Specification-Community-Development-Project

Ageing Better Middlesbrough Community Development Project Specification 1.0 Project overview and aims The Community Development Team will focus on empowering local older people to take action to reduce isolation and loneliness in their communities, and supporting individuals and groups to ensure activity is sustainable Development work will be driven by the needs of older people in communities and local people will be involved in decision making As part of the Ageing Better Middlesbrough Team, all Community Development Project staff will work collaboratively with other projects and project staff/volunteers to achieve the vision and aims of the project and wider programme The primary aims of the Community Development Project are to: Increase awareness and understanding of loneliness and isolation for older people in communities Increase the membership of existing community groups, and variety of groups available to older people locally, creating new sustainable groups only where gaps in provision are identified Explore and implement ways to make existing groups accessible, welcoming, and inclusive Increase older people’s awareness and use of digital technology, to reduce loneliness and isolation Increase the number of older people involved in taking action to reduce or prevent loneliness and isolation in their communities and support people to sustain their involvement in community activity and the Ageing Better Middlesbrough Programme Capture and share learning across the programme and adapt existing or develop new ways of working in response to the learning Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 2.0 Project delivery As a result of our learning, we have identified new priorities and a new model of delivery for the Community Development Project The Community Development Team will all of the following: 2.1 Build partnerships with existing community groups We want to continue building strong relationships with the varied and diverse community groups that are already active in Middlesbrough in the following ways:  We want to create better links between the programme of taster sessions that the Community Development Team will continue to deliver and existing community activity We'd like to hold some taster sessions within existing activity, so that new members can continue to attend if they enjoyed the taster session, rather than operate taster sessions as a separate programme of work We know that this kind of relationship building takes time, but where it has happened in the programme so far, it has been very successful  We know from our learning that it can be difficult for new people to feel they 'fit in' when attending established groups Groups may not be aware of this barrier, which is preventing people moving on from ABM We want the team to explore, with existing community groups, different ways the project could support them to be more welcoming Some ideas that have been proposed include: - an 'Ageing Better' kite mark/standard for community activity, so that we can support existing groups to be more welcoming and friendly - offering training to volunteers or group members to be 'welcomers' or finding ABM ambassadors within groups who can act as the link or contact point for new people  This area of work is closely linked to the Network's role to recruit and support community groups as Ageing Better community members It will be crucial for the Community Development Team to develop this work in partnership with the Network project Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 2.2 Deliver a varied and interesting programme of community activity taster sessions within existing groups, as well as 'one-off' taster sessions where a gap is identified We know that the taster session programme that has been delivered so far has successfully engaged new people, as well as providing a stepping stone for some people to access community activity for the first time We want to build on this Taster sessions should be well publicised, held within accessible venues close to public transport links, and should be planned so that the people who attend have clarity about the sessions purpose, i.e an opportunity to try out a new or existing community activity We know from experience that some people will want to attend multiple taster sessions regardless of their theme, and the team will need to have strategies in place to manage this expectation, so that there are adequate spaces for new people The Outreach Team will provide staff to support the delivery of some taster sessions and other community development activity as appropriate This will provide people who access the sessions more opportunity to talk to staff about what is happening in their lives and staff will have the time to respond appropriately and offer further one to one support if needed 2.3 Build confidence through a person-centred approach The community development work must focus on building the confidence of individuals and groups We know from our research this is key to reducing loneliness & isolation We also know that building confidence takes time Staff should be highly skilled in connecting with people quickly and building meaningful relationships Staff need to be able to identify when a group or individual might become dependent on support, and have strategies in place to manage this risk 2.4 Offer Digital Inclusion Support We know there is a need for 1:1 digital inclusion support for older people and our learning shows that people really value this service However, providing 1:1 support is time consuming and resource intensive Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 We want the project to continue to deliver a level of 1:1 digital inclusion support in homes but to balance resources with a focus on the following additional key elements:  Working with existing providers to support older people to access existing digital inclusion provision  Supplementing existing external provision, by developing welcoming and inclusive groups that are more suited to older people's needs, taking place within accessible and informal settings where older people can support each other to learn and share their skills  The team will continue to recruit Digital Ambassadors to support this strand of work Digital Ambassadors don't necessarily need to be 'formal volunteers'  Working to understand and evidence the links between digital inclusion and reducing loneliness and isolation In order to improve the capacity to support older people to increase their skills and confidence, all staff members across the programme will to be able to offer basic digital