Agenda item

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Chairman introduced the report, highlighting the importance of how this review would enable the Trust to perform its role at the centre of London. Extensive consultation had taken place and all eyes were on the Trust to see the result.

The Chief Grants Officer outlined the legal imperative to consult with stakeholders, but beyond that advised that it was good practice and beneficial to the Trust’s operation. He advised that, thanks to appropriate resourcing agreed by the Committee, a through and comprehensive review had taken place and he thanked Sufina Ahmad, Head of the Strategic Review, for her work. He emphasised that the strategy was still in draft form and officers were available for any further comments or feedback.

The Head of the Strategic Review outlined the draft strategy and Members discussed each section in turn:

Vision and Values

·         There was a need for all 3 sectors to work together.

·         There was a need to bridge the divide between the ‘have’s and ‘have not’s.

·         The Trust should use all its assets (e.g. networks; profile; experience) not just monetary ones.

·         The Vision and values were at the heart of the strategy and underpinned each part.

·         Early action was key – flexibility was needed to address this in whatever form required.

·         There was a mission to use all of the Trust’s knowledge – this should be mapped in some way.

·         The Trust should work with others that share its values and be vocal about advocating these.

How we Fund

·         Funder Plus in this strategy was much wider than currently in order to be more flexible with smaller or longer term grants.

·         The ‘Ideas fund’ allowed more flexibility for innovative approaches to new ideas or emerging needs which aligned with the vision and values but were not in an existing stream.

·         Longer term grants would include encouragement for the organisation to be sustainable/not reliant on funding from the Trust. This could be addressed through Funder Plus via officers working more closely with grantees to offer suggestions and connections the organisation might make.

·         Exit strategies were important and would be addressed through officer discussions with grantees about possible next steps and future funding.

·         These approaches began with an idea of where the project/organisation might end up, offering more security.

What we Fund

·         Members noted consultation around funding priorities was on-going and would be clearly defined over the coming months.

·         Whatever approach was taken, the Trust must remain alive to the diversity of how charities work.

·         Priorities could be broader in first two years then be narrowed down as a result of analysis of the portfolio and grants given.

·         Place based funding would offer a chance for a ‘deep-dive’ into a geographical area, to work with the whole community.

Learning

·         Learning would inform and influence our work and that of partners.

·         Measureable outcomes and learning was key to how this strategy would change over the coming years.

·         What was currently done in terms of monitoring and reporting could be adapted to fit this purpose and analysed further to be fed back into the programme.

·         Summaries of end-of-grant reports, where there were particular learning points, should come to Committee meetings.

·         Often the best way for an organisation to report and for a funder to learn was from face-to-face conversations.

Next Steps

·         Officers would continue to be available for comments/feedback from Members.

·         Engagement and updates would be maintained.

·         The final strategy would be prepared for approval at the Court of Common Council meeting in July 2017.

The Chairman advised Members of a breakfast briefing on 7 March and that a note would be sent to all Members and officers advised that two research papers were expected later in the month, summaries of which would be circulated to Members when available.

RESOLVED – That the Draft Strategic Review and proposed next steps be noted.