Soft Market Testing Feedback
Table of Contents
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General feedback on measuring success
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Outcome 2: A place where people prosper and achieve their full potential
with high quality education, skills and employment
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What the outcome means for you
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Services and activities that could deliver this outcome
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How success could be measured
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Outcome 3: A safe and resilient community where everyone is welcome
and which supports the most vulnerable
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What the outcome means for you
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Services and activities that could deliver this outcome
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How success could be measured
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Outcome 4: A network of engaged communities where everyone has a
voice and does their bit
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What the outcome means for you
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Services and activities that could deliver this outcome
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How success could be measured
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Outcome 8: A borough with an identity rich in heritage, history, culture
and creativity which drives its future
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What the outcome means for you
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Services and activities that could deliver this outcome
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How success could be measured
General feedback on measuring success
What can commissioners and organisations do to capture performance?
● Attendees reported that performance measurement arrangements must be
agreed at the start of a contract in collaboration with commissioners to make
sure they’re meaningful, outcome-focused, unambiguous, robust,
proportionate and as non-bureaucratic as possible
● Because local need might change over the course of a contract, a flexible
approach to measuring outcomes effectively should be taken
● Speaking directly to service users is critical to assess effectiveness
● Benchmarking against other local authorities can be really helpful
● Social value should be given a higher weighting in contracts (15-20%)
● Commissioners should give services the opportunity to improve in the longterm, and adjust performance indicators over time if necessary
● Charities who have had training from Charities Evaluation Service (funded by
City Bridge) provide better evaluations
How can we effectively measure performance?
● Soft outcomes are important, but can be difficult to measure
● Service users’ feelings can be captured in questionnaires over time
● Lamplight database is helpful for VCOs to track outputs, areas of work and
key outcome indicators
● Case studies can show the difference an intervention has made
● Both qualitative and quantitative measures are important
Difficulties with measurements
● Outcomes related to prevention, general well being and a person’s “potential”
are difficult to measure
● Possible to “tick all boxes” in an impact report and still end up with complaints
● Richness of achievements lost in impact statements
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Outcome 2: A place where people prosper and achieve their full potential with
high quality education, skills and employment
What does the outcome mean for you?
General support - Services who felt they may be able to meet (or contribute to
meeting) this outcome were extremely varied., improving confidence and self esteem
and developing social skills by increasing participation (including asset-based
learning to cultivate individual talents, interests and strengths). There was also
discussion around the use of “social currency” such as time banks and Casserole
Club.
All of these services would encourage people in Kingston to pursue lifelong learning
and to contribute to their communities, as well as increasing prosperity (which means
more than money). These services also support integration via both paid and unpaid
work, recognising that everyone in Kingston has something to contribute to our
borough, and that participation will be different for different people.
Support for young people - Services focused on making young people more ready
for work, generating high quality apprenticeships to give young people the chance to
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apply their skills and providing accredited pre-entry qualifications. All young people
are unique, so some services focus on helping young people overcome specific
challenges; for instance, supporting access to school for young carers, training
schools around bereavement (and other issues), and re-engaging NEETs with
alternative education. Creative lessons and outdoor education were also discussed.
Support for working-age people - Services supported personal development, advice
and support to create entrepreneurial opportunities, identifying full potential and
counselling skills for professionals, raising employers’ awareness of bereavement
issues and supporting carers through advocacy and influencing providers and
employers. Access to high quality apprenticeships.
Support for vulnerable people - Services for people who are vulnerable included
expanding post-16 education to vulnerable adults and older people; recovery and
resilience for women in refuges to enable access to
education/employment/upskilling; removing barriers to education such as child care,
language and mental health stigma; empowering vulnerable people providing
specialist counselling services and supporting access to ESOL
What services and activities could achieve the outcome?
Support for volunteers - providing clear development pathways for volunteers in all
organisations, employing former service users and providing volunteers with skills,
counselling, qualifications, employability.
Ways of working together - services need to work flexibly, bidders should be able to
produce models (including for partnership working) rather than a process being
prescriptive, providers should share information to provide the best possible
services, commissioners should empower smaller organisations to bid for larger
opportunities and networking between the VCS and commercial sector should be
encouraged to facilitate joint working and pro bono support.
Support for people in education, employment or training (EET)
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services should engage with young people in EET who are time-short
learning on the job
building the capacity of school link workers
providing meaningful education tailored to specific age groups and cohorts
courses achieving work experience and education at the same time
interlinking with health and wellbeing
providing interlinked benefits with other services and taking advantage of peer
support
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continuous professional development
alternative education/ vocational courses for children and young people
translation and interpretation services
family services to intervene early and raise aspirations of the next generation
accessible services to young carers, socially isolated people and parents
signposting to other services
encouraging employers to employ vulnerable people
encouraging employers to pay the living wage
support to sustain the local infrastructure of services
asset mapping
making sure services are community based and respond quickly to local
intelligence
How can success be measured?
