CCI evaluation 2015-16

CAVLP Programme Evaluation: April 2015 - March 2016

Table of Contents Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

The Partners Project Need Project Financials Participants: Referral Routes and Assessment 5.1 Referral Routes 5.2 Referral Process Programme staffing, Management and Promotion 6.1 Programme staffing and management 6.2 Programme promotion Achievement of Outcomes and milestones 7.1 Participant Demographics 7.2 Achievement of Outcomes and Milestones 7.2.1 Milestones 7.2.2 Outputs Partner Views Participant Views Future Developments and Considerations 10.1 Volunteer Development 10.2 Training Programme 10.3 Programme Promotion 10.4 Monitoring and Evaluation 10.5 Future Development

Executive Summary The CCI and CAVLP Employability Programme is funded through the People and Communities Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund to deliver training in environmental skills (i.e. conservation and rural development techniques) in the Clyde and Avon Valley area for a 12 month period (April 2015-March 2016). There was a specific focus on engaging people facing significant barriers to social inclusion and employment.

This evaluation has been conducted internally by CCI to assess achievement of agreed outcomes and milestones and the overall impact the programme has had on volunteers and the wider community in line with the programmes main objectives. A brief summary of the findings are detailed below.

Main findings:   

All milestones and outputs were achieved, and in most cases exceeded Participants and partners overall found value in the programme. The training programme was particularly successful.

Issues still exist concerning volunteer development, programme promotion and monitoring and evaluation.

1. Introduction The CCI and CAVLP programme received funding from the People and Communities Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund to deliver training in conservation, environmental and rural skills to community groups and individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds - including individuals facing significant barriers to social inclusion and employment.

The programme had a particular focus on delivering employability and skills training to people facing significant barriers to social inclusion and employment and those who are long term unemployed.

At the end of this year, CCI and CAVLP are conducting an internal evaluation of the programme. The objectives of the evaluation are: 

Review the activities carried out to date with stakeholders and participants



Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the project



Review the progress the project has made against the outputs and milestones set by the funder



Measure the qualitative and quantitative impact of the project on volunteers



Make recommendations on the future of the project, including key development opportunities.

2. The Partners Clydesdale Community Initiatives Clydesdale Community Initiatives was initially set-up in 2002 to enable young people at risk and adults with mental health issues to develop a derelict site in Lanark, South Lanarkshire. This project was so successful, with both groups benefiting hugely from their involvement, that it was decided they would undertake further projects.

Since 2002, Clydesdale Community Initiatives, also known as CCI, have developed a commercial trading arm to their organisation, worked on a myriad of projects all of which have had community or client

input and delivered exceptional outcomes for their participant’s year on year. By incorporating the principle that no one should be defined in terms of their support needs, rather they should be recognised for the contribution they are able to offer, their participants have gained invaluable experience of vocational and social skills and as a result have increased in their self-confidence, thus often reducing long term demands on mainstream services.

Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership The Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership, (CAVLP) is a Heritage Lottery funded project whose core objectives are: to conserve and enhance the natural heritage of the area; to increase community participation in the landscape; to improve access to training and educational opportunities in the area and to provide training in local conservation and heritage skills.

Through the support of the Heritage Lottery project, CAVLP has been able to support over 70 projects throughout the area in order to achieve their core aims. Each project offers excellent opportunities for members of the wider community to become more actively involved in volunteering, training, and education and work opportunities.

3. Project Need Extensive research was conducted by CAVLP and it revealed that there was a lack of land based skills and training in the Clyde and Avon Valley area. Additionally, young people and people facing significant barriers to employment and inclusion (due to their long term health issue or other challenging circumstances) reported that access to and participation in employment, training and volunteering opportunities, were highly important to them.

To respond to this need, CAVLP and CCI formed a partnership and successfully obtained funding from the People and Communities Fund to deliver an employability and skills development programme which used the conservation projects as a platform for the programmes delivery.

The programme has been running successfully for 2 years. An external evaluation conducted by Community Enterprise assessed the impact of the project for this time period. Hence, this evaluation covers the impact of the project from April 2015-March 2016.

4. Project Financials

The projects overall budget was £89,819. £45,410 was secured from the People and Communities Fund (PCF) for the one year period. The money from this fund was matched by CAVLP (£37,304) and CCI (£7,105). £12,600 of this budget was allocated for external certified training.

