NEWSLETTER
1
this issue Open Source Revolution P.1 IT Management Tips P.2 Non-Profit Solutions P.3 Trends & New Software P.4
Urban Futures celebrated its 10th Anniversary on the 28th September, 2011 with a corporate event in Bruce Grove in the Heart of Tottenham. The theme of the evening was twofold; both celebrating past achievements and laying out priorities for the future largely focusing on young people.
Introduction from the Chief Executive Welcome to the first edition of the new Urban Futures Newsletter. We will be producing this document on a regular basis to keep you all informed on what is going on in the company across the board, the services and training that we are currently offering our customers, and as a means of keeping you informed and connected with colleagues, particularly those situated in our satellite offices across London and at Stansted Airport. However, this Newsletter is also an opportunity for both staff and customers to contribute to the development of the company. Remember we are a social enterprise and a ’not for profit’ company so we value ideas and views that you have and will always try to incorporate new ways of working if they can prove efficiency and value to our customers and the services we deliver. In this addition of the newsletter, we will be highlighting a number of issues that all staff should take note of. These include:
Matrix accreditation—what it is and why we have it.
Haringey Education Business Partnership—a new Urban Futures company and an interview with the Manager Derek Wheeler.
Urban Futures restructuring and our position with Newlon Housing Trust.
Updates on our performance across the Work Programme, JCP Flexi Fund, NEET programmes, Apprenticeships, and our training contracts.
Updating our website and ICT portals.
An update from our Business Development Team on tenders and contracts won.
And comments from our HR department.
Last but not least, there is a number of additional articles highlighting events (past & present) and issues/ articles of interest. It has not been possible to fit in all ‘company news’ into this first addition so don’t feel we are ignoring you or your service —your chance for a company profile will come in later additions so I do hope you will find this newsletter of interest to you and helpful in your work environment. Regards Steve Delaney
www.urbanfutures.org.uk
Interview with Derek Wheeler — HEBP Who are HEBP? HEBP stands for Haringey Education Business Partnership. The organisation has been in existence for 13 years as an independent organisation & charity. The organisation was set up to deliver a number of services linking local schools with businesses and to meet the national curriculum for work experience for year 10 students.
What is HEBP’s relationship with Urban Futures? From September 2011, Urban Futures joined the Board of HEBP and took the overall strategic management of the organisation. The current Chief Executive of Urban Futures is the Chair of the HEBP Board.
What are HEBP’s current projects? HEBP currently following:
delivers
the
Work experience programme for 9 Haringey schools and 2 colleges placing around 1,400 pupils on a 1 week placement with businesses.
Pre NEET programme working with young people.
Specialist 1 week classroom based programmes for ‘at risk’ young people.
Who currently works for HEBP? HEBP currently has 5 specialist staff. These are Granville Barrand, Sherrie Annandie, Talent Ramsamy, Nurcan Ali, and myself Derek Wheeler.
Urban Futures — Who we are, What we do, Why we do it… by Steve Delaney Urban Futures was created in 2001 from an amalgamation of a number of public authority regeneration teams from the London Boroughs of Haringey and Enfield and for the first 5 or 6 years was solely dedicated to the programme management of these public bodies regeneration schemes such as SRBs, NRFs, and the Objective 2 ERDF European schemes. In 2006 we changed and slowly started a transformation towards the direct delivery of programmes and dealing with customers ourselves rather than through sub contracts with other organisations. This started with the introduction of the Construction Sector Certification Scheme (CSCS), moved to the delivery of wider employment initiatives through the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) and the London Development Agency (LDA), and culminated in where we are today delivering DWP, SFA, and wider employment and skills programmes. As part of this transformation, Urban Futures adopted a new marketing strategy which saw the formation of a number of delivery brands including:
Employ.
Business Futures.
Construction Web.
Stansted Employment & Skills Academy.
Heathrow Gateway 2012.
Urban Futures Consultancy.
Subsequently, we have now included:
HEBP.
North London Arts Partnership.
Urban Futures is a private ‘not for profit’ social enterprise & urban regeneration company dedicated to delivering quality services aimed at disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities. Although we deliver pan London, we have a particular focus on north London and the Upper Lea Valley area which is where our headquarters is based (Wood Green, Haringey). We specialise in delivering employment & skills programmes and business support projects enabling individuals, groups, and communities to better equip themselves economically in order to support their efforts in combating deprivation factors inherent in their lives and the lives of the communities within which they live. Therefore, many of our clients are from traditional working class backgrounds, minority ethnic communities, are refugees, disabled, or have suffered from a series of welfare debilitating issues. We have a wide ranging remit contained within our Articles of Association but can be categorised under 4 main headings, namely: 1. Equipping local people for a 21st century economy. 2. Business development. 3. The environment (in it’s widest economic and social perspective). 4. To maintain and develop a reputation as an urban regeneration company. For a look at the longer version of our Articles, visit our webpage on www.urbanfutures.org.uk
Corporate Development Objectives:
To constantly review & improve the quality of services delivered.
