From Access to Salesforce

Bristol-based counselling charity Kinergy are a very busy service dealing with hundreds of clients per year across Bristol, Avon and the wider area. They came to us with a range of data management headaches.

At the heart of the problem was the fact that their old server-based Microsoft Access database had become pretty much obsolete. It was no longer serving their needs, particularly with respect to remote working, and also due to difficulties when seeking to report their impact to funders. Compounding this was the fact that a commercial Salesforce developer lacking experience in the charity sector had attempted to solve their problems and failed. Frustration was running high and time was running short!

Following an introduction via the Lloyds Bank Foundation we got to work assessing the functional requirements of the charity. Our ability to compare and contrast their operating model with that of dozens of other charities we’ve worked with meant that time could be spent more efficiently. It became apparent that the basic system architecture could be assembled by bringing together a number of tried and tested elements from other Salesforce development projects we’ve led. A number of custom features could then be woven in to ensure organisation-specific needs were met. As a further element of the project we were able to exceed client expectations by introducing new features they hadn’t previously known were deliverable. Moving all referral processes online using digital forms was a real game-changer in terms of efficiency, along with a fundamental shift towards paperless working.

The charity’s business manager Bert Weenink comments:

“We were getting increasingly frustrated that we could not make Salesforce match our very specific needs. This was after spending a considerable amount of money on ‘expert’ help provided by advisors who just didn’t understand what we wanted our new database to produce. Through the Enhance programme sponsored by the Lloyds Bank Foundation we contacted Matt Wilson. From the moment our Clinical Manager and myself started talking to Matt we found that he understood exactly what we were looking for and what could be done to make Salesforce to fit our needs. Matt’s understanding of the needs of our charity and his awareness of technical solutions were second to none. We are deeply grateful to him for getting our new CRM ready for use!”

A new strategy for a new chapter

We were really pleased to be able to support Emmaus Northeast with the development of their new strategic plan. An introduction was made via Lloyds Bank Foundation as part of our work on their ‘Enhance’ programme.

Emmaus Northeast is part of the wider Emmaus Federation which supports people who have been through significant hardships. Here in the North East the local arm of the charity supports a therapeutic residential community of ‘companions’ all of whom have faced many years of serious hardship. For many this has meant periods of homelessness, addiction and imprisonment.

The new strategy was needed following a period of substantial change including the arrival of a new Chief Exec, the welcoming of several new members to the board of trustees and not forgetting, the radically shifting post-covid operating environment.

As always, one of the highlights was the opportunity to facilitate an away day for the leadership team and trustees. Along with working through the important strategic decisions for the future it was also an excellent opportunity for the trustees to get to know another better and to align their new roles around key strategic priorities.

New CEO Ruth Parker reflected on the experience as follows:

“I was put in touch with Matt Wilson through Lloyds Bank Foundation as a highly recommended facilitator for Board Strategy events. The timelines were tight yet Matt made contact vey quickly and proposed his plans for the event. I wasn’t disappointed, the event ran so smoothly with Matt guiding board discussions throughout the day. I was particularly impressed with his professionalism and how much knowledge he had of our charity - he’d clearly done his homework and had a real awareness of the challenges and risks we faced. The work did not end there, Matt continued to support me in editing drafts of the plan which has been very well received. All the trustees have commented that they would like to work with Goodlabs again in the future. Thanks from all of us at Emmaus North East, your support was greatly appreciated.”

Listening to service users

Durham County Carers Support is a fantastic charity that we’ve had the pleasure of working with on a number of projects over the past few years.

Supporting charities to create new strategic plans is one of the “bread and butter” things we do at Goodlabs. Every new strategic plan is unique and interesting in its own way. What made this project particularly enjoyable was the commitment of Durham Carers to involve its service users in the strategic planning process. There was a real determination to design a method of engagement that would be both meaningful for the Carers participating as well as insightful for the charity.

Goodlabs designed and facilitated the process which involved live events in the four corners of County Durham. A lot of miles were covered that week but it was absolutely worth it! Whilst the same process was followed in each location it was fascinating to see emergence of some key local differences along with common themes. All the content generated was written up in headline format and fed into an Away Day for Trustees and key staff. Equipped with fresh insights from the frontline a range of strategic priorities for the future could be devised.

CEO Jenni Wood commented:

We’re really thankful for the support to review and develop our new 5 year Strategic Plan. It involved facilitating workshops with groups of Carers over a tight timescale. This was followed by meetings with staff, volunteers and trustees to scope out priorities and outcomes. Our new plan which clearly sets out our vision and aims for the future was produced efficiently and arrived on time. I can’t recommend Matt and Goodlabs highly enough.

