Naomi Taylor

At Northamptonshire Community Foundation we're developing our strategic philanthropy to ensure our grant making on behalf of donors is not just about crisis and immediate response to community needs but funding of preventative projects. The earlier people get the crucial help and support they need, the more likely we are to help avert more serious issues later on in their life journey. The challenge for funders is of course if you fund preventative work, how can you prove the impact of what never happened? The answer to me is simple: by reporting the stories of change where people can inform charities and groups about what has gone well in their lives. Not every impact measurement has to be a number or data quantification. #prevention #grantmaking #upstreaming

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In this Recommended Read we explore how New Power can help volunteer engagement professionals create deeper impact through volunteering. https://lnkd.in/edN622eP #Volunteer #Volunteering #VolunteerManagement #Volunteerism

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What initiatives are currently available for families to improve digital media literacy for under-5s? What evidence is available on the effectiveness of these initiatives? NEW - Early years digital media literacy review https://lnkd.in/eXaQV3Ef #medialiteracy #earlyyears

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Join The SUN Network Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, our local co-production practice leader, for an eye-opening session. Explore the 'doing with' instead of 'doing to' mindset. Discover how co-production principles benefit trustees, volunteers, and workers in any organisation. 📍Tuesday, 14 May 2024, 10:00am 📍Online Book here: https://lnkd.in/evpqfHyg 🔴What you will gain from this session: •Organisations have an understanding of the term co-production •Organisations are aware of where they are on a dependency- co-production spectrum •Organisations will understand how Sun Network could support them in the future.

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Free and unlimited jobs board posting via the Manor Royal BID Jobs Board (www.manorroyal.org/jobs) powered by LoveLocalJobs.com is one of the benefits provided by the BID for Manor Royal based companies. It saves companies quite a bit of cash each month, but more importantly provides a valuable service and also secures the expertise of people like Claire Beech and over the years we have accumulated some great data. We can see the jobs board has a decent number of loyal monthly viewers, over 1,000 per month. Feels like there's been a bit of a shift in the jobs market in recent months with a slight upward movement in October. There's also, possibly, the signs of a slight shift in the employer-employee dynamic and - perhaps - more job seekers out there. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next quarter and post April as changes signalled in the Budget start to come into play. To see other Manor Royal BID benefits see https://lnkd.in/dC3fVRG Chris Oxlade Helen McLaren Samantha Bertie Gary Peters Paul Scrivens

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🆕 The Headline Report has been published for the REC Change Panel meeting held on 16 April 🆕 🌐 Access it on the REC Portal (you'll need to sign in first): https://lnkd.in/e_itAjGr 📑 Headline Reports are brief summaries of key outcomes from REC meetings. They're handy if you want to know what happened at a meeting, but don't want to wait for the formal meeting minutes. 📑

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🚀 Exciting Opportunity Alert! 🚀 📢 Calling all organisation's in Doncaster! The grant application window is now OPEN for Multiply, the dynamic new national programme aimed at enhancing adult numeracy skills and boosting confidence. Thanks to a generous investment from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, through the Government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund, this initiative is set to make a real difference within Doncaster for residents. If you're an organisation passionate about empowering adults with various essential numeracy skills , this is your chance to shine! 🌟 Here's what you need to know: ✅ Grant applications are now being accepted. ✅ The Multiply programme targets adult numeracy skills enhancement and confidence-building. ✅ With a substantial investment, this initiative is poised to create lasting impact. ✅ Doncaster-based organisations, this is YOUR opportunity to be part of a transformative project. ✅ 4 Intervention areas that cover the grant specification. * Innovative numeracy programmes delivered together with employers – including courses designed to cover specific numeracy skills required in the workplace. * Courses aimed at people who can’t apply for certain jobs because of lack of numeracy skills and/or to encourage people to upskill in numeracy order to access a certain job/career. *Courses for parents wanting to increase their numeracy skills to help their children and help with their own progression. *Numeracy activities, courses or provision developed in partnership with community organisations and other partners aimed at engaging the hardest to reach learners – for example, those not in the labour market or other groups identified locally as in need. Don't miss out on this incredible chance to make a difference while advancing your organisation's mission. Here is a preview of one of our providers who delivered various workshops within the last financial year. https://lnkd.in/euD8dA5V  Apply now and be a catalyst for change in Doncaster! 💼💡 Contact the Multiply Team at Doncaster Council to request an application. Email: [email protected] Claire C. Nikki Flett Dani Adams PhD Samantha Whitaker James Sandford Debbie Ormshaw Ruth Precious South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority #MultiplyProgramme #GrantOpportunity #NumeracySkills #DoncasterCommunity #Empowerment #UKSharedProsperityFund #skillsForLife