Ensure that we deliver activities where our strengths lie in programme management, direct service delivery, and the delivery of innovation.
Deliver & champion the development of partnerships & consortia to improve the effectiveness of services & value for money.
Continue to value & develop our staff team as our key asset.
Urban Futures has been successfully delivering the DWP Work Programme since May 2011 and has supported over 100 people into employment outcomes.
David Lammy MP visited the Wood Green branch of Urban Futures on Friday, 23rd March 2012. Pictured with Steve Delaney (Chief Executive) and Garba Sani (Director of Finance, HR & Central Services).
Urban Futures are currently delivering the SFA Apprenticeships programme and have supported over 20 young p e o p l e i n t o Apprenticeships in Retail, Customer Service and Business Admin.
Business Development...by Tanju Yavuz The Business Development team has had one of its busiest procurement rounds with a variety of opportunities popping up. The team has recently been successful in securing a sub contract for the...
DWP Education Funding Agency Youth Contract – A programme of support designed to engage 16/17 year olds into education, training and employment with training.
We have also submitted a major bid in partnership with Outward, Newlon Fusion, and HEBP for the...
GLA ESF Young People with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities — A programme designed to provide this target group with support to access employment within a variety of sectors.
We have successfully moved to stage 2 of the procurement process and have had an interview for the contract. We will find out in August 2012 if we were successful. Contracts currently being looked at include:
Haringey Jobs Fund.
East London Flexi Fund.
Bromley Youth Employment Project.
Youth related contracts.
The Matrix Standard W h a t i t ’s a l l a b o u t a n d w h y w e m u s t h a v e i t … b y Anita Garrard The Matrix Standard is a quality standard for organisations to assess and measure their advice and support services. It is imperative for organisations who deliver welfare to work, training services, and job brokerage to have this accreditation as it is an industry benchmark and funders tend only to award contracts to those organisations who hold this accreditation. By holding this standard, we are ensuring that the management of the company is continuously working to improve services by engaging with staff and customers; that staff are trained to the required level and have the resources to do their job; and that customers are receiving quality service delivery geared to meeting their needs. Every 3 years our organisation has to go through a re-accreditation and our initial accreditation to the new and improved standard took place in June 2012 when we received a partial pass. We will go through a stage 2 process in August/ September 2012 where we will have the opportunity post our restructuring to show that we fully comply with the standard. In the run up to the re-accreditation there will be several meetings which you may be asked to attend (this will keep you informed of what is happening in the re-accreditation / company). The Matrix Standard comprises of four elements:
Leadership and Management.
Resources.
Service Delivery.
Continuous Quality Improvement.
Our mission is to:
Deliver high quality services for all local communities including local residents, businesses and organisations that in turn deliver sustainable and positive change.
Maximise the benefits of national, regional and local developments for local communities.
Work with all local communities to broker solutions to needs and aspirations.
Deliver a range of appropriate services including programme/project management; solution brokerage; the direct delivery of training; employment support & job brokerage.
Support the aims and aspirations of partner organisations to maximise the impact of available resources on the region.
Constantly review, evaluate and improve our services to ensure that they are appropriate, of a high quality and meeting local needs. Invest in our staff to maximise our ability to deliver quality services.
Objectives Business Development:
Ensure an integrated suite of business support services to start-ups, local SMEs & larger employers. Promote business creation and self employment to local residents. Contribute to an environment where businesses can thrive and prosper.
An assessor will visit our offices (Wood Green and may arrange to visit satellite offices) and gather evidence from a range of sources including:
Support economic development in deprived areas.
Deliver recycling strategies for SMEs.
Face-to-face, telephone, video conferencing or group interviews. Observing events such as meetings. Information from you on how you believe you meet the matrix Standard. Discussions with clients, employees and partners.
YOU may be asked to attend an interview with the assessor to talk about your area of work or if you are new to the company you may be asked about your induction. As a company, we will be holding briefing sessions so you are aware of the company objectives, how we measure progress through identifiable milestones, and what your role is in ensuring we meet standards. Remember, everything we do as a company is to support disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities in London through employment and training and business support initiatives— it’s why we were created. For more information on Matrix accreditation please ask Anita Garrard for a copy of the Standards.
