"The work has given the chance to succeed to people who had ideas for change but no route to take them forward. Feedback from the Award Winners suggests the process has been an enabling force, giving them the belief to take their ideas into action." (Project Worker)
"They have recognised me and my potential, and seen my idea and my new way of working as having value. They have been open to working with new people and have given them a chance to succeed." (Award Winner)
The Bradford Moor Neighbourhood Challenge set out to identify and invest in individuals with an enterprising spirit and a commitment to social change in Bradford Moor, a densely populated inner city community with a population which is quite young and with many people of South Asian descent. Believing in the potential of local people to create local solutions, the project harnessed energy, commitment and ideas to create a collection of community enterprises focused on improving the lives of local people.
The Neighbourhood Challenge was led by Bradford Moor Play and Support Services (PASS), a community organisation of young adults with a history of delivering local youth work. PASS was an entirely voluntary group when they began the project, and were very grounded in the community. All of the group had grown up in the area, and they delivered their work from an old metal container situated next to the local play area and park where children and young people gathered. PASS was joined in the Neighbourhood Challenge by UnLtd, a national charity which supports and develops social entrepreneurs. The result was a complementary set of skills and experience, blending PASS's local knowledge and UnLtd's social enterprise expertise.
All the Neighbourhood Challenge projects offered rich opportunities for learning. We have picked out just a few specific insights from this project below:
The project set out to find local social entrepreneurs - people with the ideas and energy to begin to transform the lives of other people in the places where they lived. To do this, PASS and UnLtd had three main approaches to their work: getting the message to other local people, making choices about which people and ideas had the highest potential to create change, and supporting the Award Winners through advice, guidance, mentoring and networking. These approaches enabled the project to do two crucial things: 1) find people and ideas that could kickstart change and 2) support those people to turn those ideas into action.
1. Finding people and ideas that could kickstart change
"Our ambassadors have done a great job in getting the message out about the programme. They have been really clear about what the programme is about, and, importantly, what it is not about." (PASS blog post, October 2011)
"We are proud of having successfully run another panel event with dynamic and committed involvement from community members. We feel that this element of the programme is going really well and that serious and healthy discussions are being held about the ideas on the table." (PASS blog post, December 2011)
Volunteer 'ambassadors' were the voice, eyes and ears of the project during the promotion of the Neighbourhood Challenge; they spoke with local people about the project, answered questions, listened and kept a look out for people with good ideas. PASS discovered how valuable face to face contact with people and the opportunity to explain the project was. The ambassadors helped others to understand what community enterprise was and whether their ideas would fit the bill, and provided the chance to explore ideas directly with local people. Although PASS produced plenty of paper and electronic publicity, the large majority of Award applicants came from face to face contact.
The personal approach was continued in developing the ideas. All potential applicants for an Award spent time with the project staff, testing their ideas. Not all moved forward: some ideas delivered social benefit, but were unsustainable; others only offered business opportunities, with no benefit to the community.
Making choices about which people and ideas would receive an Award was a task undertaken by a panel of local volunteers, supported by input from UnLtd. The panel was keen to be open and transparent in their work. There was a focus on potential - of the individual, of the social enterprise they proposed, and of the change it could potentially bring about for local people. The panel developed a strong understanding and trust between each other, which allowed them to think carefully, and positively, about risks and about the kind of support which needed to go to each Award Winner.
2. Supporting people to turn their ideas into action
"The overall approach is critical - a package of money, training, support, mentoring and the vote of confidence and affirmation conferred by the Award." (UnLtd)
"We feel that we have a personal connection and stake in the individual Award Winners and their projects. We are as proud and happy with their successes as they are." (PASS Board Member)
The Award Winners' ideas started to come to life with ongoing support from PASS and UnLtd. PASS were aware that, for most of those who received an Award, starting a community enterprise was a new experience and that without the right support the potential of the ideas could be lost and the aspiration for change diminished. Investing in people from the same community was important for the PASS volunteers, who had lived in the area all their lives and were keen to see the Award Winners as an extension of their own ambitions for change.
