GROUNDWORK
IN ACTION Our impact in 2018
Groundwork is a charity working locally and nationally to transform lives in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities.
THE CHANGE WE DELIVER We’re passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny and no-one is held back by their background or circumstances. We know that many people face multiple challenges – living in isolation or with significant health issues in communities with few facilities and limited employment prospects. We work with partners to address these challenges in three ways.
£88m
invested in communities across the UK, resulting in... CREATING BETTER PLACES
We create better places by making communities greener, safer and healthier and by enabling people to work together to bring about change in their local area.
We improve people’s prospects by increasing the confidence, skills, wellbeing and employability of those struggling in education or out of work.
IMPROVING PEOPLE’S PROSPECTS
6,750
24,000
public spaces improved
new trees planted
community groups supported
400,000
5,000
41,000
days of voluntary people supported action by adults into training, and young people education or employment
We promote greener living and working to help people and businesses reduce their environmental impact, cut waste and save money.
4,300
GREENER LIVING & WORKING
young people supported to learn and achieve
4.8m
65,000
2,400
kilograms of CO2 emissions avoided
households supported with energy & water efficiency
businesses supported to be more sustainable 3
INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES “Wherever our national politicians lead us... investing in our local communities has to be part of the deal”
Places – and communities of place – matter, and they need investment. However, local authority spending on what might be called neighbourhood services (culture, community, environment, youth, transport) has decreased by as much as 40% in some of our most deprived areas. This means if we want to preserve the facilities and services that we value – from parks and play areas to village halls and sports pitches – communities will need to take more of a lead.
Not long ago there was a view gaining ground that the ‘local community’ might become a redundant concept. We assumed this generation would grow up as citizens of the world, selling their labour wherever the global economy led them and that online communities would increasingly meet our needs for belonging and a sense of shared experience. It isn’t working out that way. The vast majority of people still live their whole lives close to where they were born and, for all its benefits, social media serves to polarise and tribalise us as much as it connects and integrates.
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The good news is we’re building on a solid base. The UK Government’s Community Life survey shows that 47% of adults volunteer on a regular basis and 68% say people in their neighbourhood pull together to improve their local area. There are estimated to be some 6,000 local community groups helping to look after parks and green spaces alone. If communities everywhere are going to have more of a say and get more active in running local projects and services then what’s clear is that they need more support. We need to build a stronger community infrastructure – what’s been called by others a ‘civic operating system’. Groundwork’s experience, built up over four decades, is that face to face support from experienced community workers can take a group of residents from concern and criticism to constructive problem solving and committed long-term engagement.
With the right expertise, this process can also help people tackle ill health, to get skills and jobs and to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. This report sets out some of the work we’ve been doing with the help of our partners and volunteers over the last year. We have already achieved a number of the targets we set ourselves for 2020 and have reviewed our strategy, setting new ambitious targets. We also want to join others in building a case for greater investment in our local communities. This means action on three fronts. Reductions in public spending have impacted most on those services and facilities that make our neighbourhoods better, more civilised and more sustainable places to live. As they fashion future plans and budgets, our politicians need to recognise and address that fact. In the last year more than £120bn of public money was spent on health and £80bn invested in public infrastructure. We need to make the case that investing a small amount of this budget in supporting local community organisations will help us manage the escalating costs of our health, social care and welfare systems.
We need to provide support where it’s needed most. In many parts of the country, there is a long track record of community action and a strong network of local volunteer groups. But in areas with a more transient population or where people are juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet, community action is harder to take root and to keep going. We need to provide encouragement, advice, skills and funds here where they’re most needed. Ultimately, we need to inspire and motivate more people to get more involved in protecting local services and spaces and making their neighbourhoods better places to live. When that happens, the stories are inspiring, reinvigorating and humbling. The future feels very uncertain and marked by division. One thing we can be sure of is that it won’t be political persuasion or online debate that brings people together, it will be the strength and resilience of our communities. So, wherever our national politicians lead us, and whatever the ramifications for global trade and the economy, investing in our local communities has to be part of the deal.
