Using Past Learning to Drive
Tomorrow’s Success
Helen Wilkinson, [email protected]
 www.wcva.org.uk  0800 2888 329  [email protected]
Policy Drivers to 2020
• Welsh Programme for Government is prioritising jobs and
growth & places tackling poverty at heart of agenda alongside
sustainable development as central organising principle;
•
Anti-poverty plan published in June 2012 – with commitment to
annual refresh twelve months on;
• European Commission 2020 goals have prioritised smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth & poverty and social
inclusion are a key theme and priority of European Structural
Funds 2014-2020;
Key Policy Drivers to 2020 ctd
• WG Regeneration Review Consultation – imminent
• Structural Funds Consultation early in New Year,
2013
• Anti-Poverty Action Plan ‘refresh’ June 2013
• Other UK Policy drivers ? – Impact of welfare reform,
another Austerity budget, challenging global
economic picture ...AND more...
Third Sector Response to 2020 ctd
• Policy drivers provide a focus for coordinating antipoverty action and programmes in Wales;
• WCVA and its Board have prioritised tackling poverty,
jobs and Europe as key corporate priorities for WCVA
and its work with the sector in 2013-2014;
• The Third Sector Anti Poverty Programme Taskforce
emerges from this context and these corporate
commitments;
Third Sector Response to Europe
2020
• The sector endorses Europe 2020 goals of smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth;
• These goals reinforce the major role the sector should play in
delivering play in delivering programmes 2014-2020;
• Sector ethos mirrors Europe 2020 goals
• The sector works smartly - e.g.leveraging volunteer time as match
funding;
• The sector promotes sustainability and inclusion – the core business
ethos/model (e.g. organisations set up to tackle or meet social need)
promote sustainable and inclusive growth (in contrast to private
sector ethos which is set up to make profit)
Third Sector Response to Commission’s Draft
Legislative Proposals
The sector welcomes:
• Inclusion of social innovation as a theme within the programmes
– third sector is a key innovator
• 20% of ESF being ring-fenced for promoting social
inclusion/combating poverty – resonates with WG Anti-Poverty
commitments & Third Sector priorities
• Community-led local development approaches – so long as third
sector is equal partner (also role of community hubs as delivery
partners)
Third Sector response to Commission’s
Draft Legislative Proposals ctd ...
We also WELCOME ...
• Harmonisation of the rules – making possible multi-fund
projects
• More flexible funding mechanisms, in the form of competitive or
global grants (as an alternative to procurement)
• Promotion of the increased use of financial instruments such
as loan finance – as a way of reducing grant dependency &
promoting financial legacy for programmes
Transformation? What
Transformation?...
• The sector welcomes Transformation agenda;
• BUT.... Concerned that focus is on transformation at the
more skilled end, NOT at lower end;
• Strategies for transformation & innovation need to
focus as much on lower skilled as high end IF we are
to meet Europe 2020 of smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth
Jobs NOT only answer to poverty
• Sector concern about over-emphasis on hard employment
outcomes rather than client journey;
• Innovative programmes/projects meeting needs of those furthest
from the labour market could suffer through this approach;
• Work alone does not provide a route out of poverty - JRF stats
on in work poverty
• Quality of jobs & work progression = key if we are to tackle
poverty
• Need other programmes & innovations – e.g. to develop
individual and community resilience/promote routes out of poverty
by tackling prices, cost of living, etc through renewable energy, local
food coops & food production, etc;
Third Sector Footprint
• Third Sector organisations are key catalysts for
TRANSFORMATION at the lower end of skills and jobs market
• Third sector organisations have become skilled in MOBILISING
AND GENERATING SOCIAL CAPITAL (through volunteering,
community regeneration, skills and training programmes, etc)
• Third sector organisations have become INCUBATORS &
INNOVATORS for long term transformation and change (of people
and places)
•
Key Messages from Sector
• The third sector = key strategic partner for tackling poverty,
developing and delivering innovative anti-poverty services and
programmes;
• The sector has a strong track record in delivering a wide range of
ESF, ERDF & RDP funded European programmes and projects;
• The sector is committed to ensuring that opportunities arising from
European Structural Funds are aligned to and maximise
Programme for Government objectives & the role of third
sector in delivery;
Key Messages from the Sector
• Tackling poverty & promoting social inclusion is too
important to become part of a tick box exercise in
European programmes;
• The three pillars of SF Programmes for 2014-2020
should be sustainable development, equalities and
tackling poverty/promoting social inclusion;
• This approach needs to be foregrounded, and
mainstreamed in European programmes, and embedded
through WG departments;
Learning from the Past ...
• Experience of Sector in Previous SF
rounds
• Examples of Best & Worst Practice &
lessons to be learnt
• Challenges Sector faces in accessing
Structural Funds
Objective One
• Third Sector was actively involved in SF &
actively involved in delivery
• Community & local levels were fully engaged
• Multiplicity of projects but potentially too small,
and dispersed to achieve large scale impact or
strategic footprint
SF 2007-2013 – Current Round
• Current programme
= response to perceived weaknesses of
Objective One - two steps forward, one step back ...