The project ran within budget with no major financial issues or problems to report.

5. Participants: Referral Routes and Assessment 5.1 Referral Routes Participants are referred to the programme through a wide range of sources, as detailed below:       

Clydesdale Resource Network Local Community Mental Health Teams South Lanarkshire Social Work Department Clydesdale and Larkhall Integrated Child Services Team Activity Agreement Team Occupational Therapists for Forensic Mental Health Local third sector organisations such as Healthy Valleys, LAMH

5.2 Referral Process Firstly, a referrer will contact CCI and have a telephone discussion with CCI’s Placement Support Manager where the potential participant’s needs and interests are briefly discussed. If it is decided the potential participant may be suitable for the programme an informal meeting is then arranged with the referrer and if possible the potential participant at CCI with the Placement Support Manager.

At this meeting the potential participant’s interests, support needs, goals and ambitions are discussed in detail and the Placement Support Manager assesses their suitably to participate in the programme

taking into consideration various factors such as ability to work safely and contribute positively to the activities.

It is highly unusual that a potential participant would be considered unsuitable to participate in the programme. Reasons for a potential participant to be deemed unsuitable would be an inability to work safely. This usually arises if the potential participant has current substance misuse issues. The reason(s) for not being suitable would be discussed at the meeting with the referrer and potential participant.

Potential participants are encouraged to re-contact CCI, when they feel they are now able to work safely for both themselves and others.

Once a participant has been accepted onto the programme they are assigned their own key worker who then supports them to develop a Personal Development Plan. This plan outlines the participant’s goals and ambitions, as well as capturing how they feel about their health and wellbeing (measured by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale), their skills development and connection with the wider community (measured by internal CCI questionnaires).

Participant’s plans are reviewed on a quarterly basis to assess their placement progress. Participants at these reviews have the opportunity to change or alter their goals and raise any concerns or problems they may have with their placement. Key workers provide ongoing support to participants and help them to engage in activities when they are working. Participants are encouraged to talk to their key worker at any point about their placement if they are experiencing difficulties or would like to try a new task.

6. Programme Staffing, Management and Promotion 6.1 Programme staffing and management CCI’s Managing Director oversees the management and supervision of the programmes operations. CCI’s Placement Support Manager is responsible for the planning and organisation of volunteering sessions and supervision of Group and Placement Support Workers. Group and Placement Support Workers are responsible for the delivery of the sessions and supporting volunteers to engage in the sessions. The project has dedicated administration and external training co-ordination time.

6.2 Programme Promotion

The programme was promoted widely by CAVLP and CCI through social media channels such as CCI and CAVLP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. All volunteering events and certified training were also uploaded to CAVLP’s website.

In addition to promotion through social media CAVLP created a newsletter which CCI was posted in local shops and facilities and circulated to all CCI and CAVLP partner contacts including third sector organisations such as Healthy Valleys and the Hope Café, the local social work department, Routes to Work South and local job centres, education contacts, local community mental health teams, local community groups and wildlife trusts.

7. Achievement of Outcomes and Milestones 7.1 Participant Demographics 51 participants responded to the end of year evaluation, 47 were male, 3 were female, 1 response was anonymous and consequently of an unknown gender. 42 of the respondents were internal CCI participants, 4 responses were from individuals who were receiving a forensic mental health service and 5 were responses from external volunteers.

Overall, 50 external volunteers throughout the year engaged in the CAVLP programme through training or volunteering. Evaluation questionnaire was emailed to volunteers and an online “Survey Monkey” version containing the same questions was also available for volunteers to complete.

Low evaluation response rates from the external volunteering group may be explained by the fact that the majority of volunteers in this group participated in one off volunteering and training and so may have felt the final evaluation was less relevant to themselves, especially if they had already completed a session feedback form.

Impact of the programme for internal CCI participants was also by measured by their WEMWBS scores.

Participants found out about the programme through a variety of sources including occupational therapists, social work, third sector organisations such as Healthy Valleys, and the CAVLP website and the CAVLP newsletter. Please refer to section 6.2 for promotion details of the programme.