Graham Duxbury CEO, Groundwork
CREATING BETTER PLACES Communities can’t thrive without assets. Good quality green spaces, accessible places to meet and committed volunteers are all critical to the wellbeing of our neighbourhoods. Not every community has these resources on tap. Public sector spending cuts have hit disadvantaged areas especially hard and there’s an urgent need for new investment in our social and environmental infrastructure. Groundwork supports and inspires people of all ages and backgrounds to take part in collective action to create better places to live. That could be developing or managing parks, play areas, community centres and growing spaces, or creating community projects and enterprises that provide essential support and services to those in need. Through our work we celebrate the diversity and heritage of our neighbourhoods and our specialist teams of community enablers, youth workers and landscape professionals bring people together with a shared purpose to improve their surroundings. We know that vibrant, safe, high quality local environments play a huge role in keeping people well and helping communities become more integrated and resilient.
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Celebrating and promoting heritage
Growing a community asset
The Land of Oak & Iron covers a 177 km2 area surrounding the Derwent Valley. This beautiful steep-sided valley filled with woodland and wildlife was once home to the forges of an iron and steel industrial empire and the heart of British sword making. Groundwork hosts the Land of Oak & Iron partnership which is revealing this hidden heritage, boosting the local economy through a series of projects including a new Heritage Centre and opportunities for people to learn new skills.
With local residents we’ve established the Grow Speke community garden on Merseyside – a vibrant new venue for horticultural therapy, training and environmental education on former wasteland plagued by fly-tipping. Wildflower meadows, orchards and community growing spaces have been created by local volunteers with the support of partners including South Liverpool Homes, Blackburne House, Merseyside Police and United Utilities.
Tackling food poverty Groundwork has taken a leading role in the establishment of the Luton Food Poverty Alliance. We created the first of a number of community food hubs in the town at Farley Hill providing training in growing food and cooking nutritional meals on a budget. Asylum seekers supported by the British Red Cross have been inspirational volunteers and have become ‘experts by experience’, using their knowledge to support others. Over 2000kg of produce has now been grown at the hubs.
Bringing out the good inside In Belfast we’ve demonstrated how a community garden can help reintegrate young offenders back into the community. The garden is situated in the grounds of Hydebank Wood College, Northern Ireland’s first secured college for young offenders and female prisoners, who visit the garden to receive horticultural training and work alongside local people.
Developing community-led social care In Bilborough, Nottingham, Groundwork is supporting residents of a sheltered housing scheme to maintain their independence and gain more control over local services. This has seen the establishment of a constituted community group, which is organising events and activities which help to address isolation and promote better health and wellbeing.
TOM
“I just love volunteering, I feel better about myself” “There was nothing to my life at all. I was on my own and I had depression and was on disability for about 20 years. “I had no friends and I wouldn’t talk to anyone, the only person I would speak to would be to say hello to the shopkeeper. I wasn’t going on any courses and no one was helping me out. Even the doctors weren’t really helping me – I didn’t know where my life was going. “I feel better since I’ve been coming to Groundwork. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I’m happy with where I’m going. I just love volunteering, I feel better about myself and wearing this green jacket with a Groundwork logo on it.”
DAN
“Knowing that I helped build it makes me feel good” “I couldn’t see a future to be honest as I’ve always struggled with anxiety and depression. I was bullied all the way through school, I found it really tough, and I couldn’t read and write when I left. I didn’t take any of the exams because the teachers always put me down. “My gran used to do gardening and that’s what made me decide this is what I wanted to do. I volunteered with Groundwork and within two days, I had started the course. The people who have taught me have been laid back and friendly. The way that they have been teaching us has been absolutely spot on. “We’ve been working at this school, just trying to neaten up the whole area and try and make it look better for the children. I think it’s important – all of the children are going to come back to school and see their new area and knowing that I helped build it makes me feel just as good.” Dan took part in one of Groundwork’s ‘Green Teams’ in Peterborough. Green Teams create better and greener places while providing team members the opportunity to learn new skills, gain qualifications and improve their employment prospects.
Tom volunteers on Groundwork’s ‘Grow Blackpool’ project, funded by Blackpool Council Public Health. The project runs regular sessions at community growing sites across the town where people can learn new skills, make new friends and improve their health and wellbeing.
IMPROVING PEOPLE’S PROSPECTS People should not have their life chances limited by where they live, their family circumstances or their health or disability. We stop talent and lives from being wasted due to long-term unemployment, a lack of aspiration or opportunity or poor health. Our teachers, trainers, mentors and coaches help people improve their own skills and prospects while taking part in events and activities that help them play a more active role in their local community. We provide a range of interventions and services which are constantly being adapted to new economic circumstances, the changing nature of the labour market and the talents and aspirations of those we support. We have a particular focus on motivating and supporting disadvantaged young people to build self-confidence, plan for their future and improve their life chances.
