Cognitive Surplus

If the work you are engaged in does not stretch you - or develop your skills then you may be in a cognitive surplus situation. Essentially, you have more to offer. Frustration results and alternative outlets are sought.

This is not a new phenomenon - but there is an increasing awareness of the consequences.

The truth about what really motivates us...

Check this link - worth 10 minutes of your time to think about how you manage your staff, and the kind of organisation you are building.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

No win - no fee

A small local advocacy group is struggling to finance its work. The manager is funding the activities herself. This is an organisation meeting the needs of vulnerable people, and filling a niche - but struggling to attract funds.

Flourishing are offering a no win, no fee funding service to help them get things off the ground - and to move to the next stage of development. 5 funding applications - with a flat fee for each successful one.

This is a new arrangement - and it will be interesting to see how it evolves. Initial feedback from the first potential funder seems encouraging.

Trustee Development Assignment

New assignment confirmed this week, for a London Borough CVS.

Delivery of lottery funded trustee development activities - to include workshops, newsletters and networking opportunities.

The focus is on broadening skills and encouraging trustees to look up and out to ensure that their organisations are evolving and responding to the changing environment. Already planning some speed dating activities to match potential trustees to vacancies - and some self directed learning activities to sit alongside masterclasses for chairs and treasurers.

Adult Social Care Review - Mencap

Adult Social Care Review workshop at National Mencap's offices this week. Attending in my capacity as Director at Barnet Mencap.

Social care law is very complex and in some places conflicting. This has led to a postcode lottery of social care, where every local authority has taken differing interpretations of the law.

The Law Commission have been asked by the Government (2009) to undertake a review of all social care law. They have been asked to attempt to clarify and simply adult social care law. The review covers both England and Wales.

Mencap believes that this is of major importance to the future of adult social care and to the way services for people with a learning disability are run. Local Mencaps are attending a workshop to explore this issue and highlight the consequences for their groups and user communities.

AidExcel Support Services

Supporting AidExcel Support Services to develop a marketing plan, alongside a funding strategy.

This organisation provide support, advice, signposting and training for parents of disabled children from BME and new migrant communities. There is a significant demand for their work, and it's all about developing at a sustainable pace - promoting existing services, adding new ones, diversifying income streams and establishing a solid platform for growth.

Draft proposals prepared and ready for discussion with the Director later this week.

Safeguarding Children - Pan London Project

Representing a London Borough

Promotional DVD with Rolling Base

Really pleased to be involving Rolling Base in the development of a promotional DVD for a disability charity.

Rolling Base is a multi-media single decker bus - with filming equipment, mixing desks and a whole lot more. Gareth will be filming at a number of events over the next few weeks - and will also be assisting a group of disabled young people to create an original song as the sound track to the film.

As soon as it is ready, I'll post it here.

Check out www.rollingbase.co.uk for details of this fabulous resource.

The Lamb Inquiry

Attending Barnet's Parent Partnership Conference on Tuesday this week (11th May). A range of workshops available - as well as exhibition stands staffed by local support groups providing services for families with disabled children.

One important workshop is being offered by Phillipa Stobbs, Council for Disabled Children, taking the outcomes from the Lamb Inquiry to the next stage - and consulting with parents on their needs and wants with regard to information sharing.

Also good to hear Graham Durham, Assistant Director for Inclusion, delivering the keynote address.

Safeguarding in Faith Communities

What guidance is available to religious leaders, childrens workers and youth leaders across different faiths with regard to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults?

It is a very mixed bag - and most certainly needs attention and resources, so that local faith groups can draw on the range of resources offered by local authorities, and provide activities with proper safeguards in place.

Attending a pan London group this week to explore just this issue. A number of local authorities are sending representatives to discuss this issue, and to agree a programme of action. I will be representing Barnet Council - and will report back to the Faith sub-committee of the Safeguarding Board, with proposals to take this agenda forward.

Lots of good progress made in this area by Barnet - Primarily through joint working with childrens and adults services. Time now to take the lessons from last year's multi-faith safeguarding conference to the next stage.

Inclusive Play - Schools Work

Check out Oyster Training for inclusive play and disability training.

Good meeting with Maurice this week. Exploring scope to work together to develop an array of inclusive play interventions for schools.

Putting some meat on the proposals on Monday. To our knowledge no-one has taken this route before - other than some circle of friends/playground buddies work. This would be a menu of services to include parents activities, peer group work with pupils, INSET days for teaching staff, LSA training, playground supervisor skills development and last by by no means least - embedding inclusive play in extracurricular clubs and schemes delivered as part of the Extended Services agenda for schools.

What this space!

Community Interest Companies vs Charities

Strangely this week I seem to have had the same conversation with three organisations. All relating to the relative merits of establishing themselves as constituted community groups, community interest companies or registering as charities.

Pros and cons for each model. Community Interest Companies are relatively straightforward to establish - and are subject to light touch monitoring. CICs can operate on business principles, but must meet the charitable purpose test, with roots in local communities. CICs can pay their founders in ways that charities cannot (even under SORP 2005 guidelines). However, they do not have the tax breaks, or access to funding that charities do.

I'm setting up a CIC for one client, and then registering a parallel charity - which is the best of both worlds. Another is weighing up the options, and a third is embarking on charity registration (with help from Flourishing).

Thanks to Companies House and the CIC website/helpline. Very accessible advice, and helpful helplines!

Wrapping up UCL Research

This week sees Flourishing wrapping up its first assignment with a University. We were engaged to research the availability of degree courses in nutrition and dietetics worldwide.

UCL will use this information to understand the marketplace and to promote their newly developed Masters.

We can now provide this information, and a lot more besides. A spin off has been a series of "by the way" communications, endorsing the work and a network of Nutrition Societies and Dietetics Associations - also worldwide.

Great when it all comes together!

Skydive film footage - tangible proof!

Sponsored Skydive on 24th April 2010 - to raise money for IPOP.