BIG Assist programme - Aiding Organisation Change - IVR Independent Evaluation Report

NCVO/IVR report for BIG Assist team
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INDEPENDENT EVALUATION REPORT
AIDING ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
An evaluation of the difference the Big Assist has made
to local infrastructure organisations
Andy Curtis
December 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive summary page 3
1. Introduction page 7
2. Outputs the Big Assist vouchers funded page 14
3. Outcomes for the organisation after a year page 24
4. Impact on frontline organisations page 30
5. Local infrastructure organisations’ perspectives on the Big Assist page 34
6. Conclusions page 38
Appendix page 40
Case studies
Telephone interview topic guide

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Executive Summary
BIG Assist is funded by the BIG Lottery Fund and delivered by National Council for Voluntary
Organisations (NCVO). The programme is piloting new ways of offering targeted support to
help voluntary sector local infrastructure organisations to be more efficient, effective and
sustainable. The programme was initially funded from 2012 – 2015 and the funding was
extended until March 2016.
The programme from 2012 – 2015 was evaluated by OPM. OPM did not continue the
evaluation into the extension due to lack of capacity. In September 2015 the Institute for
Volunteering Research (IVR) (based at NCVO) added the following evaluation component.
The Big Assist programme1
The £6 million programme BIG Assist, aims to provide support that meets sector needs in
these challenging times. Since 2012 NCVO has delivered the BIG Assist programme under
contract to the BIG Lottery Fund. BIG Assist is testing new ways of delivering support to
infrastructure organisations in the voluntary sector to adapt and change how they work to
meet the challenges of a much changed operating environment. The programme has been
piloting a ‘demand-led’ model of support by awarding a voucher that the organisation uses to
select support of their choice through an on line market place of approved suppliers of
support.
The BIG Assist programme offers a wide range of support for infrastructure organisations in
addition to awarding vouchers, through a large peer to peer programme.
Evaluation aims and methodology
Building on the previous evaluation conducted by OPM, the aim of this evaluation is to report
on the difference Big Assist support has made to organisations after 12 months of completing
the funded activities. Within this, the two research objectives were to:
 Establish if organisations have been able to act on the support they receive;
 Establish whether acting on the support has made a noticeable difference to the
organisation and the organisations it works with.
As part of the evaluation, 49 telephone interviews have been conducted. These were semi-
structured and were transcribed and coded. The interviews included three open questions
and five closed questions. The evaluation also features three case studies. These were chosen
from the 49 organisations which were interviewed. Each case study captures the journey of
an organisation prior to engaging with Big Assist, the help they received through programme
and the outcomes from this work.
1
This description of the programme is taken from OPM. (2015) Evaluation of the Assist Investment in National
Infrastructure Programme, pp. 7-8.

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Outputs the Big Assist vouchers funded
The majority of the organisations interviewed had achieved the initial outcomes/outputs they
had aimed to do through the Big Assist work. These outputs included the production of
strategic, financial and marketing and communication strategies. There had also been an
upskilling of staff in these areas.
The barriers to achieving the outcomes included insufficient resources to follow through
recommendations, the consultant not providing appropriate support and resistance to
change within the organisation.
Outcomes for the organisation after a year
The vast majority of interviewees had seen changes to their organisation over the last year.
These changes varied in scale and importance, and included organisational transformation,
income increases, a raised profile, a changed offer and moving to new premises.
The majority of organisations attributed a great deal of this change to the work they had
conducted through the Big Assist. It was felt that the supplier, as well as bringing skills and
expertise, brought an important outside perspective that helped to focus and galvanise the
organisations.
However, even after 12 months it often still appeared to be too early to tell whether this
would make them more sustainable, but the majority of organisations appeared better able
to adjust to the new climate.
Impact on frontline organisations
As the change process could be slow for the local infrastructure organisations, it might be
expected that frontline organisations had not yet benefited from changes resulting from the
Big Assist work; it was too early to observe any such outcomes.
However, over half the interviewees had felt there had been some effect on the frontline
organisations. This included the local infrastructure organisations, with more stable finances,
having more time to devote to the frontline organisations, better communication and, in
some cases, increased grants funds.
Yet it was not all positive. Sometimes the local infrastructure organisations had to reassess
what they could offer frontline organisations in a more challenging economic climate and
either reduce services or start charging for them. However, this needs to be offset against
what the frontline organisations would lose if the local infrastructure organisation closed
altogether. There was also an issue that, by seeking out new markets, they could be seen by
the frontline organisations as encroaching on their areas of work.
Local infrastructure organisations’ perspectives on the Big Assist
The majority of interviewees were positive about the work of the suppliers and the impact on
their organisation, and positive about the Big Assist overall. Over two thirds felt the work of
the supplier would make a long-term difference to the organisation.