Promote the development of social enterprises.
Sustainable Development:
Support employment that enhances the environment through sustainable development.
Social & Employability Development:
Equip local people with the skills & aptitudes to remove barriers to employment. Support activity designed to empower local people & communities. Promote lifelong learning & an effective transition from education to employment. Develop the local skills base.
Client
O utc om es —delivering
our services to the best of our abilities and achieving successful outcome for all of our clients...by Anita Garrard. Most staff will always try to achieve the best possible outcome for their clients whether that is Information, Advice & Guidance, Job brokerage, training or indeed through contract compliance issues with funders. But do we ever ask ourselves why we are doing it? It is extremely important that we are continuously asking ourselves this question in order to ensure that we are indeed delivering Best Practice. If we deliver contractual outputs only (the payment triggers for many of our contracts), we cannot be sure that we are delivering what is best for the individual client in their bespoke journey with us. We do not deliver our services for the sake of it (or indeed for profit necessarily), we do so to meet the company Aims & Objectives of supporting disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities and we do so to ensure the best possible positive outcome for each and every clients. I have highlighted some clearly definable objectives for some of our headlines services: IAG:
To deliver an impartial and bespoke service meeting the needs of clients.
To deliver the above in consultation with the client and focusing on current skills, or identifying skill requirements.
To deliver IAG with fully qualified staff equipped to meet client requirements.
Job brokerage:
To source sustainable employment opportunities for unemployed people that pays a living wage.
To source employment opportunities that offer a career and progression and up-skilling initiatives to progress people personal skills and support their efforts in personal development.
Training:
To deliver quality vocational training that is accredited to Ofsted requirements and progresses individuals employability skills.
To deliver our training using only qualified trainers/ assessors who objectively explain the aims and objectives of our training to clients.
Employment programmes:
To deliver holistic employment programmes that support individuals, groups and communities to address personalised economic issues and improve their lifestyles.
To provide a client focused ‘end to end’ service for all clients including all aspects of the client journey.
Programme management:
To deliver an holistic service meeting & exceeding clients objectives.
Contract compliance:
To meet and or exceed all contractual compliance issues including all audit requirements including transparency and client confidentiality.
Monitoring & Measuring Effectiveness of Services: Urban Futures has a number of methods. Firstly, this is done through our contractual obligations to funders. Example 1. Partnership compliance meetings—usually held on a quarterly basis.
Secondly, we have internal procedures and staff targets for each of our services Example 2. Individual appraisal targets and monthly performance targets.
Thirdly, we ask service users/ clients/ contractors for feedback through a number of methods including verbal and written methods. Example 3. Evaluation questionnaires/ Customer feedback forms. And last but not least through our quality processes and internal audit procedures. Example 4. Site Checksheets. Conducted by our Performance & Audit Manager quarterly.
Urban Futures maintains a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) for the company as a whole. All staff have a responsibility to contribute to the development of the Plan which you should do so through your immediate Line Manager or Chief Executive.
New Contracts — The Number 36 Bus… by Russ Patrick Unlike the urban myth of the number 36 bus, Urban Futures has been very successful in securing contracts and they have come along one after another. In January 2012 we secured a major contract to deliver the Booster+ Programme through JCP’s Flexible Support Fund. The project is being delivered in conjunction with our partner Prevista who are delivering in the central London boroughs while we deliver in Haringey, Enfield and Waltham Forest. The UF element of this project is currently being led by Angela Bailey & Paul Dempsey and is working with new claimants of JSA to deliver a programme of intense support to get them into work. With unemployment levels still rising, a lack of confidence in the economy generally, the recent disturbances, and higher and higher levels of young people unable to get work, this project is key to supporting local people. Urban Futures were also successful in securing a contract with Uxbridge College and Ealing, Hammersmith & West
London College to deliver prevocational training for learners across London that will be delivered through our West London offices, our Stansted and Wood Green offices and in partnership with Newlon Fusion and other external partners. This contract is worth around a million pounds and works in conjunction with our existing provision for the unemployed.
