Summer 2011 - New publications on assets, impact, collaboration and mergers
Summer 2011
Welcome to the summer 2011 edition of i-think. i-think is now produced quarterly in July, October, January and April. Between newsletters, we will ensure you stay up-to-date with a new bulletin listing our latest publications and events. There’s no need to sign-up to this – all current i-think subscribers will automatically receive bulletins.
In this issue of i-think you will find:
- New publications on assets, impact, collaboration and mergers
- Our latest news and events
New publications
Community organisations controlling assets: a better understanding
What kinds of community organisations own or manage assets such as land and buildings? What are the benefits they offer and the challenges they face? We recently completed a study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which explored these questions.
The report, ‘Community organisations controlling assets: a better understanding’, was launched on 30th June 2011.
Assessing the impact of multi-purpose community organisations
Impact assessment is challenging and there is no single approach that will suit all contexts. We have published a report of a two year collaboration between researchers and nine community organisations interested in finding new ways to assess the difference they make. The research proposes three principles for impact assessment:
- Impact assessment needs a clear rationale and purpose
- Impact assessment needs to be fit for purpose
- Impact assessment needs to be jointly understood and designed by organisations and their funders.
For more on the study or about IVAR’s practical work on outcomes and impact, please contact Leila Baker.
Supporting collaboration in a changing context
In January 2011, IVAR was commissioned by the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) to undertake research exploring collaboration and partnership working in a changing context. The study aimed to help BIG support its voluntary and community sector applicants and grant holders in collaborating more effectively, and so deliver their agreed project outcomes more successfully in a changing environment.
The report outlines the research findings, exploring why and how organisations collaborate, as well as the ways in which BIG (and other funders) might support such processes to help organisations achieve their aims.
Read the report on BIG’s website
Thinking about merger?
We have published a refreshed version of ‘Thinking about… merger’, in partnership with Bates Wells & Braithwaite solicitors. This publication is written for organisations considering merger as a possible option. ‘Thinking about… merger’ is not a guide to financial aspects of merger, nor is it a step-by-step ‘toolkit’. Instead, it brings together the experiences of a wide variety of voluntary organisations and advisors that have contemplated or carried out mergers to highlight different dimensions of ‘thinking about merger’: reasons for thinking about merger, stages in the process of merger (including legal aspects) and what can help to make a merger work.
News and events
Phase 1 of the Partnership Improvement Programme ends
Phase 1 of the Partnership Improvement Programme (PIP) came to an end on 31st March 2011. PIP was a joint initiative between IVAR and Local Government Improvement and Development (LGID). Over the last five years, we have worked with colleagues in the voluntary and public sectors in 50 local authority areas to bring about practical and lasting improvements to the way they work together.
For more information about PIP, you can read three reports produced over the lifetime of the programme:
- 'Joint approaches to joint challenges: Evaluation of the Partnership Improvement Programme' (2010)
- 'Getting things done together: Key findings from the Partnership Improvement Programme' (2009)
- 'Making it real: A report of the pilot Partnership Improvement Programme with voluntary and community organisations and local authorities' (2006)
We very much hope that this important work will continue. In an open letter to the voluntary sector (November 2010), Francis Maude and Nick Hurd committed the government to:
‘the development of a second phase of the Partnership Improvement Programme, supporting local civil society organisations and statutory partners to strengthen their working relationships.’
As yet, there are no details about this second phase.
For support and advice on cross-sector working, please read our briefing - 'Improving Partnership Working', or email enquiries@ivar.org.uk and we will arrange for a member of the IVAR Partnership Improvement Team to contact you.
BIVAR seminar – funders, philanthropy and engagement
What are the differences between traditional forms of philanthropy and ‘new’ philanthropy? How do we balance a drive toward outcomes funding with a philanthropic appetite for risk? Is philanthropy a social act or simply an economic transaction?
These were some of the questions raised by Ben Cairns (IVAR) and Beth Breeze (Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent) at the last seminar in the BIVAR 2010/2011 series on the 9th June.
The next BIVAR seminar series will start in autumn 2011. For more information, email Diana Wray.