The Essex Coronavirus Action Support Facebook Community was set up during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a collaboration between Essex County Council (ECC) and the Essex Public Health Team as well as local Facebook admins. It focuses on three objectives: preventing the spread of infection, informing Essex residents of guidance and assisting residents who may be vulnerable.
The National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) funded PHIRST South Bank Centre co-produced an evaluation of the project with local stakeholders. The evaluation sought to understand the following questions:
How effective is a digital community development approach during a pandemic?
Was the ECAS digital community development approach successful in achieving improved health literacy, protective health actions and community connectedness and mutual aid?
Was the ECAS digital community development approach successful in achieving whole system change for the public health function?
What factors were important in contributing to the outcomes?
This event will be an opportunity to talk to those involved in setting up this initiative, hear the findings of the evaluation, discuss what lessons can be learnt and how these can be used to plan future work with digital communities in Essex.
If you wish to bid for local authority contracts, you can expect tenders to include questions about social value: how the way you deliver the contract impacts or benefits local jobs, businesses, communities and the environment.
Essex County Council’s second, social value festival is a free, 4-day learning event for any organisation that wants to learn about social value, bid for ECC contracts or benefit from the social value offers that suppliers make to our local communities.
Join us this summer, book your place here. All the sessions will run online, free of charge.
This year’s event is packed full of practical advice on how to approach social value and climate matters and will provide many examples that you can adopt or use to inspire your own ideas. It is suitable for organisations of any size and type and you will have the opportunity to speak to our experts about social value and climate.
Schools, colleges, universities, SMEs and charities too can find out what ECC’s suppliers are committing and how to access their offers such as careers advice, business advice and staff volunteering time.
Healthwatch Essex was created as a result of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, and the Government’s aim of ‘putting patients and the public first’ through strengthening their collective voice. A national network of local Healthwatch organisations, and a national umbrella organisation, Healthwatch England were created. The purpose is to be ‘an independent voice for the people of Essex, helping to shape and improve local health and social care services’. Our success depends on building constructive partnerships with the NHS, local councils, and voluntary and community organisations.
The staff team and our network of volunteers and Ambassadors undertake work that includes engaging the public in innovative and effective ways. We produce films, podcasts and engagement projects as well as carrying out high-quality social research and sharing our reports. We provide a telephone- and web-based Information Service to help the public access and understand the NHS and social care services. We anticipate that our work will continue to grow and diversify following the pandemic, as the needs of the people of Essex change and commissioners seek our knowledge and expertise to provide the best most widely accessible care and support.
Trustee opportunity – Healthwatch Essex is governed by a Board of Trustees with a diverse range of skills and experience. We would like to add an additional Trustee with finance and accounting qualifications and experience to the Board. If you have these skills, can offer clear oversight and direction as a Board member and are interested in the work of Healthwatch Essex we would like to hear from you.
For more information about the role of a Trustee and Healthwatch Essex, call the office on 01376 572829.or visit www.healthwatchessex.org.uk, or contact the Chief Executive Sam Glover [email protected], or the Office Manager Helen Wakeham [email protected]. Closing date 30th June 2022
Peaceful Place is an award-winning charity seeking an Operation Manger to join our team of forward-thinking creative people.
You will have experience of multi activity coordination in any field with an aptitude for creating warm friendly and supportive environments.
You will have the ability to engage partner services in arts, culture and sport and have a flexible and team empowering approach in coordinating a variety of activities. You will have demonstrable experience of professionally liaising with health and social care professionals. You will have full ownership of developing this role, working closely with the CEO and will enjoy and maintain our culture of fun in a stimulating and rewarding environment.
Place of work: Peaceful Place, 261 Timberlog Lane, Basildon, SS14 1PA
Hours of work: Flexible (core hours 10:30-3:30)
Working days: Monday to Friday – 5 days per week.
Salary: Negotiable £30,00 – £32,000
Reporting to: CEO
Holidays: 28 days pro rata – Please note we are open bank holidays.
Application Process:
Please forward a current CV with a statement, no more than 2 A4 pages, outlining your skills and aptitude to make this role a success. Please ensure you provide evidence in your statement of direct practice in relation to the job description attached.
We welcome applications from any field demonstrating transferable skills.
