Transforming Communities Single

8/22/2019 Transforming Communities Single

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Contents

TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

ntroduction

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Trust and engageent

Procuring social value

Delivering social value

Leaving a lasting legacy


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Communities across the UK are acing unprecedentedchallenges: worsening fnancial constraints, youthunemployment at 20%, housing shortages, and thesocial issues that come with beneft dependency. Forlocal authorities, Registered Providers and public sectorbodies, the challenge is how to meet the more or lessagenda while providing public services, creating jobs,stimulating growth and remaining competitive againstemerging economies overseas.

The tough fscal environment aced by the public sector washighlighted by the UKs biggest local authority, BirminghamCity Council. It warned that between 2011 and 2017 it mustcut spending by 600m or 17% - and shed 7,000 jobsto accommodate reduced budgets. The councils leaderSir Albert Bore said: The extent o the uture fnancialchallenge acing Birmingham will change the landscapeo local government not only in Birmingham but nationally we will have to decommission a number o services.

The need or better collaboration with private sector frmsto stimulate growth through investment in people, skills andutures has never been more important. The public sector,especially locally, continues to have tremendous buyingpower. Yet is this being eectively harnessed to o-set theeconomic challenges acing local communities?

New legislation says that public bodies must take socialvalue into account when procuring public services contracts.The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, which came intoorce in early 2013, says that authorities must consider howthe service they are procuring could improve the economic,social and environmental well-being o an area and how theprocurement process should secure that improvement.This is an important issue or politicians at a local level too.A survey o 411 councillors in England and Wales, carried out

or Willmott Dixon by ComRes in July 2012, revealed that71% o councillors believe that private sector partners mustbe engaged more meaningully in economic development bylocal government. The same survey identifed areas councillorsthink the private sector should help create conditions orgrowth, including 46% saying that low levels o skills in thelocal workorce are a key barrier to investment.

Are golden opportunities being missed by short-term,lowest price procurement instead o an approach whichidentifes companies prepared to make a long-terminvestment in the economic health o communities? Theseare issues tackled by Transforming Communities, a paper byWillmott Dixon Partnerships, the repairs and maintenancespecialist o Willmott Dixon, that aims to highlight howcompanies procured by public bodies and RegisteredProviders can make a strong and positive long-termdierence to community economic opportunity.

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ntroduction


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The private sector can provide

huge political and economic

value by channelling their

community investment into

the specifc growth prioritieso local regions.

Huge political and economic value can be gained rom theprivate sector channelling their community investment intospecifc growth priorities o local regions. For example,Willmott Dixons ComRes survey in 2012 revealed 40% ocouncillors believe private companies do not help with localeconomic development, yet regeneration and skills, crucial ora regions growth, are areas councillors think private companiescan make most impact.

Best practice demands that service providers o long-termcontracts in the public sector invest in the communities wherethey work. But the lack o a clear, strategic vision o localeconomic priorities which private sector service providersshould channel their investment towards is restricting the hugepotential that exists. By setting out early in the procurementstage how they expect a service provider to make a tangibleand lasting impact to local community growth, a client willcreate the oundation or substantial investment that will leavea big legacy or years to come.

I a service providers community ocus is not aligned with theregions key priorities, such as tackling anti-social behaviour

or social exclusion, this will result in initiatives that are otenshort-term, piecemeal and ineective. To avoid investmentdriven by PR gains, clients whose services are paid or by publicmoney, who have a responsibility to help their region grow,should be acutely aware o what making a dierence actuallylooks like to local people and embed that in the procurement.Likewise, a service provider must show it understands localneeds, and that creating social value to address them is morethan just making donations or sponsoring an event; it requiresvision and long-term commitment.

Get it right and the potential is signifcant; the private sectorknows the current economic climate means it is not acceptable- practically or morally to deliver a service such as housingrepairs and maintenance, make a proft and provide only tokengestures. Theres no better way to harness this awareness thandierentiating service providers during procurement by whatvision they demonstrate to improve the social and economicabric o the community beyond the service they deliver.Clients should expect to spend their money on a company thatwants to really make a dierence.