inclusion support The Programme Management Team is currently exploring options to support staff to undertake this role The Programme Management Team will work with the Community Development Project to ensure any support or training provided is in line with the digital inclusion activity 2.5 Create new community groups where a gap in provision exists All Community Development Workers will have the knowledge and skills to support community groups to develop and grow, offering advice and training where required It's clear that to enable community groups to thrive, they need support and advice This work must be aligned more closely with the activity of other elements of the programme - with good links to the ABMAG and new and emerging community action We know there is already a lot of different community activity happening in Middlesbrough, and the project will work with existing community activity and not duplicate existing work Opportunities to work in partnership with existing community groups and organisations should be explored before new ideas and activity is implemented Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 2.6 Attract new members The Community Development Team are responsible for generating interest and awareness in the programme and recruiting older people and community groups to sign up to become members of Ageing Better Middlesbrough 2.7 Co-design* and co-production* with older people (*see Appendix A for Glossary of Terms) A key element of the Ageing Better Programme is the 'involvement' (see Appendix A for definition) of older people in decision making, delivery and shaping what we The Community Development Team must ensure that older people are supported to get involved and remain involved in the Programme and that older people play an equal role in any decisions regarding the work of the team Working with ABMAG (Ageing Better Middlesbrough Action Group) The ABMAG currently has an Involvement and Support Officer who works two days a week to help facilitate the groups development and involvement in the programme This post has been instrumental in supporting ABMAG members to have a more significant role in developing the programme The Community Development Team will provide up to 22.5 hours support to ABMAG members It is crucial to ABMAG members that they are able to direct and shape the use of these hours in line with the needs of the group ABMAG are gradually expanding their work to encompass more community action and the development of new ideas The Community Development Project will work in partnership with ABMAG to ensure they achieve their vision and are able to develop as organically and independently as possible Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 The Seed Funding Pot The Seed Funding pot is a new way for local groups and organisations to access Ageing Better resource to be able to deliver new and innovative community activities to reduce loneliness and isolation The project will be responsible for administering the 'Seed Funding' pot by supporting ABMAG to lead on all the decision making and processes related to this initiative This will be a new responsibility for ABMAG and the Community Development Project will be responsible for providing all the required support for ABMAG to effectively make decisions as independently as possible This will include support to develop processes, communication material and criteria as well as ongoing administration support where required Groups applying to the fund will be able to access community development support to develop applications and to implement their idea/activity The funding will be held by the Community Development delivery partner, and will be administered in line with Big Lottery Terms and Conditions Please see the Ageing Better Middlesbrough website for this document https://www.ageingbettermiddlesbrough.org.uk/current-tender-opportunities/ Please note this seed funding pot cannot be used to pay funds directly to another organisation or group in the form of a 'grant' and cannot be used to pay for staff salaries Support for older people involved across the programme There are different 'pockets' of older people involved in delivering the programme in different ways For instance, there are people supporting the delivery of the taster sessions, people helping edit and write the newsletter and people helping the programme management team make decisions These people are connected to different staff members and projects, but currently they are not connected to each other or the programme as a whole We want the Community Development Team to lead on the support offered to all the older people involved across the programme, regardless of which project they are supporting This will require staff to work together collaboratively Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 What we know about this work so far:  This isn't 'volunteering' in its traditional sense The people involved in helping Ageing Better don't respond to 'formal volunteering' processes Informality is key  This doesn't mean that the people involved don't want support Our learning tells us that they appreciate opportunities to come together, they want to feel connected and involved, and they want to know about other opportunities to help us  Once people have a good experience of being more actively involved in Ageing Better, they will get more involved  This work is resource intensive and requires staff skilled in asset based approaches to working with people The project will be required to evidence that it has plans in place to work in partnership across the programme to increase the number of people who are actively involved in co-design and co-production and ensure that those people are well supported to engage with existing and emerging opportunities to get more involved 2.8 Explore and implement ways to tackle: Evening and Weekend Loneliness Community Development will be required to plan and implement work/activities to address findings from the Evening and Weekend Loneliness Research undertaken by Teesside University (one of our Innovation Projects) Our learning has highlighted that evenings, weekends, bank holidays, and particular times of the year impact loneliness and isolation in specific ways Staff will be required to plan and support activity on evening, weekends and bank holidays The full Teesside University report is available on the ABM website here https://www.ageingbettermiddlesbrough.org.uk/documents/ Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 Intergenerational Approaches Although the focus of Community Development's work will be improving the lives of local people