Groundwork: Growing a thriving economy by Ben Leach

GROUNDWORK: GROWING A THRIVING ECONOMY

roundwork has a long history of helping people living in disadvantaged areas connect with economic opportunity. We help local areas address today’s toughest issues – how to build skills among those furthest from the labour market, how to create attractive and productive environments and how to reboot local economies in preparation for a low carbon future. Groundwork has its roots in local communities but we also work strategically with public, private and third sector partners to deliver regional and national programmes across the UK.

Our integrated approach to providing social, environmental and economic impact provides value for money. An analysis by Sheffield Hallam1 University found that £2 worth of benefits are provided for every pound invested in Groundwork projects. Our partnerships with local authorities and local and national businesses are critical to achieving these goals.

WE HAVE SET OURSELVES CHALLENGING GOALS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS:

2,500

15,000

open spaces improved or looked after

people progressing into training or employment

10,000 young people more motivated to learn and achieve

100,000 people helped to reduce their energy and water use

1MILLION CRESR and eftec (2010). Assessing the value and benefits of Groundwork

days of voluntary action to improve local communities

GROWING SKILLS FOR EMPLOYMENT

oth businesses and local authorities are determined to improve skills for employability, particularly among young people and those not in education, employment or training. This means ensuring more young people thrive in school, helping those at risk of dropping out to become re-engaged in learning and increasing the take-up of traineeships and apprenticeships. Groundwork has a national network of Achievement Coaches, trained youth workers providing one-to-one and small group support to help young people achieve their full potential and avoid becoming NEET. Last year our coaches and volunteers helped 1400 young people in 60 schools, delivering measurable results in terms of attitude and attainment. GROUNDWORK IN ACTION Groundwork worked with Abraham Moss Community School in Manchester to help bring 44 disaffected year 11 pupils back into mainstream education and ensure they achieved improved qualifications. Coaches worked closely with school staff to tackle personal and social barriers to learning resulting in significant improvements in attendance

and an increase in average attainment to five A*- C grades at GCSE with particular improvements in Maths and English. Jasmine was referred to the Achievement Coaches programme because she was at risk of under-achieving and displayed a range of personal and social risk factors including under-age drinking. Despite being defensive and withdrawn at first, Jasmine’s attitude to her Coach became much more positive as the weeks went by. Teachers report a significant change in attitude. Jasmine now has a career aspiration and understands how her behaviour and achievement in school can help her to achieve her goal.

“ By working collaboratively and pragmatically with existing support services and providers, Groundwork has helped to influence and shape the provision of education, training and support in the city and is contributing towards the decline in the number of NEET young people in Salford.” Jack Loughlin Head of Raising Participation Salford City Council

roundwork has particular expertise in growing the skills needed by employers. Our approach instils confidence, personal responsibility and a team ethic. We also enhance communication skills and embed literacy and numeracy skills in practical activities, creating the building blocks for providing good customer service. We help young people access apprenticeships by providing preemployment support and teaching basic skills, and we manage a variety of supported work placements to instil the disciplines required in the workplace. Increasingly we are developing our own social enterprises as a route to helping people enter the labour market while stimulating local economies.

GROUNDWORK IN ACTION In London, Groundwork has formed a consortium with Balfour Beatty and The Landscape Group to maintain Queen Elizabeth Park and nearby venues for ten years, with up to 85% of the jobs being filled by long-term unemployed people from the Olympic host boroughs. Groundwork also manages the REWORK workshops in Wandsworth and Greenford, which provide training and work placements while repairing and refurbishing electrical goods that would otherwise go to landfill, as well as ‘upcycling’ unwanted furniture into new products.

GROWING A LOW CARBON ECONOMY AND COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE

aking the transition to a low carbon economy is an increasingly urgent priority. Low carbon employment ranges from high-tech manufacturing to simple but vital roles such as increasing domestic energy efficiency. Groundwork has the skills and knowledge to help local areas achieve their low carbon ambitions. Environmental employment is at the heart of our mission, linking better life prospects with sustainable and thriving places. We have a wealth of experience in developing and maintaining green infrastructure - the green spaces and waterways that underpin healthy ecosystems and make sure our towns and cities are sustainable and attractive for investment.

Our Green Teams enable unemployed people to carry out real and valuable environmental improvements in neighbourhoods, while learning new skills, gaining qualifications and enhancing employment prospects. Green Teams are commissioned by local authorities, housing associations and other landowners to maintain open spaces but also, increasingly, to help local areas adapt to the impacts of climate change, reducing the risks of flood or storm damage by rethinking urban landscapes.