7.2 Achievement of Milestones and Outputs

7.2.1

Milestones

Table 1 Milestone: Identify community environment and training projects with partners

Deliver 168 volunteering and training sessions Deliver 40 LANTRA certificates or equivalent Complete evaluation and Volunteer awards

Achieved Community environment and training projects were identified such as chainsaw and pesticide training; environmental projects were also identified such as balsam stripping, fence creation, willow maintenance and dipping pond creation.

Delivered 198 volunteering and training sessions.

Delivered 58 LANTRA certificates or equivalent Completed evaluation and volunteer awards. (August 2016)

All agreed milestones were achieved with an additional 30 volunteering and training sessions delivered above the original target. An extra 18 LANTRA or equivalent certificates were also achieved throughout the year. A detailed list of certified training offered during the year can be seen in table 2. Chainsaw cross cutting and maintenance was run five times throughout the year to meet the demand from volunteers and the local community. CCI and CAVLP worked well with partners to identify community environment and training projects that would benefit and enhance the Clyde and Avon Valley area in line with the programmes goals.

Table 2 Training Course Chainsaw cross cutting and maintenance (LANTRA) x5 Pesticide PA1 & PA6 training (LANTRA) x3 Brush cutter and Strimmer (LANTRA) Outdoor First Aid Course (delivered by First Aid Training Co-operative)

Volunteer Leadership Course (delivered by The Conservation Volunteers) Woodchip training (LANTRA)

7.2.2 Outputs The end of programme questionnaire asked participants a variety of questions covering areas related to their health, wellbeing and skills development. A copy of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix A. Table 3

Outputs: 46 people participate in programmes of environmental volunteering and training 16 individuals learn skills in woodcraft 30 individuals learn skills in construction and horticulture 40 individuals will gain LANTRA or equivalent certificates 40 individuals will improve their health, well-being and social inclusion 20 individuals will move into mainstream employment, education or training

Outputs Achieved 67 45 42 59 42 21

In conjunction with the final programme questionnaire, health and wellbeing improvement was measured by the WEMWBS where appropriate for CCI volunteers.

External volunteers’ health and wellbeing was measured by key questions relating to mental health and wellbeing in the final project questionnaire only.

Responses from the final programme questionnaire which demonstrated an improvement in mental health and wellbeing included e.g. “a little”, “some”, “a lot”, “loads”. For the WEMWBS a high score (within 10% of the Scottish average score of 50) or an increase in score if at least two WEMWBS had been completed through the year were used as indicators of an increase in health and wellbeing.

A comprehensive log detailing the sessions and number of participants involved in conjunction with feedback and reviews was used to measure our impact against the remaining outputs.

Figure 1:

Outputs 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Participation in EV volunteering

Woodcraft Construction LANTRA skills & horticulture certificates skills Target

Improve Employment, health, education & wellbeing & training inclusion

Achieved

As demonstrated clearly in figure 1 all agreed outputs were exceeded. Of the 51 participants who completed the end of year evaluation and where appropriate WEMWBS scale, 42 individuals reported an improvement in their mental health and wellbeing.

Additionally, the agreed target for individuals participating in environmental volunteering was exceeded by 45% as demonstrated Figure 1 and table 3.

Improvements in health and wellbeing and progression into employment, education and training were achieved with smaller margins. However, this reflects the long and challenging process of engaging with individuals facing significant disadvantage, as people often experience relapses in their mental health and their journey to work is longer as they break down their barriers.

The achievement of the above targets, reflects the success of the programme.

8. Partner views

A short survey was distributed to partners to gather their views on the programme. We received a total of 5 responses. A copy of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix B. All partners agreed that the programme:     

Had achieved its main aims and objectives Provided the right mix of skills The training programme was well orchestrated The volunteer force was effective (1 partner strongly agreed with this statement; 1 partner remained neutral*) The volunteering programme was well orchestrated (1 partner strongly agreed with this statement)

*This partner was fairly new to the programme and felt that they had not participated long enough to give a true and meaningful answer to this question.

Partners were also invited to comment on what components they felt were most beneficial and worked well.

“A lot of my volunteers really benefited from training through CCI. This has had a knock on effect on the reserve as they have been able to use their new skills.”

“The volunteers were generally all very keen, interested and motivated to work and undertook quite a wide range of tasks. Willie was a good motivator and worked hard on the tasks. The experience of the regular volunteers was beneficial both in getting work done, but also in supporting less experienced volunteers.”

