About This Hub
Spark Somerset is acting as lead for the sector on a collaborative project with the social enterprise All About The Place, a community informatics service provider, to develop the proof of concept for a VCFSE Insights Hub. The initiative is supported by a small steering group that includes the Community Council for Somerset and Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (proponents of the idea), along with Citizens Advice Somerset and Somerset Community Foundation.
The Purpose of this hub
- Increase support from funders, the public sector, and other community development partners for the work of the VCFSE sector.
- Enhance the sector’s ability to describe its work’s social impact/value and sustainability.
- Facilitate data-driven decision-making by providing a centralised platform for relevant data and insights.
- Increase the ability to identify the alignment of common goals and highlight opportunities for engagement and collaboration among VCFSE and other organisations.
- Enhance the ability to increase engagement and contribution from volunteers and organisations
Social Impact and Value
Building better social value, impact, and sustainability measures is crucial for demonstrating the VCFSE sector’s value in creating positive change within Somerset communities. Ultimately, robust social value and sustainability measures strengthen the case for investment in community-focused efforts, amplifying the reach and effectiveness of services that benefit society.
Aim: To capture and demonstrate the social value created by the VCFSE sector in Somerset, such as improvements in community well-being, reduction in social inequalities, or increased community engagement.
Objective: To use metrics and indicators to quantify the social impact of various programmes and initiatives, helping to build a compelling case for continued support and funding from donors, grant-makers, and government bodies.
Knowledge Library
Possibly broadly categorised into themes, sentiments, engagement levels, and event and activity feedback. This real-time information would allow organisations to respond quickly to changing circumstances, adapt services to meet current demands and engage more effectively with the communities they serve.
Aim: To integrate qualitative data from ongoing community engagement and sector reviews to provide context and dynamic insights into the quantitative data.
Objective: To present a holistic and – as far as possible – real-time view of the needs of communities and the range of activities of the sector, combining numbers with narratives to understand the challenges, successes, and areas for support and to foster a dialogue among stakeholders.
Outputs Reporting
Invaluable for demonstrating the tangible impact of services provided by these organisations. It provides clear evidence of what has been achieved, showing how resources are used to address community needs and deliver meaningful benefits. Enabling transparency builds trust and credibility with funders, partners, and the wider community and also helps organisations identify what works, drive continuous improvement, and make a compelling case for ongoing support and funding.
Aim: To track and report on the outputs and outcomes of the services delivered by VCFSE organisations.
Objective: To provide a clear and comprehensive overview of what services are being delivered, the extent of their reach, and the outcomes achieved. This would help demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the sector’s work to improve the support and commitment of funders, partners, and the community.
Local Insights
Local Insight is a user-friendly platform that brings together small-area data, helping you to make informed decisions for the benefit of your community. NOTE – Local Insight is hosted on a separate website, so clicking links will navigate you away from the Insights Hub.
Create: Define the areas you care about, no matter the shape and size. With Local Insight, you can carry out bespoke analysis for any area type.
Explore: Map, compare and report on your local communities with ease using Local Insight’s wide range of visualisations.
Discover: Map, compare and report on your local communities with ease using Local Insight’s wide range of visualisations.
Shape: Build a culture of evidence-informed decision-making by sharing data and reports with your teams and local partners.