enabling communities to embrace the skills within

Transcription

1 enabling communities to embrace the skills within Community skills case study - further reading Somersham Timebank Timebanking UK

2 SKILLS FOR CARE EVALUATION - SOMERSHAM TIMEBANK 1. INTRODUCTION Timebanking is an innovative form of volunteering based on mutual support, and is a highly effective system for promoting active citizenship, the growth of social capital and community empowerment. Timebanking is a well established concept and has been widely used by public sector agencies - local authorities, PCTs and others - as an effective way of co-producing mainstream and preventative services. Timebanking has a good track record and has proven to enable people to live independently, enable more choice, help to tackle loneliness and isolation, and provide new connections and opportunities for both individuals and communities. 1.1 In 2009 Skills for Care produced Only a Footstep Away which addressed the need to understand the skills that people in local communities have and how those skills can be enhanced to empower people who require care and support. Cambridgeshire County Council was successful in securing 10,000 from Skills for Care to become a Community Skills Development and Neighbourhood Workforce Planning Vanguard Site to test out the recommendations of the Skills for Care publication. 1.2 To deliver the objectives outlined in Only a Footstep Away Cambridgeshire County Council in partnership with Somersham Parish Council developed a community Timebank pilot. This report brings together our learning from the pilot and begins to explore the future potential of Timebanking principles. 2. DEVELOPMENT OF SOMERSHAM TIMEBANK COMMUNITY OF PLACE In early project planning stages it was agreed that the vanguard site would look at community skills development in a community of place. To support this we linked with Somersham Parish Council to test if Parish councils which are long established, representative and democratically accountable bodies and the tier of local government closest to the communities they serve, would be a good vehicle to develop community skills through a Timebank. 2.1 The project established a Timebank in the Cambridgeshire Parish of Somersham. The aim of the programme being to understand the skills that people in local communities have and how those skills can be enhanced to empower people who require care and support. 2.2 The first step of the project was to recruit a Timebank Coordinator who would lead the project delivery and would take on many of the roles described in Only a Footstep Away as a Community Skills Facilitator. Emma Pattison was recruited as the part-time Timebank coordinator for Somersham in August 2011 to ensure that the project was rooted in the community it was agreed her employer would not be Cambridgeshire County Council but would sit with the Parish council.

3 2.3 Emma started by getting to know the local community and promoting the Timebank initiative and learning from other established Timebanks, including support from the Cambridge Timebank coordinator. Emma was also able to use the Parish Plan which provided an outline of the locality, a statistical outline of the locality, the existing skills in the community and the issues and asset of the community. The Timebank officially launched in October. 2.4 We chose to particularly focus on older and vulnerable people for the Somersham Timebank. Whilst everyone was encouraged to join, an extra effort was made to promote the scheme to older and vulnerable people. For example, Emma went to visit the local sheltered housing scheme to explain the Timebank and how people can get involved, additional leafleting was targeted the bungalows where many older people live. Emma has also worked with colleagues who support carers to encourage them to get involved in the Timebank. Despite significant effort it has been challenging to recruit members from these groups. However, we have spoken to other Timebanks who have had similar experience and they have found that as the scheme become more established people s interest and trust increases. We plan to continue to communicate with these groups and encourage their involvement. 2.5 We found that the people who have joined the Timebank have largely been motivated by the opportunity to meet new people and feel more connected to the community in which they live. The flexibility of the Timebank model has enabled Emma to respond very effectively to this. The Timebank now has regular meet ups both in the local pub and café. These have proved popular, not only is this helping to tackle social isolation, but it is also developing relationships and trust between members who are feeling more confident to do exchanges. 2.6 To date there are 28 Timebank members. This compares well with the experience of other initiatives. The variety of skills exchanged continues to grow, in addition to one-to-one exchanges there are an increasing number of group activities/skills shares e.g. Practical Chinese cookery session and plans for a community orchard. 3. OUR LEARNING Our experience so far has provided a wealth of learning. The learning can be categorised under three headings; The Model, Coordinator s role and Skills Development. 4. THE MODEL The Parish Council directly employ the Timebank coordinator. We believe the project has benefited from the employer of coordinator being a local organisation, in touch with the needs of the community. In this case, the parish council have proven to be a good fit. The success may be partly due to the Parish clerk having a qualification and keen interest in community engagement. 4.1 The Timebank model is proving to be a very flexible model, adapting to the needs of the local community to help community members gain support and develop and share skills. In Somersham the community have identified a need around social isolation. Some creative responses are emerging through the Timebank; a local rock choir has been formed, there are monthly social meet-ups and plans to develop a community orchard.