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Gary Beharrell's article in Civil Society below sets out the case for commissioning from established local organisations, expert in their field providing a rich resource in local communities. "Guidance from the National Audit Office says that grants are perfectly permissible" The issue is, Local Authorities are stretched and want to make savings, save time and streamline. They want to tender out large contracts often to national or global entities rather than manage an unwieldy portfolio of small grants. As the saying goes, 'Where there's a will there's a way" and if there is there is a genuine wish to protect our community and voluntary sector there are options to consider. There are organisations expert in grant making who could, and do, manage small grants and some on behalf of local authorities such as Essex Community Foundation Suffolk Community Foundation and they take all the monitoring and evaluation on board too! It's a much better option than going down the unnecessary procurement and tendering route. It makes not just economic sense but also, human and community sense ❤

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I promised to share more clips from Indy Johar speaking at the UK Community Foundations conference in Harrogate this week but LinkedIn wouldn't let me add clips to the earlier post so I've complied some key bits in the montage below. Covers: ⚡ Valuing #risk ⚡ Creating #resilience ⚡ Need for #action now ⚡ Extraction of value vs the creation of #value ⚡ Need to #invest in structural common goods again Important messages for #Funders #Investors #Communities. #GreatRiskTransfer Brings home for anyone that "doesn't believe in #ClimateChange", it doesn't matter whether of not you believe, the impacts of passing +1.5°C are here - and we must act now to increase resilience to help communities cope. cc Foundation Scotland, Giles Ruck, Carolyn Sawers, Nick Addington, Jim McCormick, Mamta Patel (She/ her), Leslie Rance, Kim Atkinson, Mairi Mickel, Carlos Miranda It made me think of Rob Murray - MIOL and your emergency work after floods in communities in Scotland. Well insulated village halls with independent energy supply through renewables are critical for rural resilience in times of crisis. cc Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust, Charlie Cumming, Keith Connal you'll especially like the urban tree canopy bit to reduce impact of urban heat islands and air pollution.

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The Isos Partnership commissioned by the County Councils Network and Local Government Association has published their latest report ‘Towards an effective and financially sustainable approach to SEND in England’. Unsurprisingly the Report identifies the issues resulting in SEND system in crisis and the scale of the challenges faced. Improving outcomes for autistic children and young people is our core work at the Autism Education Trust (AET). We have always worked in partnership to cultivate system change that supports the upskilling of the education workforce and positive education experiences that support wellbeing for autistic learners. Autistic pupils' SEND needs account for 88% of the total increase in pupils with EHCPs between 2015/16 and 2023/24 - along with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, or speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The Report shares a detailed analysis of the issues in the SEND system, crucially detailing recommendations based on a more inclusive conception of education with an overarching message that the root causes of this crisis are systemic and require national reform. I’m optimistic about a fresh and vigorous focus on the role of SEND inclusion within mainstream education. Moving forwards, it’s vital that we listen carefully to the views and opinions of key stakeholders’, in particular children and young people themselves. The full report can be read on the Isos Partnership website: https://lnkd.in/ehJEZPaq    The Autism Education Trust (AET) is widely considered to be the gold standard in good autism practice, offering the only Department for Education supported, CPD accredited culture change programme created in partnership with our panel of Autistic Young Experts, parents/carers, and our network of Training Partners, education professionals, experts, and specialists.    More information about our award winning training and development programmes here: https://lnkd.in/dDSVg6Be    #Autism #AutismEducation #GoodAutismPractice #DifferenceNotDeficit #AET #SEND 

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Data shareing is the new oil! I love the names of some of these initiatives... cc2i which means C-fund & Collaborate to Innovate - and they won the 'Data for Good Initiative of the Year: Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council' with MAST (Multi Agency Safeguarding Tracker) - https://buff.ly/3MrzKvA - with a vision: "To enable key services to quickly and easily identify a person that may require key support or services, to reduce the potential of them falling into the social care system at all or further – such as a vulnerable person or child in care. Using key demographic identifiers, frontline responders can access historic and ongoing interventions to support and recognise the need to act before a person is defined as ‘at risk’, thus reducing the pressures on social care and other public sector services." Basically, public services sharing data to stop people from falling into despair and trauma! #gdpr #dataprotection #research #personaldata #researchers #innovation #futurism #technology #data #future #regulation #compliance #privacy #DataSavesLives #economics #economy #funding #machinelearning #privacypreservingtechnologies #privacyenhancingtechnologies #TRE #TrustedResearchEnvironments #ai #datasharing #sharing #ICO #DataSharing #DPO #DataProtectionOfficer #TheEvidenceQuarter #SDE #SecureDataEnvironments

