Funding to prevent future social issues

8 Mar 2016 12:40 PM

A project to support policies and practice that focus on prevention of social problems rather than managing the consequences has received a £493,720 grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

This will build on the first phase work of the Early Action Task Force, which aims to embed a culture among charities, funders, and public sector bodies where preventative services and activities are given greater prominence.

The Task Force defines early action as any service or activity that focuses on unlocking people’s potential to prevent social issues before they arise. It promotes the vision of a society which can adapt to change and is defined by its strengths and opportunities, rather than by the problems it is looking to overcome.

The project will focus on local implementation of early action approaches across the UK. This will take policy ideas developed by the Task Force over the last three years, adapt and apply them in the local context, identifying the obstacles and developing practical new approaches to support people and communities. There will also be bespoke support for public commissioners, such as local authorities, health and wellbeing boards and police and crime commissioners, based on areas of greatest challenge.

The Task Force will also share learning through further developing its network of practitioners, with a particular focus on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and use case studies, events, speaking and training opportunities to reach new audiences.

Big Lottery Fund Chief Executive Dawn Austwick said: “We start from the perspective that people want to overcome barriers and take control of their lives. We also know that charities, funders and commissioners are looking to early action as a more sustainable and positive means of supporting communities. The Early Action Task Force provides the ideas, expertise and tools to make the most of people’s strengths and build a more preventative society.”

David Robinson, Senior Adviser at Community Links and Chair of the Early Action Task Force said: “Most people agree that prevention is a good idea but it is difficult for us all to work on building a fence at the top of the cliff when all our people are needed to run the ambulances at the bottom. The Task Force has been analysing the obstacles and developing practical ideas for building a different kind of society – one that prevents problems from occurring rather than one that copes with the consequences. This grant is a vital boost to our work driving further development and expansion over the next three years.”

The funding builds on a £390,000 Big Lottery Fund grant to the Early Action Task Force over the last three years, with the organisation’s achievements including:

• Creating a process for identifying and classifying early expenditure and with a group of independent funders, resulting in the formation of the now independent and nationally-focussed Early Action Funders Alliance. This was launched in July 2014 and now has over 60 members. In January 2015 it began making large grants through its first joint project, the Early Action Neighbourhood Fund.
• Working with the Public Accounts Committee and the National Audit Office on a review of the early action landscape and on the classification of government spending.
• Supporting the Welsh government with the development of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
• Publishing seven major reports which put forward practical ideas for reducing need. Using this original work to support voluntary and statutory organisations wanting to act earlier, to build a network of almost 500 organisations committed to early action and to run training six times a year for businesses engaging in the Business in the Community (BiTC) Business Connectors Programme.

Hosted by Community Links Ltd, the Task Force is a cross sector leadership group with senior representation from across the voluntary and community sectors, academia, business and government. They include the Big Lottery Fund, Chief Executives of Newham Council, NCVO, Social Finance, New Philanthropy Capital, Community Links, former Chief Executives from Community Service Volunteers and Demos, and representatives from Early Intervention Foundation, New Economics Foundation, Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics, Action for Children, Civil Exchange, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Business in the Community, Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Accenture, Hogan Lovells, and UBS.

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Notes to Editors:

• The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery for good causes and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8 billion to projects that make a difference to people and communities in need, from early years intervention to commemorative travel funding for World War Two veterans.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £33 billion has been raised and more than 450,000 grants awarded.
• The Early Action Task Force is a cross-sector group of leaders making the case for a society that prevents problems from arising rather than waiting to deal with the consequences. It is chaired by David Robinson and hosted by east London charity Community Links. The Task Force has published seven reports setting out the barriers to early action and practical ideas for overcoming them. These are available from www.community-links.org/earlyaction
• Community Links is an east London social action charity working with 16,000 people each year. It has over 37 years' experience working in one of the most deprived, diverse and vibrant areas in the country. Today Community Links runs 40 social action projects, five social enterprises and three national campaigns. Last year Community Links advised almost 5,000 people with benefits, housing and debt problems at a time when funding for this work is shrinking; supported around 4,000 unemployed people over a third of whom found sustainable jobs, many more have gone onto further training and voluntary work. For more information visitwww.community-links.org.
• Interviews are available on request. Contact david.robinson@community-links.orgor 020 7473 9647.