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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
31 January 2017
Updated: 20 October 2020
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Crisis and Glasgow Homelessness Network have announced their intention to create a new dedicated body that is sector-led (by homelessness specialists from charities, government, research bodies and others) to improve the lives of people affected by homelessness by instigating a shift in resources to evidence-based solutions. As part of her Clore Social Leadership fellowship, Ligia Teixeira explains why.
For the past few months I’ve been working on a project to build the case for a new Centre for Homelessness Impact. Today we release the feasibility study that is the culmination of an intense six-month project. It’s an exciting moment for us, and I wanted to explain why.
Since Crisis was created 50 years ago, we have used a variety of strategies to end homelessness, from campaigning and lobbying to delivering services directly, and producing evidence on the causes and consequences, latest trends, and the scale of the issue.
Things have changed significantly since the mid-1960s, when homelessness first made it into the national consciousness. But the pace of change has not kept up with wider scientific and technological developments. In fields like international development, early years, or education we’ve improved our understanding of what works by applying scientific methods and a culture shift towards evidence-based practices. If the homelessness sector is to accelerate progress towards a future without homelessness we must create new roadways.
One way to achieve this is by focusing on what works by finding and funding solutions backed by evidence and data. That’s a challenge. The evidence is often weak or lacking, and in the rare examples where a programme has been tested to see if it worked the results are often ignored.
That’s why we need a new organisation that is sector led and owned to help make the use of evidence the right thing to do – it becomes the ‘new normal’. To help ensure that our values aren’t only articulated in our efforts but in our outcomes. It’s a simple idea, but with the potential to make a significant impact.
We joined forces with Glasgow Homelessness Network, a like minded organisation, to explore the desirability and feasibility of the concept. We had hundreds of rich conversations over a six-month period with people working towards ending homelessness and change-makers championing evidence-based practice in other fields. We gained valuable insights that shaped our proposals and which we share in the report published today. We have been encouraged by the widespread support for the concept, and feel there’s a unique opportunity to make this vision a reality.
Why now? Because over recent years we’ve learned a few things about what it takes to tackle today’s toughest systemic challenges. That ending homelessness faster and more effectively requires a few important culture shifts. We need to:
- take a whole government approach and to break out of siloed service and policy practices. The homelessness sector alone cannot end homelessness. It requires putting the issue on the map in areas like education, health or criminal justice
- build capacity, and take an interdisciplinary, deeply collaborative approach. This is a challenge. Professionals need support to apply evidence in real-life scenarios and existing funding mechanisms are by and large promoting competition rather than a focus on personalised solutions and effectiveness
- directly fund interventions and programmes with the best evidence behind them, and take an experimental and human-centred approach to service development. To improve positive impact we need to be able to do the right things well.
- engage people affected by homelessness more effectively in all our efforts, bring their perspectives and experiences to the heart of policy and practice. Solutions that are grounded only on the experiences of professionals and ignore the user voice and evidence are no solutions at all
- engage people and their communities more effectively in our efforts to end homelessness. There is an education job to be done, in schools, universities, mainstream services, businesses and workplaces. There is a rich resource in this space that we’re currently not tapping into. We know from trends like the sharing economy that when individuals come together to drive towards a greater goal, we can gain traction on much bigger challenges , and find new ways forward.
This type of systems-change work requires agility, scale and networked organisations, both within and across different social policy areas. It requires commissioners, practitioners, researchers, campaigners as well as communities who work together and do not stand still.
With the new Centre, we’re hoping to start addressing some of these issues. We’re not naive, we know it won’t be a silver bullet. Other things will also need to happen - we need housing in the right places and at a price people can afford, and stable jobs that pay fair wages. We need to address the root causes of poverty and inequality, and protect our social safety net and strong (networked) local services.
But evidence-based approaches are an important part of the solution. It’s no surprise that currently there is public scepticism about the sector’s ability to end or even significantly reduce homelessness, or positively engage with people affected by homelessness who refuse ‘standard offers’ for help. Making policy and funding decisions based on the best possible evidence and holding mainstream services accountable will help restore confidence.
This is therefore a critical moment to consider what is needed to build on our international reputation for preventing and tackling homelessness. We think Scotland is the ideal place to begin. If the Centre for Homelessness Impact works here - Scotland has taken larger strides to end homelessness than most other countries, its rights-based and assets-based approach to homelessness is widely celebrated as progressive, inclusive and ground-breaking - it will provide a model for others to follow.
This study is just the beginning of a long journey but it does show that there is both a need and a demand for a new organisation. Funding is now being sought for the project, with a view to opening the new Centre later this year.
We’ve been working on these issues for 50 years, but this could be a turning-point. It’s time to apply our collective efforts to meet the challenges of a complex homelessness system that developed organically over the years. The system must be redrawn so that we are able to improve outcomes and make even better use of today’s resources and technological advances to achieve step change in how we prevent and tackle homelessness.