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Great blog. Makes me think that incorporating a volunteering outcome into the National Performance Framework (NPF) for Scotland is possible and aligns with the evolving goals of the NPF as highlighted in the blog below. The review process of the NPF has focused on ensuring that the framework remains relevant and reflects the current priorities and values of Scottish society. Volunteering has significant benefits for both individuals and communities, promoting social cohesion, personal development, and community resilience. Including a volunteering outcome would align with the broader goals of fostering active citizenship and community engagement, which are key components of the NPF's focus on "Communities" and "Human Rights". Moreover, during the review and consultation process, the framework is open to incorporating new national outcomes that reflect the contributions and feedback from various stakeholders. Given the flexible and inclusive nature of the NPF review process, adding a specific outcome related to volunteering is not only possible but could be a valuable addition to the framework's goals of enhancing the wellbeing of Scotland's communities whilst strengthening the framework's commitment to holistic well-being and community resilience and crucially it’s fair funding of such outcomes by volunteers. Looking forward to committee views on the NPF after the summer. Louise Macdonald OBE FRSE Michael Marra MSP Alan Webb Alan Stevenson Paul Okroj. OBE Richard Jennings https://lnkd.in/eDCPrXrW

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Join Innovate UK for an insightful webinar designed to guide you through the Innovate UK funding landscape and provide tools to strengthen your grant application strategy.🚀 During this workshop, you'll have the opportunity to meet the Innovate UK Business Growth team and learn about the range of support services they can provide, tailored to drive business success and innovation. The team will walk you through the specially developed Funding Toolkit, which offers step-by-step guidance and resources to help structure your application effectively. From understanding eligibility criteria to highlighting key elements that make applications stand out, this session covers essential insights and practical tools to boost your funding potential. 🔹 Introduction to Innovate UK Business Growth and how they support businesses 🔹 Overview of Innovate UK funding opportunities and what makes a competitive application 🔹 Learn about the Funding Toolkit to help you structure and optimise your application 🔹 Tips and strategies to align your project with Innovate UK’s evaluation criteria 🔹 Q&A with the team to address your funding challenges 📆 Friday 15 November, 11am - 12noon 🎟️https://buff.ly/4fEnjJT #funding #workshop #webinar #guidance #resources #applicationsupport #fundinglandscape

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🚀 UCAS Personal Statement Reform: A New Era of Accessibility and Clarity! 🎓 A couple of day ago, UCAS announced a major reform to the personal statement process, set to level the playing field for students applying to university. Starting in September 2025, students will respond to three structured questions instead of the traditional free text box. 🔍 Lets take a look at some of the key benefits the new system could bring: **Enhanced Accessibility**: The new format makes the application process more accessible, particularly for disadvantaged students. **Increased Clarity and Ease**: Over 80% of surveyed students found the new questions easy to understand, and three-quarters preferred this format. **Equitable Opportunity**: Aims to close the application rate gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. **Support for Disadvantaged Students**: Follows the recent waiver of application fees for free school meal students. **Improved Admissions Decisions**: Universities and colleges will receive more relevant information to differentiate between applicants effectively. This initiative, part of Dr. Jo Saxton's efforts as UCAS CEO, reflects a sector-wide commitment to making higher education accessible to all. Stakeholders across the board, including students, educators, and admissions officers, have welcomed this change. Let's embrace this positive step towards a more inclusive admissions process! 🌟 #HigherEducation #UCAS #UniversityAdmissions #EducationReform #AccessibilityInEducation

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Peer reviewing is great fun! You can help us to make sure that the advice we give to our colleagues in the sector about managing your manager (which let’s be honest, most of us could use help with!) is as good as it can be. It doesn’t take that long and we’d be so grateful. You’ll be part of what helps us to help others. See below for how to offer your help.

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With great power comes great responsibility (for evaluation?) Increasingly, many voices are calling for the next government – whoever it will be – to make wider local devolution in England a priority, including instituting a more sustainable model for local government finance. Our new blog discusses where evaluation sits in this picture 👇 https://loom.ly/PB4sXpw

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A perfect example. 👀 For funders to show fundraisers a little insight into their grant making. Well done to The Robertson Trust who today told us: ❓How many grants they had made. 🕣 The timeframe in which they were awarded. 💫 The success rate. 🏆 And a breakdown of how the money was awarded by theme, type and location. Here's the link - https://lnkd.in/en9qpFxe If you have any similar examples you would like to share, comment below.👇🏻 ♻️ And if you want other Funders to see this post for inspiration, hit the repost button. #philanthropy #funders #fundraisers

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