Why measure social impact?

Photo by Steve Harris

The majority (68%) of social enterprises now measure their social impact, according to Social Enterprise UK's State of Social Enterprise 2013 Survey.

Social enterprises Poached Creative and Iridescent Ideas recently teamed up to find out why:

“As a social enterprise providing communications services to the social enterprise sector, we wanted to understand the motivations for social impact reporting and identify the barriers for those social enterprises not already doing it.” said Jessica Smith, Director of Poached Creative.

Together they decided to run a campaign to discover the answers to these questions. They produced a white paper on social impact reporting - Why impact? – and ran a twitter social debate using the hashtag #whyimpact.

As part of the debate, social entrepreneur Liam Black shared his top two reasons for social impact reporting on twitter: first, you owe it to the taxpayers who subsidise you, and second, you find out vital data about your business.

Social impact reporting can also help prove your business is making an impact, define the need and market for your services, motivate your team, help publicise your work and secure future business.

But with all these benefits, why are over a third (32%) of social enterprises still not measuring their impact?

The Why Impact white paper identifies that social enterprises can find social impact reporting time-consuming, expensive and confusing.

One of the confusing aspects is that there is no single social impact measurement, but a variety available. The main two are social auditing or accounting and social return oninvestment (SROI), with other methods usually a variation on these approaches.

As for being time-consuming and expensive, proportionality is key (according to think tank Demos) –the amount of work needed for evaluation should be in line with and not outweigh the size of the organisation. Larger social enterprises may have the capacity to take on a fuller SROI type of assessment, whereas smaller enterprises may need a simpler approach.   

Social enterprise Iridescent Ideas has addressed this issue, by offering their ‘simple’ social impact report service:

“Monitoring and evaluation methods to prove impact need to be simple, commensurate with the outcomes expected and, critically, make it easy to collect meaningful data. This takes planning, of course, but thinking it through at the start will mean that what is valued gets measured and what is measured gets valued.” said Gareth Hart of Iridescent Ideas.

To find out more visit www.iridescentideas.com/impact

Gaps in mental health services need urgent action

Mental health is big news at the moment and organisations that work with children and young people, in particular, are seeing first-hand the affect that funding cuts are having on waiting times and access to services.

Director of creative agency Mediorite, Lucy Ferguson, works with creative young people and shares an office with Poached Creative. She has been frustrated at the gaps in mental health services and recognised that colleagues in other organisations are experiencing the same problems.

She said: "I've got young people working with me who are in crisis, who need help now. I'm not a mental health professional. What are we supposed to do while they wait for mental health services?"

Outgoing president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Sue Bailey, last month described services in England as a 'car crash'. Her comments have drawn attention to a funding crisis that the British Medical Association's annual meeting was told would lead to "avoidable deaths and suicides".

At least 1,700 mental health beds have been closed since 2011 and this is putting pressure on in-patient teams to discharge patients as early as possible, in turn increasing the strain on underfunded community mental health teams.

Despite a Government commitment to make mental health as important as physical health, an April 2014 Budget decision has resulted in a cut to mental health services that's 20 per cent greater than the cuts to acute services, according to a letter from six leading mental health organisations.

And it's young people's services that are being hit the hardest.

Young Minds reports that more than half of councils have cut or frozen budgets for child and adolescent mental health.

The number of teenagers who have self-harmed has tripled in England over the last decade, according to a Health Behaviour in School Age Children report.

Early intervention when young people first experience mental health issues has proved to be the most effective, and cost effective, way to tackle the issues.

A report from mental health charity Rethink shows that early intervention that treats young people swiftly when they first experience psychosis, can save the NHS £15 for every £1 spent.

Yet 50% of early intervention teams have faced cuts in the last year.

All this leads me to the conclusion that the current approach to funding mental health services in England is fundamentally flawed. The Government needs to address funding for mental health services now, before more damage is done.

That's why at Poached Creative and Mediorite we're supporting Ben Jolly's petition calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene and properly fund mental health services for children and young people. Sign the petition now.

A Young Minds young people's manifesto in 2012 tells in young people's own words why this is so important. The issues haven't changed. Take a look...

Volunteering, free labour or a lifeline?

Picture by: Anil Parmer, Poached
Creative's fifth birthday party

It is often argued that volunteers are the backbone of the charity sector, according to the Guardian 91% of charities are entirely run by unpaid staff. However, volunteering is mutually beneficial to volunteers as well as employers, it is a two way stream, and based on my brief experience as a volunteer with Poached Creative I could argue that it is more rewarding to the volunteer than to the company itself.

