Reports Database

Workwise aim to successfully develop and train people with mental health problems in a genuine business environment to encourage self-esteem and independence through work, and thus contribute to their quality of life.

Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups (CCVG) was set up in response to the expressed needs of smaller community and voluntary sector organisations. It was originally established in the late 1980s as the Community Services Project 2 , before being founded as CCVG in 1990. It is the country’s first and largest shared services centre for the community and voluntary sector, with a slogan of “building stronger charities nationwide”.

Its vision is for “a future where charitable, community and voluntary organisations are empowered and enabled to help all people to have access to the range of supports they need to lead fulfilling lives” and its mission statement reads: “Carmichael Centre is a dynamic learning environment which builds stronger charitable, community and voluntary groups nationwide by providing the shared services, targeted training, good practice and governance support they need to build effective and sustainable organisations.”

Between June and October 2013, Auckland Museum featured Moana – My Ocean, a major exhibition exploring New Zealand’s unique marine environment. The exhibition followed a journey through five marine zones: Auckland’s east coast; the Hauraki Gulf; mid-water; the Kermadec Trench; and, finally, the marine life of the Kermadec Islands. By transitioning through these zones, exhibition visitors made an immersive and sensory journey from shallow to deep water, temperate to subtropical climates, light to dark, the familiar to the unfamiliar. They encountered extraordinary underwater worlds and learnt about human relationships with those diverse aquatic domains.

The SROI analysis provides strong evidence that Auckland Museum’s Moana – My Ocean exhibition created, or is likely to create in the future, significant social, environmental and economic value, for a wide range of stakeholders.

The Healthwise project, based at Goodwin Development Trust in Hull has requested a SROI forecast of its activity over a 12 month period, April 2010 to March 2011.

Healthwise aims to increase the knowledge, understanding, awareness and information about health issues for those people who attend courses which focus on leading healthier lifestyles. Participants undertake a basic level of training (Level 1 – Introduction to Health Issues) and at this point become known as Health Champions. They then have the opportunity to undertake Level 2 training (The Role of the Health Champion) and can choose to develop their skills as trainers by taking part in a Train the Trainers Course (CIEH – Level 3 Award in Training Skills and Practice) – all courses are free to the Health Champions, and travel and childcare is reimbursed for those taking part.

People who take part in the project also get 26 weeks of support from the Healthwise team, which can take the form of phone calls, e-mails and meetings, offering advice and guidance and further information about other training opportunities or relevant local events.

The project aims to encourage people to share the knowledge they have gained with friends and family, signposting people to support services within the city such as the Stop Smoking service, Action for Change, MIND, etc. Volunteering opportunities are provided for people who take part in the course, as well as the opportunity to work closely with the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) and become actively involved in decision-making processes and shaping service delivery across the city.

Shoreditch Trust was established in 2000 under the Government’s New Deal for Communities programme, to work to address severe disadvantage in the Shoreditch neighbourhood, south Hackney. It aims to help individuals, families and communities improve their quality of life by focusing on programmes that identify and address the root causes of exclusion and inequality.

Since 2000 the Trust has delivered over 400 projects. In its commitment to deliver meaningful change it established Blue Marble Training (BMT) as a food training programme. BMT seeks to address worklessness and adult skills deficiencies by offering various learning programmes including the delivery of an industry specific work based training programme. This programme targets individuals that are marginalised in society to provide them with a platform to develop careers in the catering and hospitality industries.

This report presents a forecast of the social return created by the STEPs (Supporting Tenants, Empowering People) service delivered by Gentoo Living. This service has been delivered by Gentoo, who was then known as Sunderland Housing Group since 2003.

STEP’s is the only young persons supported housing service delivered within Gentoo Living where three different levels of services are provided. All three services are included in the analysis.

The Scotia Clubhouse is part of the worldwide movement of ‘Clubhouses’ offering an important different way for people who suffer with severe and enduring mental health problems to contribute and engage with the world. Scotia is more than a “service” for this group of people. It provides an accepting environment which is to all intents and purposes a physical work place. People who access Scotia become its members and they are responsible for the operation of the Clubhouse. Staff are also members and there is a deliberate blurring of the boundaries between staff and other members. Areas of work include a cafe, learning activities, administration, finance and care for other members. There are deliberately not enough staff for the project to run, thus members have to be the main workforce, with staff being mainly facilitators. There is an active membership of around 160 people at any one time.

Healthy Living Wessex (HLW) is a social enterprise with established expertise in the provision of high quality and community focused services in Dorset. The focus of this evaluation study was on two HLW services delivered as part of Big Lottery funded Activate Your Life project between September 2008 and October 2010. These are:

• Lifestyle mentoring service
• Family Weight Management service

Both activities work with clients who have weight management difficulties and are likely to be overweight or obese. The services offer group and one-to-one tailored interventions to help people put their lifestyle goals into manageable action-focused steps.

Silver Lining is an enjoyable, accessible and confidence building music project supporting the health and well being of volunteers over the age of 50, care home residents and their carers. Professional musicians from The Sage Gateshead and volunteers teach carers new skills enabling them to enjoy well known songs with care home residents who live with dementia.

The project involves volunteers over the age 50 and aims to create sustainable relationships between them, care homes and carers. Volunteers and carers learn new skills enabling them to deliver music sessions in care settings, specifically, age appropriate songs known to the residents, connecting them to memories.

Funded two-year-old childcare in Cambridgeshire began in 2009 as part of a national pilot (Pilot) being rolled out by the Department for Children, Schools and Families . The intervention was targeted at disadvantaged families with the aim of improving outcomes for children and narrowing the gap in educational achievement between them and other children . Improved outcomes and support were also sought for families.

Selected children’s centres worked with disadvantaged families with 2-year-olds in their reach area, and the Early Years and Childcare Service identified high quality provision in the children’s centre reach areas to provide the childcare. The trajectory for funded places has gone from 120 in 2009 to 600 in 2012/13 and is due to rise to 1,200 in 2013/14. The SROI framework has been used to forecast the impact once 1,200 disadvantaged 2-year-olds are in childcare.

Working with both schools and educational centres across the UK Excite-ed provide training and support to adults who work with 7-16 year olds to provide activities in online game design, app development and programming. This enables them to deliver innovative clubs, known as “apps clubs” and curriculum programmes. Excite-ed also intend to form and develop links with commercial gaming organisations to bridge the gap between industry, schools and pupils.

By using popular technology such as app game design, Excite-ed aim to increase awareness and understanding of health, wellbeing, social and cultural issues amongst young people aged 7-16. Whilst promoting STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) skills and bringing different social groups together.

An online portal www.planet-excite.com showcases children’s online games as well as the apps developed by young people taking part in the Excite-ed activities. These app games are sold and 15% sales revenue is donated to the school.

Gardening in Mind provides the opportunity for people with mental ill health to increase their skills and knowledge through the development and management of allotment space. The food produced is sold to disadvantaged groups and the local community. The service is for people aged over 18 who are experiencing mental ill health.

This project combines the advantages of ‘green’ exercise with an awareness raising drive to improve knowledge of the links between nutrition, physical exercise and mental health and wellbeing.

The project site is a large plot made up of five allotments which provide a beautiful green space in the heart of the city. Vegetable beds are complemented by fruit trees, borders, seating area and a working water well. The plot, lovingly tended by service users, volunteers and staff, is a peaceful and tranquil environment which offers therapeutic, practical and social benefits to all participants.