4 4.2 We also learnt that Timebanking can attract a different and broader audience than traditional volunteering (e.g. the demographic is younger- 60% of Somersham Timebank members are under 50) 4.3 We have learnt that we need to be sensitive when presenting the idea to more traditional volunteers. There has been some scepticism about the model and a sense that Timebanking could threaten traditional volunteering. We are emphasizing that the two can work in parallel and have spent some time promoting the idea to the community and groups who are already established in the parish. 4.4 The Timebank Coordinator is also providing added value is beginning to fulfill an important role in terms of connecting different groups within the community. Emma has developed an in-depth knowledge of resources (groups, places, people) in the village and acts as a connector, suggesting ways in which people can work together e.g. putting the friendship club in touch with the voluntary car scheme. 4.5 To ensure the model is sustainable we have kept running costs low. Emma uses community resources and facilities to run community events. This not only helps keeps cost down it also links more people into the community and supports community resources e.g. monthly meet up happen in a local tea room. The project also takes time to develop and build up community trust and therefore you could not do this as a short term intervention. 4.6 As with a lot of Timebanks people in Somersham feel more comfortable giving than receiving. We are encouraging reciprocity, but have also set up a community pot which Timebankers can donate their time credits to. This community pot could then be used for larger projects such as the creation of a community orchard. 5. COORDINATORS ROLE It is crucial to find a skilled coordinator. Emma has proved to be perfect for the post. 5.1 Personal qualities needed: positivity a people person enthusiasm motivated/motivator creative self-starter can do attitude adaptable able to respond to changing circumstances resilience 5.2 Skills and knowledge: good communicator ability to communicate on all levels. Importantly, an ability to connect with people. community development skills project management organisational skills 5.3 Communication is central to the role. Emma s a skilled communicator, using a variety of different mediums; face-to-face, website

5 ( ), facebook, meetings, local press and the village magazine. 6. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Interestingly, one of the challenges we found initially was that people joining the Timebank didn t feel they had many skills to exchange. It was important to put skills into a practical context to show that whilst providing support to learn a new language is a useful skill, so is being able to take someone s dog for a walk! 6.1 The social meet up events have really helped as ice breakers. We have found that once people have met socially they are much more comfortable exchanging skills with each other. In addition, the social events provide an opportunity for people to think about skills sharing creatively and come up with new ideas. 6.2 Bringing people together and allowing skills exchanges to emerge in an organic way has been a real success. 6.3 Range of skills developed - The spectrum of skills exchanged has been fascinating, these are further outlined in the case studies attached. 6.4 Skills matching - Timebanks are built on skills exchanges and the premise that every hour is equally valuable whether you be a qualified lawyer providing legal advice or someone offering gardening. 6.5 Improving employability - A number of exchanges have developed member s skills to increase their chances of employment. For example, learning office skills and computer applications. The non-threatening environment provided by the Timebank makes skills development accessible to people who may not be keen on attending a formal course. In addition, some of the skills exchanges have enabled members to focus on their formal study e.g. by having their ironing taken care of! 6.6 Confidence building Members have become noticeably more confident through their involvement in the Timebank. It helps people recognise their own skills and how much they have to offer their community. 7. COUNTYWIDE PLANS The only pre-existing Timebank in the county is in Cambridge at the Fields Children's Centre which opened in The coordinator from the Fields has provided support and guidance to Emma to help establish the Somersham Timebank. 7.1 As the Somersham pilot progresses interest in the concept has been gaining momentum. Dr Edgar Cahn, the founder of Timebanking, visited in September and spoke at an event co-hosted by Cambridgeshire County Council and CHS group. We held a follow up workshop in October for interested partners. 7.2 The enthusiasm this has generated is phenomenal. Keen to galvanise this energy and to work effectively with partners we have formed the Cambridgeshire Timebank Steering group. The group is made up of statutory and voluntary sector partners.

6 8. IMPROVEMENT EAST FUNDING Arrangements for the Improvement East funding for Localism funding are being finalised. 46,000 has been allocated to the development of a countywide Timebanking network for delivery by partners in the steering group. The project will begin in April 2012 and run for one year. 8.1 The plan is to begin two new initiatives in March and Ely and to develop the two fledgling Timebanks in Cambourne and Somersham. It is encouraging that Somersham Parish Council have agreed 3,000 match funding from precept which will pay 25% of the cost for the year. 8.2 The Coordinator from Freedom Club Timebank in Cambridge city is on board to provide induction training. As the projects develop the coordinators, and potentially members, will come together to share learning and fundraise jointly. An outline of the plan is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Improvement East Time Bank Funding Hunts Somersham Organisation: Somersham Parish Council As Somersham is becoming established the project will also host visits + share lessons learnt to date. Match funding - 3,000 from Parish precept confirmed Idea to be tested: Supporting older people Fenland March East Organisation: FDC/Roddons/Volunteer Bureau Match funding: potential sources - Roddons Idea to be tested: Inter-generational Anticipated no of Timebank members at end of year: 40 Anticipated no of Timebank members at end of year: 50 Joint Activity Training (to be provided by David Boffey, Time broker for Freedom Club Time Bank in Cambridge) Coordinator induction 2 x half days 5 hours telephone support for each project Joint working: Workshops x 3 to share good practice learn and address challenges. Venues and refreshments Collaborate on fundraising Develop business sponsorship (with Cambridgeshire Community Foundation) ID best IT support as time banks grow Evaluation South Cambridgeshire - Cambourne Match funding: potential sources Timebanks UK (Dept of Health funding), GP, Cambourne town council Idea to be tested: possibly operating Time banks from a community hub and/or working with local GP surgery. Plus in Melbourn supporting small Time bank to support Locality Commissioning project Anticipated no of Timebank members at end of year: 50 East Cambridgeshire Ely + another (Littleport, Soham or Burwell) Organisation: Voluntary and Community Action East Cambs Match funding: potential sources City of Ely Council. Idea to be tested: Volunteer coordination of smaller towns/villages Anticipated no of Timebank members at end of year: 50