• Emphasis on bigger strategic projects & programmes BUT
....sometimes seen at cost of local and community input
• Some concerns that shift to bigger, more strategic
programmes/projects led to over-use of procurement which has caused
some problems for third sector;
• Procurement culture can be risk averse, and overly-prescriptive –
stifling experimentation and innovation
Challenge for 2014-2020
• How to take one GIANT step forward to Europe 2020
goals – staying stuck OR going in and out of the
revolving door is not an option !
• Trick is to apply learning from experience of both rounds
& achieve step shift
• Pragmatic & flexible approach is key
• National & regional delivery models MUST take account
of local need
• Encourage active involvement & engagement locally,
regionally & nationally – go beyond rhetoric of co-design
and co-production, and put it into practice
Challenge for 2014-2020
• Strike the balance between bigger more strategic programmes
whilst retaining local delivery & personalisation
• Ensure design & delivery of SF programmes are third sector friendly
• Involve third sector as key strategic partners – design & delivery (as
lead partners, as well as part of supply chain)
• Flexible approach = key e.g. grants & procurement – apply learning
from the margins of SF Programmes into the mainstream
Worst Practice VS Best Practice ?
•
Procurement has in general been done badly – particularly
procurement by public institutions (one result is third sector getting
relatively small slice of the funding cake)
•
In contrast, the third sector has successfully innovated and
managed effective procurement which empowers and enables the
third sector & deliver community benefit – e.g. Gateway programme
•
Key Opportunity for the future – to apply the learning from the
third sector and mainstream this approach more generally
•
WG Community benefits procurement approach is an example, and
leveraging public sector spend for public good and anti-poverty
outcomes - same applies to European SF
The Third Sector – Value Added
• The sector’s experience shows it can strike the balance between
bigger more strategic programmes whilst retaining local delivery &
personalisation
• WCVA’s Gateway programme – a model of Active Inclusion,
third sector friendly procurement & applying competitive grants
to deliver improved performance
• Third sector innovated to make procurement work for community
benefit – Community Benefits procurement approaches now
being mainstreamed
Sector Investment Impact
• Over 200 third sector organisations across every part of Wales,
many of them local groups with local specialisms, have accessed
European funding through WCVA’s Engagement Gateway and
Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) projects
• Because the third sector can leverage volunteer-time as matchfunding, as well as other forms of match-funding, the £96.4m
ultimately generates a total investment of £176.1m
• Wales is one of Europe’s leaders when it comes to utilising
volunteer-time as match-funding, and the only nation in the UK to
add value to European funding in this way
Third Sector Impact
• Over £96m of EU funds have been committed to 35 projects led by
the third sector under the 2007-2013 programmes - 6% of the total
funds available
• Third sector-led projects have supported a total of 76,600 people
during current round of structural funds.
• These projects are changing lives
• 18,800 people will achieve qualifications by the end of the
programmes; some for the very first time
• 7,100 people will move from unemployment into a job; many from
the most challenging circumstances of economic inactivity
• Almost 700 new jobs will be created
How the third sector can collaborate
with others to maximise impact
 www.wcva.org.uk  0800 2888 329  [email protected]
Working at the margins, BEFORE moving
into the mainstream
• History of WCVA’s ILM - migrates from Objective One into 20072013 programme ;
• First programme provides proof of concept, independent
evaluations provide evidence base & learning applied in 20072013 programme;
• Gateway programme for those further from the labour market
than ILM participants was ‘spun out’ in 2007-2013 as new
programme (reaching more people & actively promoting
inclusion);
• ILM in 2007-2013 characterised by wide range of localised activities,
strong regional networks/delivery structure, excellent model of
partnership working & meeting national objectives;
Working at the margins, BEFORE moving
into the mainstream ctd ...
• ILM becomes established national strategic programme = built
third sector supply chain, promoted collaboration & partnership
between national/local government incl public, private & third sector;
• Intermediate Labour Market & Supported Employment
approach tested further & applied to specific target groups in
2007-2013– e.g. NEETs ILM pilot in partnership with WG/WEFO;
• ILM migrated again & mainstreamed into WG’s Jobs Growth
Wales to extent that 25% of JGW is now being delivered by the
third sector including a supported employment component ;
Next steps for the third sector
•
Be proactive about communicating key messages
•
Strengthen channels of dialogue with WG depts/WEFO &
European Commission & other stakeholders;
•
•
Start formulating ideas that fit with the strategic direction of the new
programmes;
•
Continue focus on performance of current projects alongside
innovation & ideas generation for 2014-2020;
•
Events like today an opportunity to keep the dialogue going with all
key stakeholders
Thank you for listening
Helen Wilkinson, [email protected]
 www.wcva.org.uk  0800 2888 329  [email protected]