There is a lack o trust and engagement with commercialcompanies that is preventing local public bodies rom harnessingthe ull potential o private partners. The eeling persists amongmany public sector clients that a service provider will do theminimum required contractually, in order to maximise its proft.

There is also a strong undercurrent o suspicion that helping thewider interest o communities is incompatible with making aproft; this need not be the case i clients are aware o how theycan harness their purchasing power to encourage very tangibleinitiatives by service providers.

Procurement selection should identiy companies displaying acultural ethos o making a dierence in the community; whereemployees want to work towards goals oten in their own time,providing training, work experience, mentoring and volunteering.

1 Trust and engageentTRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

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ecoendations

1) Clients must articulate a strong vision o the localeconomic priorities it expects service providers tochannel their social value investment towards

2) Clients should judge during procurement how welltheir potential service providers understand localgrowth needs

3) Service providers should be dierentiated by their plansand commitment to align social investment with localgrowth needs

etting it right: the Willott Dixon foundation

The Willmott Dixon Foundation was set up in 2012 as a wayor the company to work with clients to help tackle social

exclusion. It provides a ocus or Willmott Dixons community-based activities and makes sure it is aligned to the long-termsocial needs o communities where it works, and does notoperate in a vacuum, ignoring micro economic priorities.

The Foundation tracks, harnesses and guides the charitable,community and voluntary work o employees in achievingthe Foundations aim; in 2012, they delivered 1m-wortho community-based projects.

By combining targeted community projects with thousands ohours o volunteering, work experience placements, mentoringo people and skills training, the Foundation aims to raiseattainment among people who have oten lost their way.

etting it right: nvesting 4Lie

Willmott Dixon Partnerships has guiding principles thatoverlay its repairs and maintenance work with actionsto improve the long-term ortunes o people in localcommunities. Called Willmott Dixon Investing 4Lie, it aimsto encourage a cultural ethos that sees community activityas a coordinated campaign to deliver long-term outcomesthat meet local needs, rather than a series o ad-hoc initiatives.

For example, outcomes in 2012 under the 4Liestrategy included:

kills: Learning at the oreront o what we do

Over 24,800 hours o Opening Doors work experience

121,844 o sta time given to mentoring or workexperience placements

Over 220 people, oten unemployed, directlymentored and coached

Learning: Providing skills that make a real dierence

21 new apprentices joined in 2012, an increaseo 100% on 2011

45 apprentices now studying or NVQs ater17 graduated in 2012

125 sta completed a supported NVQ learning programme

219 sta on a recognised learning ramework, with217 learning an NVQ

One in our sta either qualifed or are learningormal qualifcation

19% o our workorce currently undertakingormal learning

Counities:

Communities people are proud to call home

Supporting National Play day and benefting 600children across the UK

151 community projects in 2012

411,500 o sta time given to community volunteering

Over 440 sta took part in community projects

141,644 directly invested in community projects/sponsorship and charitable giving


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This paper is about how, in

todays era o fscal restraint,

clients can get more rom their

service providers to ensure they

are driving local opportunitybeyond the service they deliver.

2 Procuring social valueTRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

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etting it right: sustainable eployent

Willmott Dixon works or Birmingham City Councilmaintaining 60,000 properties in two contracts:Birmingham North and Birmingham South.

Realising that youth employment was a major issue,Willmott Dixon has taken on 41 apprentices rom thecity since 2009. The 18 who have completed their

apprenticeships to date are now in ull-time employmentwith Willmott Dixon.

Through its contract in Birmingham North, the companywas able to recruit two apprentices who had lost theirsponsorship with another company part way throughtheir apprenticeships, allowing them to complete theirqualifcation.

By recruiting and training apprentices locally, WillmottDixon is creating positive role models or the children and

young people living in the communities it serves. Someo the apprentices are also trained to be Construction

Ambassadors and spend time in schools talking to childrenabout the industry and what they do.


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The procurement process should defne local economicpriorities, and ask how a potential service provider will alignits community engagement to meet them. The challenge isto fnd a partner that understands this bigger picture role andhas the imagination to embrace it because they want to, notbecause they have to.

