Cavca) Has We Deliver This Mission by Bringing People Existed in Various Forms for Over a Hundred Years

Case Studies

Summary

We have developed our way of working through: ▪ Not being afraid to challenge the received wisdom about how organisations like ours should think, behave and operate ▪ Taking setbacks as an opportunity to look at things afresh and do things differently ▪ Being open to new ideas, flexible in our planning and agile in our responses ▪ Listening to those we exist to support

Coast and Vale Community Action

| Overview

Coast and Value Community Action (CaVCA) has We deliver this mission by bringing people existed in various forms for over a hundred years. together, providing access to facilities and It has evolved from being a traditional poverty resources and building confidence, aspiration and relief charity, through a Voluntary, Community and entrepreneurial skills. By doing this we can help to Social Enterprise (VCSE) infrastructure support, to support a local economy that works for local our current state as a community business with people, build the foundations for growing people and places at its heart. aspirations, and help foster resilience in communities. Our vision is of thriving communities which are independent, entrepreneurial and connected. Human Learning Systems provides us with a conceptual model that helps us to encapsulate, Our mission is to: support, develop and empower describe and validate what we do and how we do communities; help people and communities to feel it. “Frame” feels like a rather too rigid description a sense of collective agency – so they believe in of how we use HLS. In the way that it gives form their ability to work together to make a difference; and weight to what we do, allowing us freedom to promote co-operation and common goals aimed at operate within it, it feels more like a skin. improving lives.

www.humanlearning.systems Case Studies

good things in their communities but that he could | Story of Change only support them through this programme by interpreting the definitions and outputs flexibly and creatively. Once the outputs had been achieved The HLS “story of change” diagram has many there was space to do this. elements that apply to us, but it feels odd to see our journey represented in this way. Our story of In 2014, Towards the end of the ERDF project, change has developed in a much less schematic CaVCA collaborated with Scarborough Borough way, driven by intuition, a sense that we were Council, Yorkshire Coast Homes and Totally Locally doing the right thing (without always being able to Scarborough on a joint event called Totally Socially articulate why, except that it was better and more to celebrate all the good things happening to honest than what others were doing) and on address local challenges and to promote the idea occasion by fortunate, apparent accidents. But yes, that what you do and how you do it is more we experiment, learn, codesign, redesign and try to important than what type of organisation you are, make sense of things as we go along, influencing what sector you fit into or whether you are an where and when we can. organisation at all.

Mel and David both joined CaVCA in 2013, Mel as The event was a success and over the next two Chief Executive David as a Social Enterprise Adviser, years CaVCA continued to develop the thinking with both roles changing and evolving over the around Totally Socially as a way of celebrating and ensuing years. developing community and local, independent entrepreneurialism. In 2015, the Big Lottery Fund Two of Mel’s main challenges were to operate the supported a Totally Socially “Independents Week” buildings we own or manage in order to generate a to test the idea that bringing the community surplus through rentals and sessional bookings and together (through picnics, markets and more to deliver the outputs required under our Single formal events) could generate new ideas for Funding Agreement with North Yorkshire Council to initiatives to address local challenges. We provide infrastructure support to the voluntary, continued with another event in 2016 and in March community and social enterprise sector in the 2017 we were awarded a Reaching Communities Borough of Scarborough and District of Ryedale. grant to deliver a three-year project to These two challenges face in different directions. support people and groups to take action on locally Success in the first was measured by occupancy identified issues to improve the quality of levels and income and is achieved by providing our community life. customers with the facilities and services they require. Success in the second was measured by Also in March 2017 CaVCA received the news that it quarterly monitoring reports based on key had been unsuccessful in tendering for a indicators set by the Council. Looking back there reconfigured contract to provide VCSE was probably a sense of unease amongst the team infrastructure support in North Yorkshire. Although that delivered the infrastructure work that this was a blow and entailed a loss of income and although we were delivering the outputs required staff, we also saw an opportunity through the we were not necessarily always providing the Reaching Communities grant to develop a way of support that VCSE organisations (and the working in, with and for communities that communities they serve) needed. responded to what people told us were the problems and worked alongside people to find David’s role was to support and promote social solutions. enterprise through an European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supported programme Over the three years of the project we helped with rigid definitions of social enterprise and strictly communities to develop numerous projects that limited outputs. We realised that many of the address food waste, loneliness, environmental people he wanted to work with were doing lots of problems, health issues and well-being. Totally

www.humanlearning.systems Case Studies

Socially was ambitious and wasn’t small scale. Systems fold, which felt like finding a home. The Projects ranged from bus shelter get-togethers to quotes used in this case study are taken from that turning a local pub into a ‘home from home’ for report. young people with learning disabilities. New opportunities opened up every day and both Sadly, the National Lottery Community Fund participants and the team were regularly surprised decided not to renew our funding, which presents by what was achieved, day-to-day, and how us with new challenges but Totally Socially has inspiring it had become to see communities doing informed the way of working of the whole CaVCA things for themselves. We trusted people and were organisation so that the “Totally Socially way” has led by them. We were open to all ideas and were become the “CaVCA way” and vice versa. non-judgemental. | Current Approach

Totally Socially worked on the principle that We took failure and everyone is capable and then fills in the gaps. This is the true meaning of ‘strengths-based’. The mistakes as an inevitable people involved in this study are all skilled, and all talented – recognising that must be at the centre of part of learning and what any community development initiative tries to encouraged those we do. People genuinely leading at the front, while support follows, picks up on cues and shapes itself worked with to do the same. around what is already happening.