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Conclusions
This evaluation has observed considerable value of the Big Assist in helping those local
infrastructure organisations we spoke to adjust to this new environment. The majority of the
organisations were satisfied with their experience of the supplier and the Big Assist overall.
They also outlined important changes to their organisation in the last year and Big Assist’s
role in this.
Facilitating reflection and planning
Where it was most successful among the organisations interviewed, the Big Assist had
provided expert guidance to an organisation prepared to embark on a change journey. The
most highly valued suppliers brought specific, relevant expertise to help the organisation
focus on the difficulties it faced and to develop solutions to those difficulties.
Tangible changes emerging on the road to sustainability
The organisations had taken steps to achieving sustainability. The majority of organisations
had undergone change in the last year since engaging with the Big Assist. New strategies and
services had been devised and were beginning to come to fruition. Furthermore, although
much of the work conducted via Big Assist vouchers was relatively recent, there was evidence
that, in over half the organisations, the changes were beginning to filter through to frontline
organisations. Therefore, while it was too early for most to speak about the long-term with
confidence, there was optimism for the next few years and clarity about what they needed to
do in this period.
Barriers to change
There was not blanket success or satisfaction among the participant organisations. There
were cases where it was difficult to find a suitable supplier, sometimes with vouchers
expiring without being used. Others had suppliers who did not demonstrate a sufficient
understanding of the organisation or the environment it operates in, and did not produce
work that was useful for the organisation. However, the barriers could also lie within the
organisation itself. Not all of the organisations were ready or able to change.
The Big Assist model
We have observed that the Big Assist model can produce tangible outcomes, both for the
infrastructure organsiations themselves and the local organisations they work with. However,
these outcomes are contingent on finding an appropriate supplier, as well as a willingness to
participate and the requisite ability to act on the recommendations in the organisation itself.
Yet with the right supplier, and sufficient buy-in from their own organisation, varying types of
meaningful change could be achieved.
Outline of the report
The background the programme, the methodology and a summary of the OPM is presented
in Chapter 1. The outputs of the Big Assist work for the 49 local infrastructure organisations
are outlined in Chapter 2. The more long term outcomes are explored for the local
infrastructure organisations in Chapter 3 and on the frontline organisations they work with in
Chapter 4. The local infrastructure organisations’ views on the suppliers and the Big Assist

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overall are presented in Chapter 5. The conclusion forms Chapter 6, and the full-length
versions of the case studies follow in the appendix.

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1. Introduction
BIG Assist is funded by the BIG Lottery Fund and delivered by National Council for Voluntary
Organisations (NCVO). The programme is piloting new ways of offering targeted support to
help voluntary sector local infrastructure organisations to be more efficient, effective and
sustainable. The programme was initially funded from 2012 – 2015 and the funding was
extended until March 2016.
The programme from 2012 – 2015 was evaluated by OPM. OPM did not continue the
evaluation into the extension due to lack of capacity. In September 2015 the Institute for
Volunteering Research (IVR) (based at NCVO) added the following evaluation component.
1.1 The Big Assist programme2
The £6 million programme BIG Assist, aims to provide support that meets sector needs in
these challenging times. The funding world for local infrastructure organisations is greatly
different to what it had been prior to 2010/11, when funding for infrastructure organised
peaked. In the most recent figures (for 2013/14), the annual income for infrastructure
organisations was £112 million less than this peak.3
The main substantive forms of funding that had either been drastically reduced or cut
entirely included: Basis 2; Neighbourhood Renewal Fund; Capacity Builders; Locally based
vInvolved teams; Training and consultancy (in some cases less demand). In addition, local
authorities, having had cuts themselves, had in some cases drastically cut funding for local
infrastructure organisations.
Local infrastructure organisations could apply for funding from Transforming Local
Infrastructure Fund (TLIF), which ran between 2012 and 2013. Compared to initiatives such
as Capacity Builders or BASIS, with only £30m overall and 74 organisations funded, TLIF was a
relatively minor funding stream for infrastructure nationally. Yet it was not designed to plug
the gaps of disappeared funding, rather it is to help infrastructure to change and adapt in
these areas.
Big Assist is part this funding landscape for infrastructure. Since 2012 NCVO has delivered the
BIG Assist programme under contract to the BIG Lottery Fund. BIG Assist is testing new ways
of delivering support to infrastructure organisations in the voluntary sector to adapt and
change how they work to meet the challenges of a much changed operating environment.
The programme has been piloting a ‘demand-led’ model of support by awarding a voucher
that the organisation uses to select support of their choice through an online market place of
approved suppliers of support.
The BIG Assist programme offers a wide range of support for infrastructure organisations in
addition to awarding vouchers, through a large peer to peer programme.
BIG Assist opportunities include:
2
This description of the programme is taken from OPM. (2015) Evaluation of the Assist Investment in National
Infrastructure Programme, pp. 7-8.
3
See: http://data.ncvo.org.uk/data/voluntary-sector-infrastructure/income/

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 Marketplace: where infrastructure organisations can browse and get in touch with BIG
Assist approved suppliers.
 ShareSpace: an online discussion forum where infrastructure organisations are
encouraged to engage with each other by sharing thoughts, ideas and other
information.
 ConnectSpace: opportunities to get involved in sponsored visits and BIG Assist events
(both face to face events around the country and online participation).
 The BIG Assist Library, giving access to handpicked resources that are relevant to
infrastructure. This includes opportunities to proactively edit and add content.
The aim of BIG Assist is to help infrastructure organisations be more effective, sustainable
and better able to adapt to change.
To apply for BIG Assist vouchers, local infrastructure organisations, or customers,
organisations that access support through BIG Assist go through a three step process: firstly,
they answer a set of on-line pre-qualifying questions to determine they are eligible for an
award. Next, they must submit an on-line self-assessment which is a more detailed set of
questions about the organisation. Finally, they have a review call with a BIG Assist customer
consultant, who will have read through the on line self-assessment and undertaken desk
research about the organisation. The review call is used to identify areas of need and assess
the organisations ability to implement change. Support priorities and clear outcomes for the
support are agreed. Review calls take approximately one hour.
Once the focus of support and voucher value of support is agreed between the customer and
BIG Assist, customers go to the online Marketplace to review suppliers and select a supplier
of their choice. Customers make contact with suppliers by email or telephone and once a
project is agreed, BIG assist is notified and work can commence. On completion of the
project, the supplier submits their invoice for payment and customers are asked to rate and
comment on the support provided by their supplier. Reviews are available online for other
customers to see.
Suppliers apply online. The supplier applications are assessed by independent assessors to
determine if they are approved as a BIG Assist supplier to deliver support though the
programme. Approval includes assessment of relevant experience, prior work and
references.
Local infrastructure organisations can be both customers and suppliers through BIG Assist.
Support from the BIG Assist team is available to both customers and suppliers at each stage,
over the telephone, on-line and through guidance documents and information.
1.2 Aims and objectives of the evaluation
Building on the previous evaluation conducted by OPM, the aim of this evaluation is to report
on the difference Big Assist support has made to organisations after 12 months of completing
the funded activities. The research aimed to find information about the knowledge and skills
the organisations gained and have retained, whether they have been able to implement
changes and whether they feel increased confidence that they will be more sustainable.

