Agenda item

Review of Bridging Divides - Year 2

Report of the CGO

Minutes:

The Committee received a presentation from Renaisi and a report of the Chief Grants Officer & Director of City Bridge Trust (CGO) providing a review of progress towards implementing the Bridging Divides strategy with recommendations for the coming year. The CGO introduced the item before handing over to Renaisi to present.

 

Renaisi then gave the Committee some background to the review and their role in conjunction with City Bridge Trust (CBT), before outlining the work undertaken and sharing headline findings of the review. Renaisi advised that the findings had been positive, with a tangible sense of progress in CBT implementing values and developing as a learning organisation. New aspects of CBT’s funding offer and changes to the Committee had been well-received, as were the increased levels of delegation, which had also been highlighted as a positive. Reniaisi also set out areas for improvement or further consideration, such as the scale of ambition, and further work required in becoming a learning organisation. Renaisi also reported ambitions to further work on the environment and representation, and desire to share more learning externally.

 

The Committee was advised that the report covered the period from March 2019 to March 2020, and therefore the context had changed since due to the impact of Covid-19. Renaisi drew the Committee’s attention to the recommendations set out in the report, and advised that a further mid-year report would be drafted in October 2020. The Committee was advised that effort would be made to finalise the mid-year report in time for the November Committee meeting.

 

In response to a question from the Chairman, Renaisi recalled work previously done on two theories of change for CBT, which had been useful in understanding and providing shared language, and advised that this could be employed again during the process for allocating additional Bridge House Estates funding. In response to a question from a Member regarding the staff survey, Renaisi advised that the sample included all respondents to the survey, which was affected by the timing, but that responses received had been detailed and thoughtful.

 

RESOLVED – That the City Bridge Trust Committee note information on progress towards implementing Bridging Divides to date, including key learning points and recommendations, as presented.

Supporting documents: