FDSEN Member Case Study Link Group Ltd Falkirk Policy Event 27 th October 2014 Sheila Maxwell Community Regeneration Officer Link Group Ltd
Registered Social Landlord and social enterprise offering a wide range of housing, support and regeneration services for individuals, families and communities across 26 Scottish local authorities Group structure parent body Link Group Ltd and subsidiaries Link Housing Association, LinkLiving, Horizon Housing Association, Larkfield Housing Association and Link Property. Core aim to improve the lives of more people by providing homes that people want to live in and by delivering high quality services that are affordable - especially to people on low incomes Key figures: 7000 tenancies 1400 tenancies in Falkirk Council area. 30 million capital expenditure on new or improved homes for rent or shared ownership during 2013/14. 40 million planned in 2014/15 including 51 new homes for social rent in Banknock and Larbert Gross turnover in 2013/14 of 41million Generated surplus of 3million in 2013/14 for reinvestment in our communities UK and Scottish Social Enterprise of the Year 2013 Falkirk Herald Business Awards Large Employer and Outstanding Achievement of the Year 2013.
Business Plan objective: to support social enterprises through our purchasing choices and provide help to organisations that share our social enterprise principles Community benefits in procurement to support our Community Benefits in Procurement we adopted CITB Construction Skills Client- Based Approach into our procurement processes. Provide employment and training opportunities and support Modern Apprenticeships SmartLiving 12 Community Jobs Fund posts during 2013/14 Work placements Link Mentoring Programme Examples of support Representation on Falkirk, Glasgow and Edinburgh Social Enterprise Networks Sponsorship Social in the Square, Tryst Community Sports Hub Raising awareness of social enterprise in housing sector and beyond Community regeneration including supporting local communities to establish Petersburn and Oatlands Development Trusts and to access funding to support delivery of new services e.g.kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre, Re-Union Canal Boats Responding to local need Kirkshaws Dental Practice Social Enterprise Hub and IT Suite in Dalmuir
Service Delivery for local authorities and Scottish Government Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) 885 transactions. Overall Scottish Government investment of 90 million Help to Buy (Scotland) - during 2013/14 419 moved into new homes using grants of 27 million Link2Let Intermediate rent Access Ownership shared equity scheme for people with disabilities Care and Repair Services in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire Edinburgh City Council Private Sector Leasing
SROI is an approach to understanding, managing and measuring the impacts of an activity or project. It is based on stakeholder engagement and puts financial value on the important impacts identified by stakeholders. SROI relates the story of change that happens as a result of your project and is not just about numbers or ratios. All about outcomes or the difference we make to people s lives and provides a framework to answer the essential question investors ask: So What? What difference do you make anyway? Prove it Understanding the impact you have on stakeholders through the SROI process also helps your organisation to: Effectively manage your project: referral processes, promotion, partnership development Resource Allocation and Planning: Prioritising what is most important to your organisation and target clients, Improve monitoring and evaluation and evaluation processes Produce excellent supporting evidence for tenders and funding applications.
Training and Mentoring Early adopter of SROI methodology Community Regeneration Officer completed Accredited Practitioner training Dec 2008 Produced OPAP SROI Report 2009 with mentoring support from Sheila Durie, Haldane Associates OPAP Report gained SROI Network assurance and author Accredited practitioner status 2010 Two further SROI Network assured reports Maintained Accredited Practitioner status Deliver Link in house SROI Training and Mentoring support and raising awareness of social impact measurement across Link Link promotion of social impact measurement and SROI Link promotion of social impact measurement and SROI has included presentations and workshops for local, national and international organisations and conferences including: Housing associations across Scotland Local authorities SFHA Housing Support, Finance and Committee Members conferences EVH Conference Care and Repair Conference Health Scotland Conference Citizens Advice Scotland Conference National Australian Housing Conference, Brisbane
Link has produced the following reports which have been assured by the SROI Network Linkwide Older People s Advice Service 2010 LinkLiving West Bridge Mill Accommodation with Support 2012 Horizon Care and Repair West Lothian 2013 Nearing completion Horizon Care and Repair North Lanarkshire 2014 SROI light RealLiving West Fife Villages Befriending Service 2014
What difference has using SROI made to Link? OPAP Report significant role in securing 1.2million investment from Scottish Government to expand service for a period of time to 4 local authority areas Retain Care and Repair Service contract and attract external funding Thorough understanding of our services and the impact they have not just on service users but other stakeholders Improved service delivery and relationships with partners, referral agencies and service users as a result of stakeholder engagement Demonstrate our impact with supporting evidence Enhance reputation and recognition Herald Society Awards 2010 OPAS - Service Provider of the Year Over 65s UK Housing Award 2009 OPAS - Most Outstanding Achievement in Housing in Scotland Herald Society Awards 2013 RealLiving - Older People s Project of the Year