Launching the "Rugby+" framework

Launching Rugby+ at Kingston Park, Newcastle

It was fantastic to be at Kingston Park this week, home of the Newcastle Falcons Rugby Union and Newcastle Thunder Rugby League teams.

We were there for the official launch of the new Rugby+ framework, which we've been supporting the Newcastle Rugby Foundation to develop over the course of the year. There was incredible buzz in the venue from around a hundred specially invited guests as we listened to stories of how the foundation is making an impact in people’s lives.

Enhancing Impact is at the heart of everything we do at Goodlabs and we’ve been thrilled to be able to walk a journey with NRF as they have sought to more clearly articulate the difference they make. A big part of impact management being really clear about the change you want to achieve in people’s lives, then working back from this to ensure that you have all the necessary links in the chain to make it happen.

We produced a new theory of change for the foundation, linked to a detailed Outcomes Framework containing a range of bespoke indicators to enable the tracking of participant progress over time. Time was taken to make sure this framework could be embedded in the CRM system that the foundation uses (Upshot) as well as training key members of staff in how to use a number of new/updated digital evidence collection tools.

By organising the new framework into four headline themes, linking in to the Rugby+ branding, we ensured that the new ideas become ‘sticky’ within the team, and can be easily communicated to stakeholders. (see graphic below) It was great to have the chance to collaborate with marketing agency Cravens to develop and finesse the language used in the model.

Good luck to all the team as you step up your activities in the months ahead :-)

The four impact themes in the new Rugby+ framework

The Life and Soul of the Community

Creating community in New Lubbesthorpe

Evaluation of Lubbesthorpe Alive

Goodlabs has just completed a fascinating evaluation project focused on a brand new community being built on a 400 hectare site on the Western edge of Leicester.

New Lubbesthorpe is, in construction development terms, an Urban Extension. More recently the literature around Urban Extensions has begun to evolve to give greater acknowledgement to social and environmental concerns, alongside physical infrastructure requirements. This is very much the aspiration for developments like New Lubbesthorpe. The language is therefore evolving with the emergence of a new term: ‘Sustainable Urban Extension’.

Our task was to look back at the effect of a pioneering six-year project designed to accelerate the growth of real local community in the new housing estate. The new community was the vision of local landowner Fred Drummond. Mr Drummond, spoke of building a vibrant community on his 1000 acre (400 hectare) site. It would be a place that people would want to live, work, learn and play. Mr Drummond sadly died before he was able to see his dream become a reality but the Drummond Trust continue his legacy. Vital to the new community’s connection to the city of Leicester is a new road bridge over the busy M1 motorway. At its official opening the bridge was Christened “Fred's bridge” with engrave plaques at either end. There is also carved wooden fish in front of the Primary school as a memorial showing off his love of salmon fishing.

The lead organisation for the community development work was Churches Together in Leicestershire, which eventually developed a locally-operated nonprofit through which to operate: Lubbesthorpe Alive CIC. We found that a major contribution to the life of New Lubbesthorpe had been made, by connecting people to one another, as well as to the tapestry of places and spaces that make up their new home. 

Some of our key findings included:

• Our residents’ survey showed that a genuine sense of community has been developed. 94% agreed that New Lubbesthorpe has a strong sense of community.

• The value of making and maintaining strong partnerships. In this case with Blaby District Council, the Drummond Estate and the housebuilders (Redrow, David Wilson, Barratt).

• Sustainable communities require key people and amenities to serve as the glue that bonds communities together. The promotion and facilitation of social interaction substantially enhances quality of life for residents.

• New models of seasonal celebration have been important. Events marking festivals and seasons became important in the life and rhythm of the community. Demand has risen and crowds have got bigger. A culture of connection around these shared markers of the year is emerging.

• Special concern and responsiveness must be shown to residents of new social housing units. A construction sector professional commented, "Our industry can be quite poor at anticipating the issues that tenants can bring to the community".

If you have a project that requires an external evaluation drop us a line to arrange a chat about it. Email: impact@goodlabs.uk

Engaging Stakeholders on Purpose

Photo credit: Wokandapix at Pixabay.com

It’s been great to have the opportunity to work with Action Foundation again, this time supporting their new CEO to take a fresh look at the charity’s Purpose.

Transitions can be challenging times for organisations but Newcastle-based refugee and asylum support charity Action Foundation have been handling the handover of their senior leader extremely well. Looking to the long term their new CEO felt it important to take a fresh look at the way the vision and mission of the charity are understood and articulated. Via our mutual friends at Lloyds Bank Foundation we got together to consider what this process might mean.