This means expecting more rom service providers than justlimiting their activities to what is in the contract, ie take ontwo apprentices a year, and simply pass associated costs back

to the client. They should want to have a stake in supportinglocal growth objectives and do so independently o the serviceprovision because they believe in creating a legacy rather than

just doing the work in isolation o the wider social environment.

Consequently, clients procurement strategies must ensuretheir chosen long-term partners are linked into a regionswider priorities, which could be addressing social exclusion, aprogramme o engagement with local colleges or mentoringand work experience or investing time and money with a localgroup that works to improve lie chances.

Has a company shown real vision by, or example, committingto a policy where all employees on the contract will dedicatetwo days a month volunteering to support a local project orgroup? Do they commit to setting up a time bank that investspeoples skills each month or the beneft o the community andhas no direct connection to the service provided? Just how welldoes a company know the community in which it is now tryingto procure a multi-million pound contact?

s procureent tailored to social value?

Finding a company that will deliver measures to help addressa regions micro-growth priorities must involve a procurement

process that takes into account social value when evaluatingtenders. The wording and weighting o questions relating tosocial value should be careully considered. I a tender processcan identiy bidders with the best cultural ft and desireto bring social value along with their service, it will bringtransormational change.

Procurement that allows or consultation with possible serviceproviders will assist this process. This two-way exchange allowsboth parties to understand, defne and set goals that are alignedto wider local needs.

Just setting prescriptive targets, without understanding allthe variables, can be counter-productive i social value targetsend up unconnected and misaligned with local market growthneeds. Allowing a potential service provider to understand localeconomic imperatives and adjust its investment programmeto suit is essential at this stage.

For apprenticeships and employment opportunities to besustainable, clients should understand how private sectorcompanies will carry out the work. The length o contract is

a big actor: a fve-year plus contract should require a verycomprehensive programme o social value investment, withservice providers showing a long-term vision or how theycan aect positive outcomes in communities.

Blind target setting can and does lead to situations whereoutcomes are not sustainable or aligned to local objectives.For example, a prescribed number o apprentices are taken onevery year, but or them to remain in employment ater theirapprenticeships fnish, other workers could be laid o. Orcompanies will take those apprentices to dierent geographicregions, which does not support local skills growth and legacy.So targets have been met, but not necessarily to the directbeneft o the area in question.

Once the consultation with potential service providers iscomplete, the procuring body should set out defned areas ora winning company to address local growth needs and ratepotential service providers by the vision and imaginationthey demonstrate in how they will do this. This could relateto apprenticeships, programmes o work experience, launchinga skills academy, alliances with local colleges and charitiesto improve youth attainment, and a local spend target o60%. Additionally, clients should expect service providers tounderstand the Governments localism agenda, including howto maximise access to third party unding or training.

Engaging with the wider growth agenda and not simply agreeinga series o process-driven targets to win a contract should be atthe core o a service providers ethos. It should come across inthe companys DNA o wanting to improve local lie chances andshow real commitment rather than box ticking to please a client.

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ecoendations

1) Make sure tendering process provides or a two-way dialogueto help shape community goals and link to wider needs

2) Make sure your service provider earns their long-termcontract with signifcant social value commitments, suchas creating a skills academy

3) Avoid blind target setting that may hamper rather than

achieve real change

4) Critically examine a potential service providers sincerityto make a dierence to avoid them paying lip service attender stage

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This is the essence o harnessing buying power to deliver socialvalue in austere times: service providers that are prepared tooer social and community benefts beyond the contract. Mostsignifcantly, a lowest price procurement strategy will result inservice providers who do not see a role in supporting the widersocial and economic goals o a community. How can they,when their main ocus will be trying to make a loss-makingcontract proftable?

new ind-set

Local authorities, Registered Providers and public bodies canharness procurement practices to identiy companies whoshare their common objectives or stimulating widercommunity growth.

Clients who are willing to procure on quality, based on a serviceproviders commitment to meeting these wider goals, should seepolitical dividends. This is about taking responsible procurement- and consequently a service providers service delivery - to thenext stage. Its about changing the dynamics, so that clientsregard their long-term partner as one that supports economic

growth rather than just delivering a service.


