Culture and Commerce

Illustrates the possibilities and challenges of making partnerships between economic development agencies and traditional arts organizations work. Examines the outcome of eight collaborations that were formed as part of a partnership funding initiative

Evaluation of the HSCVF Bursary Scheme

The ‘Building Sustainability: Extended Support Package’ aimed to increase the capacity and sustainability of 94 local projects - all were Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations funded by the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF). The bursary scheme, as it became known, was managed by Ecorys as the lead partner alongside Eastside Primetimers, CSV and Attend as the three delivery partners. Projects chose from a menu of over 50 offers including mentoring, coaching, on-site support, training and ‘other’. A Support Consultant, allocated to each project, helped them assess their needs, choose the most appropriate offers and submit the application. The scheme was introduced in 2012 with all offers utilised by May 2013. It was funded by the Department of Health. This report presents the findings from an evaluation undertaken by the Institute for Health & Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University

Evaluation of Cymorth: final report

This is and evaluation report of Cymorth, which was introduced in 2003/04 by the Welsh Assembly Government to provide a network of targeted support for children and young people (up to 25 years of age) within a framework of universal provision

Evaluating Foundation-Supported Capacity Building: Lessons Learned

This study of lessons learned from evaluations of philanthropic capacity building programs used a national database of 473 programs, and a survey and interviews with 87 funders (82 foundations or foundation collaboratives, and five foundation-supported intermediaries) to answer two questions:1) How do foundations that support nonprofit capacity building evaluate their grantmaking and direct service activities?2) What lessons can be learned from evaluation, both to improve these programs and justify the investments made in them

Evaluation of the National Parks Sustainable Development Fund

The Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) is a new pilot funding stream for English National Park Authorities and the Broads Authority (henceforth collectively NPAs or ‘Parks’), launched in July 2002 by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The aim is to provide a flexible and non-bureaucratic means of funding projects that “aid the achievement of National Park purposes by encouraging individuals, community groups and businesses to cooperate together to develop practical sustainable solutions to the management of their activities”. SDF is a novel and unique funding stream intended to support original and innovative projects. Although the funding is relatively small (some £2.6m or £325,000 per park over the 18 months to this report) the aim is ambitious; with a minimum of preconceptions or formalities, to “develop and test new ways of achieving a more sustainable way of living in the countryside”. In each Park, small SDF Panels, serviced by, but at arms length from, the NPA have been established to oversee delivery of the Fund, to foster innovative projects and to monitor their outcomes at Park level. The SDF Prospectus declares that monitoring and evaluation are to involve a “very light touch regime”.. Auditing of individual projects by the SDF panel is to be achieved mainly by maintaining close contact with the projects as they develop. Whilst responsibility may be delegated, panel members are encouraged to take a personal interest in projects. Each NPA is required to submit to the Minister of State for Rural Affairs (and to copy to the Countryside Agency) an annual report. This should summarise the performance of the fund against performance indicators which are to be developed by NPAs themselves in the light of experience of the fund. First Annual Reports must be submitted to the Minister of State for Rural Affairs (and copied to the Countryside Agency) at the end of March 2004 NPAs are encouraged to learn from the experience of delivering the Fund and to promote the results to a wider rural audience. In addition to this Park level monitoring, the Countryside Agency (CA) on behalf of Defra has commissioned the Centre for European Protected Area Research (CEPAR) to conduct an evaluation of how SDF has performed against its key objectives after the first eighteen months of its operation, to aid decisions about the future of the scheme from April 2005