7 9. Impact and Cost Benefits of Timebanking National findings Timebanking has been running in the UK for over 10 years. Previous evaluations of timebank schemes provide encouraging evidence of improvements in social inclusion. For example, in 2001 a survey in the UK found that time banks were more successful than traditional forms of volunteering in attracting socially excluded groups, with a greater proportion of members being disabled, unemployed, on low incomes or from an ethnic minority in comparison to profiles from the 1997 National Survey of Volunteering (Seyfang and Smith 2002). The survey findings show that annual household income was below 10,000 a year for 58% of time bank participants, compared to only 16% for traditional volunteers. 9.1 A timebank can provide an alternative means of access to care services based on non-market values which reduces the burden of the cost of the service for people on limited financial resources. If timebanks provide services that can be shown to prevent or delay the need for more costly care services or medication provided by the state then local authorities can make savings. One review of Timebanks concluded that they are able to generate net economic benefits fairly quickly (Knapp et al, 2010). 9.2 The results of this modelling suggest that the cost per time bank member would average less than 450 per year, but that the value of these economic consequences could exceed 1300 per member. This is a conservative estimate of the net economic benefit, since time banks can achieve a wider range of impacts than those we have been able to quantify and value. (Knapp et al, 2010). 9.3 The national evaluation of the LinkAge Plus Pilot programme, which included Timebanking and similar models of care for older people, showed real cost benefits, estimating that around 5% of people contacted were delayed from moving to more dependent living - a saving of 462 per annum per contact. 9.4 We recognise the need for local evaluation of the county timebank network. This is planned for the coming financial year. If we are successful with the Social Action Fund bid then it will be an external evaluation, including costbenefit analysis conducted by Cambridge University. In the event that activity is based on the Improvement East funding alone, then it will be a simpler internal evaluation. 10. Future Vision Cambridgeshire Timebank Steering group have discussed the long-term potential to develop a social market place based on co-production. This could be along the lines of the Camden Shares This would necessitate close working with business and voluntary sector partners to make use of spare capacity. For example, for two hours of support provided to a neighbour, a member could take back their credit attending a local matinee theatre production. We are in touch with Spice, an organisation which supports public sector bodies with this model.

8 Appendix One Case Study 1 Emma joined the Somersham Time Bank to meet new people and to be able to help those in need in her local community. As time went on Emma, who is a busy mum of 2, realised that she may not be able to fall back into her career as a midwife very easily after having children. Emma felt she would like to be able to do a part time office job. However as she has had no experience whatsoever within an office environment, was worried that she would lack the essential skills required. Emma spoke to the Time Bank co-ordinator about this who arranged a skills exchange with Ruth. Ruth runs a successful business for a surgeon in Cambridge and is highly skilled in office management, secretarial skills and administration. Ruth meets with Emma every other week for an hour. They are currently working on secretarial keyboard skills and CV writing but Ruth anticipates that they will cover a wide range of office skills including shorthand, audio typing, filing/archiving and receptionist work. Emma feels that the valuable experience being given to her by Ruth will greatly increase her chances of getting work. Ruth feels that with some training Emma can gain employment in an office environment and has offered to help her in any way she can. Ruth has also indicated to Emma that she may be able to assist her in finding employment when she is ready for this. Case Study 2 Elsa joined the Time Bank to help others and get some help when she may need it. Whilst talking to Elsa and some other members at a Time Bank Meet Up, the coordinator asked Elsa if she would be willing to run a few workshops on Chinese cookery. Elsa immediately jumped at the idea. Elsa and the co-ordinator are in the process of setting up these workshops and the response from Time Bank Members has been fantastic. Elsa says she is very excited about the workshops and feels she has a lot to teach other members about Chinese cookery, the ingredients and culture. In return Elsa would like to attend a cake baking workshop which the co-ordinator is setting up. Case Study 3 Christine joined the Time Bank to become more involved in village life, meet new people and make friends. Whilst at a Time Bank Coffee morning, Christine asked the co-ordinator if there was anyone on the Time Bank who would be able to help her with some problems she had been having with her computer software.

9 The co-ordinator arranged an exchange with Matthew who is a bit of a computer expert. Matthew who has SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) was eager to help but requested that the exchange take place at Matthew s residence due to accessibility issues. Matthew was able to help Christine resolve some of her issues and Christine as a result feels more confident in her ability to use the programme.