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The increase in people in EET
Local employment rates and economic activity
Independence and self esteem (via questionnaires)
Transferability of skills across sector
Participation (for instance, in sport)
Reduction in benefits claimants
Wellbeing measures
More qualitative measures to capture “soft” outcomes and fewer quantitative
outputs.
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Outcome 3: A safe and resilient community where everyone is welcome and
which supports the most vulnerable
What does the outcome mean for you?
Resilience and prevention - Kingston boasts a wide range of services to help keep
individuals, families and communities safe, independent and well. Larger themes
included a comprehensive, multi-agency information and advice offer that provides
both general and specialist advice to a wide audience and combating poverty.
Local services also:
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support families and individuals to have healthy relationships
prevent poor parenting
teach people coping mechanisms to become more resilient and self-manage
enable self advocacy
reduce isolation
boost confidence
create good home environments
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● improve resilience for individuals, families and carers affected by dementia
● provide volunteer befrienders for people with learning disabilities.
Vulnerable people and people with complex needs - Many organisations provide
services for vulnerable groups, including people with mental health needs, people
with learning disabilities, women who have experienced domestic violence, older
people, carers, people who are bereaved, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and
people who have experienced hate crime or discrimination.
Many services reported that empowering vulnerable people to have their say is
critical, and that services could be more tailored to people with a complex interplay of
factors (for instance, a refugee with a disability or carer with a mental health issue).
Health and social support - Some services link in strongly with health, including
supporting individuals after hospital discharge, out of hours services for vulnerable
people, access to therapy and supporting people (and their families) with substance
misuse issues. Peer support projects and food vouchers were discussed.
Homelessness - Services discussed included prevention, safety, raising awareness,
removing barriers to accessing services (having a permanent address is often
required), advocacy and mental health.
What services and activities could achieve the outcome?
Ways of working
● Looking at services in relation to the client group/population group provided
for
● Enabling volunteers to see the benefit of their service
● Recruiting volunteers or paid staff who have previously used the service,
using volunteers’ skill sets effectively
● Developing high quality volunteer resources
● Having skilled trustees
● Services working together and networking
● Effective signposting
● Pairing volunteers with professionals
● Training frontline staff to recognise when interventions are appropriate.
Potential services - General
● Developing supportive networks
● Working with community police
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● Effective information and advice (including housing benefit, money
management, debt advice, etc.),
● Advocacy
● Counselling
● Befriending
● Outreach
● ESOL classes
● Handyperson schemes
● Skills development (eg. ICT)
● Furniture service
● Health and wellbeing training programmes
● Bereavement awareness training
● Fuel poverty sessions
● Job clubs
● Home care
● Trips for older people
● Dementia support
● Reciprocal training work
● Therapeutic interventions like CBT
● Measuring isolation to allow early intervention
Potential services - Children and families
● Homework clubs
● Creches
● Specialist counselling for children
● Practical family support
● Family mediation
● Breaks for young carers
Substance misuse
It was pointed out that helping people with drug or alcohol problems also helps those
around them, can reduce crime and lessen demand for other services. One
suggestion was mindfulness or art therapy to help people with drug and alcohol
problems .
How can success be measured?
● getting feedback from people who are difficult to engage with
● numbers of people signposted and referred to other services
● number of referrals to an organisation
● number of people passing through a service
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● PHQ9 (measure of depression)
● Enrich (communication scale between couples)
● CORE - Clinical Outcomes Routine Evaluation (designed for mental health but
can be adapted for bereavement)
● Using the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for local information and needs
● connectedness before and after people start using a service
● learning intervention models for young people
● outcomes star/empowerment star (self assessment); hopefulness for the
future; surveys and Warwick- Edinburgh Mental Health Wellbeing Scale.
Difficulties
● Prevention is difficult to measure
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Outcome 4: A network of engaged communities where everyone has a voice
and does their bit
What does the outcome mean for you?
Enabling people to have a voice ● People being confident they will be listened to
● People being experts in their own circumstances so they can have an input in
the services they receive
● Improving consultation - currently some groups are over consulted and others
not enough.
People looking after their own neighbourhoods
● Kingston Cemetery Group
Widespread engagement
● Engaging people from multiple cross sections of society eg. groups for older
people including minorities
● Using technology to engage people
● Older people being engaged
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● Engaging people in things they’re passionate about.