Crisis and GHN hope that the new Centre, by bringing everyone to the party who feels the same way, will make us faster, more effective, and able to ground our solutions in the needs and voices of people affected by the problem.
Please click here to download Ligia’s report which she prepared as Head of Research and Evaluation at Crisis and at a 2016 Clore Social Fellow, supported Oak Foundation.
Share your comments about this blog and the report below, or contact Ligia on Twitter. This article was originally published on Crisis.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
23 January 2017
Updated: 15 October 2020
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Last Autumn I left my job at one of England’s biggest think tanks. As I moved out of the think tank world, I began mulling over what difference, if any, I had made over the last seven years. Funders were increasingly asking us to demonstrate our impact, and so as part of my Clore Social Leadership fellowship I have conducted a short piece of research on this topic titled, Impact: an enquiry into how think tanks create change, interviewing some of the key people working with think tanks to explore exactly how they create change in the world.
My research has shown that the main way think tanks create change is by influencing policy and politics, bringing in new ideas to solve complex problems. To do this well, certain conditions need to be in place. Firstly, they need a unique and politically appealing proposal. To have the greatest traction this should be based on evidence, and reinforced by a coalition of partners asking for the same thing. Strong relationships with politicians, their special advisers and civil servants will all help to get new ideas taken up when windows of opportunity arise.
But what happens when the political climate isn’t ripe for an idea? Then, think tanks have a role in making the unthinkable possible, and provide a safe space for politicians to debate and test ideas before going public with them. Some think tanks also have an impact by holding the government to account, putting a spotlight on topics through doing consistent research and analysis that raises its profile.
Three big challenges came out of this research. These are issues think tanks need to address if they are serious about their work having the biggest possible impact.
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The first is for think tanks to develop stronger relationships with civil society, activists and campaigners, so that policy work can better reflect the everyday experiences and challenges of citizens.
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The second is to think about how they communicate beyond the political elite, free of the jargon that many of us become quickly used to.
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The third challenge for think tanks is to consider partnerships as a central part of their strategy for change. Time, funding streams and short term projects often act against collaboration, but the best examples of impact in this research came from long term, strategic work that engaged a range of organisations, from policy, academia, and front line practice.
Think tanks also face difficult questions about how they can maintain consistent political influence under new charity regulation, and how to engage a political landscape that is increasingly fragmented and devolved. Newly elected mayors, devolution and an exit from the EU all change where think tanks seek traction with their work.
At their best, think tanks connect the dots between the challenges of our everyday lives and radical new visions for the future. At their worst, they offer bland solutions to yesterday’s problems. I hope this research goes some way to illuminating the different tactics think tanks might use to increase their impact.
Please click here to read Julia’s full Research piece developed as part of her 2015 Clore Social Fellowship.
Share your views by commenting below or contacting Julia on Twitter.
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
17 January 2017
Updated: 15 October 2020
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Paul Farmer is the CEO of Mind, and Chair of ACEVO. Paul’s blog is in response to our third report, Leadership Development in the Third Sector: Bridging Supply and Demand.
A New Year always means new plans, good intentions, and aspirations for what we as a charitable and social sector can deliver for our beneficiaries and wider society.
2017 is no exception. It would be easy to argue that 2015 had its challenges as the year when our sector was put under scrutiny like no other, and last year saw seismic changes which we are yet to see the effects of.
So what about this year? I suggest this is the year when we need to define the nature and requirements of the 21st century charity leader, and it is the point where we must start to invest in our people.
To achieve this, I see three key areas of development.
First, we have to prioritise leadership development for all leaders within an organisation. As an example, Mind runs a leadership development programme which brings together senior leaders from local Minds and the national charity to learn together. This will be the third year we have run this, and it imbues a culture of investing in and prioritising leadership across the network.
Secondly, we have to respect that we all learn in different ways. For me, the power of the Acevo membership is the strong networks it creates. I learn from experience and conversation, others learn through courses, others from learning sets and so it goes on. There is no leader that cannot learn from another leader.
Finally, we each have to keep on learning. There is no leader that cannot learn more: about themselves, their own people, the wider world. If we think we know it all, we should pack up and go home now.
The challenges we now face as sector leaders are huge. We have to earn the trust of all our stakeholders, we have to recognise the balance between managing risk and becoming overwhelmed by compliance and bureaucracy. We have to operate in a 24/7 multimedia world without succumbing to always being available all the time for everyone. We have to recognise our limitations and those of our environment. But we also have to be bold, brave and ambitious for our beneficiaries.
If we don’t invest now in learning about leadership, our organisations probably won’t survive into the 22nd century.
Please share your comments below or reach out to Paul on Twitter.
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