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Within this, the two research objectives were to:
 Establish if organisations have been able to act on the support they receive;
 Establish whether acting on the support has made a noticeable difference to the
organisation and the organisations it works with.
1.3 Methodology
Interviews
As part of the evaluation, 49 telephone interviews have been conducted. These were semi-
structured and were transcribed and coded. The interviews included three open questions
and five closed questions. These are outlined in the appendix.
Sampling
A sample of organisations who received funding through Big Assist after the increase of
award amount in May 2014, and who have completed the activities at least 12 months
before interview. It was aimed to have a good spread as possible in terms of locality of
organisation and voucher topic area.
Organisations contacted for the previous evaluation were excluded from the sample to avoid
confusion as consent for further contact by another organisation had not been sought by
OPM.
There were challenges achieving the required number in a short space time and having a
totally equal spread across the nine English regions. Whilst there are a disproportionate
number in the West Midlands and South West, at least two organisations per region were
interviewed. See Chart 1.
Chart 1. Region of interviewed organisation
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Yorkshire and the Humber
North West
South East
North East
Eastern
London
South West
West Midlands

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The organisations had received 177 vouchers that they spent (unspent vouchers are not included), an
average of 2.5 each. In total, the organisations had received £510,783, an average of £10,641 per
organisation.
There was a good spread in terms of the organisations having had at least one voucher in the various
themes, with most (38 out of 49) having had a voucher in Strategic planning and managing change.
See Chart 2.
Chart 2. Theme of the voucher
The 49 interviews contained a mixture of open and closed questions, therefore yielding both
qualitative and quantitative data. Due to the sample size, the data will be predominately be
presented in charts in numbers opposed to percentages.
Case studies
The evaluation also features three case studies. These were chosen from the 49 organisations
which were interviewed. Each case study captures the journey of an organisation prior to
engaging with Big Assist, the help they received through programme and the outcomes from
this work. For each case study various secondary data was explored on the Big Assist
database, including profiles, self-assessments, and recommendations and stage 4 reports.
Members of the organisations were interviewed, and in some cases the supplier. Excerpts
from the case studies are cited in the main report and are presented in full in the appendix.
1.4 Summary of key findings in the OPM’s evaluation4
The key findings from the OPM conducted evaluation, which was separate to this evaluation,
are below.
4
This section is an abbreviated version of the summary in OPM (2015), pp. 2-5.
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23
27
38
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Supporting and developing people and
organisational culture
Innovation, new products and new ways of
working
Financial sustainability
Marketing and strategic relationships
Strategic planning and managing change

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Outputs and experience: infrastructure organisations
 BIG Assist support to local infrastructure organisations has been extensive - the
programme has issued 846 vouchers, with a total value of £3,545,9505
. Over 700 local
infrastructure organisations have completed diagnostic review to access voucher
support and 576 local infrastructure organisations have been awarded vouchers6
. The
average voucher award was £8,040.70.
The local infrastructure organisations that engaged in BA were motivated and wanted
to make changes that would secure their survival in a challenging world. Programme
changes, especially the increase in value of the voucher awards, encouraged more to
engage.
 Planning for a more sustainable future was their key focus. Local infrastructure
organisations wanted to develop new and efficient ways of working. They looked to
BIG assist to identify new sources of funding and be more effective at generating
income.
 The Marketplace experience has worked well for local infrastructure organisations in
terms of:
- The online platform to apply for vouchers
- Accessing a supplier
- Receiving support
- Making the most of vouchers
- Advantages to a voucher system
Outputs and experience: suppliers
 There are 223 approved suppliers in the Marketplace and they are a diverse group of
organisation type including companies (106), VCS organisations (69), sole traders (34)
and others (14).
 There is variation in the volume of projects they have undertaken. One supplier has
completed 37 projects, to a value of £196,000. 124 Suppliers, 53% have completed at
least one completed project.
 Suppliers were motivated to join BIG assist for a variety of reasons. It was an
important new source of funding their work; it helped them reach new clients who
needed their support; and many hoped that being an approved supplier to Big Assist
would raise their profile across the sector. Some also felt that approved supplier
status was a ‘badge of recognition’ for their experience and quality of support.
 The self-assessment and review call meant that customers had a good knowledge of
their support needs before work started. Some suppliers however still had to work
with customers to identify what could be realistically delivered for the voucher value.
 Suppliers feel the Marketplace is an efficient model for delivering support. They
understand that sustainability is an issue for BIG Assist. Without ongoing funding the
Marketplace would soon disappear, although they hope that the new contacts
they’ve made may endure.
5
Source of all output data: BIG Assist programme data. Reported 22nd
May 2015
6
These figures include local infrastructure organisations resubmitting to the programme for further support.

