Community Research A

Testing Different Models of Support: CASE STUDY
Community Research and Information Bureau (CRIB)
Provider Voluntary Action Lewisham (VAL)

Purpose The case study focused on the development service, which provides one-to-one advice
and support to TSOs. The CRIB service as a whole also includes an information element,
which focuses particularly on mapping to help groups demonstrate community needs and
promote the impact of local TSOs’ work.
Length of support There is no set time limit, though meetings tend to last around 1.5-2.5 hours. Beneficiaries
typically receive advice over a number of sessions over a period of several months.
How long it’s been run 12 months
How many TSOs can be 54 organisations were given some form of one-to-one support in the 6 months to May
supported? 2009.
Resource implications 1 full time member of staff
Beneficiaries New, small, BME and refugee frontline third sector organisations (TSOs)
Main reasons for accessing Most TSOs present with funding issues, but getting them ‘funding ready’ usually requires
support the provider to look at governance, including their constitution, management committee
and policies
Needs assessment / health check The service uses a ‘semi structured’ health check form that allows beneficiaries to add
their comments so that it is a better reflection of their specific issues
Development tools CRIB uses policy templates that are generally based on templates developed by
umbrella groups (including NAVCA and LVSC) but tailored to the local context. As a
principle of delivery it doesn’t just give templates out, but goes through them with TSOs
and decides with them which bits are relevant to the group.
Summary & background initially recognised the extent of the changes they would
need to make to get ‘funder ready’, and in both cases
Voluntary Action Lewisham (VAL), Lewisham’s Council for
the support helped them recognise the need to make
Voluntary Services, has been providing the Community
these wider changes.
Research and Information Bureau Service (CRIB) for 12
months. The CRIB service provides one-to-one advice,
What does the service involve?
support and information services to TSOs. This case
study focuses on the one-to-one element of the service, TSOs sometimes contact the CRIB development
which is delivered by a development officer. officer directly. However, the majority are referred from
various sources, including VAL, the Lewisham Council’s
Beneficiaries Community Sector Unit, the local volunteer centre
(Volunteers Centre Lewisham) and by word of mouth
The CRIB service targets primarily new, small, and
(previous beneficiaries referring peers to the service).
BME frontline TSOs. Of the three beneficiaries we
Most go to VAL because – as their local CVS – it is
interviewed, all were very small and new - two had no
available locally and free, both of which are important
paid staff and the other had one paid staff member.
for volunteer-led organisations with few or no paid
Two of them could be defined as ‘BME’ TSOs; one was
staff. The officer then organises an initial meeting to
specifically focused on delivering to black and ethnic
undertake a health check of the TSO and to get an
minority groups and another had significant BME
overview of the organisation’s stage of development,
representation on its management committee.
strengths and weaknesses and key issues.
Reasons for accessing support The officer then provides advice and guidance to the
organisation. This advice covers a broad range of
According to the development officer, a lack of funding
capacity issues: governance (setting up a management
is the main reason organisations first ask for support,
committee, writing a constitution), management
and all three beneficiaries interviewed said this was their
(developing essential policies and procedures, operating
primary motivation. However, our research also found
to high standards), input into funding bids, monitoring
that to get these organisations ‘funding ready’ usually
and evaluation. Invariably, the officer identifies key
required advice and guidance on a much wider range
actions for the organisation to take, and in most
of issues around governance, management, policies
instances this is followed up in subsequent meetings.
and procedures. Two of the three beneficiaries had not
The officer doesn’t use any formal action planning they gained through the support would help them to
processes, but rather uses the health check as the be sustainable in the longer term. For instance, one
basis for identifying the organisation’s main needs and mentioned knowledge gained around how to produce
priorities for support, and then building the action plan accurate budgets based on project specifications, a skill
around these. He felt that the huge diversity in needs – that would help them achieve full cost recovery when
varying from one-off support on funding applications to delivering public contracts.
developing a new constitution - makes any standardised
action plan template inappropriate. Critical success factors
• The service is accessible and flexible in that the
Outcomes development officer is available to support TSOs
For the beneficiaries we interviewed, support revolved at relatively short notice, is able to travel to TSOs’
around meeting funder/commissioner requirements, premises and is able to meet them outside of
and all beneficiaries successfully developed or refreshed working hours if necessary. All of this is crucial for
policies required or at least preferred by funders/ these organisations, which are often very small and
commissioners. In all cases, beneficiaries considered run largely by volunteers.
that the steps taken with support from the development
• The experience of the development officer is
officer had been, or would be, essential in securing
paramount; our case study suggests sector-specific
grant funding or a public sector contract.
knowledge and experience of working with similar
One of the three beneficiary organisations had groups are particularly useful.
subsequently secured a small grant from a local grant-
• The skills of the development officer were also
giving body. Given all had received the support 6
highlighted, and in particular ‘soft skills’. From a BME
months or less before we interviewed them, they had
background, the two BME beneficiaries emphasised
submitted few applications in the interim period, so it
the importance of his ability to work patiently
was difficult for them to judge the impact on application
through their issues and communicate in ways they
success rates.
could understand.
The support also added value in a number of ways. All
• The service is part of a wider support package
beneficiaries mentioned that their organisation had
delivered by VAL, which encourages more joined-
greater clarity on their vision and mission or a renewed
up support and tailoring of training content. Firstly,
sense of focus following support. One beneficiary said
participants of training workshops are often referred
that this greater clarity was pivotal in helping to retain
to the development officer for further support; those
management committee members at a time when they
receiving one-to-one support are also referred to
had been losing members who had lost their motivation.
training workshops. Secondly, the development
All three also gained skills or knowledge, including new officer often helps develop these training workshops,
ideas on management techniques, an understanding which fosters ‘cross-fertilisation’ or tailoring of
of legal requirements and compliance issues, and a workshops to the support needs picked up on
stronger ability to ‘sell’ the organisation to funders. through his one-to-one support.
All mentioned ways in which the new capabilities
This case study was prepared by Shared Intelligence for the Testing Different Models of Support report, which was
funded by Capacitybuilders. To read more case studies like this please visit: www.improvingsupport.org.uk

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Testing Different Models of Support: CASE STUDY

Community Research and Information Bureau (CRIB)

Provider Voluntary Action Lewisham (VAL)

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