It became apparent that having separate vision and mission statements wasn’t necessarily helping strategic clarity. At Goodlabs we’re seeing more and more of our clients opting for a single, powerful statement of Purpose. Once it was agreed that this was the destination the task was - how to get there?

Goodlabs were tasked with designing a Stakeholder Lab format that would engage staff, volunteers and service users in exercises designed to generate and refine the key ideas that form the essence of the charity. The Labs would be repeated up to a dozen times over a one month period with groups in Newcastle and Sunderland, as well as online. Probably the biggest challenge was with language, as for many participants English wasn’t their mother tongue. Hats off to the team we worked with who ensured that everyone present was able to fully engage and offer meaningful contributions.

Following successful delivery of the schedule of Labs we supplied an insights report summarising the key ideas that emerged and setting up the SLT for the remaining in-house task of wordsmithing their final statement.

“Wonderfully helpful” was the feedback received from the client.

We’re happy with that :-)

Helping law firm shift from CSR to ESG

Graph showing growing use of ESG through relative popularity of Google searches for “CSR” vs “ESG” (UK)

It’s great to be working once again with our friends at leading North East law firm Muckle LLP. On this occasion they’ve asked for our help with the development of their new Responsible Business Strategy - a subset of their overall Corporate Strategy which is currently going through an update.

When it comes to developing strategy the overall framing of the narrative is really important. The core elements of the strategy - its objectives and goals - need to fit together in a cohesive whole that makes sense to all stakeholders. In the past Muckle, like many businesses, has tended to talk about CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility. However, within the new strategy, ESG offers a more helpful grid. For those unfamiliar with ESG, it stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, and is borrowed from the world of ethical investing. ESG can also be understood as three complementary pillars of value. The chart above, using Google searches as a proxy for interest, shows the way that ESG is rising in popularity vs CSR.

Muckle are always a great client to work for as they really do walk the talk. Their efforts in the arena of responsible business are long-standing and class-leading. Understandably, we’re excited to be able to help them to maintain and develop their position of leadership long into the future. This will involve re-stating a range of strategic ambitions from net zero targets, through to charitable giving from profits, expanding employee volunteering schemes and undertaking a greater volume of pro bono work. And a great deal more besides.

Commenting on our work Senior Partner Hugh Welch said:

We’ve twice used Matt to help us with the development of our CSR and, more latterly, ESG plans. On each occasion, the insights and knowledge that he has brought and the advice and direction that he has given us have simply been invaluable. There’s no doubt in my mind that our ESG programme is vastly better as a result of all the help he has given us.

If you aren’t familiar with Muckle and how they do business, take a look here.

Powering VODA's Impact with Salesforce

Through the Power Of Us program charities can access 10 free Salesforce user licences, worth around £3000.

Having worked with third sector infrastructure body VODA on several projects previously we’ve developed a good understanding of their needs. When they recently approached us for support in figuring out the best way to manage the application process for a substantial new grants fund we immediately knew of the perfect solution…

2021 was the year in which Goodlabs took its work on the Salesforce platform to a whole new level, completing several implementations for charities of different shapes and sizes. In each case we supported the client through the process of registering and successfully gaining approval for free Salesforce user licences via the ‘Power Of Us’ programme. Through this scheme Salesforce.org generously provides access to a full Enterprise Edition of the Salesforce CRM platform.

That’s full access to the world’s #1 CRM product, for free!

Of course, as a highly complex database product, Salesforce isn’t an out-of-the-box solution. That’s why Goodlabs has spent hundreds of hours developing a bespoke solution for the non-profit sector that simplifies the system with a focus on making available its most powerful functionality through the Salesforce ‘Lightning’ user interface.

On this project we were pleased to work for the first time with Advanz101, a registered Salesforce consulting partner with offices in the USA and India. They provided some next-level ninja skills to automate elements of the grant application process, increasing efficiency by removing the need for manual eligibility checks and notification emails. Thanks to the team for their great work!

PS - If you’re still faffing around trying to manage your charity using spreadsheets and would like to look into moving to the Salesforce platform drop us a line on salesforce@goodlabs.uk

Metanoia - a shift of mind

This article is a taken from the Introduction to The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter Senge, first published 1990, revised 2006.

METANOIA—A SHIFT OF MIND

When you ask people about what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. It becomes quite clear that, for many, their experiences as part of truly great teams stand out as singular periods of life lived to the fullest. Some spend the rest of their lives looking for ways to recapture that spirit.

