Tag: value for money

Working Neighbourhoods Fund Project Study

Derrick Johnstone was commissioned as a Local Improvement Advisor (LIA) to help Communities and Local Government (CLG) gather a picture of the use and impact of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) as of March 2010, updating the findings of the WNF Evaluation Scoping Report, which reviewed progress in implementing the programme a year earlier. Derrick advised on the approach to gathering the data and drew together a report based on information collected by a team of LIAs. The report,  published by the Department of Communities and Local Government, WNF Project Study, highlighted a range of good and innovative practices and available evidence of impact.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.educe.co.uk/?p=267

West Midlands regional worklessness network

Educe facilitated a range of learning and networking activities on worklessness in the West Midlands, funded by DWP and CLG through Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM). The programme ran between September 2009 and October 2010, and sought to:
  • review learning and organisational development needs in tackling worklessness and impact
  • assist partnerships and practitioners developing the Future Jobs Fund, Work and Skills Plans and City Region planning on employment and skills
  • promote customer-focused innovation
  • help strengthen evaluation evidence and the transfer of effective practice
Activities included:
  • organising a regional conference, ‘Tackling Worklessness in an Age of Austerity’ (July 2010) to establish what ‘Total Place’ (TP) means in tackling worklessness, what can be learnt from the TP pilots and relevant experience in the region (featuring Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire), and what actions are needed to drive greater impact and efficiency
  • providing advisory support for the City Region MAA Employment and Skills Plan on the evidence base, data sharing, planning, commissioning, and engagement of ‘wraparound services’ (especially health and housing) alongside mainstream employment and skills delivery
  • facilitating a regional Future Jobs Fund (FJF) network bringing together local authorities,  voluntary organisations and social enterprises with contracts to deliver FJF in the region.
Derrick Johnstone also ran a series of four workshops to support the preparation of Local Economic Assessments in the region, on themes of Worklessness; Sustainable Economic Prosperity; and Forecasts and Scenarios. These were promoted by West Midlands Leaders Board, REDOG (the Regional Economic Development Officers Group) and IEWM.Other elements of the worklessness network programme included:
  • Good Practice Review: pilot project being undertaken by RegenWM to work with practitioners to gather evidence of good practice in removing barriers to employment and increasing outcomes for particular groups, and how best to spread and embed ‘what works’.
  • Cannock Chase ‘demonstration project’ which has brought local partners together to use customer insight techniques to improve multi-agency service delivery.
  • evaluating-cost-effectiveness-of-worklessness-interventions: literature review and guidance prepared by West Midlands Regional Observatory
The programme was shaped by a regional steering group and linked in to the West Midlands Economic Inclusion Panel.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.educe.co.uk/?p=277

Value for money in partnership working

Challenges in determining value for money in partnership working have come up repeatedly in our work through Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) with local authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships. We have delivered workshops on the subject, along with a digest of on-line material on VfM, especially relating to research and tools which aid assessment of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit (download  pdf 177 KB).An earlier briefing for IEWM provides background on the theme of VfM in partnership working (download pdf 176KB)

Permanent link to this article: https://www.educe.co.uk/?p=260

Good practice in data sharing

Problems with data sharing continue to be raised as a serious obstacle to developing effective, joined-up services to tackle worklessness at local level. Adverse consequences can include poor targeting of services, weak referral systems, duplicated provision and difficulties in determining value for money.This guide on Good Practice in Data Sharing ( 840 KB), published by Local Government Improvement and Development (now Local Government Association) in May 2010:
  • sets out the ways in which shared data can contribute in tackling worklessness
  • illustrates what can get in the way of data sharing – and what lies behind this
  • draws distinctions between different types of data sharing, and the importance of personal consent
  • explains the legal basis for data sharing around worklessness, including that affecting what DWP can and cannot share
  • highlights good practice and explores data sharing as partnership in action.
This was one of two How To guides produced by Educe for LGID, part of the series funded by DWP and CLG following the Houghton ‘Tackling Worklessness’ Review (TWR). It drew on the CLG/DWP Data Sharing Pilot Programme (a TWR project) and earlier work by Educe on Data Sharing for Neighbourhood Renewal. It was written to complement the DWP guidance on data sharing and worklessness and on data sharing and social security data. Note also that DWP are now making small area benefits data available (reducing the need for data sharing requests) – see their page on Output Area data.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.educe.co.uk/?p=257

Locality Working in West Cumbria

This Local Improvement Advisor assignment sought to help mainstream service managers in West Cumbria:
  • consider and apply the learning from neighbourhood management pilots in Workington and Whitehaven, and
  • develop skills in assessing cost-effectiveness and applying collaborative techniques for service improvement.
With the decisions to create Local Strategic Partnerships in Copeland and Allerdale and disband the West Cumbria Strategic Partnership, the project shifted to the introduction of locality working in both Districts, including a Cumbria pilot involving Allerdale District Council and the County Council. In this, its main focus became drawing the lessons from the neighbourhood management initiatives.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.educe.co.uk/?p=253

Learning to Deliver resources

Learning to Deliver – support for LSPs and LAAs in the West Midlands

As part of our work for the Learning to Deliver programme (Improvement & Efficiency West Midlands), we produced a series of topical briefings relevant to the work of partners in LSPs. These included:

Five Steps to Better Outcomes ( pdf 583KB): a guide to delivery planning, assisting local partners in making a success of Local Area Agreements, working out how best to achieve community outcomes. These were produced between 2008 and 2010 for Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.educe.co.uk/?p=131