDIES START-UP - BULLETIN

24TH NOVEMBER 2016


During September and October, the evaluation team have been to meet eight of the
organisations supported by the Local Sustainability Fund. We will be tracking their journeys
at two more stages in their project delivery, but we were keen to learn how the first few
months had gone and to gain a picture of the early stages, so we can see how things change
as a result of the funding. This short bulletin shares some of the insights from these first
visits with you.

We thought that it was striking that, only a few months in, organisations are already
beginning to feel the benefits of the work. In some cases, these are some very concrete
positive changes, whilst in others, the change has a softer dimension.
Its getting us to think differently, why we do what we do, what is the best way.

The way we fundraise..an increase in funding applications.

Implementing Salesforce [software] has brought staff together and engaged them.

LSF has helped us focus on the future, rather than just focusing on the present In
effect it has given us hope. Although my hope is mixed with a fairly clear awareness
of what is going on in reality.

Identifying future opportunities for SUSTAINABLE growth.

Improving practice and procedures.easier ways to communicate for our clients.

As with any change process, organisations are finding the work to be very thought-
provoking and challenging, in a way which may be difficult to start with, but ultimately is
constructive and taking them forwards towards their goals.

So far its been really interesting. Weve been put in a position where we are really
scrutinising what we do, which is a really good thing, really important. Also the fact
we worked really hard to get this grant and did get it, gives the organisation a lift.

Bloody hard work but worth it if we are going to survive.

Its been really positive. When we had to complete the ODT it just pointed out what
a great, resilient organisation [we are], we have a strong core and strong policies in
place It has given us this real positivity to go forward and build something more
sustainable.
Its taken us out of our comfort zone and laid us bare.its positive and excitingits
been a reality checka bit frighteningbut Im now feeling quite enthusiastic for the
future.open to all possibilities.

Organisations are taking an inclusive approach to their projects, using a variety of ways to
do this. In most cases, several people contributed to filling in the Online Diagnostic Tool,
and now that the projects are in delivery phase, organisations are using a variety of ways to
ensure that staff, volunteers and service users are hearing about what is being done and
have the chance to get involved or will be able to do so before long.

I cant do it on my own.

Were engaging the Board in the process, which is important.

[Success will be] Clients contributing to organisational direction.

The LSF is responding to organisations undertaking change projects for a variety of reasons
including: professionalising and modernising a well-established organisation; helping a
relatively young organisation to cope with rapid growth; supporting an organisation
struggling in the current economic climate to identify and adapt to new opportunities.

Its an opportunity to review where we are and plan for the next three to five years.
Its important to take stock and to look at sustainability for the next few years.

They have grown quite a lot and you can tell they havent quite managed to keep
up.

At the end of the day we are not market makers, so we have to adapt to where the
market is going to go.

Having an outsider come in to your organisation can be uncomfortable and there has been
some initial suspicion about what an external advisor can add, but organisations are
reporting many benefits. Input from local businesses has got off to a slower start generally
and there have been some difficulties where the initial advisor has moved on, and the
organisation has then had to build a new relationship with someone else. However, there
are positive aspirations as well as some benefits already.

We really like having a business advisor, helping you to think like a business, and
that the business advisor comes from the business sector, with experience from a
range of businesses and with good connections to bring to the organisation.
We are lucky to be working with a consultant who is very good and is very hands
on, which is what we needed.

[It has been] Less stressful than I thought it would be and that is all down to the
quality of the people we are working with.

We need to be having conversations with people at a high level, people with their
heads above the parapet. That is why it has to be consultants. We cant help each
other because we need people who are not part of the scrum.

Timescales
The delay in receiving the funding has been problematic for some organisations, but several
chose to stick to their original timetables despite the potential risk, because everything was
set up and ready to go, and in some cases, they felt real urgency to start to see the
intended benefits. Organisations are beginning to look towards the latter stages of their
projects and beyond; some are discovering new work that they would like to do because of
what they have learnt from their early work.

Emerging learning
Our visits came in the early days for organisations but they could already make suggestions
for valuable learning that might help other organisations about to embark on a journey of
change. Some of the key themes they emphasised were:

Defining a clear role for your advisor, so that you get the most from them;
Always keep in mind the goals that you have for the project, so that you keep on
track;
Be inclusive, so that you can benefit from other peoples experience and ideas, and
so that they know whats happening and are on board with what youre doing;
Be prepared to let go of some things and be open about taking on others.

Next steps
The start-up visits have provided a largely positive picture of LSF projects so far. The eight
organisations we visited were self-selecting and it is clear from the snapshot survey data
that many other grant holders are facing more challenges in their project including
balancing the demands of service delivery and the more reflective activities of LSF (see
Snapshot survey 1 - Bulletin). Our analysis of grant holder applications also raised a number
of questions about what exactly underpins the success of the role and relationship of both
the advisor and the business partner (see Understanding grant holders and their LSF
projects Bulletin). All of these strands will be further explored within the journey case
studies during our second encounter in January 2016 and in our final visit at the end of the
LSF projects. We will continue to update you as findings emerge.

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