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Peer-to-peer experience: face-to-face and online
Peer to peer opportunities have developed along with the programme.
 ConnectSpace, offering sponsored visits (and mentoring, now suspended) has seen
significant uptake. 229 visitors have participated in supported visits.
 Local infrastructure organisations are positive about the visit experience.
 ShareSpace, offering online discussion forms around key topics, has seen very
considerable volumes of traffic. Some live discussions have had over 10,000 views.
 The BIG Assist Library has built up over 600 resources for local infrastructure
organisations.
Impacts on local infrastructure organisations
The following impacts on local infrastructure organisations were highlighted:
 Extra help and added impact – BIG Assist is a valued source of funded support in a
time of great need for local infrastructure organisations.
 New sources of funding – Local infrastructure organisations have won new sources of
grant funding or contracts to deliver work.
 Improved opportunities for consortia bidding – This is an emerging impact of the
programme.
 New ideas for generating income – This includes local infrastructure organisations
developing new chargeable services or products.
 Increased ability or capacity to adapt to change –BIG Assist has been a catalyst for
necessary change in many organisations
 Clearer focus on impactful and/or sustainable activities – Local infrastructure
organisations feel it is likely that BIG Assist support will make a long term difference
to them.
How well the BIG Assist met the outcomes for the OPM evaluation
1. Many infrastructure organisations perceive that they can provide higher quality
support to customer and frontline VCSE organisations, or will be in able to in time.
2. OPM were unable conclude that National VCS and private sector suppliers have
developed better and more sustainable models of providing support services to
infrastructure organisations. However, OPM found much positive evidence that:
The model is effective. Suppliers have delivered high volumes of quality support
through the programme, which matches their own areas of expertise and local
infrastructure organisations’ needs.
3. Local infrastructure organisations do value and feel they benefit from
opportunities for peer to peer learning and support.
4. Big Assist develops and shares learning about how demand-led models of national
support services could work in a local and national context and in a more market
oriented way, although there are opportunities to do more.
1.5 Outline of the report
The report presents findings form the work undertaken by IVR, opposed to the evaluation
conducted by OPM. The outputs of the Big Assist work for the 49 local infrastructure
organisations are outlined in Chapter 2. The more long term outcomes are explored for
these local infrastructure organisations in Chapter 3 and on the frontline organisations

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they work with in Chapter 4. The local infrastructure organisations’ views on the suppliers
and the Big Assist overall are presented in Chapter 5. The conclusion forms Chapter 6, and
the full-length versions of the case studies follow in the appendix.

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2. Outputs the Big Assist vouchers funded
This chapter explores the main outputs and initial outcomes for the 49 local infrastructure
organisations that have resulted from the Big Assist vouchers. It also considers the role of the
suppliers in this. It focuses on the immediate outputs and outcomes, for example the
production of a strategic plan. The outcomes and impact on the organisation resulting from
this work in the year since is examined in the next chapter.
This chapter links to the evaluation objective: establish if organisations have been able to act
on the support they receive.
2.1 Outputs of the work funded by the Big Assist
The local infrastructure organisations interviewed were asked whether they achieved the
outcomes identified in their Big Assist application. The majority of the local infrastructure
organisations, just under two thirds, reported that they had achieved most of the immediate
outcomes identified in their application, and a further quarter had achieved some of these.
See Chart 3.
Chart 3. Achieved the outcomes identified through Big Assist (N=49)
2.2 Types of outputs achieved
As noted in Chapter 1, the Big Assist addresses various themes. Vouchers often funded
activities that culminated in a plan or strategy in various areas (such as finance, marketing,
communications etc). This process entailed the supplier working with the customer
31
2
12
2
2
Yes No Partially Too early to tell Other /not sure

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organisation, usually through workshops and visits. The main types of outputs are outlined
below.
Strategic plans
These were often tied to the Big Assist themes of Strategy, planning and managing change,
and Innovation, new products and ways of working.
The supplier’s role in developing the plan was often to focus staff on the process and help to
distil the information:
‘…they did a lot of work with the staff and the board and separately and together
about saying, “But what is it you do, what is it you want to do, what are the changing
issues, what’s the changing picture?” So narrowing down to our key messages.’ (local
infrastructure organisation)
Many of the organisations looked to develop a new strategic business plan. In each case the
way of doing this varied, but often involved the consultant facilitating a workshop, which
provided the basis for a new business plan.
‘[The workshop] was organised and facilitated by the consultant through the Big Assist
voucher, brought these people together. We looked at putting together a business
plan, which was done on the basis of the discussions around the first away day.’ (local
In this instance, one result of the process was the decision to work in other neighbouring
areas, on the condition there was not a similar type of organisation operating there already.
This led to a name change to reflect the broader area of operations.
A case study of an organisation working through structural changes is presented below.