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Providing new pathways for ex-offenders
Practical support for people of all abilities
In Tameside, Greater Manchester, Groundwork has established HMPasties – a not-for-profit bakery and social enterprise which aims to be a sustainable, self-funding employment initiative for people with criminal convictions. Ex-offenders produce pasties for sale to the public, and act as peer mentors to new employees who join the scheme upon release from custody.
We are providing supported internships to young people with learning disabilities in North Yorkshire to help them develop skills and confidence for the workplace. The young people work on the Selby Garden Enterprise team, learning practical horticultural skills, softer workplace skills like time management and customer service as well as improving their Maths and English.
Innovation in person-centred support
Diverting young people from gang involvement
Evaluation of our five year youth unemployment initiative Young and Successful (YAS) in Nottingham is helping us understand what works in supporting young people furthest from the labour market. Funded by the Big Lottery Fund Talent Match programme, YAS took a person-centred approach, giving each young person a mentor and access to a personal budget to help with any barriers to employment such as the costs of transport, training or technology. Young people were involved in making decisions about the project, which has been praised for its approach in helping them navigate the essential life transition into employment.
Over 220 young people in London who are involved in or are at risk of gang involvement or serious youth violence have taken part in our Aspire Higher programme. They each received intensive support from a case worker and an achievement coach – specialist youth workers who provide personalised advice to help unlock new opportunities and build confidence. Over 50% of participants have progressed into education, employment or apprenticeships.
SHANNON
“Before I joined Progress I didn’t like myself” “My biggest personal barrier is that I struggle with my confidence and low self-esteem. Before I joined Progress, I didn’t like myself. I still find it difficult, but I’m learning to like myself a bit more and know that I have grown in confidence. It’s helped being round other young people who I can chat to, so I’m getting more comfortable with interacting with people. “I was keen to get more experience with developing my employment skills and confidence levels with talking to people. I was referred to Voluntary Action Coventry, where they helped me to find voluntary work.
ANDY
“They gave me the confidence to push forward” “About 10 years ago, I started to get health issues. Then I snapped my ligaments in my groin and I lost use of my legs. I needed urgent surgery, and my life changed. I had to leave my work in a dairy – it was long hours and heavy, hard work. Things took a turn for the worse mentally – I was in a dark place.
“I came across the ROAD project through the local job centre. I learned about the theoretical side of running a business, and was given tasks to help get my business off the ground. It was outstanding the lengths they went to, to help me. Any issues at all – the support was always there. They gave me the confidence to push forward.
“My hobby is bushcraft and foraging. While I was laid up I started studying it a lot more and I got qualifications. It gave me the drive to set up my own school to teach others – I had all my ideas but didn’t know how to make them a reality.
“This year I started my business with a sold out event. My mental health has improved 100 percent. I was sitting wasting away – Groundwork gave me a purpose again.” Andy took part in Reaching Out Across Durham (ROAD), a partnership programme led by Groundwork. You can read more about Andy’s business at www.andysoutings.com
“I’m currently volunteering in Central Library, and I help out in a book shop on Saturdays too. I’ve also taken English and Maths qualifications with a functional skills tutor, so I’m excited to hear how I’ve done. I’m confident that Progress will help me to find a job. I believe in myself a lot more than I did before.” Shannon took part in Groundwork’s Progress project in Coventry and Warwickshire – a part of ‘Building Better Opportunities’, a programme funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery, through the Big Lottery Fund.
GREENER LIVING & WORKING Greener communities are more resilient communities. Our experience is that when people are given help to live and work in a more environmentally responsible way they will take action, change their behaviour and often become champions and advocates of sustainability. We need to be greener in how we travel, how we work and how we consume. That is the only way we will meet the looming challenges of climate change but also ensure that an ageing population can stay active and well for longer, reducing the strain on our health and social care systems. Every neighbourhood faces these challenges but they will hit the disadvantaged the hardest. We help individuals, households, communities, businesses and other organisations to think and act differently to reduce waste, conserve natural resources and cut carbon emissions. Those actions can in turn reduce bills, boost health and raise living standards. Our environmental project officers, specialist advisers on energy and water efficiency and our expert sustainable business consultants provide practical help to inspire individual and collective action on environmental and health issues – building networks that can promote wider take-up and demonstrating the case for more radical action by policymakers.