I would not be exaggerating if I say that volunteering is transforming my life by the minute. 

  

Looking back at my life one year ago, I was in turmoil; depressed, experiencing all sorts of family conflicts, having to drop out of University, losing my flat, being imprisoned twice in the space of one year. My life was a mortifying chapter from a horror book. I was in an utter state of despair; I woke up every day thinking the End of the world is past noon. I would never have envisaged digging myself out of that hole.

However, I was very fortunate to learn about Poached Creative through The Big Issue on line journalism course. A course provided by Poached Creative in conjunction with the Big Issue; at the time I lacked the drive, and the motivation to start something new. I missed two initial induction interviews.  And when I thought that I messed it up for myself. The managing director of Poached Creative Jessica Smith contacted me again, and we scheduled another interview which this time I attended. I am ever indebted to her patience.

I then attended the six week Journalism course, which was a turning point in my life. Not only did I acquire new skills.   The whole experience profoundly impacted the way I perceived my future, it instilled a sense of optimism and hope towards the future, which incentivised  me to work harder and improve myself. The depression and helplessness I was feeling began to fade away by the week.

I successfully completed the course and progressed to a volunteering role within Poached Creative, which is a design and writing social enterprise.

Having something to wake up to makes all the difference, it drives you to work harder and open your eyes to opportunities you would otherwise have missed. It enriches your experience and boosts your morale.

Buy Social showcased to PR industry

The City of London Guild of Public Relations Practitioners and the PRCA held their first ever “Buy Social” forum, on 10 June, which aimed to persuade agencies and in-house teams to buy from social enterprises.

The event, hosted by Lloyds Banking Group, was attended by members from across the PR spectrum and featured a panel discussion and a showcase of social enterprises and networking.

Jonathan Chandler, Master of PR Guild delivered the opening speech and moderated the debate, which focused on identifying actionable next steps and addressing any concerns or issues arising from them.

Among the speakers were Matt Cartmel, Communication Director of PRCA; Suzanne Jones, Business and Support Director of City of London Corporation and  Celia Richardson, Director of Communications and Policy at Social Enterprise UK.

The Director of Poached Creative Jessica Smith also spoke to share her experience of working with the PR sector. She said:

"We work to put creative communications jobs within reach for disadvantaged people. You want to diversify your industry and we can help with that. Social entrepreneurs come from a range of backgrounds with experience in the media, corporate and charity sectors and we're keen to work in partnership with you on issues like this."

"Take a look at the directory and you'll see that there are social enterprises for almost anything you would want to buy. The most powerful way you can support the social enterprise sector is to trade with us."

The Buy Social Directory was launched on 4 June at the Guildhall by the Minister of Civil Society, Nick Hurd MP. To find out more visit http://www.buysocialdirectory.org.uk/ .

Mental Health Awareness at Poached Creative

I joined Poached Creative as a press office volunteer after three years of unemployment due to mental health difficulties.

I’ve been delighted to realise this is an office where I can be open about my diagnosis and some of the ways this impacts me, without fear of prejudice.   I am valued for my work and for what I bring to the organisation, not judged for my historical or current health status.

It’s hard to express how important this is for me, and how lucky I feel to have found such an opportunity.  Put simply, it is everything.

In the past I was told by careers advisors that it would be best if I kept my mental health history a secret from future employers and colleagues.  I know myself, and I know that doing that would only add to my anxiety in the workplace.

Feeling safe in the office, as I do at Poached Creative, removes a massive source of anxiety for me and actually makes it less likely to impact on my work.

I first realised that Poached Creative was going to be a safe place for me when I applied to join the online journalism course that they run with The Big Issue and which I completed in April, prior to starting work with them.  Before my interview for the course I looked at their website, and was impressed to read about Catriona’s experience with them utilizing the permitted paid work scheme, as well as Deputy Director Angela’s story of recovery from depression.

This told me that Poached Creative is a place which recognises the talents of those of us who have had problems with our mental health, rather than dismissing us.  It told me that I could be open with them, without being defined by my diagnosis.  They would look at me as a whole person, not just a label.

I now see this evidenced directly each day in the office.  Having stimulating and worthwhile work to do in a supportive office environment is helping me to regain my confidence and sense of self-worth as well as improving my skills for future paid employment, and I feel extremely lucky to be here.