Peaceful Place is an award-winning charity with great ambitions to maintain and grow it’s innovative, creative and empowering service. To support us on this journey we are seeking a professional, friendly, flexible, person who enjoys empowering team colleagues and adaptable to the daily changes that makes this role an exciting opportunity for a person with ambition. You will have full ownership of the volunteer project. You will develop the role and ensure the service has sufficient volunteers to support the Charities aims and objectives.
You will have further responsibility for the recruitment and support of very dedicated and hardworking volunteers in our successful charity Shop based in Southend.
We are seeking a person with knowledge and experience of good practice on volunteer coordination. You may not have direct experience of volunteer management but have transferable skills required to develop the project and make it a success.
We have an ambition to seek a relevant Quality Mark in volunteer Management and you will play a leading role in achieving this.
In return you will receive excellent support from a friendly professional team and enjoy our culture of fun in a stimulating and rewarding environment.
Place of work: Peaceful Place, 261 Timberlog Lane, Basildon, SS14 1PA
Hours of work: Flexible
Working days: Monday to Friday incl.
Salary: Negotiable £26,000 to £28,000
Reporting to: CEO
Holidays: 28 days pro rata
Application Process:
Please send a current CV with covering letter, no more than 2 A4 pages, outlining evidence of experience, skills and abilities relating to Job Description attached.
This is an exciting new role to develop the work of ECVYS and to work closely with the Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit (VVU) for the shared purpose to further develop & amplify the voice, presence and joint working of the voluntary youth sector in Essex, Southend & Thurrock.
We are looking for a dynamic and creative networker with an organised and analytical mind-set who has experience of the voluntary sector in Essex and grant management, and who would like to be a part of this exciting new role with ECVYS.
The contract is initially for 3yrs and will be home based but with travel across Essex, Southend & Thurrock.
Please find the full j.d and application details below or email [email protected] if you have any questions. Thank you for your interest in this position.
Making a positive difference to communities, people & the environment
Grants for Good is our first fund that invites local charities, voluntary groups or social enterprises that have an average annual income of less than £50,000 to apply to us for funding.
What is the Grants for Good Fund?
Every three months, we’ll share £10,000 between 5 shortlisted projects that have a positive impact on communities, people or the environment.
Since 2011, the Matthew Good Foundation has empowered employees of the John Good Group to support many good causes in the UK and around the world by nominating good causes for funding. However, in 2021, our tenth year, we wanted to extend our impact and allow small charities, community projects and social entrepreneurs to come straight to us.
To stay true to our ethos of donating funds to causes close to the hearts of our members, every three months, five shortlisted projects will be voted for by John Good Group employees. These five charities will all receive a share of £10,000 – the more votes a cause receives, the bigger the donation. Following the vote, the project that receives the most votes will receive a grant of £3,500, second place £2,500, third place £2,000 and fourth and fifth place will both receive £1,000.
Charities and projects are welcome to apply all year round, and your application will be considered in the next funding round. Funding will be awarded every three months, in April, July, October and January, with an application deadline of the 15th of the month before. Eg. for the April round, applications will close on the 15th March, for the October round, applications will close on 15th September.
Who can apply?
Your application must be on behalf of a local community group, charity, voluntary group or social enterprise that has a positive impact on communities, people or the environment and has an average income of less than £50,000 in the last 12 months.
We want to make it easy for very small charities or new community interest companies to apply, so organisations/groups do not need to be a registered charity, however, you will need to have a bank account in your organisation’s/project’s name such as a community bank account. We are not able to provide funding to personal bank accounts.
How to apply
We don’t want small charities to be intimidated by lengthy forms to complete – so we’ve kept the online application form straightforward. We’ll need your contact details, a brief outline of the organisation’s work, and how you’ll use the funds. We’ll also need a reference from someone not involved in the project, but with enough knowledge of what you do to support your application.
If you have any problems applying using the online form, please email [email protected]
999 BSL is the name of the UK’s first ever Emergency Video Relay Service in British Sign Language (BSL). The service is available to download as a smartphone app (iOS and Android) and access as a web-based platform. It launched on 17 June 2022.
In a statement on 27 January 2022, Ofcom set out a requirement for communications providers across the UK to make an emergency BSL service available from 17 June 2022.
Ofcom approved Sign Language Interactions (SLI) as the sole provider of the service, which enables deaf BSL users in the UK to make calls to emergency authorities such as the police, ambulance, fire and coastguard services via BSL video relay interpreters.