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Starting in the home
Developing future green leaders
Our Green Doctors make home visits to targeted residents, helping them to reduce their utility bills through energy and water efficiency measures, providing advice on switching providers, ensuring people understand their eligibility for benefits, and referring them to other services. The WARMTH project, funded by British Gas Energy Trust, enabled Green Doctors to visit more than 2,600 households in eleven London boroughs. In Yorkshire our Green Doctors made 1,746 home visits saving households an average of £34 through installation of energy efficiency measures and £189 through switching.
Our national Young Green Leaders programme, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, has enabled more than 700 young people to deliver social action projects. Activities include designing a climate change themed garden in Manchester and establishing a website to encourage environmental pledges in Northamptonshire.
Supporting a lower carbon economy The Low Carbon Growth Support Project enabled more than 30 small businesses in the West Midlands to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions through free audits and energy-saving advice. Funded by the European Regional Development Fund, and delivered in partnership with Sustainability West Midlands, the project also provided grants to help towards the cost of more energy-efficient equipment. In Wales, our ‘Green Dragon’ standard marked its 18th year of supporting hundreds of Welsh businesses to improve their environmental performance, making financial savings and increasing competitiveness.
Reusing and refurbishing furniture Co-funded by the European Commission’s LIFE+ Programme, our REPURPOSE project helped residents from five London housing estates establish community-led reuse hubs called The Loops. These hubs collected, refurbished and redistributed household items and furniture, removing more than 7,000 bulky items from the waste stream in three years. More than 3,650 low-cost furniture items were provided for families on low incomes.
Tackling pollution and water quality In Yorkshire we’ve worked with the Environment Agency to tackle waterways pollution issues. We enabled the Friends of Bradford’s Becks to discover the source of pollution in a tributary of Bradford Beck. A complex investigation led to a business with waste pipes unknowingly connected to the stream. Now the problem has been fixed and this long-standing pollution issue resolved.
LISA
“It’s so good to get outside!” “My course involves spending a lot of time inside looking at computer screens, so gardening was a great way to get away from that. I also don’t enjoy competitive sports, so it’s a nice fun way of getting fitter without the stress that comes with competitive sports.” “I had been having quite a bad time before I started this activity, I was on the phone to my mum upset about how stressed I was. Since I started though my mood in general throughout the week has improved vastly. I can’t really think of anything else that has changed, other than on Wednesday afternoon I spent a couple of hours outside gardening with some really lovely people! “I’d really like to do more of it in my spare time. I’m really happy at the moment it’s really good for me to get outside!”
TAMANNA
“We have one earth... if we don’t look after it, who will?” “I got involved in Groundwork Youth because I’ve always wanted be involved with the environment. We only have one planet, we have one earth and if we don’t look after it, who will? “Young people are stereotyped as lazy or not interested or not grabbing opportunities and I think actually that is wrong. There are a lot of great young people who do volunteer in their community and engage with different people from all walks of life, who do work really hard and have great goals and ambitions. “It’s really important for young people to be involved in that discussion and be involved in talking with policymakers and decision makers. “I think young people can bring many things: expertise knowledge, skills, ideas that you may not have. There is so much on offer in our communities: we need to publicise it more, we need to advertise it more, we need to encourage one another. In my experience peer to peer support is crucial.” Tamanna, 25, and her co-host Asini, 19, organised ‘Youth Fest’ – a community youth festival in Stratford, London, as part of Groundwork’s ‘Inclusive Spaces’ campaign.
Lisa is a student at the University of Hertfordshire. She got involved with Groundwork’s ‘Get Outdoors, Get Active’ gardening project on campus which is designed to boost the mental health and wellbeing of participants.
PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACTION We work in partnership with a wide range of organisations to deliver programmes that achieve local change and national impact, that enable people from all walks of life to volunteer their skills and that help businesses and public bodies demonstrate their commitment to social value and environmental responsibility. In the last year we have helped a number of partners contribute to the wellbeing of communities by distributing grants to local groups who are then able to access support through our network of community coordinators. Carer Support Wiltshire received £4,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme to support its ‘Community Connections Appeal’ which helps carers who feel isolated or lonely to reconnect with their community. Since the scheme launched in 2015 Bags of Help has supported nearly 20,000 community groups, charities and schools with more than £60m generated from the sale of Tesco carrier bags, with Tesco customers casting 283 million votes to determine how funds are distributed.
