Gov.UK have shared reports from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) Grantholder Learning Hub, which was open to all recipients of the CCSF and National Lottery emergency funding during the pandemic.
The Learning Strand of the CCSF evaluation was a new way for the National Lottery Community Fund to create, share and facilitate learning from a major programme of funding for voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations during a crisis.
The Learning Hub reports contain the reflections of 3,200 organisations and highlighted areas of improvement for the sector as a whole.
Specifically the Building connections and trust in a crisis report highlights lessons learnt from grant holders about maintaining and building connections based on trust during a pandemic that are relevant for wider organisations in the future.
Key Findings
For VCS organisations
• VCS organisations should embed new ways of working digitally, taking an active role in the digital transformation process that has been accelerated by the pandemic. They should use what they learnt during the pandemic to develop inclusive and hybrid ways of working, including a combination of online and offline delivery. To do so, organisations will need to continue to re-think how they deliver their work, starting from understanding the needs and strengths of the people they support.
• VCS organisations should nourish and grow the local relationships they have built during the pandemic, in order to provide better services and increase their reach.
• VCS organisations should see their expertise as strategically important and build on the relationships they have formed with local services to influence strategic planning and decision-making that affects their communities.
For wider stakeholders
• Funders should help VCS organisations invest in blended delivery approaches and share good practice about delivering both online and face to face.
• Funders should encourage VCS organisations to build local partnerships and make resources available for them to do so.
• Public sector organisations should see VCS organisations’ connections with communities and the trusting relationships they have fostered as an important asset. They should actively involve VCS organisations when planning future public services, as well as planning for a future crisis.
