Invest Local The First Three Years This is a summary of the findings from the first evaluation report of the Invest Local programme. The evaluation has been produced by People and Work (peopleandwork.org.uk).

The evaluation aims to:

Help Understand communities get whether Invest as much as they Local is doing can from what it set Invest Local. out to do.

Look at whether Invest Local’s way Help BCT of working is a good to work as way to help effectively communities make as possible. their areas better.

To request a full version of the evaluation report, email info@bct., or download a copy from our website: www.bct.wales What is Invest Local? 5 Invest Local is a ten-year 8 programme of funding and 12 support for 13 communities across Wales.

The 13 communities are: 1 Aberfan, Merthyr Vale and Ynysowen, 2 Caerau, Bridgend 3 Cefn Golau, Blaenau Gwent 4 Clase, Swansea 5 Glyn, Conwy 6 Hubberston and Hakin, Pembrokeshire 7 Llwynhendy, Llanelli 8 Maesgeirchen, 9 Penywaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf 10 Phillipstown, Caerphilly 6 7 1 3 11 Pillgwenlly, Newport 9 12 Plas Madoc, 4 10 11 13 Trowbridge and St Mellons, 2 13

1 Offer Each community is offered funding (£1million) and support (an Invest Local Officer to support the community, opportunities for Shared Learning with other Forming a communities and projects). Steering Group The community forms a steering group made up of people who live and work H in the area. o w Invest Local is funded by a £16.5m endowment from the

National Lottery Community i Getting Going Fund. Each community has t The steering group run events,

activities and small projects to up to £1million to invest, and w promote Invest Local and consult

the community decides the local people about their priorities priorities for the local area, who o for the area.

they will work with and how

the money will be used. r k s

Driving Change The steering group looks at the community’s priorities, and comes up with projects to meet these priorities in their Shared Learning Driving Change plan. Throughout the programme, Invest Local offers opportunities to share knowledge and experiences with other communities.

2 CASE STUDY

Plas Madoc: Investing in an Organisation

Plas Madoc Leisure These include a family wellbeing Centre was struggling. day, free yoga classes, bingo nights, a kids’ drama club, a Old and inefficient boilers “brunch and munch”club, and one meant running costs were of the squash courts has been high and the centre was converted into a community room that local groups can access free reportedly little used by of charge. local people. Engagement with We are Plas We are Plas Madoc’s (the local Madoc has also helped change steering group’s) funding for the culture of the centre. It is new boilers for the centre has now seen as much more open proved a strong investment in a and welcoming, with many more key community asset. The new people from the community boilers save the centre almost reported to use the centre. It has £20,000 in running costs each also become a community space year – money that has been used where tenants and residents meet. to develop the centre and provide more activities for the people of Plas Madoc.

3 Theory of Change This is a simplified version of Invest Local’s Theory of Change, which shows how the programme is expected to work and create change.

ENGAGEMENT: ACTION: people discuss how Invest Local supports to use the funding actions chosen by the (eg a steering group community (increase in forms, consults others) community activism) MOTIVATION: OUTCOMES: Invest Local’s capacity and influence offer of funding and increase and people in the support to communities community feel stronger, provides a motivation happier and better able to for change address challenges CAPACITY: INFLUENCE: people’s ideas, skills, public services listen confidence and social to people, and change the relationships develop way they work

4 The programme blends aspects of: • traditional place-based community development programmes (like the first phase of Communities First) • traditional grant giving programmes (like People and Places) • asset-based community development programmes (like the Building Livelihoods and Strengthening Communities in Wales projects)

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5 Invest Local’s context

The key external factors that have impacted upon Invest Local are: 1 2 3 4

Austerity (including Poverty. Mistrust of community Qualities of each cuts to public services development community (eg size, and welfare reform). programmes after or what groups, previous experiences organisation and of programmes that activities are already were felt to have failed. in the area).

These things have all shaped the priorities that communities identified and have made community engagement with the programme more challenging.

6 CASE STUDY CASE STUDY

Cefn Golau MUGA Clase Park

The Invest Local Group in Cefn Golau, Clase4All is the Invest Local Group in Tredegar (Blaenau Gwent) have created Clase, Swansea. Their biggest project so a new MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) far has been the transformation of their for the community. local park. The group decided to create the open access sports More things for children and families to do was a court in response to the community’s request for top priority for residents, and the local park was more sports activities and facilities for young people. highlighted as an important community space that The group worked with Game On Wales (an initiative needed to be upgraded and improved. from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust), who project managed the design and build of the MUGA. The group The project has involved families from the continue to work with Game On Wales and the local community throughout the process. The group leisure trust to run a programme of activities for the visited lots of different parks across South Wales, new MUGA, such as ‘sports and snacks’ sessions during and brought ideas and photographs back to local the school holidays and pop-up girls football sessions. children and families. Working together, the community came up with a list of equipment and facilities that they would like to see in the park.

