Supporting Change

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Supporting Change & Impact Report

St Pauls Community Development Trust

June to August 2013

In this, the final quarter of the Supporting Change & Impact project, Pauls DevelopmentAgency has been working with groups to review and finalise actions identified in their

plans. In addition to working with individual groups, we have signposted to, and facilitated

a range of well received training.

We delivered a further

Governance training session, as

the first was oversubscribed

almost immediately. We had

participants from nine different

organisations in attendance.

In addition, due to popular

request,we also facilitated a one

day Emergency First Aid at

Work certified training course,

where we had 14 people

attending. There was much positive feedback from attendees. We received many more

requests for this training than we could accommodate, due to the fact that the course was

fully booked almost as soon as the opportunity was advertised.

Of the first aid course, one attendee said Excellent days training delivered with knowledge

and enthusiasm that has given me more confidence to act if necessary.

In partnership with Citizen Click, we hosted a short social media training course,

comprised of three sessions and one one-to-one, the training. This was very popular and

was attended by 14 different organisations. The training gave an opportunity for

organisations to learn and understand the benefit of using social media and how employ it

effectively to promote their organisation and services.

We have been supporting Smart Women CIC (SMCIC) by assisting with reviewing their

governance arrangements, which were found to be not of a standard that would be

required by funders for applications such as Awards for All. We advised them on the key

issues and identified how they could be resolved.

We also advised them about some small grant funding opportunities that would be suitable

for their organisation. The group have been successful in winning a 1,200 grant from

Sparkbrook Community First. Their project will involve encouraging more young people to

participate in health & fitness activities, and to contribute to caring for and cleaning up theirlocal area. Smart Women organises regular trips for women and their families in order to


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raise money for their organisation. We advised them on the health & safety implications

and the process or risk management.

It is currently unclear as to whether there will be an opportunity to carry on working so

closely with Smart Women, but we do hope that there may be a chance of the group

linking with similar organisations, such as Saheli and Including Women!

Several members of the Saheli

Womens Group attended the

social media training course at

St. Pauls. Thanks to the training,

they now feel confident to

support and train volunteers,

who will in turn be able to work

with participants taking part intheir Barrow Cadbury funded

Active8 project.

We have also helped them in

getting their web page linked to

their social media pages, where

local women are now able to blog about local issues that affect them and use it to lobby

their local MP, encouraging them to take an interest. The need for both social media

training and an improved web presence were identified early on as their primary needs for

support in order to effectively deliver their new project, which they view as crucial to theirfuture development and sustainability.

We have also provided Saheli with information about how to implement the PQASSO

quality system and HR advice in relation to setting up appropriate contracts of

employment.

We foresee opportunities to collaborate with Saheli in future, for example in creating a

Balsall Heath web presence that many local groups could make use of. There is also the

strong possibility of working together on an application to the Time to Change fund which

is aimed at combating the stigma associated with mental health.

In this quarter we have worked with Elite Support by advising them about the Sparkbrook

Community First grant and how to make an application. They have continued to require

support with developing their IT infrastructure, needing to acquire equipment and be

assisted with technical support. We have put them in touch with St. Pauls computer

refurbishment project, where donated IT equipment is brought back into use for charities

and voluntary groups in the area. Technicians are also on hand to provide advice.


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As part of their identified training needs, Elite Support have attended both the First Aid and

the Governance courses that were delivered at St. Pauls. Beyond the project we

anticipate that we will continue to provide support, especially in relation to their IT needs.

We hope in future to be able to pass on cheap fully refurbished computer equipment to the

beneficiaries of Elite Support.

Despite the support that we have provided to the Ladywood Community Project, they

are currently facing real financial difficulties. Due to a severe lack of funding they have

regrettably had to issue redundancy to some of their staff. We have advised them about

and provided information on the Comic Relief grant opportunity. If they are successful it

will help them to continue for a short period whilst they pursue other sources of income.

We have supported them to become constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation

(CIO), which was the reason the approached us in the first place. Currently it seems

unlikely that there will be an opportunity for us to work with the Ladywood Community

Project beyond the end of August.

In this quarter we helped Including Women!

to recruit two new volunteers for their ESF

funded project, designed to support local

women to learn basic computer skills and as a

result, improve their communication skills and

self-confidence. We also helped Including

Women! to identify the training needs of thevolunteers. We then linked them with St. Pauls

who were able to provide free in-house training

in subjects which would help the volunteers not

only with their placement, but that would

improve their prospects for future employment.