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It takes time and dedicated

teams to create social value.

In order to achieve sustainable

outcomes, companies must put

a huge amount o work into

creating opportunities, selecting

the right people or projects to

assist and providing support

on an on-going basis. This is

about outcomes that make

a dierence.

3 Delivering ocial ValueTRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

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etting it right: otherhas Counitypowerent foru

In Rotherham, Willmott Dixon set up a CommunityEmpowerment Forum, bringing together local groups andorganisations to work together on community projects.By working with Job Centre Plus, local colleges, tenantorganisations and charities, the Forum targets communityprojects which beneft local residents while providing workexperience and new skills that help people gain accessto employment.

A current project sees the Forum supporting the ArmedForces Covenant in Rotherham, helping ex-military peoplefnd employment. By working with all the orum members,Willmott Dixon is able to set up ast-track training pathsor specialists rom the armed orces to convert their skillsrom military to the domestic sector, or example romelectronics technician to electrician.

Willmott Dixon has arranged or 20 work experience placesto be available or ex-military people; trained 20 o its

Rotherham employees via a Coaching and Inspiring TrainingCourse so that they can mentor and train them; andsourced the unding to put the trainees through college.

On completing their qualifcations, the new tradespeoplecan join Willmott Dixon i there are job opportunities, fndemployment with Willmott Dixons supply chain or receivehelp to become sel-employed.

Willmott Dixon is also working with Job Centre Plus to tryto get other local people back into employment. To date36 mature candidates, male and emale, have attendedeight-week, 30-hour programmes o work experience, two

o whom are now employed by the business in Rotherham.

In 2012 Willmott Dixon Partnerships has provided a totalo 5,470 hours o work experience in Rotherham, throughits Opening Doors programme.


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Companies that understand how to align communityengagement with defned outcomes are better able toleverage social value because they have the knowledge andorganisational ability to deliver. For long-term service providersto provide employment, training and community initiatives,they need dedicated resources to ensure that commitmentsmade are delivered on. So it is worth asking how yourprospective long-term partner is set-up organisationallyto deliver on its promises.

For a service provider, the benefts o delivering social valuego beyond a good marketing pitch. Employees who can seetheir company is a orce or good, who see unemployedpeople given a chance, young people being trained andable to make a contribution to their community, whowork together as a team to take part in voluntary workand community projects, tend to have higher levels o jobsatisaction, morale and pride. And this in turn leads to lowersta turnover rates and better productivity.

Many companies might promise much, but once the contractis won, will it be orgotten? One way to tell is by the resourceit dedicates to delivering on its community investment. Suchresource will be in the overhead structure, and some companieswill regard it as a cost that might eat into their margin. Othercompanies that have dedicated people to deliver local projects,and make good on promises to provide work experience andmentor apprentices, those are the ones who have communityinvestment in their DNA.

This dedicated support inrastructure will allow a companyto work with a range o local organisations to maximise socialvalue. By utilising experience and know-how, they will alsoaccess unding which would otherwise have been unobtainable,set the direction and initiate community projects that all thelocal team can get involved in.

Experience should enable client and service provider tohighlight duplication and suggest a way orward that rees upclient resource while achieving a better outcome. For examplea service provider could draw on company resources andmanagement systems to provide employment agency unctionsor mentoring o college students.

Alternatively, an experienced service provider will also adaptits social value work to meet new circumstances, while alwaysmeeting their contractual requirements. Local social andeconomic priorities may shit with political changes, undingsources and availability will alter, and new opportunities arise adapting community engagement accordingly is all part o

delivering social value.

ecoendations

1) Check what support structure a service provider has todeliver its promises

2) Work with your service provider to avoid duplicationo community eort; it should complement not conict

3) Make sure social value commitments are adaptableto changing local needs and new priorities

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etting it right: Biringhas new 4Lie cadey

Birmingham City Council has made it clear that skills are vital to its growth and that it expects private companies to play theirpart in helping support training. Taking this as a key strategic local priority as part o its long-term contract with the council,Willmott Dixon has invested 1 million in creating the 4Lie Academy in Electric Avenue, Aston capable o training 2,000 peopleevery year.

