Style and Approach

We work in a creative, innovative way that values individual and organisational diversity. We believe that organisations have within themselves the ability to find the answers to the challenges they face, by building on their successes, knowing what works well and learning from experience. Our approach respects the skills and experience of the people with whom we work, gives space for reflection, exploring and clarifying before identifying actions. We aim to be at the forefront of promoting best practice in working alongside communities and organisations to enable them to achieve what is best for them. This involves

Enabling meaningful, rewarding and sustainable partnerships to develop that foster trust and mutual respect, based on principles of social capital
Creating innovative structures and methods of developing participation and consultation to ensure the voice of service users is heard
Developing the capacity of organisations and individuals
Enabling organisations to be clear about their visions and strategic direction
Developing the potential of organisations, and crucially workers and volunteers within them, to respond to change

A Process Model of Consultancy

We have developed a successful consultancy model based on the above principles that recognises the need to work with change in communities and organisations. To do this we:

Identify key stakeholders, that is those with an interest or concern for the issue or area of work. Frequently people do not initially consider themselves to be stakeholders and an important part of the process is to get them involved and engaged.
Bring together the key stakeholders – this may mean funders, local authorities, service users, staff, management/board members, residents, partner organisations.
Get people talking and listening to each other identifying the skills, resources, influence they bring.
Explore goals and vision
Clearly identify what is changing in the environment using a range of analytical tools
Clarify priorities, partners and structures for future work
Agree the SMART actions, building in review processes

Our role as consultants is not to gather evidence and then produce a report and recommendations but to facilitate a process of dialogue and engagement that builds confidence and trust. The aim is to enable the lead organisation to take ownership of the process to ensure its long term sustainability. If appropriate we can provide skills training and development to make sure this happens.

Our clients include National and Local Voluntary Organisations, CVS, Volunteer Bureaux, Parish and Town Council, Health Authorities, Local Authorities, Residents’ Groups and Strategic Partnerships.