Poached Creative Timeline

2009

• Jessica Smith (director) is awarded an UnLtd Level 1 grant to run a pilot programme for her idea to help long-term unemployed people gain work in the communications industry.
• Poached Creative is incorporated as a Community Interest Company.
• Angela Williams is recruited as Poached Creative's first trainee and the first training session with two trainees is held in Wood Green library.
• Poached Creative is offered a free space to train one day/week with Careers Development Group (CDG). Eight trainees complete the pilot training programme.
• Poached Creative forms a partnership with Lucy Ferguson of What’s Up Information (later YH! World and Mediorite) and take on former Poached trainee, Chris, as editor. Poached moves into their office in London Fields.

 2010

• Poached Creative and YH World take on their first member of staff, Kayla Whiting, through the Future Jobs Fund.
• Kayla receives funding for the Hackney Hounds project. With four young girls who were not in employment, education or training (NEET) she successfully delivers a short film, gaining local and national media coverage.
• YH World introduces Poached Creative to Hackney Council’s Discover Young Hackney festival. We produce the programme and deliver video training as part of the festival.
• Grant Kingsnorth (now writing and communications mentor) joins Poached as a trainee. Grant Kingsnorth begins writing for local independent newspaper, The Hackney Citizen and takes on paid part-time work with Poached Creative. We take on a junior writer for six months through the Future Jobs Fund.
• New clients include: Hackney Council, NHS Confederation and Plan UK.
• In total, 30 trainees gain skills and experience in writing, media and communications.

 2011

• Poached Creative delivers training for Hackney Council's Hackney Hosts ahead of the upcoming Olympics. Poached and YH World begin work with housing association Peabody, creating campaigns with young Londoners as part of its Staying Safe project.
• We also work with Heart n Soul's media team to co-create a website for people with learning disabilities about the upcoming Paralympics. Lem Leon, a YH World volunteer takes on a freelance role assisting with Poached training projects.
• We employ YH World's deputy editor, Michelle Stannard, as our writer and content producer.
• New clients include: Westway, African health charity AMREF, Dorset-based social enterprise Seamless, The Foundation Group and FARM Africa.
• Poached and Mediorite move into the office at Celia Fiennes House on Well Street, Hackney, where we still work today.
• Our in-house writing programme and volunteer cohort continues to grow. We reach a total of 65 long-term unemployed or disadvantaged people through in-house and external training.

2012

• Former trainee Appiah Sackey takes up full-time work with the NHS Confederation.
• In partnership with Mediorite, Poached Creative delivers journalism training as part of the BBC Radio 1 Hackney Academy ahead of the Olympics.
• Poached Creative begins working for Social Enterprise UK, creating the Buy Social campaign.
• Poached Creative takes on Lara Swansbury as project manager and writer to deliver key ongoing projects including Staying Safe and Discover Young Hackney. We now have a total of four paid staff.
• We join arc, BITCs support programme for social enterprises, where we meet new clients including Transitions, LKMco and Intercontinental Hotels Group.
• In total, we train 77 people through our in-house programme and partnerships with Hackney Council, BBC Learning and Peabody.

2013

• We start working in partnership with The Big Issue to deliver a series of photojournalism training courses for the homeless and vulnerably housed.
• Poached Creative South West is launched in Dorset, headed up by Michelle Stannard.
• Former trainees Angela Williams and Emma Sawyerr join Poached as Deputy Director and Proofreader & Quality Officer respectively, while Cardine Martin comes to us via DV8 Training to work as a Digital Media Assistant. 
• Poached Creative is listed on the RBS SE100 Index for UK social enterprises. We’re ranked at no.1 for marketing and communications and in the top 15 social enterprises in London.
• We work with several new clients, including iMPower, Clarity, NHS England, The Key, The Albany and City of London Corporation.

2014

• Poached marks its fifth birthday on 15th April with a party for friends, clients, staff, volunteers and trainees at Dalston Eastern Curve Garden.
• Former trainee Catriona is hired as a copywriter while volunteer Chris Hutchins joins Poached as Website Manager & Policy Officer.
• Our client list continues to grow. So far, we’ve worked on projects with new clients such as School of Hip Hop, Short Breaks, Hackney Health Hubs, Poole Passion, Iridescent Ideas and Richmond Park Fellowship.
• We form a partnership with Agile Collective, a web development cooperative, to work on SEUK’s Buy Social web procurement portal.
• We work closely with CAN to produce our first social impact report, due for publication in May 2014.
• And it’s not over yet…!