At a time when other companies are cutting back on all orms o training, the 4Lie Academy will help improve the long-term prospects o many people in the city, reecting the strategic need to invest in the skills o its workorce and create

employment chances or residents.

Courses will range rom one-day programmes to our-year apprenticeships, with the training available to WillmottDixon Partnerships supply chain, partners and local frms. Subjects covered will include technical trade skills, emergingtechnologies, health and saety, supervisor skills and energy efciency. The Centre will also train people in employabilityskills such as IT and CV writing and provide a series o community programmes and DIY sessions.

The Willmott Dixon 4Lie Academy will be working with City & Guilds and the British Plumbing Enterprise Council (BPEC),having become one o the frst BPEC-approved training centres run by a construction company.

Because the centre will ultimately become a national resource, it will also bring in trainees and hence money- rom outsidethe city, contributing to Birminghams economy.

etting it right: pening Doors to eployent opportunity

Finding work or people who have let school or who are long-term unemployed is a key priority or all regional economies.Thereore, Willmott Dixon Partnerships created its Opening Doors programme to provide people with experience o workingin construction. It discovered there were people o all ages who were interested in fnding a job in construction, but who hadno means o going about it. The ultimate aim o Opening Doors is to ensure that those living in the communities served byWillmott Dixon get the opportunity to apply or apprenticeships and jobs.

The principle o Opening Doors is that there are no barriers to people coming into construction: anyone can carry out workexperience, and once they have completed work experience they are guaranteed an interview or an apprenticeship oremployment opportunity. It provides experience or school children rom 14 years upwards and works with colleges and JobCentre Plus to provide placements or college students and people seeking employment.

Since Willmott Dixon Partnerships launched Opening Doors in May 2010, it has provided over 40,000 hours o workexperience, and the percentage o apprentices coming rom local areas has risen to 90%. Reerred to internally as growing ourown, this system ensures that the economic and social benefts o apprenticeships and employment are elt very locally.

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This legacy must be embedded in a procurement process thatidentifes local economic priorities and needs, and challengesprivate companies to meet them. A properly executed plan withrealistic targets, one that maps a service providers activities so

they are aligned with local strategic needs and growth plans,should lead to tangible improvements.

While a single service provider cannot change the ortunes o alabour market or local area, it can create positive role models,help improve acilities or areas, create training opportunities anduse its skills to bring hope to young people with low sel-esteemwho see no real contribution they make to society.

Some outputs - such as sustainable jobs created, hours o workexperience provided, NVQ qualifcations gained, or volunteeringor community projects - can be measured. The benefts to thepublic purse o moving someone rom benefts to sustainableemployment are considerable: the West Midlands InclusionPanel calculated in 2011 that moving a Jobseekers Allowanceclaimant into work saved 10,700 annually. More recently, areport on youth unemployment rom ACEVO (the associationo chie executives o voluntary organisations) calculated that in2012, youth unemployment would cost the exchequer 4.8bnwith a urther 10.7bn o output lost by the economy.

Other benefts are less easy to quantiy. What is the value tosociety o motivating a young person who goes on to becomean apprentice and then a tradesperson and who then raiseschildren with a positive work ethic? How do you measure thevalue o reurbishing a community centre kitchen so that olderpeople come out o their homes to use the centre again?

For a housing repairs and maintenance service provider, itshould make perect business sense to become a part o thecommunity it serves: training up and employing people romthat community leads to employees with knowledge and

understanding o their workplace; on-going programmes otraining and community activity lead to more satisfed andmotivated workers; a better cared-or community means lessacts o casual vandalism and damage to homes.

Creating social value is not an easy proposition. It requirescommitment and organisation. Companies with an existingethos o social and community investment, who can collaboratewith other organisations in order to ocus resource and eortwhere it can have the most eect, will achieve more thancompanies who do not have such a culture.

Getting it right will see service providers move rom justdelivering a service to marking a undamental dierencein creating local opportunity, a shit where they becomea communitys economic partner.