aged 50+, the team will encourage intergenerational approaches to reducing loneliness and isolation The team will build upon the success of existing ABM Innovation Fund projects that have taken an intergenerational approach Working with people aged 50-65 The Community Development Team will work to develop activities that are appealing, and taken up by, 50-65 year olds, who have been under-represented in the community development activity so far 2.9 Managing risk The project will be required to have processes in place to manage risk in relation to the beneficiaries engaged in activity Although in general the project activity doesn't regularly bring staff into contact with individuals who present with high levels of risk, there is a recognition that some older people will have multiple and complex needs Closer working with the Outreach Team will mean that staff will need skills in responding appropriately to individuals who:  Are in emotional distress  Have mental health difficulties and may be struggling with thoughts of self-harm  Have other complex needs such as substance misuse issues, physical health difficulties and/or learning difficulties The Community Develop Staff will work with the Outreach Team to develop working practices, which support the effective assessment and management of risk for older people who engage with both elements of the programme Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 3.0 Approach and ways of working The Community Development Team will deliver all of the above in the following ways and be able to evidence these elements in their approach: 3.1 Working collaboratively in partnership As a programme we have learned that some of the ways activities have been structured so far have created barriers for workers and older people Staff are expected to work creatively within their own roles, and understand the importance of working in collaboration with the other ABM delivery partners and the Programme Management Team Sharing the programme vision and achieving aims and outcomes together is critical The delivery organisation should have in place a diverse and robust range of training, policy and procedure that enables staff to work individually in people's homes as well as community settings Within this new model of delivery, Community Development staff will work in partnership with Outreach staff, in people's homes, to act as a link for people to access community activities and groups Community Development staff will also identify and support individuals attending community activity to engage in the 1:1 support offered by the Outreach team 3.2 A reflective approach - trying out new things, gathering, sharing and responding to learning The Ageing Better Programme is underpinned by a 'Test and Learn' reflective approach It is essential that staff members, in particular managers and team leads, fully understand and commit to this approach All learning should be regularly captured and shared across projects and with the Programme Management Team, and teams need to have processes in place to this systematically (for which guidance can be provided) Understanding what worked and what didn’t work is central to the programme’s success We want to capture all learning including 'why' some approaches work and others don't It is essential that organisations are happy to share what hasn't worked, as well as their achievements All staff members must adapt and develop new ways of working in response to insights and learning as the programme progresses Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 The Community Development Project will meet the requirements of the ‘Test and Learn’ approach of the programme by:  Developing a culture with team members which values the feedback, ideas and insights from older people and front line staff members and volunteers  Developing ways in which feedback, ideas and insights can be captured and communicated to the Programme Manager and Core Partnership  Responding quickly and effectively to required changes in project delivery as a result of learning gathered within the team and more widely by the programme as a whole  The project must also be able to respond to changes in delivery as directed by the Core Partnership and Programme Management Team as a result of learning from the local evaluation, performance framework and other parts of the Ageing Better Programme For example, emergence of particular themes across the programme, such as the prevalence of those people struggling with bereavement issues, should be used by the Community Development project to shape their work Transport is also an recurring theme in our learning, across the programme, which should shape the community development teams work The ABM transport learning report is available on the ABM website under Documents/Learning and Outcomes All Ageing Better staff members will be provided with ‘Test and Learn’ training sessions The project will be required to complete a reflective learning template three times a year, to evidence this approach as well as attending workshops and learning activity as required by the Programme Management Team We know the process of reflecting on activity, gathering learning and using the learning to make changes is time consuming The project will be required to evidence that time with staff and the older people involved in the project has been ring fenced to prioritise this learning approach 10 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 3.4 Engage with the Local Evaluation The Community Development Project delivery partner will engage with the requirements of the local evaluation Awareness raising sessions will be held with all Ageing Better staff members to ensure that everybody is clear about the aims of the evaluation and their individual responsibilities See the Local Evaluation document for detailed information https://www.ageingbettermiddlesbrough.org.uk/current-tender-opportunities/ Please note that the local evaluation plan is subject to change in line with the 'Test & Learn' approach of the programme Collecting ‘stories of change’ for the local evaluation will be the responsibility of the delivery partner The delivery partner will ensure that the project regularly provides the required number of appropriate ‘stories of change’ for the evaluation This delivery partner will identify protected time for front line staff members and managers to discuss and prioritise stories of change 4.0 Information gathering, monitoring and performance management 4.1 Performance against project aims Performance will be managed against each of the project aims as identified in section 1.0 Increase awareness