SLI is working closely with BT, who is the wholesale supplier of the service to the telecoms industry. We are also committed to working closely with communication providers. We take care to ensure that the service is compliant with Ofcom’s General Conditions and provide them with resources to help promote the service within their networks.
We communicate regularly with the deaf British Sign Language community and continue to provide regular updates on the service through our own communication channels and those of other stakeholders we work with, including third sector organisations.
3-hour Trauma Awareness workshops providing an opportunity for those who work or support people who may have experienced trauma.
This session helps to develop an understanding of the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences using neuroscience research that will enable the attendee to take a trauma-informed approach at work and in their personal life, whilst also exploring the effects of vicarious trauma on themselves and others and how we can all improve wellbeing.
Ideal for those who work in helping professions: health care, education, emergency services, social work, youth offending services, foster carers.
This workshop can be delivered online or in person.
It has been shown that neurodiverse teams, which include both neurodivergent and neurotypical members, can outproduce teams composed of only neurotypical employees.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
I am learning how to build a company that welcomes employees with varying cognitive abilities. I am no expert in this, even though our company focuses on developing inclusive leaders. During the pandemic, the challenges around mental health in the workplace have come to the fore, so I decided to share my adventure in navigating the benefits and challenges that come with neurodiversity. I hope you accept my invitation to do your own learning around this aspect of inclusion, because as you do so, your leadership will grow, and your company will profit.
1. Get clear about neurodiversity
Let’s start with two key definitions:
Neurodiversity “is an umbrella term that encompasses neurocognitive differences such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, Tourette’s syndrome, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, intellectual disability and schizophrenia.” (from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network)
Neurodiversity also includes those who operate with “normal” neurocognitive functioning, described as neurotypical. Neurodivergent individuals are those whose brain functions differ from those who are neurologically typical. (from the EARN website)
It’s crucial to remember that many neurodivergent disorders are not evident to the people who are navigating them. Establishing yourself as an ally sends the signal to your colleagues that you are someone to whom it is safe to disclose any challenges they encounter.
2. Clarify the business case
A business should build its capacity to hire and work effectively with neurodivergent employees for a number of reasons, including access to previously unexplored talent pools in a tight labor market and reasonable accommodations for staff who have not previously identified themselves as neurodivergent.
Neurodivergent employees often (but not always) bring strong abilities related to accuracy, concentration, attention to detail, loyalty, timeliness and satisfaction with routine as well as unexpectedly creative views that improve products, services and operations.
It has also been shown that neurodiverse teams, which include both neurodivergent and neurotypical members, can outproduce teams composed of only neurotypical employees.
3. Build your capability
You and your firm can start by building a strong foundation:
If you have an employee resource group with people of different abilities/disabilities, build your approach in consultation with the members of that affinity network. If you don’t, encourage neurodivergent employees to connect informally with one another. The bottom line: You are creating a positive and inclusive environment in which an employee feels safe enough to self-identify as a person with a disability.
Self-identification is the rule and practice. Employers and managers should not preemptively identify any employee as having a disability. Relationships built on high levels of trust make it possible to talk about all manner of identities. In this way, our differences can become assets and not liabilities — that’s what diversity at work looks like.
Work with your HR colleagues to develop the discipline of reasonable accommodation to support those who may or may not know what to ask for. Not only is this required by the law, but it’s also the right way to honor and value your employees.
For neurodivergent employees like those on the autism spectrum, practices like those detailed in the following three points often serve as powerful investments.
4. Provide opportunities to work flexibly and remotely
The pandemic has created new norms that make working with neurodiverse employees that much easier. Offer flexible work hours, with options for telecommuting and/or working from home, a part-time schedule, job-sharing opportunities, adjustments in the start or end of work hours and compensation time.
5. Focus on employees’ strengths and accommodate their challenges
If a neurodiverse employee reports to you, you get to learn how to assess their strengths and adjust to their challenges. The reality: You already do this in the way you individualize how you support every neurotypical employee. You get to prioritize the time it takes to optimize the contribution and solve the challenges that your neurodiverse employees present.
6. Utilize technology to support employees
For some coworkers, assistive technologies can transform their performance. Such support can include software and devices like portable and talking word processors, assistive listening systems, visual organizers and supports as well as virtual reality and gaming for training purposes. The world of assistive technologies is exploding, and tools and approaches like these will equip neurodivergent and neurotypical people alike.