Uxbridge College has been the top FE college in London for five years running so we have had to meet very high standards to gain this contract. Two contracts aimed at young people were also won this year - a project aimed at young NEETs in West London; and a similar one in NE London and a further two sub contracts – one to deliver pre-vocational training in the east of England; and a contract to deliver inwork qualifications. We have also now secured a very valuable sub contract to deliver the governments new flagship Youth Contract in Enfield, Haringey, Hillingdon, and Hammersmith & Fulham.
www.urbanfutures.org.uk
New Enterprise Allowance (NEA)… by Michael Locke Business Futures, the business brand of Urban Futures, is currently delivering a Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) project called ‘New Enterprise Allowance’. Business Futures is working as a sub contractor to Avanta the main contract holder. The aim of the project is to support unemployed people through structured help and mentoring so that they can explore the potential to become self employed by setting up their own business enterprises. We are currently on track with the contract output to the end of June and having supported 113 peop le to de v e lop Business Plans which hopefully will results in new enterprises starting soon.
The North London Arts Partnership... by Rob Prague Urban Futures was asked by the London Borough of Enfield to open an art gallery in a derelict shop in Ponders End, Enfield. The Temporary Art Gallery Project has now come to a close, however, it was warmly welcomed with open arms by the local community. Its presence challenged people’s negative perception of Ponders End, provided local artists with a platform to create and display their work, made use of a vacant shop unit and restored it to a state in which it can be commercially utilised again. More importantly however, the gallery contributed to raising awareness and interest in the arts in North London and highlighted the diversity of services delivered by Urban Futures.
Apprenticeships… by Russ Patrick Urban Futures has a number of apprenticeships (16-18 year olds) delivered under a contract with Ixion Holdings Ltd, a partner based in the east of England. Urban Futures has worked with Ixion since October 2011 p r im a r i l y delivering 19-24 year old apprentices but also delivering an ESF classroom based training programme which is now drawing to a close. A recent Apprenticeship recruitment drive has seen Urban Futures take on a number of apprentices – ranging from 16-22 years of age – across several of its sites. This brings the total number of apprentices to just under 20 with the majority having found roles ranging from receptionists to trainee job brokers within the company. All apprentices are
progressing well against their set aims and enjoying the work/study balance which forms the programme’s USP. The delivery team is confident that the upcoming external verification process will result in a clean bill of health in terms of Urban Futures’ delivery and our in house apprentices will continue to flourish in their roles. We continue to develop our delivery procedures and processes and have recently recruited additional assessors to reflect both the recent
increase in the number of apprentices as well as an anticipated steady stream of new recruits going forward. Indeed, we are currently looking to sign a contract to fill 15 new apprenticeship vacancies in social care with a London based provider and are talking with others as we speak! In addition to the above, and over the coming months, we will be setting new targets for our satellite offices delivering the Work Programme looking to these teams to support the delivery of apprenticeships and help the company widen its portfolio of work. We already have jobs which can be converted to apprenticeships (19 plus) and each will be targeted to realise one 16—18 year apprenticeship per month.
1st Annual Staff Conference… by Garba Sani Urban Futures successfully held it’s 1st Annual Staff Conference on the 21st May 2012 at the new and superb Newlon House building at Tottenham Hale, part of the major new housing development on the former industrial site. The Conference was attended by all UF staff (now 84 people) and was the first chance for the whole organisation to come together since our major increase in staffing and site locations with the introduction of the Work Programme contract and our new training delivery programmes. The Conference focused on a number of issues such as strategic direction of the company, with key note speakers including Dave Wyatt, Chair of Urban Futures, Steve Delaney, Chief Executive, Mike Hinch, Chief Executive of Newlon, and Peter Little, Chief Executive of Outward. Myself, supported by Russ Patrick also outlined operational requirements and financial matters. The Conference broke into smaller group sessions to discuss key issues as well and included Quality & the Matrix Standard, Young Peoples services, Work Programme, Training and it’s delivery, and partnership developments. A number of ideas and proposals were put forward by staff and specially invited guests from some of our contractors and these are currently being discussed and reviewed by the Senior Management Team. We expect to lay out an operational delivery plan emanating from the break out sessions in the very near future incorporating the input from each and every one of you so look out for this soon. We look forward to an equally exciting Conference in 2013.
A strategic partnership with Newlon Housing Trust… by Steve Delaney As noted at the 1st Annual Staff Conference, Urban Futures has made an application to become a Group member company of the Newlon Housing Trust group of companies. The application is on-going however both parties have agreed to pause the process in order to better understand a number of legal and structural issues that need to be resolved before full membership can be realised. In the meantime, we continue to develop closer working relationships with the Trust and other member organisations both in terms of operational and service delivery issues but also in backroom functions such as our HR support that we currently receive from Outward. We have a number of potentially exciting projects that we have tendered for with group companies and continue to look at other ways of integrating our work for the future. I will continue to update staff on developments with the Trust over the coming months.
