At the Vivensa Foundation, we believe in funding people as well as projects. That’s why we started the Capability Development Programme – to give community-led organisations working with older people the tools they need to succeed: practical learning, leadership development, strategic thinking time and a £15k grant to put their ideas into action. Delivered by Moore Kingston Smith Nonprofit Advisory and the University of Birmingham, the supportive programme is rigorous and sector-specific.
Following on from our recent interview with Dr Alex Evans who leads on leadership development, in this article we talk to two of the first cohort: Gabrielle Norman, Director of Chiltern Music Therapy and Jo Volpe, Chief Executive of Leeds Older People’s Forum.
Building blocks to greater impact
The programme is shaped around the RRISE framework: research readiness, reimagining organisations, impact, sustainability, and efficiency. You can watch an introductory video to the framework here.
Jo explains: “The framework was very useful to think about what you’re doing in terms of impact and efficiencies. Going on a journey through the framework with the same cohort and a great bunch of facilitators was really helpful.”
Gabrielle found the framework allowed her organisation to take a more strategic approach. She says: “The value of the programme for us was learning to be much more strategic. Not only that, but to have the ability to really evaluate what we are doing.”
£15k to put ideas into practice
Each organisation was given £15k in funding to focus on a particular issue relating to the framework. Jo chose to hone in on research. She says: “We had a webinar with facilitators from Birmingham University and it really made sense. Getting the voice of older people into research is an important part of our strategy. I realised that we could work with academics for a win-win scenario.”
By having the funding and the learning in place, Jo has been able to grow her organisation’s relationship with academics. They have formalised their offering with a Research Support Services for Academics brochure on their website. She is seeing an increase in requests and small bits of funding to work with academics from a PPIE perspective. Jo says: “I hope this will continue to grow into a solid function within the organisation.”
Gabrielle used the funding to measure impact. She explains: “We had a new post within the organisation. The funding allowed us to measure the impact of that role. Being able to evaluate its worth was beneficial and something we could take back to the Board of Trustees.”
Strategic thinking time
One of the things that the entire cohort found beneficial was having time dedicated to strategic thinking. As a leader, having the time and space to reflect on what your role means and to test new approaches with peers is rare – and invaluable.
Gabrielle says: “Thinking time is so precious. We often get caught up in the day-to-day tasks which doesn’t allow much time for the broader strategic thinking.”
Jo agrees: “It was particularly useful attending the residential; you’ve stepped away from the office and it’s time carved out for reflection. This is my first role as a CEO, so I wanted to work on my own development as well as the organisation’s. It was really positive in that respect.”
Resources at your fingertips
If you work for a community-led organisation working with older people, we encourage you to join the Vivensa Academy. It’s a chance to be part of a growing membership of researchers, clinicians and community-facing organisations. You’ll also be able to explore resources from the Capability Development Programme.
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Visit our Capability Development Programme playlist on YouTube. You can watch a conversation series between Dr Alex Evans and Sara Ramsey. You’ll also find videos to introduce the frameworks used within the programme.
We are currently working with Moore Kingston Smith on a new video resource for charities. We are gathering questions from charity leaders. What have you always wanted to ask experts, but never been able to? Now’s your chance to ask us anything!