Dimensions of identity like race and gender will always loom large for inclusive leaders, because history and society continue to organize opportunities and resources in relation to the color of someone’s skin and their gender identity. But inclusive leaders learn to work with the particular differences showing up in the individuals with whom they work. We are learning that neurodivergent colleagues have a lot to offer, and they bring to us — if we are neurotypical leaders — a whole new way to grow and serve as allies.
And for leaders and managers as well as individual contributors who are neurodivergent themselves? We all need you to teach and mentor us, because your points of view and lived experiences are golden. We need you to lead us with courage and confidence.
LinkedIn is so much more than an online CV directory. Find out how your charity can make the most of it
LinkedIn has changed. It’s (arguably) the oldest social media platform in the world and if you haven’t visited it for a while, you might imagine that it is still the collection of online CVs, happy new job announcements, and occasional rants that it used to be.
Historically, LinkedIn’s problem has been that lots of people have an account, but they hardly ever use it. With few active users, having a company page for your charity may have seemed low priority.
But Microsoft snapped up LinkedIn in 2016 and has been investing in the platform’s growth ever since. These days LinkedIn boasts around 740 million users with 198 million active in Europe. The most active age bracket in the UK is 25–34 year olds.
Charities can use LinkedIn to influence or support workplaces, be a voice in relevant conversations, grow a community of professionals, reach and engage with staff and volunteers, and support staff with learning and development.
Influence or support workplaces
Most LinkedIn users go onto the platform to post about and engage with work-related issues. It is an opportunity for charities to influence workers and workplaces.
For example, mental health charities can use LinkedIn to talk about mental health at work. This is a great post from the Mental Health Foundation. It uses a poll to learn from the audience and start a conversation about looking after your mental health while working from home. Polls are a great way to boost reach and engagement on the platform.
Grow a community of professionals
LinkedIn users are more likely to be professionals with higher levels of education and income. Set up a company page to help with corporate partnerships, major donor fundraising, and influencing work as well as brand awareness.
Twitter is also a hub for professional social networking, but as many begin to view the constant ‘pile ons’ and negative behaviour as hostile, LinkedIn is seen as a viable alternative.
Best posting times will vary according to when your audience is most likely to be online, but as a rule, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days. Weekends are very quiet!
As with any social media platform, posting consistently is important. Engaging content such as polls and conversation starters can be very effective.
Text-based posts also perform well. After the first 235 characters of a text post users are given the option to ‘see more’. Using a ‘hook’ in your first line will really encourage scrollers to engage by expanding the post.
LinkedIn posts can also include articles, documents, or job ads – all hosted within the platform.
Going Live
Video (including live content) continues to play an important role in social media marketing. You have to apply for permission to use the LinkedIn Live function on your company page.
Your charity’s page must have more than 150 followers and you must be producing original content regularly to be eligible.
Engage with staff and volunteers
The most effective LinkedIn strategy will also involve your staff and volunteers. If staff or volunteers have selected your charity as their place of work, they will be listed on your company page under ‘people’.
You can also actively recruit for staff via LinkedIn – having a great company page might be the thing that persuades the most talented charity professionals to apply.
LinkedIn now allows you to engage with staff posts as the company page so that you can react to, comment on, or share employee content.
Chatting with staff in this way supports your employer brand and when your team feel appreciated, they are more likely to want to share your page’s content.
Content has become more varied as the platform continues to go through what has been dubbed ‘Facebookisation’. We are beginning to understand the importance of bringing our whole selves to work and LinkedIn provides an avenue for expression and appreciation of that.
Transparency about who runs and works for charities could also play a big role in building public trust.
Staff development
LinkedIn merged with mammoth online learning platform, Lynda.com, in 2017 to form LinkedIn learning. It offers more than 16,000 courses and already has around 700 million users.
The course listings take ratings into account, helping to save staff time trying to find the best courses. There is also an option to create personalised learning content for your charity.
Individuals can purchase an individual course or get access to all courses for around $20 per month (£15 approx.).
Supporting charities and non-profits
There is specific support for the third sector via LinkedIn’s non-profits programme. The programme includes free live events, discounted or free products and they are working on creating a non-profit ads programme.