Reduced social isolation
● Volunteering with vulnerable people who can’t get out into the community
without help. Getting people in
Specialist services for targeted groups ●
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Advocacy - vulnerable people having a voice or being represented
Support for people with mental health problems
Sufficient number of quality safe houses for women and children
Reducing substance misuse, inequality, poverty and ill health
Increased English language proficiency for migrants
● language allows engagement
● learners have something to give back to community
● ESOL for people who may be too intimidated to get mainstream classes
Support for refugees
● Day centre encourages wellbeing.
● English lessons and understanding systems in the UK
● Community engagement events.
● Timebank to share skills
● Friendship.
Homelessness
● Getting them in work, or rehab etc. Currently someone must be in a house or
shelter for them to participate in some engagement services so difficult
● Mapping an individual’s journey from the streets enables you to see the things
holding them back
● Signposting and referring
● Advice
● Focus groups etc internally so homeless people have a voice
● Support from housing department
● Food
Carers
● Carers struggle to have a voice but outreach work helps them
● Carers are very isolated so wellbeing programme is beneficial
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Bereavement support
● Training to other agencies, employers and schools
Other ideas
● Interfaith communities
● Young people developing themselves.
● Counselling
● Asset based community development
● Services for families and children can bring different cultures together such as
creches and Kingston City Farm
Services and activities that could achieve the outcome
Collaboration - Some charities said they found operating in the same building as
other charities beneficial especially when helping service users with complex needs.
Others don’t have proximity to other organisations and would prefer it. A voluntary
sector hub to allow closer co-operation between charities was discussed.It was also
agreed that children and young people’s network works well. Strategic partners have
also been useful at spreading information and KVA have provided effective support
and networking.
The Council -Some organisations were concerned that the council wasn’t successful
in engaging with minorities or younger people. They suggested the purpose of
council meetings should be clear and that jargon free communication from the
council would allow wider engagement.
Education/awareness raising -The role of education in increasing inter-community
understanding was discussed. Education on issues such as mental health and
dementia can prevent vulnerable people becoming isolated. The possibility of
delivering this in schools was discussed.
Volunteers - It was suggested that smaller groups be supported to gather volunteers.
Other possible improvements to volunteer recruitment were:
● a central VCS database or volunteering brokerage - screening/vetting/
matching skills to organisations
● where appropriate former service users could become volunteers
● personal development for volunteers
● allow people to contribute in a flexible way
Valuing volunteers including trustees is considered very important but there are
some costs to using volunteers including:
● high turnover
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● volunteers can’t replace paid staff
● lack of diversity in workforce when relying on volunteers
Types of engagement
● Interest groups and groups that engage most vulnerable
● Sometimes people with certain issues like to be within a community of people
like themselves, whereas other people don’t like to be associated with others
with the same characteristics. This should be taken into account when
designing services.
Ensuring widespread engagement
● Continuous analysis of who is engaged and who is not
● Addressing lack of Korean carers
● Citizenship events - new citizens could be engaged in the community.
● Different methods to engage different communities: Korean, Tamil, Italian etc.
● Making things informal to avoid isolating people: being inclusive and avoiding
hierarchy
Giving the vulnerable a voice
● The lack of affordable interpreting services was considered an issue
but using volunteer interpreters or organisations using the European Social Fund to
fund their own interpreters were suggested as solutions.
● Consulting service users - people feel they own something once they are
consulted
● Services where people have somebody to listen to them
● Art and creative activities
● Forums for discussing issues
Political engagement - It was suggested that there is a reluctance to become political
in some groups, so it is important to enable members of different communities to be
politically engaged and consider becoming councillors. Gathering evidence and
campaigning for change is an important part of many organisations’ work.
Technology - Some people thought more training in technology as a means of
engagement was necessary. It was also suggested that organisations should also be
aware of when social media was not sufficient and when other methods (open days,
events, KVA’s assistance) would be necessary.
Other Ideas
● Better signposting and mechanisms to access information
● Engaging whole families so parents can support children
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● Skills bank that people can easily search and access.
● Community hub so people know what’s going on
○ informal environment
○ reduce social isolation.
● Ideas exchange.
● Corporate social responsibility - institutions becoming involved.
● Youth centres
● Mapping networks
● Good communications plan
● Incorporating social value
● Support for small scale activities and groups
How could success be measured?
Quantitative measures
● frequency of visiting GPs
● feedback on websites
● cost savings on interpreters due to language courses
● the number of people campaigning, signing petitions or retweeting,
● participation/attendance rates (especially for sports)
● how long people continue volunteering
● recycling rates
● carbon dioxide emissions prevented
● social capital (which includes how many connections a person has)
● the value of volunteering
● audits
● monitoring visits
Qualitative measures
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case studies
images
audio clips
how one-time clients of a service feel before and after using it
the success of campaigns can be measured by political change
feedback from clients, whether a person feels empowered and able to engage
after overcoming a language barrier
● the experience of volunteers.