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Case study – A CVS becoming more entrepreneurial
This Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) is a large inner-city organisation with a track record of
more than 85 years delivering high quality support services for community groups and voluntary
organisations.
Why they engaged with the Big Assist
Despite having a good track record of winning grants and contracts over the years and having
diversified its income base, the CVS was experiencing financial pressures by 2012 cuts were
impacting on its core funding and there was a concern within the organisation that too much
dependence on grants would be problematic as cuts were set to continue in the future. For the
CVS Big Assist was timely. The organisation had settled down after its first structural change and
was clear that the way forward was to continue to embed a flatter, less hierarchical group structure
where people would be able to work within their groups with more freedom, but also work
horizontally where this would be beneficial. Though the CVS was seeking change, this change was
motivated by ensuring that it could protect important services and stay on mission. The change
needed was not to the types of services offered but rather it was about ways of delivering them
more efficiently and ways of generating new sources of income to sustain them.
The Big Assist vouchers
In 2014 they successfully applied for vouchers in two main areas: culture and processes to support
change and establishing clearer communications messages and materials. We focus on the
outcomes of the first voucher here, but the outcomes of the second voucher are outlined in the full
case study in the appendix.
How they set out to achieve the outcomes
The CVS engaged a consultant who came in to the organisation for several meetings and
workshops, working with staff on issues around organisational culture and working practices. She
explored the organisation’s strategic plan and business objectives during these sessions,
highlighting links between the component teams so that they could focus on the organisation as a
whole rather than separate parts, and did 1:1 staff interviews to better understand issues, enablers
and barriers to change within the organisation. In the work she also looked at the development of
an entrepreneurial culture and how this is reflected in practice, eg, where enterprising ideas come
from and how they could be taken forward in the organisation.
What they have achieved
Reflecting back on the support, the CVS has identified some valuable changes they were able to
make as a direct result of the support they received. These included an increased awareness of
options and opportunities. The exchange of skills and knowledge from their two visits to other
organisations was very useful to the CVS who went away with a better understanding of how to
deliver charged-for services, having seen how others deliver them. There was also a new
confidence within the staff team about new directions for the CVS. There were also new structures
in place to better support innovation and change.
This shift towards charging for services represents a big cultural shift within the organisation and
for its members likewise a significant change. Many organisations the CVS works with need
support with sustainability and efficiency ideas; income generation and managing organisational
change, and the CVS can do this even more effectively now in part because they had support in
these areas to help them develop their own more sustainable way of offering support.

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Financial strategy
This often came from the Big Assist theme of financial sustainability. It covered a broad range
of work, from relationships with existing and potential clients and funders, to looking at how
organisations bill for their work.
‘…there's a real issue in the voluntary sector, you may know, with organisations going
after the money, and taking the money regardless of what that actually entails. Then
finding that they can’t deliver on the amount of money they’ve been offered. So it’s
much more important that they have the ammunition to go to funders and say, “Look
that's not realistic, this is what it costs.”’ (local infrastructure organisation)
‘…one team of consultants put a business plan together for us so we have an income
generation model actually which we took on board quite quickly and resolved and
actually turned that around so it does generate income for our organisation for a
project that we used to deliver that actually lost money.’ (local infrastructure
organisation)
An example of an organisation reviewing the pricing of a service is outlined in the case study
below.

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Case study – Reviewing an advice partnership’s services
This network is a partnership of over 200 organisations who either offer advice or have an interest
in the provision of quality legal advice to people in need, those facing problems and disadvantage
in area in the east of England. Its vision is that people in the locality will fully understand their legal
rights and responsibilities to help them resolve their problems and overcome disadvantage.
Having started life with one major grant funder, the network had sustainability high on its agenda –
increasingly seeing a longer term need for the service that it realised could not be sustained with a
single funding stream. Big Assist was seen as a way of bringing in outside expertise and an
independent perspective in two areas where the network’s team felt they lacked the knowledge in-
house - trading and charged-for services and particularly how to approach developing a pricing
strategy; and marketing and communications - how best to raise the partnership’s profile as a
provider of consultancy services.
The network received two vouchers worth £2,500 each, and used these to enlist the support of the
same consultant for both advice on business models and charging for services, and on marketing.
We focus on the outcomes from the first voucher here, although both vouchers are outlined in the
full case study in the appendix.
Once a consultant was identified and brought on board she worked with the team to look at
charging and models. Her role was quite practical and involved her generating and drawing
together ideas and then making recommendations on ways forward for the network.
Reflecting back, the organisation has identified some valuable changes they were able to make as a
direct result of the support they received. In terms of their consultancy offer this meant they
increased their prices which has meant that the work makes a more realistic and appropriate
contribution to the overheads of the organisation. This led to an increase in costs and charges
which has so far had no negative effect on business and in fact the model has not only helped their
consultancy arm, but also the support they are able to offer their wider partnership of members.
Since receiving the support from Big Assist the landscape for advice providers generally has
continued to prove challenging with funding for advice less high on funders’ agenda. The network
has considered its options and the landscape for advice providers in the longer-term, and where it
might have most impact, and as a result is now considering a merger with two other local generic
infrastructure organisations. The network sees an advantage of them being able to run the services
that are most needed (eg developing their shared referral system so that others including
community organisations could benefit from it), whilst not having to run their own back office and
all the associated costs of running a small organisation.
Marketing and communication
Vouchers connected to the theme Marketing and strategic relationships covered a broad
range of work. This included promoting the work of the organisation and building contacts.

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‘…the infographic… I’m just so excited about it still because everyone loves it. Two
sides of A3 printed with pictures and figures about this, what was done in 10 years,
and we launched that at a big event and it has worked, because we’ve actually had
more work from it.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
‘The consultant just highlighted so many weaknesses that we had in our brand and the
way that we were going around trying to appeal, if you like, for clients. Yeah, once the
cupboard door was open everything fell out.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
For network organisations, communication was particularly important, with new ways to
reach out to members recommended.
‘The thing is that… it’s a really spread out region and so we needed really to develop
our social media platforms and skills and then help our volunteers to upskill.’ (local
Training and skills development
Part of the Big Assist process sometimes included training, for example upskilling staff
members in key areas of work, including communications, IT systems and approaching
donors.
‘Certainly in terms of skilling up our staff to a different professional level, the Big Assist
was certainly very influential in enabling us to do that and I can’t think that we would
have done it otherwise without it. So yeah, I think it’s been very useful.’ (local
This ranged from more formal training, such as on Social Return on Investment, to informal
learning, for example around approaching high net worth donors. The role of the Big Assist in
training and upskilling staff is explored in the case study below.

