A framework for tackling Health Inequalities

The Health Inequalities Framework for North Tyneside

The health inequalities that exist across local communities are well-documented and sadly feature right across the country. There is a well-established connection between poverty and poor health, along with a range of other factors.

When it comes to Public Health policy the borough of North Tyneside has been demonstrating increasing ambition, especially in the period following the coronavirus pandemic. A new strategy called “Equally Well” was launched with the Marmot Principles at its heart. In partnership with the NHS a £400,000 funding pot was created to catalyse a new wave of innovation amongst voluntary sector partners. Local infrastructure body VODA were contracted to manage the programme.

One feature of the programme that needed close attention was how it would be evaluated, with an emphasis on ensuring that important learning would be captured. Appreciating our strong track record in producing evaluations VODA contracted Goodlabs to deliver this element of the programme. Recognising the opportunity to contribute to enlarging the body of learning around this critical issue we were delighted to be involved.

Our approach was to create an ‘open source learning community’ consisting of all the VCSE partners who received grants. Rather than everyone working in silos we created a pattern of events and reports through which relationships could be developed and learning could be shared - both in terms of what is working, and what isn’t. By linking in-person events with the six-monthly reporting schedule we highlighted the relevance of evaluation data and created a sense of empowerment around its interpretation.

At the heart of the process was the creation of a new Health Inequalities Framework, co-produced by all the partners at our first learning community back in May 2022. With 8 impact themes and 55 specific indicators the framework covers all the expected changes taking place in the lives of individual people reached through project delivery, as well as a number of system-level changes too.

The programme continues until December 2023, when we will produce our final evaluation report.

The relationship between reporting data and meeting to discuss it is key

Voluntary sector groups co-producing the framework at event 1, May 2022

The Win, Win, Win

This month Goodlabs facilitated a virtual event with forward-thinking businesses to discuss the way that Covid-19 has transformed Employee Volunteering. The event was the culmination of a piece of research work that Goodlabs has been undertaking for VODA. Special guests from EE, Newcastle Building Society, Greggs and many others joined the conversation which was kindly chaired by Karen Goldfinch of North Tyneside Business Forum.

Regional VCS infrastructure organisation VODA had responded rapidly to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic by working alongside the local council to launch a support hub for vulnerable residents. The support offered was human-centred and practical in nature, simply known as: Good Neighbours. With volunteering at its heart the hub introduced VODA to hundreds of new volunteers, many adjusting to working from home rather than in shared offices. As the first lockdown relaxed VODA asked Goodlabs to lead a learning project to highlight the key ways in which impact had been made.

Thousands of vulnerable and isolated people received absolutely essential support through the work of the hub. Food parcels and vital medicines were delivered to those who could not leave their homes. However, one of the most interesting findings related to the volunteers themselves, especially to those volunteers adjusting to remote rather than office working. We found that:

1. Remote workers universally appreciated the opportunity to break up their working day by undertaking a volunteer assignment.

2. They benefitted from the social contact, which goes some way to replacing the social contact previously enjoyed at the office.

3. They have experienced ‘emotional payback’. Helping other gives an uplift in wellbeing that adds buoyancy to their working week.

We also found that these effects combined to mitigate known factors associated with working from home that are limiters on productivity. This in turn makes the experience of remote working more sustainable over the longer term. Our conclusion was therefore that a regular volunteer opportunity is therefore:

• good for the employee, WIN ✓

• good for those they support, WIN ✓

• good for the employer too. WIN ✓

A challenge was laid down to businesses to embracing a new model of employee volunteering:

• Out with the proverbial ‘teams painting sheds’. Prior models of CSR centred around large teams of staff engaging in full-day mass volunteering is called into question.

• Breaking days into hours.More flexible approaches to ‘volunteering allowances’ within HR policies appear to be the new trend and need to be adopted more widely.

New CRM system for Rape Crisis

Rape Crisis Tyneside & Northumberland belongs to the national network of Rape Crisis centres, providing vital services for women who have experienced sexual abuse, exploitation and violence. Our connection came via our delivery relationship with Lloyds Bank Foundation, one of RCTN’s funders, along with the Ministry of Justice and others.

Like many charities in receipt of funding from major public and corporate sector sources RCTN has to navigate a vast array of statistics about the work that it is delivering. Historically this had been done via a Microsoft Access database but this technology was fast becoming obsolete and its limitations myriad.

Goodlabs supported RCTN through a multi-phased project that involved reflecting critically on systems and processes for client/case management, along with development of a Theory of Change and Outcomes Framework. This was followed by the production of a detailed specification outlining the essential functionality of the new CRM, and then taking this to the market via a proportionate tendering process. Systems were demoed, providers shortlisted and interviewed and eventually a decision made.

Finally Goodlabs provided arms-length project management through the build and implementation phase, support with export and import of historic data, plus the coaching and training of key staff to ensure rapid adoption of the new platform (a custom iteration of the Salesforce based ‘In-Form’ supplied by Homeless Link).

Impact Award Winners

It was incredibly satisfying to see that two years of behind the scenes work with YMCA North Tyneside was recognised with the scooping of a prestigious award! At a swanky dinner in London the charity bagged the 2019 Charity Governance Award in the Improving Impact category.

Since 2017 Goodlabs had been working with the charity leading on the development of a sophisticated strengths-based impact framework enabling staff to target and tailor interventions for service users. The framework enabled young people, especially those in YMCA accommodation, to be supported over time using a simple assessment tool, embedded in a CRM, offering real-time insights and enabling learning and improvement.

The ‘Strengths Framework’ is rooted in an asset-based philosophy that refuses to allow people to be ‘defined by their deficits’. It is about ‘what is strong, not what is wrong’. Working this way gives young people the best possible opportunity to overcome the difficult start they’ve had in life in order to transition to a brighter future.

Find out more here