“Engaged a wider group of folk in the practical conservation management of the wildlife reserves.”

“The most beneficial component of the programme was the ability of different partners to work together to help support each other’s needs and requirements by bringing extra capacity in the form of training, networks of volunteers or facilities that each partner would find difficult to achieve or progress individually.”

Partners also highlighted areas of the program they felt could have worked better or been more developed.

“As the tasks undertaken were quite varied and sometimes were reactive to something happening on the reserves, we found that it was necessary to have an SWT staff member present. Partly this was required because the group may not have undertaken that task before, or needed site supervision in terms of species identification or being guided to the location. Occasionally we would need to slow the speed of work down or stop and re-do bits to achieve the quality of finish we need.”

“Over the course of the year, I was only aware of one non-CCI volunteer attending one of our days. This gave the impression of a rather low uptake from the wider community even though tasks were advertised. I would think that addressing this would be a useful element to a new programme going forward and could either involve changes to communication or changes to the way the group operates; e.g. do folk want to attend a regular day at a site local to their part of the valley or would it take me (for example) being a bit more structured with the task description and meeting point provided longer in advance?”

“It would have been better to have been embedded with volunteers at CCI for a longer period of time in order to explore different skills and help sustain development in individuals. It would also have been good if individual volunteers came to us with projects that they were interested in perusing.”

As outlined above partners raised concerns about the low uptake of external non-CCI volunteers, the need for staff presence and sustainability. These issues will be discussed further in section 10.

9. Participant views Participants were regularly asked for their feedback on their CAVLP programme in order to assess progress and impact of the programme.

Participant view 1 “As my training continues I am progressing more and more with my communication skills… This is a huge step for me, I am doing things now I would never have thought possible. When you put your mind to work, you can do anything. My training is boosting myself up to the next level, recently I completed the

Leadership Skills training delivered by TCV at CCI and received my certificate of achievement for this course.”

Participant view 2 “I have been isolated for a long time with depression and anxiety, but the connections I have made – with people and the natural environment – are showing me possibilities that I could not see before, and my future looks brighter as a result. I believe that these activities and this feeling of connection can work for others, too, which makes our use and preservation of the land vitally important.”

Participant view 3 “A typical day can be anything from planting trees, repairing fences, clearing ditches, wildflower & butterfly surveys to helping at open days. The list is endless and thanks to CAVLP, CCI & the RSPB a fantastic support and training programme is in place. I have personally benefited from first class training sponsored by CAVLP and provided by CCI on topics such as; use of brush cutter & strimmer, pesticide spraying, forest skills, removal of invasive species, tool sharpening, mapping skills, chainsaw crosscutting and outdoor first aid. The opportunities to learn new skills or develop new interests are endless and the rewards are priceless. The work and training is satisfying enough but the icing on the cake is the social aspect and companionship of the volunteer network.”

Participant view 4 “I would have liked to do more volunteering with the group on various projects on a regular basis- such as every Thursday morning- perhaps the continuity would have taught me more about different skills and I could have more to offer the group.”

As highlighted by the above extracts participants benefitted greatly from the skills training and social connection components of the programme. The training programme and archaeological training sessions have been particularly well received by participants helping them to increase their skill set and look forward to the future.

However, problems such as consistency in volunteering where also highlighted. This will be discussed in further detail in section 10.

10. Future Developments and Considerations 10.1

Volunteer Development

As highlighted earlier by a partner of the programme there is concern about the levels of uptake in the volunteering programme from the wider community. Extensive efforts have been made to promote the volunteering programme widely with volunteering opportunities and the monthly newsletter promoted on social media channels and distributed to local community groups, social work contacts, and local community mental health teams. CCI also circulated the monthly newsletter to their list of contacts covering the social care, education, public and third sector organisations. Flyers are also posted in public spaces such as libraries where possible.

There are other factors regarding lower numbers of external volunteers which also must be taken into consideration including:   

Availability of volunteers: Many community members may not be able to attend during the week sessions due to work and childcare commitments. Other CAVLP volunteering may wish to offer weekend volunteering opportunities to cater for this and increase volunteer uptake.

Promotion: in reference to the point above, promotional material may not be directed to the correct audience Consistency in programme: a participant did highlight that the lack of a set day and time every week prevented them from attending volunteering sessions more regularly. It was particularly challenging to develop consistency in the programme as volunteering sessions where often planned in response in partners needs and demands which can vary from week to week.