GROUNDWORK IN ACTION In west London Groundwork Green Teams are working with the landlords and residents of three housing estates to redesign green spaces to increase water retention capacity by 20,000 cubic metres, reducing the risk of flash flooding while increasing local biodiversity. Harry worked as part of a Groundwork Green Team for six months, carrying out grounds maintenance work. He achieved an NVQ Level 2 Horticulture and has gone on to get full time work at a ladder manufacturer. He says “My Grandad is proud that I’m out working and earning. My GCSEs didn’t really go to plan. I got into this because I wasn’t really certain what I wanted to do in the future, but this has pointed me in a direction. I think the NVQ is going to help make me more employable.”

They help people to reduce their bills, maximise their income and provide practical support to ensure more people keep warm and stay well.

We also work with business communities to help them improve their surroundings through Business Improvement Districts and to benefit from a collaborative approach to logistics, security and purchasing.

reating a low carbon economy and society means promoting greener behaviours. Our expert Green Doctors are working across the UK, offering advice and guidance on water, energy and resource efficiency at roadshows, community events and in the home, often to those who are most vulnerable and at risk of fuel poverty.

“ The team at Groundwork have consistently delivered a professional service in the way in which they engage our customers, their communication and how they’ve supported behaviour change.” Michael Wood Energy Strategy Manager Midland Heart Housing

elping businesses, in particular SMEs, reduce their costs by increasing their resource efficiency, has been a key element of our work for more than 25 years. We provide environmental consultancy and training, including carbon management, waste reduction and recycling, and sustainable procurement.

GROUNDWORK IN ACTION Faith Products produces skin and hair care products from natural sources that are healthy, not tested on animals and environmentally friendly. The support provided by Groundwork combined with their commitment to implementing efficiency savings led to savings of almost £20,000 in a single year. This was achieved through a combination of improvements including better management of temperature controls and reducing electricity consumption. Switching to recycled plastic diverted 28 tonnes of plastic from landfill, while an investigation into leaner manufacturing resulted in over £12,000 of savings with a further £16,000 saved through production improvements.

“ Working with Groundwork has been hugely rewarding in many ways. Groundwork is very competent technically, and provided many solutions to the problems we had. We enjoyed a great working relationship … that furthered our aims of being a model company in the area of environmental initiatives.” Aaron Rose Director Faith Products

GROWING BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

ost business leaders recognise that corporate responsibility is about more than minimising harmful impacts and means enabling their employees and encouraging their customers to become more active in creating flourishing local communities. Our strategic partnerships with business result in real, visible improvements to neighbourhoods and help companies develop the skills and competences of their people. We have significant experience of working in partnership with utility companies to help educate people about water, waste and energy and work alongside construction and facilities management companies to provide opportunities for local people to access jobs and get more involved in the way assets are developed and maintained.

GROUNDWORK IN ACTION Groundwork’s long standing partnership with United Utilities continues to deliver results. Our United Futures partnership helps to mitigate the environmental impact of United Utilities’ capital works in the north west of England by delivering community projects that leave a lasting legacy. Over the past decade the programme has delivered nearly 200 projects that have improved or maintained over two million square metres of land

“ What Groundwork offered us was a way of connecting with the community to work out what they actually needed, and that having invested the money up front there would be some sort of commitment and ownership in the community to protect and preserve our green space.” Mike Barry Director of Sustainable Business M&S

e work with a wide range of businesses to help them connect with their customers and provide opportunities for fundraising, team building and personal development among their employees. We build national relationships that add value to local programmes, using the power of big brands and business resources to stimulate community action. This includes encouraging employees to volunteer on projects to improve and manage open spaces or to provide career inspiration alongside our Achievement Coaches in schools. Our business partners include M&S, Deutsche Bank, Skanska, PWC, Direct Line and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

GROUNDWORK IN ACTION Groundwork was the delivery partner for the Cadbury Spots v Stripes Community Programme, designed to encourage participation in volunteering as part of the 2012 Olympic legacy. Long-term volunteers with the programme said it had improved essential skills required by employers, including communication and social skills and organisation and management. Following the programme 51 volunteers went on to higher education and another 70 started other forms of training, with 80% saying this was influenced by their involvement in the scheme. A social return on investment analysis of the scheme found that more than £13 million of social value was created, a return of more than £3 for every £1 invested.

TO FIND OUT HOW GROUNDWORK CAN HELP YOUR ORGANISATION GROW A THRIVING ECONOMY VISIT GROUNDWORK.ORG.UK

Published by Groundwork UK Groundwork UK is the operating name of the Federation of Groundwork Trusts, a company limited by guarantee. Company Registration No: 1900511. Charity Registration No: 291558