Ultimately, the social legacy rom any long-term contract should

be people who have had opportunities to improve their lives where

otherwise this would not have been possible. It should aid an

environment where money is earned and spent locally, where people

make a greater economic contribution to their community, where

there are ewer transient households, and where social inrastructure

is established that supports community cohesion.

4 Leaving a lasting legacyTRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

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etting it right: ro hoeless to hopeul

St Basils in Birmingham is one o two local charities which Willmott Dixon Partnerships supports as part o a programmeo community work, connected to housing maintenance and repair contracts on 60,000 homes or Birmingham City Council.The charitys aim is to help homeless young people by providing accommodation and support services.

Lewis Briscoe, homeless ater a amily breakdown, frst encountered Willmott Dixon at a construction careers event held by

the frm at St Basils. Inspired by what he had heard, Lewis attended a Willmott Dixon-run course on CV writing and interviewtechnique at the hostel. He went on to successully apply or and complete two weeks work experience with a bricklayerthrough Willmott Dixons Opening Doors programme.

When an opportunity to apply or an apprenticeship arose less than a year later, Willmott Dixons customer and communityofcer contacted Lewis to encourage him to apply. His commitment, enthusiasm and aptitude meant that he was successulwith his application and is now an apprentice bricklayer.Now Lewis, who is 19, has the chance o a uture in the construction industry, and Willmott Dixon has a loyal and committedapprentice, who will hopeully go on to become an employee, and who can inspire other young people with his story.

ecoendations

1) Have a clear idea o what legacy you expect a serviceprovider to achieve, and monitor progress

2) Examine what previous legacies a potential serviceprovider has created in other communities and is proudto demonstrate

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etting it right: otherha Titans

Maximising social value can oten mean working withother organisations to achieve a better outcome together.In Rotherham, Willmott Dixon Partnerships is workingwith local rugby league club the Rotherham Titans on itsTackling Programme to help get excluded children backinto mainstream schools.

Through its programme, Rotherham Titans worked with159 o the towns most vulnerable and challenging youngpeople in 2011/2012, running 12 courses over the year.

Willmott Dixon provided three-day construction tastercourses or 20 young people in the Alternative CurriculumUnit, who have been excluded rom school. Supported bytheir mentor rom Rotherham Titans, the young people havea day o training in CV writing, job applications, constructionsaety tests and interviews; a day o practical experience,working on an empty property; and a third day when theyhave a mock interview with a senior member o sta.

etting it right: a otivated workorce

When Willmott Dixon Partnerships was awarded an eleven-month repairs and maintenance contract by The RoyalBorough o Kensington and Chelseas Tenant ManagementOrganisation, it inherited a disillusioned workorce. A lacko leadership, with no clear goals or direction meant thatthe workorce was ailing, through no ault o its own.

An important part o introducing their new employees tothe business was to explain about Willmott Dixons cultureand values, and the importance it places on developingits employees, training young people and working oncommunity projects. This was ollowed up by qualitycircles, where the tradespeople could share their knowledgeand experience and suggest routes or improvement.

A ew months into the contract, the companys annualemployee survey revealed a workorce which understood thebusinesss aims and priorities and which was happy with theway they were being managed. Overall satisaction fguresor Kensington and Chelseas tradespeople came in at 78.3%

with customer satisaction above target levels, at 94.7%.

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19% o our workorce are currently undertaking

oral learning

We have taken on 41 apprentices in Biringha since 2009

ver 40,000 hours o work experience has been provided

since the launch o Willott Dixons Partnerships pening

Doors prograe in may 2010

n 2012, The Willott Dixon foundation delivered

1-worth o counity based projects

ur investent o 1 in creating the 4Lie cadey akes

us capable o training 2,000 people every year

Willott Dixon Partnerships provided construction tastercourses or 20 young people in otherhas lternative

Curriculu nit in 2011/2012


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Willmott Dixon is one o the UKs largest privately-owned construction,regeneration and support service companies.

In Support Services, its repairs and maintenance brand Willmott DixonPartnerships provides a range o planned, preventative and responsive careto property, which includes maintaining over 170,000 homes across the UK.

find out ore at www.willottdixon.co.uk

follow us on twitter: @WillottDixonVisit our YouTube channel

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