We provided support to Including Women! with

the understanding and completing of ESF

monitoring and reporting forms, which can be

quite off putting to groups completing them forthe first time. We have also helped them to

identify a potential funding stream for which

they are eligible. The Global Fund for Women

is a publicly supported non-profit grant-making foundation that advances womens human

rights by investing in women-led organisations worldwide. It may be suitable for their next

project, which is about community engagement and involving women in responding to the

issues that face them in their local community.

We will continue to support Including Women! beyond the project, by providing office

space and access to meeting and teaching rooms. We will also seek opportunities to

collaborate on projects where possible.


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We have continued to provide

support to One Plot Farmers,

the embryo social enterprise food

growing and training

organisation. Through its growing

links with Balsall Heath City

Farm, One Plot has planted andindeed started harvesting some

early crops. The food has been

offered locally to St. Pauls

School and St. Pauls Nursery.

The new allotment formed part of

the Balsall Heath Britain in Bloom

entry where One Plot joined forces with the Balsall Heath Forum, Balsall Heath carnival

committee and St. Pauls to make sure that the area looked its best for the judges. The

main driver for entering the completion is to stimulate pride in the area, promote

community cohesion and encouraging residents to actively look after their gardens and the

streets where they live. We intend to work with One Plot beyond the life of the project as it

is already clear that the work will have a positive impact on the health & wellbeing of

residents. There is a strong possibility that the work of One Plot will fit well with the Balsall

Heath Forum, so as the project moves on we will seek to broker partnership and

cooperative work discussions between the two organisations.

We have continued to work with the Balsall Heath Forum, our local neighbourhood

Forum with the process of change management. A series of discussions and meetings

have taken place, and will continue to do so until

the end of August (and beyond). Support has

included identifying strengths, weaknesses and

gaps to enable the Forum to reach good decisions

in regard to how staffing should be reorganised.

We have recently assisted the Forum in making its

AGM arrangements, to ensure that theorganisation continues to meet and demonstrate

high standards of governance.

Following on from the excellent social media

training provided by Citizen Click, we have been

working with the Forum to make better use of

social media as a tool for publicising its activities.

We intend to continue this collaboration and are

exploring ways of creating a Balsall Heath online

brand identity.


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In J une we supported the Forum with the publicity, organisation and execution of their

latest Community Meal. It is a particularly important event in the areas calendar because it

is a celebration of the Heart of Gold awards. Active residents who have made a difference

to their neighbourhood were honoured and received awards that recognised their effort

(big or small) in making Balsall Heath a better place to live. Eight active residents were

chosen to be recipients of the award from a shortlist of an amazing 25 nominations.

The Balsall Heath Carnival

Committee has excelled itself

this year. The event which took

place at the beginning of J uly

was a huge success, judging by

the feedback received on the

day and subsequently.

Some five thousand residents

attended the event. We provided

significant support to the

Committee with all aspects of the

event, including fundraising and

securing donations. We managed to arrange for 35 volunteers (ourselves included) to give

up their time to support the event. The newly formed partnership between the Carnival

Committee and The Drum led to a vast improvement in the range of entertainment on the

day which was much appreciated by the audience.

By teaming up with Hope Volunteers from local

churches, hundreds of huge butterflies were made,

painted by children & young people and used to

decorate the whole area. This Carnival project

created a buzz across the whole area. The

partnership brokered between the Carnival

Committee and Balsall Heath in Bloom paid

dividends. Along with One Plot, they the combined

efforts of the groups led to the area lookingmagnificent.

Britain in Bloom judges were persuaded to take the

unusual step of coming to judge on Carnival Day

itself. We trust that this will lead to good publicity for

Balsall Heath at the announcement ceremony in

September. Fingers are firmly crossed in the hope

that Balsall Heath elevates its result from last years

Silver Gilt to Gold!


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Work with the Committee will continue, at least until November 1st which is when they

intend to hold their Carnival of Light Event. We will be advising on technical and safety

aspects of the event, which due to the nature of the site and activities is quite a complex

matter.

