Evaluation of the Biffa Award Programme Final Report
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Evaluation of the Biffa Award Programme Final Report Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................ 4 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 4 Applicants .................................................................................................................... 5 Community Impacts ...................................................................................................... 6 Biodiversity Impacts ..................................................................................................... 6 Post Biffa Award Activities ............................................................................................ 6 Key Recommendations ................................................................................................. 7 1. Introduction ............................................................................. 8 2. Methodology ............................................................................ 9 Document Review and Data Analysis ............................................................................. 9 Strategic and Operational Interviews ............................................................................10 Consultations with Applicants ......................................................................................10 3. Programme Management and Structure ................................. 12 Management and Governance .....................................................................................12 Small Grants Scheme ...................................................................................................14 Main Grants Scheme ....................................................................................................14 Flagship Grants Scheme ...............................................................................................14 Partnership Grants Scheme ..........................................................................................15 Thematic Split of Grants ...............................................................................................15 Spatial Distribution of Grants and Applicants ................................................................16 4. Analysis of Projects and Unsuccessful Applications ................. 19 5. Programme Delivery ............................................................... 23 Application and Appraisal Procedures ...........................................................................23 Project Implementation ...............................................................................................27 Publicity ......................................................................................................................27 6. Legacies .................................................................................. 29 Community Impacts .....................................................................................................30 2 Biodiversity Impacts ....................................................................................................32 Post Biffa Award Activities ...........................................................................................34 Organisational Impacts on RSWT ..................................................................................36 7. Key Features of Success of the Biffa Award Programme .......... 37 8. Recommendations .................................................................. 39 Improving the Strategic Approach of the Programme .....................................................39 Improving the Operational Aspects of the Programme ...................................................40 Contributing to the Lasting Legacy of the Programme ....................................................40 Helping to influence Relevant Government Policies .......................................................41 Appendix 1: Summary of Other Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) Schemes ....................................................................................... 42 SITA Trust ...................................................................................................................42 Veolia Environmental Trust ..........................................................................................42 WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Limited) ...........................................................42 Appendix 2: Case Studies .............................................................. 43 Community Buildings Theme ........................................................ 43 Culture and Recreation ................................................................. 63 Rebuilding Biodiversity ................................................................. 82 3 Executive Summary Overview This independent evaluation has followed established good practice in capturing the impacts generated by £48 million of Biffa Award grants approved between 2009-2014. It is based on comprehensive document/data review, a large scale survey and visits to grant recipients. Biffa Award seeks to build communities and transform lives by supporting community and environmental projects across the UK. The Biffa Award Programme comprises: Small Grants Scheme – accounting for 2% of the Programme total, this involves grants up to £10,000. Funds are allocated to projects that improve local amenities/conserve wildlife. As resources decline, a decision has been taken to focus on small grants which are believed to represent better value for money. There has been an increase in larger organisations applying for smaller grants since the thresholds on grant and project size were both raised. Main Grants Scheme – accounting for 86% of the Programme total, this involves grants between £10,000 and £50,000. It plays an important role in restoring, maintaining and enhancing community and cultural facilities, and species and habitats. There is a notional split of funding between three themes (35% Cultural Facilities/Recreation, 35% Rebuilding Biodiversity and 30% Community Buildings). Flagship Grants Scheme – accounting for 7% of the Programme total, this involves grants up to a maximum of £500,000 for Cultural Facilities and Rebuilding Biodiversity projects. These are capital schemes and must be of regional or national importance. Partnership Grants Scheme – accounting for 5% of the Programme total, this involves grants between £1,000,000 and £1,500,000 for Cultural Facilities and Rebuilding Biodiversity projects. About £1.3 million a year is devoted to three or four projects, which are believed to have proved worthwhile. The Programme is managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) and overseen by a Board comprising representatives from Biffa Group Ltd and RSWT. Decision making processes were seen as robust and transparent, and management/administration was believed to function very effectively. The Programme Manager/Deputy Programme Manager have cultivated a strong team working ethos amongst the grants team and helped to foster a very good working relationship between the grants team and the Board. They have introduced innovations that have resulted in a re-design of the Programme’s structure (e.g. grouping projects by theme and introducing the Partnership Scheme), more robust procedures (now fully documented), more efficient operations (e.g. a new website and a new database of applicants) and the adoption of an even more positive and supportive attitude to applicants. As a result, the grant process is regarded as straightforward and the grants team viewed as professional, helpful and flexible. In short, Biffa Award is investing grants in appropriate projects relatively quickly and highly effectively. 4 Applicants According to evaluation survey data: . In relative terms, the prospects for success are highest in respect of the Rebuilding Biodiversity theme, with more than twice as many successful than unsuccessful applications. In contrast, the most competitive theme is Community Buildings, with 24% more unsuccessful than successful applications. Most successful applicants are relatively small organisations, with nearly half having an annual income of less than £50,000. That said, nearly 1 in 5 successful applicants have an annual income of £1 million or more. Unsuccessful applicants exhibit a slightly smaller size profile, with just over half having an annual income of less than £50,000. At the other end of the scale, only 1 in 10 unsuccessful applicants have an annual income of £1 million or more. In most cases the Biffa Award grant is crucial to the project proceeding. In 1 in 5 cases the grant covered all of the costs, and in more than half of cases the grant covered at least three quarters of costs. The balance of funding came from a variety of sources, with local people and local authorities especially important sources. In 1 in 6 cases projects also utilised other Landfill Communities Fund monies, which perhaps raises wider policy questions about co-ordination between LCF bodies. In more than 1 in 3 cases, successful applicants became aware of Biffa Award by undertaking an internet search, and in 1 in 4 cases did so as a result of recommendation. This suggests that search engine optimization is crucial to ensuring that prospective applicants find their way to the Biffa Award Programme. Nearly two thirds of both successful and unsuccessful applicants described