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The Chilterns MS Centre received £75,000 from the HS2 community and business grants scheme to provide a range of specialist exercise classes for local MS sufferers. The HS2 grants scheme, managed by Groundwork since 2015, has so far provided just over £2.5m to nearly 50 groups in communities impacted by the highspeed rail project. St Christopher’s Hospice in Bromley was one of the 630 community groups to receive a share of £700k funding from the One Stop Carriers for Causes grants scheme last year, managed by Groundwork to help good causes close to stores. The hospice is using its grant to create a garden space for local young adults with lifelimiting conditions. Our three-year partnership with Clarion Housing to manage their Clarion Futures programme came to a crescendo last year, with £1m invested in projects benefiting some of Clarion’s 360,000 residents. We’re working with the Greater London Authority (GLA) to deliver several grant schemes that support the capital to thrive and grow. Last year, we approved grants totalling nearly £2.4m through the GLA’s ‘Culture Seeds’, ‘Family Fund’ and ‘Greener City Fund’ to projects that promote social integration, community-led cultural activities and enhance the environment.
Other partnerships involve Groundwork’s specialist delivery teams helping organisations support their customers and deliver social value that benefits the wider community. Groundwork is contracted by Thames Water to engage their domestic and business customers in a variety of water saving programmes in London and the Thames Valley area. Last year, we supported 70,000 domestic and 2,000 business customers to save £14m through Smarter Homes and Smarter Business water efficiency visits, educating customers on how to reduce water consumption which saves money on water bills and also energy bills through associated water heating costs. Our longstanding partnership with United Utilities has continued to evolve in line with the changing dynamics in the industry. Over the last ten years we have delivered 250 projects to a value of £10.5m, benefiting over 270,000 United Utilities customers in the North West. We are now working together on a number of initiatives to improve water quality and customer engagement through local river catchment partnerships.
2018 also saw us work with leading property management, investment and development company, JLL, to deliver a series of volunteering events for over 350 employees across the UK. Thanks to the hard work of JLL volunteers over 6,000 m2 of land was improved, benefiting nearly 17,000 people. Groundwork joined forces with one of the largest employers in the north east, Sage Accounting, to deliver a series of corporate volunteering days for their staff. Last year more than 900 Sage volunteers logged 5,500 volunteer hours, helping with tasks ranging from fence painting, clearing and creating pathways to refurbishing Anglo-Saxon villages at Jarrow Hall, a local heritage site managed by Groundwork. We also worked with B&Q, Buzzacott, Firmdale Hotels, Givewith, GVA, John Lewis Partnership, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Peel Land & Property and Tesco to host the Groundwork Community Awards 2018. The awards received more than 600 nominations and celebrated the work of local community groups making a big difference at a high profile event in the House of Commons. Our partners help us to unlock resources and expertise that magnify our impact on the ground. We would like to thank all our partners, large and small, that have worked with us to support communities across the UK last year. For more information on these partnerships and many more visit: www.groundwork.org. uk/majorprojects
INSPIRED? Let’s change places and lives together! Groundwork can help you to meet your corporate responsibility and business objectives. Working together we can transform places and lives in local communities. Join us in unlocking potential in people by creating a better, greener future in one of the following ways:
You Employee volunteering – give your time by taking part in community action days and skills based volunteering opportunities. Fundraising challenges – have fun while you make a difference by ‘going green for Groundwork’ or signing up to run or a ride to raise funds. Payroll giving – ask your employer about regular donations. Ambassadors – join our growing network of influencers, using your knowledge and networks to support our cause.
Your business Business membership – sign up your company and benefit from a programme of tailored opportunities. Grant management – our expert teams and local community coordinators can ensure your grant funds get to where they’re most needed. Social value partnerships – we can support your business in maximising the community and environmental impact of service contracts and infrastructure projects. Sustainable business support – we can help you to be more competitive, reduce waste and be legally compliant. Bespoke programmes – work in partnership with us to support your corporate responsibility and brand objectives. Groundwork Community Awards – help to celebrate the work of local community groups by sponsoring our annual national awards
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Together we can make a difference
www.groundwork.org.uk @groundworkuk facebook.com/groundworkuk
Groundwork UK is the operating name of the Federation of Groundwork Trusts, a company limited by guarantee. Company Registration Number: 1900511. Charity Registration No: 291558 Page 3 icons made by SimpleIcon and Freepik from www.flaticon.com. Design by Jon Kedwards.