The Birmingham History

Theatre Company has now

staged its production of Lifes

Rich Pageant to great critical

acclaim. The three performances

attracted local audience of about

120 people who thoroughly

enjoyed the show. The support

revolved around supporting

volunteers to take part in the

event alongside the cast,

technical and creative expertise

(how do you get a glowing eyed,

yellow smoke breathing dinosaur into the hall?), access to the performance space and

support with creating and distributing publicity. Techniques for publicity included the group

making very good use of social media (posting photographs and comments online, sharing

snippets of video in advance and so on), thanks to the social media training provided

through this project.

We will continue to provide

support in the coming months

with three aspects of their work:

the Company have decided to

reprise the production in

December; we will assist with

the arrangements for their AGM

and election of officers from

amongst the committeemembers, and finally with

technical support and advice in

relation to the groups intention

to partner with the Balsall Heath

Local History Society to create a dramatic Ladypool Road Trail in September. Support will

include advising on how to recreate the 2005 class T4 tornado that caused major

devastation to homes and businesses locally Other aspects of the trail will involve

working with local shops on Ladypool Road to gain support for the project and to find

shops and restaurants that will willing to act as venues. Given the groups ability to bring

the history of the area to life, we will be keen to continue working together for the

foreseeable future.


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The Balsall History Local History Society is

making super progress with its Diamond Balsall

Heath project, thanks to the design and layout

support and publicity produced by the Balsall

Heath Community Newspaper. The fruits oftheir success can now be seen on their website

http://balsallheathhistory.co.uk/.

The project is based around identifying 60

objects with relevance to Balsall Heath. One of

our favourite panels relates the history of Sinclair

ZX computers.

The project has led to a lot of interest in the

heritage of Balsall Heath and what it means tobe a Balsall Heathan. This fits well with our aim

of promoting community cohesion within the

area.

We supported the group to setup an exhibition based on the

project and also to take part in

the Balsall Heath Carnival

where they provided a tea tent,

primarily for older visitors, but in

fact was visited by people of all

ages, who were very interested

in their display materials.

The History Society is excellent at working in partnership with other groups, which can be

seen by the links they have already made that are mentioned above. We will look for

opportunities to continue to work with and provide support to the Society in the future. We

are currently encouraging the History Society to take a more active role in the Hall Green

Local arts Forum, where they will have the potential to find more ways of collaborating with

local groups.
http://balsallheathhistory.co.uk/http://balsallheathhistory.co.uk/


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In reflecting on our work over the

course of the last year, we

strongly feel that the project has

been successful and useful to us

and the groups with which we

have been working for the

following reasons:

The training, free of cost to the

groups, delivered through project

has been invaluable; there are

currently relatively few training

opportunities that are free at the

point of delivery. We believe that some of the groups we have been working with would

have been unable, or unwilling to pay for training, especially as many groups are finding

that funding is very tight.

The training provided was very

relevant to the voluntary and

community organisations who

took part; it has helped them in

developing their understanding

of the importance of issues such

as governance and social media

in managing and running a

successful and sustainable

organisation.

Organisations have been made

more aware of funding streams

and what funders are likely tolook for in general, and where

appropriate specific, terms.

The chance for organisations to

meet and learn about each

others work has enabled them

to form links, hopefully leading to

mutual support if there is a

reduction in DevelopmentAgency services in future.


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We spent more time than

originally anticipated supporting

groups in putting on a wide

range of community events. We

enabled the sharing of

knowledge and good practice in

organising and running eventssafely and to high standards.

Whilst such activity was not

directly related specifically to

governance for example, the

rapport and trust that was built

seemed to help build groups

confidence in our Development Agency, and therefore help us to build good working

relationships. This has made it easier to discuss infrastructure issues where necessary.

The project helped us forge new links with voluntary and community organisations and

strengthen those that existed previously, in ways that benefit the community in which we

are based.

We are very likely to maintain

links with some of the groups

beyond the life of the project,

where there is a clear synergy

between organisations and we

can foresee the potential to

further our mission of working for

and with the community in

Balsall Heath and nearby areas

to help secure better

opportunities and quality of life

for all.

We are very pleased to have been part of the Supporting Change & Impact project. It has

been of benefit to the groups that we have worked with and improved our working

relationships with some local groups. We hope that there will be ways for the Development

Agencies across Birmingham to join forces in the future to cooperate and collaborate in

order to provide good quality services to the voluntary and community organisations with

which we work.

Hafizun Nessa

Ian Edwards

August 2013

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Supporting Change