PASS recruited mentors from the local Bradford business community to support the Award Winners. They also set up training opportunities, one to one sessions with the project worker at PASS, and access to UnLtd's staff and network of existing social entrepreneurs. Monitoring and paperwork were kept to a bare minimum to allow the Award Winners to focus their energy on delivering their social enterprises. Regular contact between the Award Winners and the Neighborhood Challenge worker allowed PASS to understand progress and provide support when needed.
A strong strand of the support offered to the Award Winners involved helping them to make connections and build networks. PASS hosted a number of Awards Events, bringing the Award Winners together with each other and with those who had expertise to offer. PASS also connected the Award Winners with others in the community who might benefit from the work, and with organisations such as local schools, which might buy services or products from the Award Winners.
The projects willingness to invest in individuals has brought new people into community action, who have, in turn, connected with others in the community through their enterprises. PASS have found that patience, listening, negotiation, encouragement and determination have all been critical skills in delivering their work, as has an attitude which has been optimistic and based on a belief in potential, rather than an expectation that Award Winners would struggle.
PASS became part of Neighbourhood Challenge with a structure which had been effective for the organisation up to that time, but which needed to develop. Becoming part of the programme obliged the group to consider a change of structure and become more formal. This was not an easy decision, as for some of those involved it represented a step away from being a grass roots community group. In addition, basic infrastructure at PASS's base - a container sited next to a local park - needed upgrading, and seemingly simple issues such as getting a postcode or a broadband connection proved frustrating and time consuming. PASS members were effectively developing their own organisation at the same time as delivering a significant piece of work.
It was not initially easy for PASS to convey the key elements of the offer - social entrepreneurship and investment in individuals - to local people. The solution that emerged was to emphasise that ideas had to be both socially beneficial and enterprising. PASS found that this challenge was eased once the first Awards were made (there were three Award periods) and it was possible to use these as examples of what social enterprise looked like. The concept of funding individuals, as opposed to groups or organisations, was also better understood as a result.
PASS also found the experience of judging choices challenging, particularly during the last of the three Award periods, when the volume of applications began to exceed the available funds. This did though lead to an increased determination to identify the proposals which would bring the most benefit to local people and had the highest potential to succeed as a viable community enterprise.
Local assets and potential have been unlocked
Creation of new networks, connections and collaborations
Abilities and ambitions have grown
"We've developed our confidence immeasurably - this has built our belief in each other and proved to us that we can deliver a big project." (PASS Board Member)
"We've done what we set out to do: to create small social enterprises with high potential run by local people and delivering in BD3. We've been very local, very focused on local issues and stuck to the balance of social gain and enterprising spirit. There is a good collective responsibility among the Award Winners, and a high commitment, as they have been invested in by their peers." (PASS Board member)
" We are extremely proud of ... the social impact that they (the Award Winners) are beginning to have in the community. We are reaching a point where the programme will create a strong and positive legacy within Bradford Moor." (PASS Blog post Feb 2012)
Bradford Moor Neighbourhood Challenge was about finding people with the ideas and energy to begin to transform the lives of other people where they lived. PASS believe strongly in the approach they have developed and the base which now exists in Bradford Moor from which social enterprise can be enabled to flourish. The project has grown a level of confidence and belief within PASS that they are able to lead local change, and created the connections and networks of information, knowledge and support on which both individual entrepreneurs and PASS can build. PASS have discovered connections with funders who may be interested in supporting their work, and are looking to build on the experience of the Neighbourhood Challenge. The work has attracted the interest of the Office for Civil Society and PASS have been part of national discussions on new ways of using micro-finance to stimulate community entrepreneurship. Monitoring from UnLtd within their wider work indicates that that around seven out of ten social entrepreneurs continue to deliver one year after beginning their work, suggesting the model of investing in people and potential could generate ongoing change in Bradford Moor.
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