Human Resources Department… by Minh Cong Tran We’ve been working closely with Outward (a London based social care organisation and social enterprise) for the past year and they currently help us manage our HR functions offering their expertise and experience at both the operational and strategic level. Together, we have successfully developed the new absence management policy and delivered workshops to our staff in support of this and we are currently working towards developing strategies to update our current practices to benefit staff in terms of engagement, reward systems and support available. Hopefully these will be developed sufficiently over the coming months so that we can implement them in the new financial year in 2013. We are about to radically review our appraisal systems for all staff as we are aware that the current system is not working to the standards that we would all like and we will be bringing in a new system for the new year. All of these changes will be instrumental in delivering significant improvements to our current approach to HR management and in response to the many changes we’ve experienced over the last few months, both as a department and an organisation. We will continue to solidify the teams across the organisation reducing the numbers of agency staff ensuring the bulk of full time roles are Urban Futures staff . Restructuring… by Steve Delaney & Garba Sani A seemingly on-going process, however, one which is crucial to the success of the organisation. Over the coming few months we will be finalising the restructuring of the company and will be issuing a new corporate pictogram of all the current positions within the organisation. To date, we have finalised much of the satellite office positions and solidified the teams. However, there are still a number of agency staff prevalent in the teams and we will be seeking, where appropriate, to bring the positions in house in the fullness of time. Similarly, at our Wood Green headquarters we have made some significant changes, none more than the creation of a new young Peoples Services Department headed up by Derek Wheeler—we are expecting great things from the team over the coming months and years. We are now looking at more senior roles and have created Area Manager posts for both North and West London. There are still some areas to be filled at the senior level and the Board continue to discuss the best way forward. All will become clear over a period of time so it’s now all down to the operations and successful delivery to meet our Aims & Objectives. Urban Futures—New Staff Richard Penny — West London Area Manager Angela Bailey - Employment Adviser - Wood Green Paul Dempsey - Employer Engagement Officer - Wood Green Sam Sheikh – Employment Adviser - Wembley Zavery Tito – Employment Consultant - Wembley Neena Gharu – Employment Adviser - Uxbridge Sandra Brown — Employment Adviser—Wood Green Cara Bowie – Trainee Marketing Assistant – Wood Green Victor Stephenson-Henshaw — Trainee Administrator — Wood Green Jordon McIntosh - Trainee Project Worker – Wood Green Anna Fujer – Trainee Project Worker – Wood Green Maruf Ahmed – Trainee Project Worker – Wood Green Luke Neal – Trainee Receptionist – Wood Green Karyn Lamb — Trainee Receptionist — Wood Green
Meet the Marketing Team — What we provide and a sneak preview of our new website… by Robert Prague & Aaron Sands
Urban Futures’ marketing team provide all manner of marketing materials for all 7 UF offices across London. For the last 2 years, everything from flyers to banners has been produced in-house, all to a bespoke design. The marketing team were also responsible for the Urban Futures 10th Anniversary Dinner and worked tirelessly to ensure its success. As we enter our 3rd year at Urban Futures, we are happy to announce the launch of our new website. The new website is by far the most accessible we have ever produced and will feature a Twitter feed and a Facebook like button, enabling clients to keep up to date with current Urban Futures products and services.
What to expect from our next edition Newsletter coming soon…
A spotlight on Heathrow Retail Academy.
An interview with Richard Penny, Area Manager West.
Urban Futures creates Services Department.
The Youth Contract.
Matrix—how we ensure continuous improvements.
Training, training, training—a new look Urban Futures.
Work based learning update.
Financial services are important too! A snapshot in the life of the Finance team.
The Stansted Academy.
a
Employment
new
Youth
Here at Urban Futures we welcome input and ideas from all staff and customers. If you have any ideas for articles of interest or new design formats then please forward these to the marketing dept. Contact: robert.prague@urbanfutures.org.uk or aaron.sands@urbanfutures.org.uk or info@urbanfutures.org.uk
it
drives
Alternatively, you can contact by telephone on 020 8352 5900 or via the website and other electronic connections detailed:
www.urbanfutures.org.uk
&
Skills
© Urban Futures, Unit A012, The Chocolate Factory, Clarendon Road, London N22 6XJ.
Urban Futures is a company registered in England & Wales. Company registration number: 04131420. Registered address: Unit A012, The Chocolate Factory, Clarendon Road, Wood Green, London N22 6XJ. Tel: 020 8352 5900. Fax: 020 8352 5901. Email: info@urbanfutures.org.uk
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