The group asked three different park designers to come up with final designs for the park, then local children from Clase Primary School had the final say on which park got the go-ahead.

The Clase4All group took ownership of the whole process – from working closely with Swansea council on the project to liaising with contractors during the build of the park.

7 CASE STUDY

Hubberston and Hakin Community Centre Hubberston and Hakin community centre was on the brink of closure when the Invest Local programme arrived in the area. Local people decided to use some of the funding to save this vital community asset. Eight local people formed a CIO and took over the lease of the building from the council for a six-month trial. That was a success, so the building is now totally owned and run by the community. Today, the centre has become a vibrant community hub with wellbeing at the heart of its activities. It’s home to a popular local daily playgroup, hosts a regular luncheon club for older people in the area, and also offers everything from youth club sessions to table tennis through U3A.

8 Invest Local’s ‘offer’ to communities and the communities’ response

All 13 communities However, beyond the steering areas. This has stretched the agreed to be part of the groups, Invest Local did not create Invest Local Officers, as they a wider interest or excitement have limited time to work with programme across communities. In almost all each community. Local residents The offer of ‘up to £1million’ was areas, steering groups struggled running the Steering Groups want enough to inspire a group of people to fully engage the wider to lead the process, but in some to form a – usually quite small – community, in terms of both the cases have decided they need steering group in each community, total number of people and hard some paid support. As a result, so that Invest Local could get going. to reach groups. many communities have decided This was an important factor that to use some of their funding to got the programme started in each BCT staff are more employ a development worker community, and local volunteers involved than originally based in the community, who can have committed an impressive coordinate and progress projects amount of time and energy to the anticipated and plans and help more people groups. BCT originally intended to get involved. provide very ‘light touch’ support, Engaging the wider to help steering groups get up community was difficult and running. However, in some places, BCT staff are doing a lot Invest Local steering group more ‘traditional’ community members feel that £1m is a large development than expected, enough sum of money to make a because of the scale of the difference that local people can challenge and the weakness of see or feel. existing organisations in some

9 Processes can be challenging At the start, some of the BCT initially used a traditional programme’s processes created trustee-led assessment process challenges. One of the few for agreeing funding bids. requirements of Invest Local is However, community members that as many people as possible felt that this undermined the from the community need to programme’s message that: “local have their say in how the money people will decide how the money is spent. However, the scale is spent and how key decisions of community engagement are made”. undertaken to create the first Driving Change plans, slowed BCT have taken a more flexible progress and sapped many approach to the level of steering groups’ energy. community consultation that can be done by steering groups, and BCT took a flexible approach have made the ‘endorsing’ of the that recognised the challenges plans more co-productive – key of community consultation, decisions are taken by the local allowing groups to develop steering groups and BCT provide plans even when community a ‘light touch’ check. engagement was weaker than hoped. BCT continues to support and encourage steering groups to engage more people and ‘hard to reach’ groups.

10 CASE STUDY

Clase Food Projects

The Clase4All group A local resident was running a food They have also chosen to run it wanted to run a weekly bank from her house for families independently from larger food living on her street in Clase. bank charities, so that it’s easier drop-in for people from Demand was increasing, so the for local people to access without the community to get Clase4All group decided to take the need for a referral or proof of together. over the food bank. They run it circumstance. The group receive alongside the breakfast morning – regular donations from Tesco, They decided to set up a breakfast in a relaxed, friendly environment local churches and the local Lions morning, where people get a – to remove some of the stigma of Club. breakfast roll and a drink for accessing the food bank. £1, and can meet and chat to The group also run a surplus food neighbours and friends. They share project – collecting left- used just £50 of funding to over food from Greggs and the start the initiative, and the Coop to support local families and breakfast morning is now totally prevent food going to landfill. self-sustaining. It has grown in popularity and now has become a weekly one-stop-shop for local people - the local housing officer is available to give advice, there is a collection point for the local credit union, and the group have also set up an independent food bank.