20
Case study – Upskilling a community foundation
This community foundation was founded in 2001. It describes its mission as ‘strengthening local
communities and tackling issues of disadvantage and exclusion’. This is achieved by building
permanent endowments and the allocation of grants to local organisations.
In their self-assessment the organisation recognised various challenges. These were:
 an increased demand for grants from local organisations due to a decline in government
funding
 the need for new revenue sources for the community foundation itself after grant
distribution programmes ended
 the need to attract donors to fund administration costs and overheads, which can be
especially difficult as they often prefer to support projects with more obvious and
immediate impact
Ultimately they wanted to become more sustainable and less dependent on fluctuating funding
coming through government programmes.
The main objective of the training was to improve their financial sustainability by attracting new
philanthropists and being less dependent on managing government programmes. They had already
provided some training and support to their trustees and staff concerning fund development,
managing cash and investments and how to attract high net worth donors. They wanted to have
more comprehensive training in this area through the Big Assist voucher.
The Big Assist vouchers were used for training key staff and board members. The activities were
three training days, with some follow-up support. The first session was a general overview, the
second and third focused more on the local context. The training explored trust transfers, legacies
and fund development, specifically looking at high worth individuals. The courses were tailored to
the organisation, providing specific information based on their needs and the operating
environment.
The local dimension of the training was important. They had found in the past that, whilst
community foundations often share good practice and learning, this had not always easy to apply
to their locality. The training also helped them build on their own previous learning.
‘It was giving the staff the extra skills they needed to be able to take it to the next level. So
they have the basics, this was the enhancements that would allow us to do more and be
more successful.’ (Chief Executive)
In the period since receiving the vouchers the organisation have seen several positive outcomes:
 increased confidence with potential donors
 increased income
 gaining more influence with the local authority
 increase in staffing levels
 moved to larger premises

21
Other
There were a few other activities cited by one or two of the organisations, including
developing IT systems, mentoring small organisations and applying for and achieving quality
accreditation.
2.3 Barriers to achieving outcomes
Various barriers were identified for organisations to achieve outcomes.
Insufficient resources to follow recommendations through
Lack of resources meant that suppliers’ recommendations could not always be followed.
‘It’s about capacity to actually deliver on them and that’s… What I really needed was
a voucher to employ somebody to actually do some of the legwork to get it off the
ground’ (local infrastructure organisation)
‘Supplier ended up producing for us… a plan, it was quite a lengthy document. Within
that document, whilst it’s broadly what we asked them to produce, and I wouldn’t
query their work, the implication is that we have people here who can then implement
it, which is not realistic.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
Consultants not knowing the area/risks of the off the peg solutions
Difficulties often arose when the consultant was not locally based and/or not seen to have a
sufficient grip on the locality/area of activity.
‘We gained something, I mean everything helps, I think, but I don’t think we got the
expertise we thought we were going to get but that may be down to an individual,
that may not be down to the BIG Assist itself... So the stuff we got was too generic, not
organisation specific enough.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
It is difficult to assess fully in this evaluation whether organisations’ complaints about
messages from suppliers are fair criticism of the consultants or rather was the organisation
resisting unpalatable messages. Or a mixture of both.
In certain cases, where organisations had experience of more than one consultant, they were
able to make a comparison between suppliers. This local infrastructure organisation was
based in a rural area and felt their first consultant was not sufficiently familiar with the
unique issues facing rural areas, whereas the second one was.
‘…the second one we had was a much better consultant, he [understood] the sector
much, much better, he understood rural issues much better and in fact we are paying

22
him to do some additional work with us, to move us a bit more in our general strategy,
so that has been more useful.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
Internal resistance/organisational inertia
In certain cases, interviewees felt that their organisation, or some members of staff or board
members, struggled with change. This was sometimes attributed to lack of
capacity/resources/staff time.
‘I think the gap has been - and this is my personal view – the management board
haven’t been able to pick up activities that were assigned to them. We have also had
to reduce some staff hours because this current financial year, our public sector
funding has reduced and that’s had an impact on the organisation.’ (local
‘[It’s] quite difficult I think for our board or management committee as we call it, to
grab a hold of all of it because they are also having a sort of problem with as a
network organisation, they’re in quite small organisations that are all struggling to try
and get things done and get funding’ (local infrastructure organisation)
In some cases, it was seen as being due to a lack of enthusiasm for change.
‘…ultimately I think the problem is whatever that consultant that we use helps us do,
it's the lack of drive on the ground which is what we're struggling with.’ (local
Yet the voucher/supplier could also be used to mediate internal conflict:
‘…there was a lot of conflict internally and we needed to separate our strands of work
and really what happened was our consultants were skilled enough to put a name to
that and stop the emotional rubbish that was going on in the organisation and say,
“Yes, long term your organisation needs to split like this...”’ (local infrastructure
organisation)
2.4 Chapter summary
The majority of the organisations interviewed had achieved the initial outcomes/outputs they
had aimed to do through the Big Assist work. These outputs included the production of
strategic, financial and marketing and communication strategies. There had also been an
upskilling of staff in these areas.

23
The barriers to achieving the outcomes included insufficient resources to follow through
recommendations, the consultant not providing appropriate support and resistance to
change within the organisation.