and understanding of loneliness and isolation for older people in communities a The completion of quarterly reflective learning templates b Other learning and qualitative data shared with the Programme Management Team that provides learning about loneliness and isolation in Middlesbrough This could be case studies, videos, or other creative methods c Number of older people newly signed up as ABM members 11 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 Increase the membership of existing community groups and variety available to older people locally, creating new sustainable groups where gaps in provision are identified a Information about how community groups are being made aware of Ageing Better Middlesbrough and the number of new groups signed up as Community Members b Details of the community groups the team has provided support to c Information about the types of support offered to groups, including details of the duration/intensity of this support d Details of support provided to groups applying for and allocated ABM 'seed funding' e Information about new groups set up as a result of the team, and numbers of people attending f Number of new members generated for existing community groups as a result of support from the Community Development team g Details of attendance at taster session events (number of people attended/spoken to, types of information given/talked about, emerging themes) Explore and implement ways to make existing groups welcoming, accessible, and inclusive a Evidence of a plan of work that has been co-designed with older people/local community groups b Implementation of the plan c Feedback from community groups and older people Increase older people’s awareness and use of digital technology, to reduce loneliness and isolation a Details of 1:1 support provided to older people and how demand for this is managed b Number of people accessing existing digital support provision as a result of the work of the team c Details of new groups and activities set up for digital inclusion support d Numbers of new Digital Champions e Direct feedback from beneficiaries 12 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 Increase the number of older people involved in taking action to reduce or prevent loneliness and isolation in their communities and support people to sustain their involvement in community activity and the Ageing Better Middlesbrough Programme a Increase in ABMAG activity b Number of people actively involved in the design and delivery of community activity c Number of people who have moved on to new community activity Capture and share learning across the programme and adapt existing or develop new ways of working in response to the learning a Details of activity relating to data capture and reflective processes b Details of how information has been shared with delivery partners and the Programme Management Team c Information on changes to delivery resulting from project or programme learning Partnership working (additional performance indicator) a Number of referrals made to the Outreach team and other ABM projects/activity b Co-ordination of regular, focussed delivery partnership meetings demonstrating shared decision making where appropriate c Evidencing that partnership working has been planned, implemented, and reviewed d Evidence of how Community Development have supported the delivery of other elements of the programme, and how this support has impacted on project outcomes e Demonstrate learning has been promptly and appropriately shared with partners f Demonstrate a clear understanding of other projects' aims and a commitment to shared goals of the programme g Collect survey data (survey to be provided by the Programme Management team) to gather staff experiences of how partnership working is functioning at ground level 13 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 4.2 Common Measurement Framework (CMF) The use of the Common Measurement Framework (CMF) forms is a requirement of the Big Lottery and we expect these to be used by the project for all activity with older people There are two versions of the form:  A bit about me (long CMF)  A little bit about me (short CMF) https://www.ageingbettermiddlesbrough.org.uk/current-tender-opportunities/ The use of either form will be agreed with the Programme Management Team depending on the nature of the activity 4.3 Apricot System The project will be required to record all information relating to service delivery on the secure, web-based case management system ‘Apricot’ Access to the Apricot system will be provided to all Ageing Better Middlesbrough Projects All Ageing Better staff members will receive training on the Apricot system and the Programme Support Officer will provide support to delivery partners to use the system The Apricot system will be administered by the Ageing Better Programme Management Team Delivery organisation/s will be required to sign the Information Sharing Agreement, which will be made available on the Ageing Better website by Friday 24th November This agreement is subject to change in line with changes to national policy and data protection law 14 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 4.4 Meetings and reviews An appropriate manager from the project will be required to attend bi-monthly Contract and Performance Review meetings with the Contract Manager and Programme Support Officer These meetings will be an opportunity to review and provide evidence of: Performance against aims Partnership working Annually, three of the Contract and Performance meetings will include an in-depth review of reflective practice and shared learning, which will have shaped service design and delivery The project will be required to (using a template provided by the Programme Management Team) evidence the collection of, reflection upon, and implementation of project and programme wide learning 5.0 Staff The Community Development team will be made up of skilled, experienced and passionate staff members who are able to work independently in the community to deliver the project The team will have an identified manager/team lead who will have responsibility for coordinating and managing the work of the team In addition to this, the Community Development Team manager will have responsibility for  Partnership working across the programme: The team lead will take a lead role in ensuring that programme activity is co-ordinated and that all opportunities for partnership working are fully explored, working closely with the Team Lead for the Outreach Project and the Communications Manger  Communication: The Team Lead will be responsible for working