Specialist mentoring unlocks local and social value for YMCA Wirral
SVB’s work with YMCA Wirral has equipped the charity with a clear view of its impact. The team are now well-placed to win contracts with confidence.
The Challenge
YMCA Wirral is a charity that supports young people to realise their full potential. Through support, advice and personal development, it aims to create supportive, inclusive and energising communities.
YMCA Wirral has a long history of delivering excellent outcomes on behalf of its members. However, its team had an urgent need to better understand, capture and demonstrate Social Value, particularly in context of tenders. One of the charity’s main Local Authority suppliers had adopted a new approach to awarding contracts, but due to a lack of support and advice, the charity was at risk of losing vital work.
The team approached Social Value Business to gain a richer understanding of social value, their starting position and how to plan ahead.
The Solution
Specialist Dave McGuinness was assigned to the task, bringing 30 years’ experience in community building and placemaking across every sector.
Dave supported YMCA Wirral through a Gap Analysis, planning, awareness training and framework development, equipping the charity with the understanding, confidence and know-how to approach social value.
The work involved:
1. An Awareness Session
Dave delivered a face-to-face social value awareness session to raise the team’s awareness and confidence in Social Value.
2. A Gap Analysis
The Gap Analysis involved reviewing and defining YMCA Wirral’s current social value position. Often this discovery process provides clients with a ‘lightbulb’ moment, highlighting their status and recommended journey. Dave conducted a desktop review and engaged with stakeholders to arrive at a set of recommendations. He identified several quick wins that the charity could implement as part of an ongoing approach.
3. A Social Value Plan
Drawing on the insight and intelligence from the Gap Analysis, Dave supported the team to co-produce a Social Value plan that provide a clear position, intent and focus on Social Value. The plan was tailored to align to emerging legislation, societal trends, client expectations and development opportunities.
4. Training and Development
Dave identified that that team would benefit from more detailed training in two areas. The first session focussed on knowledge development, helping the team get to grips with legitimate social value evidence and financial sources, including National Themes and Outcomes Measures (TOMs) and the Central Government Social Value framework.
The second session looked at converting outcomes and impact into value, from monetising social value to defining local value. This enabled a new awareness of how to build social value into the organisation’s development and decision-making.
5. Development of a 7-Year Framework Tool
Finally, Dave worked with the team to create a measurement framework/tool and written guide specific to the organisation’s requirements. This will allow YMCA Wirral to capture, monitor and measure impact and value delivered between 2022 and 2028 in alignment with contract requirements and areas of stakeholder value.
The Result
Delivery is now complete, and two years of social value has been processed into YMCA Wirral’s social value tool. The tool has demonstrated that for every £1 invested into the charity by stakeholders in Wirral, it creates £5.04p in social return. The team have the understanding to add their projects and activities into the tool for the next few years.
The charity is equipped with a solid understanding of social value together with a plan for its development, growth and measurement. YMCA Wirral are delighted with the work provided to date and aim to work with SVB for refresher training in the future.
CEO Nigel Hughes said: , said:
“From the outset, our experience of working with SVB was very positive and their Specialist, Dave, was a superb mentor. His pace in delivering the subject was perfectly matched to our levels of understanding. The staff not only bought into the concept but found the process and learning of real interest.
“As each training session took place, we gained new skills and were given insight into the application of social accounting methodologies.
“We now have a much better understanding of Social Value. The process has made us more conscious of the impact we make locally and how we can demonstrate real value for money in the contracts we deliver. Overall, this has been a very valuable exercise and hugely beneficial to our staff and organisation.”