Developing a regular publishable volunteer schedule could be one way of increasing community participation in volunteering.

10.2

Training Programme

Participants consistently highlighted that the training opportunities offered through the programme were highly beneficial. This aspect of the programme also had the most uptake from external community members out with CCI. Courses were well attended especially popular courses such as the chainsaw and maintenance course which often operated on a waiting list basis.

As this aspect of the programme has received positive feedback from volunteers, it is recommended that partners continue to deliver courses that will help to increase community groups’ skills and support their sustainability in the CAVLP area.

10.3

Programme Promotion

The programme, as mentioned previously, has been promoted by CAVLP and CCI through social media channels and circulating newsletters and volunteering opportunities to partner contacts which include to third sector organisations, social work department, job centres, education departments and local community mental health teams. The volunteer newsletter was also posted in local shops and facilities to try to reach a wider audience.

However, uptake in volunteering sessions from the wider community has not been as high as expected.

One way to tackle this problem may be to target promotion of the programme at groups which may be more available during on weekdays (e.g. retired individuals) and making contact with groups such as the University of the Third Age may also increase volunteer uptake. Developing a more consistent programme as mentioned previous in section 10.1 may also increase volunteer uptake and allow for longer term relationships with the local groups and the community to be built.

Promotional materials could also be directed to the external audience who have already volunteered before via the CAVLP volunteering database.

10.4

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation of the programme at times could be challenging. One particular difficulty was having participants fill out a feedback form for every session they engaged in. This could be particularly frustrating for CCI volunteers who may participate in several sessions each month. CCI and CAVLP have discussed this matter and agreed the process can be more streamlined to minimise paperwork and impact on CCI volunteers.

Recording of outcomes and outputs has generally worked well and continued to improve from previous years. Building on previous recommendations, CCI and CAVLP have been gathering stories of volunteer’s experiences of the programme, to further promote the benefits of volunteering.

CCI felt that outputs and milestones for the programme were at a manageable number and it is recommended that any future delivery of programmes continues to have open discussion of what outputs are achievable.

10.5

Future Development

Overall the programme has been a wide success, achieving its targets and receiving positive feedback from both participants and partners. The planning of the sessions has worked well with effective communication between partners and the training programme has been another particularly successful component of the programme that has received overwhelming positive feedback from participants.

Volunteer development, promotion and the streamlining of monitoring and evaluation remain the current challenges which both CAVLP and CCI are working collaboratively to solve for future programmes.

Appendix A CAVLP Environmental Volunteering Questionnaire Name……………………………………….Date…………

I feel I have learned new skills Not at all A Little Some A Lot

Loads

My general health & wellbeing has improved Not at all A Little Some

Loads

A Lot

I am taking positive steps in my mental health recovery (optional) Not at all A Little Some A Lot Loads

My personal confidence and self-esteem has increased Not at all A Little Some A Lot

Loads

I find it easier to work with others Not at all A Little Some

A Lot

Loads

I have widened my social networks Not at all A Little Some

A Lot

Loads

I feel I am doing something worthwhile for the community

Not at all

A Little

Some

A Lot

Loads

I feel better prepared for taking up new opportunities eg. training, volunteering, further education or employment Not at all A Little Some A Lot Loads

I am feeling more hopeful and positive about my future Not at all A Little Some A Lot Comments:

Loads

Appendix B CAVLP/CCI Environmental Training &Volunteering Programme 2015/16

Partners Feedback Form

Name

Organisation

Date

Project Aims: Training in heritage, conservation and horticulture. Deliver training and support to fill these skills gaps amongst individuals with employability needs and people classed as ‘hard to reach’ as well as partner volunteers and members of local community groups.

The project will also work with those previously trained under CAVLP to create a volunteer force available to partners to do improvement work on CAVLP sites.

Strongly disagree The programme achieved its main aims and objectives The training programme provided the right mix of skills The training programme was well orchestrated The volunteer force was effective The volunteering programme was well orchestrated

Disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

Q1. What do you think were the most beneficial components of the programme?

Q2. What worked well?

Q3. What didn’t work well?

Q4. Do you think anything about the programme could be improved?