The positivity around failure A fundamental aspect of working in this way is the in Totally Socially was ‘walking alongside’ element. The participants felt they could turn to either hands-on support or important. simply a friendly voice and a feeling of belonging to something. We took failure and mistakes as an inevitable part of learning and encouraged those we worked with ‘It’s about allowing people to have those to do the same. The positivity around failure in conversations, to realise their own potential then Totally Socially was important. Participants know they did it by themselves. I watched as groups described how much this had helped them to get developed and grew – how quickly it went from started and carry on (and incidentally how rarely being a conversation to a constituted group.’ things do actually fail). One participant described: There are a range of values and behaviours that ‘The strengths of Totally Socially lie in their no come from helping people to do it for themselves. strings attached approach – there is no hidden Most obvious is workers standing back and away agenda and people are getting involved.’ from the action unless they are responding to cues that they are needed. Sometimes it’s a direct We did not focus on the outcomes our funder question or ask, but most often it’s an awareness required but believed that if we simply helped that comes only from listening to people. What’s people to achieve their aspirations our outcomes imperative is the not taking over. would be met. They were – and a lot more besides. ‘We have to be invited in, it’s their idea.’

Our need for an independent, external body to If we compare the organisation we joined in 2013 appraise and report on our work led us to IVAR and with the organisation we are now, having IVAR’s report brought us into the Human Learning developed the Totally Socially/CaVCA way which is

www.humanlearning.systems Case Studies

essentially a Human Learning Systems way, it feels understand their reluctance and we see our role as happier, less formal and more open. All voices can being to convince them of the benefits that using be heard. There is more conversation and laughter. looser outcomes and asking us to report on unanticipated outcomes would bring. We trust each other and there is permissive and generous leadership. We can all rely on each other to put out the same message when we are working | Enablers and Successes with the public and with outside organisations. We have got each other’s backs and we can easily Working in an HLS way has enabled us to broaden discuss concerns and worries. our horizons and establish common cause with organisations outside our immediate geographical There is a growing feeling of confidence in our area. We also find it easier to work with approach within our own organisation but organisations and individuals outside our sector as convincing others is still a challenge and we are we are drawn to those who have broadly aligned looking at on-threatening ways of getting others values rather than those of a similar organisational interested in the way we work. Interestingly, we type. are becoming increasingly a “go to” organisation for individuals and groups whose ideas and A number of factors have contributed to us ambitions have received less than enthusiastic discovering a huge value and freedom in not ambitions elsewhere. working explicitly towards stated or specific outcomes and expectations. For us it now seems obvious that if you simply work with people to achieve the things they want to achieve they will | Barriers and Tensions never come up with things that are so outlandish that they don’t in some way contribute to the The main difficulty and frustration we have is that things that commissioners and funders want to in our area we sometimes feel like a lone voice. achieve. Put simply, we trust people and it is about Other organisations seem still to be using old doing things with, not to, communities. It often models of working although there are a few who feels as if funders and commissioners do not. are interested in what we are doing. Ultimately it is people in our local communities We see a danger for us in sharing our ideas as we who benefit and we know this because they tell begin to see others using our vocabulary without us. For example: changing their behaviours. There is a real danger that if we are seen as being successful because of Learning new things came in lots of different forms our interest in Human Learning Systems (and other – and usually not in a formal way. Totally Socially ideas that interest us) then others will start using ‘walking with’ people helped them to discover the language without adopting an appropriate ways to do things, together. The question ‘what did underlying ethos and motivation. you learn?’ was a real moment of reflection for participants and it provoked lots of discussion. The VCSE sector is made up of organisations which, despite all the talk of collaboration and co- Empowerment runs through everything like a operation in the interests, compete for finite golden thread. Helping people to feel confident resources. If using the words Human Learning and instilling that belief that it is possible and you Systems gives them an edge, they won’t be shy can. Workers talk about noticing what is happening about using them. and having a well-developed radar – they are aware of people. Not working towards rigid, stated outcomes becomes a barrier because the “powers that be” One participant talked about how this coming seem reluctant or unable to see its value. We together has led to support for some older people

www.humanlearning.systems Case Studies

in their village, who often lead very isolated lives, to the extent that one very frail local resident now has a panic button in their house and feels more supported generally by other community members.

‘People are able to talk about their problems and get help.’

‘I’ve met lots of new people. And lots of other people said they bumped into people not seen for years. But all in the same village.’

Participants talked about some core things they had taken away from their experience and used in other contexts – how to build relationships, create community champions, meet people in a safe environment, build trust – and they described the positive influence that ripples out.

‘The difference it’s made. It’s been massive. I would not have got such a good understanding of the local community; it has drawn others into my project and we now have a steering group.’ | What taking an HLS Approach Requires

Working in an HLS way requires openness, trust, a recognition that current or old ways of doing things aren’t working and a willingness to try something new. It requires a loss of organisational ego and a focus on the problems that need fixing, rather than the things that will benefit our organisations. In an ideal world, there would be no tension between the two.

Our work always begins with listening and that is where funders, commissioners, regulators and national government should start too.

www.humanlearning.systems Case Studies

Our next steps are to find ways of continuing to work in our way while at the same time presenting this way in a manner that funders and commissioners find attractive. We are a business and while we know that HLS is right we also know that it has to be financially

sustainable. NEXT

Our way of working has definitely helped us to respond to COVID-19 as we helped each other with the challenges we were facing in our own lives while at the same time supporting people in communities to support each other. Our local authorities and

funders also saw the value of our way of working and we have welcomed their swift and WHAT flexible response.

As we move forward, being part of the HLS community will be one of the things that guides us and supports us as we know that while we may be unusual locally, we are part of a much bigger picture. Ultimately, our communities need a Human Learning Systems approach at least as much as we do.