closely with the Communications Manager and Information & Marketing Officer from the Network project to ensure communication between staff and projects is consistent, effective and supporting programme activity  The co-ordination and facilitation of quarterly delivery partnership meetings, bringing together all delivery partners and other stakeholders (where necessary) to share information, problem solve and develop the programme We recommend that the team also include an Administration Support resource 15 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 5.1 TUPE The organisation that is successful in the tender process for this project is required to consider TUPE in relation to existing staff members in the project TUPE information should be requested by an email to natalie.bilton@middlesbroughandstocktonmind.org.uk, with an attached signed TUPE Confidentiality Form https://www.ageingbettermiddlesbrough.org.uk/current-tender-opportunities/ Please note that bids will not be accepted from any bidder who hasn't requested TUPE info and signed and returned this document 5.2 Staff and Volunteer Recruitment and Training The delivery partner will, at all times, provide sufficient persons with suitable experience, skills and abilities to deliver the project in line with the service specification Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind may bring to the attention of the delivery partner any concerns about staff employed by, or used to provide the service on behalf of, the delivery partner Decisions around the recruitment of staff will always involve older people, who must be supported by the recruiting organisation to undertake the recruitment process All staff members, and volunteers within formal volunteering roles working in any part of the programme, will have a satisfactory DBS check prior to the commencement of their role The delivery partner will ensure that all staff employed to work in the service receive a comprehensive induction which includes service policies and procedures The staff induction should be completed within 12 weeks of starting employment The subjects covered must include: i) Adult and child safeguarding ii) Equality and Diversity iii) Information governance and data protection iv) Personal Safety v) Health and Safety 16 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 All Ageing better staff members will be required to attend Ageing Better training and development events, in line with the Ageing Better Training Matrix This training will be provided centrally by the programme and will be coordinated by the Programme Management Team https://www.ageingbettermiddlesbrough.org.uk/current-tender-opportunities/ 5.3 Staff Management and Supervision It will be the responsibility of the delivery partner organisation to ensure that staff members receive regular support and supervision from a suitably qualified and experienced manager The delivery partner is responsible for identifying and providing any specialist support and supervision if the need arises The delivery partner will take reasonable steps to ensure that any staff sickness/absence does not impact on service delivery The delivery partner will provide the Contract Manager with staff sickness/absence information 6.0 Premises and equipment The delivery partner will be responsible for providing office accommodation for the use of its employees, which will include secure storage areas where paper records may be safely stored Employees will have access to a computer, which can safely connect to the internet in order to meet the requirements for the collecting and recording of information The delivery partner will ensure that appropriate measures are in place to maintain the security of electronic data collected and stored Employees will have access to email and the delivery partner will have in place policies and procedures relating to the safe and secure use of email and IT systems An answer machine will be available to take any messages outside of office hours 17 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 7.0 Policies and Procedures The delivery partner will be able to evidence that they have in place policy and procedure relating to:  Equality and Diversity  Data Protection and Information Sharing  Complaints  Adult and Child Safeguarding  Equality and diversity  Risk assessment and risk management  Quality Assurance  Recruitment and Selection  Staff grievance and disciplinary  Support and Supervision of staff and volunteers  Staff and volunteer training and development  Health and Safety including lone working  Incident reporting  Volunteering 7.1 Safeguarding young people and vulnerable adults It is the responsibility of the delivery partner to ensure that all its staff members are aware of the Tees-wide interagency policy, procedure and practice guidance The Delivery partner will ensure that all of the staff members have adult safeguarding training and safeguarding young people training Information about any safeguarding issues the project is alerted to will be made available to the Programme Manager on request 18 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 7.2 Responding to incidents and complaints People will be made aware of the delivery partner’s complaints procedure at the first point of contact with the project All complaints received by the delivery partner relating to the delivery of any part of the project will be shared with the Programme Manager at the earliest opportunity The Programme Manager will be involved in decisions made regarding the response to the complaint and any subsequent investigation All incidents reported that relate to the delivery of the project will be shared with the Programme Management Team on request 8.0 Key milestones and decisions Activity Date Deadline for submission of bids Friday 12th January 2018 Meetings with Shortlisted Organisations 23rd January 2018 Project development and implementation Feb/March 2018 Staff training March 2018 Delivery begins 1st April 2018 Contract end date 31st March 2021 19 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17 Appendices A Glossary of Terms Co-production Beneficiaries lead in (or are involved in) delivery of the solutions (the 'Doing') Co-design Beneficiaries and Designers come together to define the problem and design solutions Involvement A term used by Ageing Better to describe any instance of someone taking part in Co-design or Co-production (volunteering, decision-making, taking time to help, sharing views and experiences, attending workshops, giving something back, helping shape what happens) 20 Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Nov 17