24
3. Outcomes for the organisation after a year
This chapter examines whether the local infrastructure organisations have undergone any
organisational changes in the year since receiving their voucher. Furthermore, if there had
been changes, the extent to which they attribute this to the Big Assist work.
This chapter addresses the first part of the evaluation objective: Establish whether acting on
the support has made a noticeable difference to the organisation and the organisations it
works with.
3.1 Organisational change
The interviewees were asked whether their organisations had undergone any organisational
change in the last year. The form and scale of the change varied greatly. It could be a new
marketing strategy, while others have merged with organisations or split into different
organisations. The vast majority, nine out of ten, had undergone some form of change during
that period. See Chart 4.
Chart 4. Organisational change (n = 49)
The types of change identified by the organisations are summarised in Table 1 below.
43
3
2 1
Yes No Some Not yet

25
Table 1. Theme of change
Theme No. of local
infrastructure
organisations
Organisational transformation: New
structure, change in strategic direction,
shift in ways of working/culture change,
board changed
13
Income: Changes to income generation,
increased income, expanded funding
endowment
10
Profile: Better marketing and
communications, increased profile,
expanded reach, refreshing relations
with local authority, rebrand/rename
10
Offer: New services, improvements to
grant distribution, improving member
offer, quality accreditation
8
New Premises: Moving/expanding
premises
3
These themes are explored in greater detail below.
Organisational transformation
A quarter of the organisations reported significant transformation in the last year. These
included implementing a new staff structure, a major change in strategic direction, a shift in
ways of working/culture change, and changes to the board.
‘In fact in the last 14 months we’ve had six staff changes which is half the
organization… we’re a fairly small organisation, some new projects, some changed
posts, some sort of restructure. We have new activities coming in.’ (local
Some organisations do not appear to be ‘change ready’ or are resistant to change. However,
there were organisations where there had been a change in culture and staff attitudes.
‘[There have been] the beginnings of a change in staff culture…there’s been much
more emphasis on the operating environment we’re in, the difficulties in getting
funding and staff are much more aware of it now. They’re more likely now to talk
about opportunities that they identify. It’s no longer just my job to bring in the
finance.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
Income
A great deal of work around the Big Assist has the goal of in some way increasing the income
of the organisation. There were various instances of income being increased. This included

26
greater consultancy revenue, new contracts and, in the cases of community foundations,
managing new endowment funds.
‘…like our improved room hire is helping us to get in revenue which is unrestricted
which we can then put in to other areas of the organisation.’ (local infrastructure
organisation)
It was important to see that not only were organisations embarking on new financial
strategies, such as pricing plans, but that in certain cases this was already coming to fruition
in the sense they were able to sell services under the new price plan.
Profile
Raising the organisation’s profile was discussed in various contexts, including promoting
themselves to the groups they work with and to current or potential funders and
commissioners.
‘We’ve actually diversified our work so we’ve broadened our work. We’ve broadened
the people we work with, we’ve analysed some of the things we’re asking our groups
to do... So it’s been quite a revolution really’ (local infrastructure organisation)
For network organisations, communication strategies and reaching members were essential
and there were instances where this had been improved upon.
Offer
Organisations changed their offer in some way, whether it was to improve member benefits
or obtain quality accreditation.
‘…the quality mark has been really useful for us. A lot of that was more internal and
maybe having a better organisation means that we can focus more on our frontline
work I guess.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
It is important to note that, as the Big Assist predominately focuses on the local
infrastructure organisation, the offer to frontline services can be affected. For example, if the
Big Assist work identifies a service the local infrastructure organisations currently offers to
frontline organisations which is financially unsustainable the conclusion may be to cease this
work or to charge for it.
3.2 Attributing change to the Big Assist
One of the key focuses of this evaluation was whether any of the changes experienced by the
organisations were attributed by the interviewees to the Big Assist. Of the 45 organisations
experiencing change, eight out of ten attribute a significant part of the change to work
conducted through the programme, and nearly one in ten attribute some of the change to it.
See Chart 5.

27
Chart 5. Whether change is attributable to the Big Assist (n = 45)
The Big Assist does not provide additional resources for facilitating change, just the
consultancy and training provided by the suppliers. Yet the face value of the vouchers is not
insignificant. This interviewee highlights that while Big Assist vouchers could be for relatively
small amounts it is not something they could have afforded without the programme:
‘…we didn’t have capacity to pay these consultants to come and have the
conversations that they had with us, these are people with masses of experience who,
you know, what we got from them was just incredible in terms of their experience and
their knowledge and their expertise in the subject.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
3.2.1 What the supplier brings to the process
The Big Assist is about an organisation embarking on journey of change. The role of the
supplier in this was discussed extensively. They brought skills, knowledge, and in some cases,
contacts. Frequently it was their outside perspective that was particularly valued.
‘…it was good to have an outside person to get us to focus on those sorts of issues
which internally you just sort of plough on. You don't necessarily say, “Let's stop and
look at ourselves.” So that was the value of having an outside consultant.’ (local
‘The role was for them to come in with an expert, an independent set of eyes in order
to review certain things in terms of how we went around our marketing, so they
inputted into strategy as well as talking to clients and operational changes.’ (local
37
3
4
1
Yes No Some Maybe