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Outcome 8: A borough with an identity rich in heritage, history, culture and
creativity which drives its future
What the outcome means for your particular service
Widespread engagement with and participation in creative activities
● Universal access
● Diverse cultural offer
● Intergenerational projects
● Involving marginalised groups
Kingston as a special and distinct place
One person said that it was a shame that Kingston was known and visited for it’s
shopping when it could be equally appreciated for it’s heritage and culture
The Thames Boat Project tries to preserve the heritage of the river. The aim should
also be to create lots of village atmospheres and vibrant communities outside of
Kingston town centre.
Helping young people develop through arts
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● Developing young people as individuals or businesses
● Making sure young people can embark on creative careers in Kingston if they
wish.
● A diverse cultural offer that appeals to young people with a range of tastes eg.
the Buzz Project and a rap company at the international Arts Festival got
young people interested who hadn’t been before
● Focus on NEETs
● High quality arts so that increase aspiration
● Engaging in creative projects - creating skills and friendships
● Engaging families - social cohesion for families from different cultures
Eg. Story Storks - story workshops for pre school children
Social benefits of arts
It was pointed out the social benefits of activities should be considered as well as
quality of pure arts such as community cohesion when people volunteer in their own
communities. The arts can also be used as a gateway to non-arts charities’ core
business or subliminal educations.The arts can have other educational benefits such
as learning English as a by product of being involved in creative activities. Refugee
Action Kingston for example held ukulele classes. Becoming involved in cultural
activities also helps new people feel they belong in the community. Being involved in
creative activities also improves wellbeing; one person suggested the borough
needed more “happy things” like the Carnival. One way it can improve wellbeing is
by providing people who may be isolated (eg. older people)) with somewhere to
meet.
Cross cultural understanding
A major social benefit of the arts is its ability to increase cross cultural understanding
One example of this is the “Interculturality Enriches” project with young people from
Spain and Germany increased cross cultural understanding Tamil dance + music
people allows to interact Involving refugees in creative activities raises awareness of
refugees in a positive way. The Carnival, Bike Across Cultures, Black History Month
and Bike Across Cultures were all cited as examples of using arts and sometimes
sport to increase cross cultural understanding.
What services and activities could achieve the outcome?
Work with young people
● 1:1 work with younger people
● Adherence to Arts Council England principles for young people:
1. Striving for excellence
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2. Being authentic
3. Being exciting, inspiring and engaging
4. Ensuring a positive, child-centred experience
5. Actively involving children and young people
6. Providing a sense of personal progression
7. Developing a sense of ownership and belonging.
● Roots project - retelling stories - involving young people
● Involve young children and families
○ engaging parents increases support for children
● Expensive workshops can create an income stream to support deprived
young people
● Widening engagement
○ Welcare - holiday schemes to take families where they wouldn’t
usually go - show them that it is accessible/ affordable/ enjoyable
○ Try and offer same opportunities to deprived families
● More work in schools because young people impressionable
● Have continuous projects or projects with an exit route to keep young people
engaged
Heritage
● KREC - working with library service and Kingston museum: exhibition on
heritage 2016/2017
● Educate on the impact and history of diverse groups who have settled in
Kingston
● Supporting start ups and emerging artists as Creative Talent Programme
does.
● Global arts - arts activities inspired by the diverse heritage of our community
Widening engagement
● Raising awareness of activities/ services
● Empowering new citizens to be involved locally
● Groups where people can participate on a more casual basis
○ eg. singing for people who might not feel they were good enough for
certain groups
Collaboration
Organisations who use creative activities to support their core work could partner
with arts organisations. However, organisations are often competitive which could
make this difficult.
Other ideas
● Creative hub
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Greater connectivity through technology
Breaking down generational barriers
Engaging strategic partners (esp. Kingston university)
Museum of Futures
Co-designed, bottom up services
Maximising assets eg. river/ open spaces parks
Generating strong identity for other town centres not just Kingston
Utilising skills of refugees as giving something back boosts image of refugees
Arts organisations partnering with organisations
Bringing events that take place in central London to Kingston
How could success be measured?
● The number of strong creative industries in Kingston
● Monitoring demographics of participants
● Participation levels
● Improved facilities,
● inward investment (eg. mini-Holland),
● The number of volunteers
● Diversity in cultural events (like sports, arts and heritage
● Accessibility and affordability
● Community cohesion
● Measuring the strength of Kingston’s “brand” perhaps by collecting postcodes
of attendees - if people are coming from outside Kingston this suggests
Kingston has a successful “brand”.
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