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Community Impact Index – supported by The Midcounties Co-operative “Expert views: What tips would you give to other co-ops looking to invest in communities? Michelle Smith / Group: Start with needs of the members, tap into member expectations and listen to their views to make sure whatever you are doing meets their needs. From our perspective we developed our work and strategy with a joint working group. We consulted our Members’ Council to make sure that the plans we were developing met the views and needs of local members first. Malcolm Brown / Scotmid: Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. Make sure it’s going to have a genuine impact and that the community group you are working with deliver on promises. There’s no use giving community groups a big sum of money and it failing. If you’re working with groups, make sure they know what they are doing and offer to work with them without becoming intrusive. Always ask: is it going to make an impact in the community? Jessica Hughes / Southern: I think those looking to embark on more strategic community investment should be considering what is important to them as a business (in terms of future impact to their industry), what is important to their members and what is happening within the community surrounding them (both short and long term). Look to seek mutually beneficial partnerships and goals, and make those clear from the beginning of any relationship or project. This way all parties can ensure they are both contributing to and benefiting from the activity in a way that is agreeable to everyone. Change relationships from being purely transactional to fully integrated, seek to understand one another in terms of strategic direction and how you can help one another deliver those aims. This may not always be through financial contributions – just as much value can be derived from time and skill sharing. And finally understand that there are many issues to support, but sometimes it is better to choose a smaller number to focus on, rather than spreading resources too thinly - this way you should be able to see more clearly the difference you are making to that particular cause. Mike Tuffrey / Corporate Citizenship: Think about why you’re doing it. What results are you looking for, both for your own organisation and for communities you’re seeking to serve? Also think about measuring this investment; while measurement is important, organisations need to be selective about what they actually measure. Never spend time, effort or money in measuring things that aren’t actually useful. Andy Melia / BITC: Think about what could make the difference at a branch or store, in the supply chain, to customers or your employee base – and do activities that demonstrate that co-operatives are great responsible places to work and buy from. Mike Pickering / Midcounties: 1) Measure the return on your community investment, including the positive impact you are making in the community and the business benefits being achieved as a result of your investment. 2) Involve your members in identifying local community issues to focus your investment plans what really matters to those who work, live and learn in our local communities. 3) Involve your members in your local community programmes, ensuring that they are at the heart of your activities, ranging from strategic level involvement to hands-on volunteering. Involvement is key to developing long term local community partnerships, helping to create positive community legacies. Following this approach through our Regional Community Programme has enabled us to get 10,000 members involved in identifying local community opportunities; provide enough meals for 450 families in need through foodbank campaigns; engage with over 5,000 young people; and support over 200 community groups through local community grants. Minnie Moll / East of England: I’d ask the following questions: • What is it your organisation does that you could leverage for the benefit of your local community? • What do you have that you could share? • What are the pressing needs in your communities? • What could your colleagues do to help deliver positive change? Midcounties: ‘Involvement is key to developing long-term community partnerships’ 34 Co-operative News 15 November 2016
5 ways to help you measure your impact Community Impact Index – supported by The Midcounties Co-operative Pioneered by Corporate Citizenship, LBG is the global standard for measuring corporate community investment and philanthropy. Who >> LBG is a network of corporate community investment professionals who work together to apply, develop and enhance the LBG measurement framework. The LBG measurement methodology is used by several co-operatives, as well as organisations such as BITC, Ethical Investors, Nationwide and BSkyB. What >> LBG takes a very simple inputoutput-impact approach. Input: What are you contributing to the community through cash, time and in-kind? Output: What’s happening because of your contribution? Impact: What is changing as a result? Where >> www.lbg-online.net Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards help organisations to “measure and understand their most critical impacts on the environment, society and the economy”. Who >> GRI is an international independent body that helps organisations understand and communicate the impact of business on sustainability issues. The standards are used by organisations across the globe, including most of the 250 largest companies. What >> The GRI Standards feature a modular, interrelated structure, and represent the global best practice for reporting on a range of economic, environmental and social impacts. GRI’s standards can be used alongside other frameworks. Co-ops who measure their impact using the LBG model, for instance, may find it easier to then meet the GRI criteria for reporting community impact. Where >> www.globalreporting.org Business in the Community offers a range of services, resources and tools to help organisations to make a positive impact on communities, and to measure that impact. Who >> BITC is the Prince’s Responsible Business Network, whose members “work together to tackle a wide range of issues that are essential to building a fairer society and a more sustainable future”. BITC’s CR Index and CommunityMark are used by Central England, Midcounties and East of England, among others. Above and top: BITC supports work in communities across the UK What >> The CommunityMark helps companies to minimise their negative (and maximise their positive) impact on communities, by taking a holistic approach to community investment. It benchmarks an organisation’s systems and programmes against the UK’s only national standard for excellence in community investment. The CR Index is a strategic tool to help companies measure, manage and integrate responsible business practices. Where >> ww.bitc.org.uk Inspiring Impact aims to get more organisations to measure their social impact and share information, to “ensure every pound spent makes the biggest possible difference to beneficiaries”. Who >> Inspiring Impact is a collaboration of charities, advice providers, membership bodies and other third sector organisations. What >> It has several tools and other resources that may be useful for cooperatives, including the booklet Funders’ Principles and Drivers of Good Impact Practice, which aims to “provide a starting point for discussions and offer a framework for funders to consider their impact practice”. The organisation has also published The Code of Good Impact Practice, which sets out eight high level principles around planning, creating and reporting impact. Where >> www.inspiringimpact.org Social Value UK offers resources to help businesses determine the social return on their investments. Who >> Social Value UK is the national network “for anyone interested in social value and social impact”, with 300 individual members, 31 organisational members and a library of resources for people at any stage of their social value journey. What >> Resources include the Guide to Social Return on Investment, which provides a wealth of free advice, from how to create an impact map, to how to report to stakeholders. Co-ops can also use the Social Value Self-Assessment Tool, which evaluates how well they measure and report on their social value. Many of the resources are free, although members can access additional support, such as webinars. Where >> www.socialvalueuk.org 15 November 2016 Co-operative News 35
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