How do you share learning? – Enter Locality’s competition

 

First prize £3,000, two runners-up prizes £1,000

 

Many people within the voluntary & community sector (VCS) share passion, a focus on outcomes and impact that leverage other resources, a sound business model, and high expectations for both themselves and their service users. The very best of us also have a generosity of spirit that is reflected in our willingness to share ideas and best practice – and to acknowledge that we can always learn something from others.

 

Locality has a terrific staff team but their starting point is that the real experts are their members. Whatever the issue, you can bet one of them has been there, done that, got the t-shirt – and is willing to share that learning. That’s what makes so many of them successful, innovative and adaptable.

 

The Big Lottery Fund has commissioned Locality and the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) to undertake preliminary research, identify best practice, develop guidance and raise awareness of their forthcoming Learning for Impact initiative.

 

As part of this process, Locality has launched a competition to find the best examples of peer-to-peer learning – formal and informal. If it works, we’d like to hear about it.  And to encourage you to apply, there is a first prize of £3,000 with two runners-up prizes of £1,000. You can enter the competition until 30 April with the winners announced in May.

 

The judges are: 

• Prof. Fergus Lyon (Associate Director, Third Sector Research Centre)

• Jeremy Crook OBE (Director, Black Training and Enterprise Group)

• Louise Winterburn (Policy & Research Manager, Locality)
Leila Baker (Research Manager, IVAR)

 

You can enter the competition by completing a short entry form at www.locality.org.uk/P2Pcompetition.  


In addition, IVAR are doing an on-line survey aimed at smaller VCS organisations (turnover £50k-£200k) until the end of April. The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/Peer2Peer_Survey and anyone with experience of sharing learning is invited to contribute.

 

BIG understands the power of peer-to-peer learning and is now developing their Learning for Impact initiative which will be launched in early 2014. The rationale behind the initiative is that a small, targeted investment to encourage sharing of best practice and mutual learning – learning that translates into better services for users – will add value to the sector. Their aspiration is that the learning activities supported through the new initiative will be action orientated, specific and purposeful – within four key themes:

• Learning to support service delivery

• Learning to support joint bidding for resources

• Learning to strengthen the use of research and policy evidence

• Learning to strengthen organisational efficiency

 

To find out more about the competition and survey please go to www.locality.org.uk/P2Pcompetition.

 

Locality looks forward to hearing from you!