The most accurate word in Western culture to describe what happens in a learning organization is one that hasn't had much currency for the past several hundred years. It is a word we have used in our work with organizations for some ten years, but we always caution them, and ourselves, to use it sparingly in public. The word is "metanoia" and it means a shift of mind. The word has a rich history. For the Greeks, it meant a fundamental shift or change, or more literally transcendence ("meta"—above or beyond, as in "metaphysics") of mind ("noia," from the root "nous," of mind). In the early (Gnostic) Christian tradition, it took on a special meaning of awakening shared intuition and direct knowing of the highest, of God.

"Metanoia" was probably the key term of such early Christians as John the Baptist. In the Catholic corpus the word metanoia was eventually translated as "repent." To grasp the meaning of "metanoia" is to grasp the deeper meaning of "learning," for learning also involves a fundamental shift or movement of mind. The problem with talking about "learning organizations" is that the "learning" has lost its central meaning in contemporary usage.

Most people's eyes glaze over if you talk to them about "learning" or "learning organizations." Little wonder—for, in everyday use, learning has come to be synonymous with "taking in information." "Yes, I learned all about that at the course yesterday." Yet, taking in information is only distantly related to real learning. It would be nonsensical to say, "I just read a great book about bicycle riding—I've now learned that."

Real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human. Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning. It is, as Bill O'Brien of Hanover Insurance says, "as fundamental to human beings as the sex drive."

This, then, is the basic meaning of a "learning organization"—an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future. For such an organization, it is not enough merely to survive. "Survival learning" or what is more often termed "adaptive learning" is important—indeed it is necessary. But for a learning organization, "adaptive learning" must be joined by "generative learning," learning that enhances our capacity to create.

A few brave organizational pioneers are pointing the way, but the territory of building learning organizations is still largely unexplored. It is my fondest hope that this book can accelerate that exploration.

Making an impact with IMO in Blackburn

“Inspire, Motivate, Overcome” - they are the driving principles of the Inter Madrassah Organisation in Blackburn.

The charity, originally founded by a small but very committed group of local volunteers has grown rapidly now and now reaches thousands of local people every year with a range of support and activities. IMO has particular expertise in working with young people and families mainly of BAME heritage, facing multiple disadvantages.

Goodlabs was introduced to the charity as part of our work supporting the Lloyds Bank Foundation ‘Enhance’ programme. Having scaled up their operation substantially in response to local need that emerged during the coronavirus pandemic IMO are keen to explore how to more systematically embed impact management into their organisation at both the strategic and operational level. A new outcomes framework is being developed, to be embedded into their CRM system and aligned with frontline evidence-gathering tools.

The photo above shows members of the core team at a recent ‘Impact Lab’ facilitated by Goodlabs at the Eanam Wharf Business Centre in Blackburn.

East London Churches' Community Impact

During the coronavirus pandemic everyone’s life was disrupted… shops, offices, schools, and also places of worship. In this fascinating project Goodlabs were asked to produce an external evaluation of the work of a grop of churches in East London as they mobilised members to support their local communities.

“Organising For Growth” is an initiative of the Centre for Theology and Community, an organisation well-known for its work in the arena of community organising and social enterprise development. The CTC has been part of highly effective campaigns to secure the Living Wage for local cleaners, and even launched its own ethical cleaning company, Clean For Good.

Whilst the launch of “Organising For Growth” in late 2019 meant that its first year was more than a little turbulent we found an extremely impressive range of community-oriented activities had taken place, even under lockdown. Of particular note was the way in which clergy had enabled lay members of their congregations to grow in their leadership by taking responsibility for important community campaigns and programmes.

Our interim evaluation was published earlier this month. We will continue to journey with the project through 2022 producing our final evaluation in early 2023.

Supporting Oasis Housing's Vision for Enterprise

Oasis Community Housing are widely respected for the compassionate and consistent support they offer to people experiencing homelessness. With deep roots in the North East, as well as projects around London, they are constantly striving to improve lives. Goodlabs were invited to tender to support the charity in an exciting social enterprise feasibility project, and were delighted to win the work.

Like all charities OCH exists in a challenging funding environment and in order to ensure its long-term sustainability must spread risk by operating a mixed-income model combining both fundraising and revenue-generation. Our feasibility study needed to account for dual objectives of generating unrestricted income as well as delivering social value and employability progression for those the charity serves. In order to deliver on the objectives of the work Goodlabs brought on board Jessie Joe Jacobs as an associate consultant. As a prior winner of the Sunday Times Social Entrepreneur of the Year award Jessie brought important insight and know-how to the project.

The project proceeded in three phases, firstly exploring a wide range of opportunities that OCH might want to consider, then narrowing down to a smaller range of options to evaluate in more detail, before finally working up costed business plans for two new social enterprises.

We look forward to continuing to advise the charity as they secure the necessary start up funding and begin to push ahead with the plans.