11 What difference is Invest Local making?

Increasing the Investments are mainly in Caerau, bringing back consciousness, a mix of support for local the Penywaun carnival, or running community events like confidence and capacity organisations and small Plastonbury (in Plas Madoc) of communities projects and Glynfest (in Glyn). The programme’s offer to The investments made by steering communities motivated people groups so far include a mix of: By investing in local to get involved, and through their organisations, the involvement in steering groups, Investment in the capacity of increased their understanding of valued local organisations programme is supporting the programme, and empowered This involves supporting the delivery of services them to take action. However, at organisations to continue delivering As the example of Plas Madoc this stage, this is largely limited and improve their services, like Plas illustrates, the investments made to a small group within each Madoc Leisure Centre (page 3) or may often not appear glamorous or community (groups range in size Hubberston and Hakin Community innovative, but they are in line with from around 8 to 30 core members Centre (page 8). the priorities local people identified who regularly attend meetings). New facilities for local areas and would generally be difficult to fund through existing grant giving Invest Local has also built These are much less common, but programmes. And in Caerau, the local capacity through direct examples include Clase’s new park investment in Dyffryn Chapel, investments of money in local and Cefn Golau’s Multi-Use Games means the community space can groups and organisations and Area (MUGA). now be put to much better use and by strengthening links between address local priorities (see case different local groups and Small activities and projects study on page 14). organisations (eg through their Examples of this include involvement in steering groups). reinstating a Christmas tree

12 Some groups have The groups have limited Investments are starting also been able to use influence over external to make a difference to Invest Local funding to organisations at this stage people’s lives help attract additional There are some examples of There are some concrete investment in their area steering groups influencing the examples of the difference the actions of external organisations investments made by Invest For example, in Phillipstown, working locally; for example, Local are making to people’s lives Maesgeirchen and Clase, Invest some groups have sought to and communities’ wellbeing and Local groups have invested in the influence local authorities. resilience (like Clase’s food bank, capital costs of new play facilities, However, at this stage, influencing the Friends Group in Caerau and and the local council has agreed external organisations has rarely the Plas Madoc Leisure Centre). to cover the cost of maintaining been a priority for steering However, measurement of these the facilities. groups; the ability of Invest impacts through self-evaluation Local groups to build these remains weak. Examining relationships has been mixed; the impact of the programme and not all external organisations on medium and longer-term have been open or receptive to outcomes (like increases in influence by steering groups. wellbeing) will be a focus for future evaluations.

13 CASE STUDY

Caerau Friends Group

Invest Local Caerau have Today, the group is a lively health and wellbeing as one environment where people make crafts, sing, play curling, go on of their priorities for the day trips – and talk to neighbours community, and members and friends. It provides a vital of the steering group social experience for many people in the community who live alone. wanted to set up a support The popularity of the weekly group for people with event has meant that there is dementia and their carers. now a second befriending group in Caerau. The groups contribute Funding received by Dyffryn to the Driving Change priorities Chapel for a new heating system to reduce isolation and improve and disabled access toilets meant mental health. that the chapel could host such a group.

After a first session with just two people attending, the group steadily grew over six months. The group was then opened up to anyone in the community who was isolated, and became even more popular. Now, it is not just residents of Caerau who attend, but also people from throughout the valley.

14 Conclusions

1. Invest Local is making 2. There is not just one 3. Steering group good progress way to success members are becoming After a slow start in most areas, the Invest Local doesn’t progress in confident community programme is now making good the same way in each area. Groups activists progress. Steering groups have are working with different assets, All 13 communities have seen a formed in all 13 areas. Groups are opportunities and challenges, and growth in community capacity growing in confidence, and more have focused on different priorities. and action. As the Invest Local people from the community are programme has progressed, getting involved. Nine areas have However, things that have helped steering groups have grown in agreed Driving Change plans and the programme progress across confidence and awareness. The the rest will follow in 2020. the 13 communities are: collective skills of the groups, as • a ‘natural’ community that is not well as long-term funding, support too big or small (for example, the from Invest Local Officers and large size of some communities shared learning, have empowered can make community engagement the groups to take action to make particularly challenging, while their communities even better. smaller communities have limited Some groups have also become a assets that the programme can focal point for wider local action mobilise and build upon) and influence. • a ‘good enough’ consultation to get started • an effective steering group with clear priorities, opportunities to invest in (that support those priorities), and the decision- making structures and capacity needed to plan and deliver; and • effective support from BCT

15 4. A variety of people 5. Communities are are involved, but this choosing to make the good needs to grow stuff even better In their first Invest Local plans, A range of local people and many communities have invested groups have engaged with the in strengthening the local area’s programme. Although the number existing assets, leading to an and diversity of residents who have increase in community capacity, been involved is fewer than hoped, wellbeing and resilience. The it has been ‘good enough’ for the investments made in, for example, programme to move forward. buildings and boilers, may not A key challenge for the next stage of always appear glamorous, but they Invest Local is to engage the wider reflect the community’s priorities, community. A problem for most strengthen communities’ assets groups is that without projects to (making them more sustainable) show, it is difficult to get people and generally could not be involved, but without getting people supported by other funding involved, projects cannot start. streams.

As more activities and projects develop through Invest Local, this should attract more local people to the programme. And more people, ideas and skills equal more projects.

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