28
3.2.2 How the Big Assist has contributed to change
Using the four main types of organisational change identified in the previous section, the role
of Big Assist in this process is outlined for each below.
Organisational transformation
The Big Assist work could act as a catalyst for change, with suppliers, as noted above, bringing
an outside perspective. Alternatively it could speed up change that was already in motion.
The change could be as monumental as the organisation merging or dividing into more than
one organisation. For example, this organisation eventually split into different organisations
and they felt the Big Assist speeded this process up.
‘It would have been a much longer and messier process and I’m not sure that anybody
would have come in and almost told us off to stop fighting, if you see what I mean. So
yes, I definitely can see the impact.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
The Big Assist could act as a ‘wake-up’ call, providing impetus and helping build momentum
for faster change. The work could help those in organisations who saw themselves as agents
of change convince those who were more resistant to change:
‘..our board… they more or less shrugged and said, “But we like it the way it is.” And
while there was this complacency that everything is okay, and we’ll get funding to do
what we do, they would carry on because they couldn’t see why they shouldn’t. And it
was quite a stark reality getting this external review, somebody saying, “No it isn’t
good enough.” And that gave me the impetus needed because they weren’t really
listening.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
‘It’s really helped us to embed a bit of a culture change really within the organisation
to understand the need to diversify what we do and to need to be more business-like, I
suppose would be how I would describe it, which I think is important for charities,
particularly when you’re quite reliant on one or two sources of funding.’ (local
For many interviewees highlighting this particular type of change, they felt that the reforms
may well have been made eventually anyway but that the Big Assist hastened this.
Income
The advice around finance proved invaluable for certain organisations. Suppliers helped
customers with pricing plans and existing funding streams could be made more efficient.
Some organisations were already seeing these coming to fruition.
‘…one team of consultants put a business plan together for us so we have an income
generation model actually which we took on board quite quickly and resolved and
actually turned that around so it does income generate for our organisation for a
project that we used to deliver that actually lost money. So that worked.’ (local

29
In certain instances customers specifically spoke about their increased confidence to more
proactively seek out funding.
Profile
The organisation’s profile could be raised. This could be with funders and commissioners, as
well as the frontline organisations they work with.
‘I think it's shown us to be both professional and it has increased our public profile,
and certainly our advocacy profile. One of the other awards that we got we used for
social media training. Specifically with our staff and trustee team. As a result of that
actually that has been really helpful because we are significantly more visible.’ (local
Offer
The Big Assist suppliers helped with altering the service provided to frontline organisations. In
some cases this was a membership offer.
‘It’s very specifically the streamlining of the, developing the member offer and
streamlining of the member joining process and the member renewal process, which
actually might sound quite small, but actually is quite a big thing in terms of coming
across as a credible organisation.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
It is important to note that engagement with the Big Assist could lead to an ending of services
to members that were no longer financially viable.
‘I guess we’re stopping trying to please everybody a bit more, you know. Does that
make sense? Because we’ve got to make some really business brutal decisions.’ (local
In another instance, Big Assist had helped the organisation to explore shifting services online,
as a contingency for local authority cuts.
3.3 Chapter summary
The vast majority of interviewees had seen changes to their organisation over the last year.
These changes varied in scale and importance, and included organisational transformation,
income increases, a raised profile, a changed offer and moving to new premises.
The majority of organisations attributed a great deal of this change to the work they had
conducted through the Big Assist. It was felt that the supplier, as well as bringing skills and
expertise, brought an important outside perspective that helped to focus and galvanise the
organisations.
However, even after 12 months it often still appeared to be too early to tell whether this
would make them more sustainable, but the majority of organisations appeared better able
to adjust to the new climate.

30
4. Impact on frontline organisations
Although the Big Assist interventions are relatively recent, there have already been some
emergent ramifications for frontline organisations. This chapter explores the difference Big
Assist has made to the frontline organisations the recipient local infrastructure organisations
worked with.
This chapter addresses the second part of the evaluation objective: Establish whether acting
on the support has made a noticeable difference to the organisation and the organisations it
works with.
4.1 Whether the Big Assist has made a difference to frontline organisations
Because the Big Assist work was completed for the organisations little more than a year ago,
the longer-term impact of the Big Assist is difficult to assess with certainty. In particular,
some of the changes to the organisations highlighted in the previous chapter may not yet
have had time to filter down to benefit the frontline organisations.
However, even at this stage, just over half the local infrastructure organisations felt there had
been a difference to frontline organisations, while a third felt there had not or not yet. See
Chart 6.
Chart 6. Whether the Big Assist had made a difference to frontline organisations yet (n = 49)
4.2 How the Big Assist has already affected frontline organisations
Those that local infrastructure organisations had seen impact on frontline organisations
highlighted the following ways in which the work had done so.
28
16
2
2 1
Yes No/not yet Indirectly Not sure Mixed

31
More time/services for frontline organisations
There were cases where organisations had obtained funding that directly helped their work
with frontline organisations.
‘[It] has had an impact on our end users because with additional funds we’ve been
able to do activities that support them’ (local infrastructure organisation)
Or the benefit for could be more indirect. For organisations such as Councils for Voluntary
Services (CVSs), increased financial stability could mean they had more time to assist
members.
Increased grant capacity
For community foundations, having increased and/or new endowment funds meant there
were more grants to distribute.
‘…the training we had was more about building endowment and building sustainable
income and part of the knock on of that is we can actually use that to generate more
to give away as grants. So we’ve been able to help more frontline organisations with
grant funding and help towards their sustainability.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
Improving the reach of the organisation
Improving reach, including via social media, was especially important for network and
umbrella organisations:
‘I know definitely we’ve improved our reach, there’s no doubt about that and the way
that we reach people, and that’s helped.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
‘…you only need to look at the number of people following, the number of tweets that
we’re doing, the number of re-tweets we're getting. The number of influencers to our
responding personally to some of the stuff that we're putting out.’ (local infrastructure
organisation)
Members clearer about the local infrastructure organisations’ offer
Raising the organisation’s profile, being clearer about what they can offer and
communicating this to frontline organisation was a key part of the change process.
‘Well they all love our branding... we talk to them, we go round, because we’re still
doing support contracts so we take that round as an example of how we had to move,
we had to change direction and we talked about it for a long time.’ (local
‘I think that the difference is that they have now come to a better understanding
separately and collectively of the role of the consortium.’ (local infrastructure
organisation)

32
Picking up a theme from the previous chapter, having a membership offer that is more
sustainable for the local infrastructure organisation can be a mixed blessing for frontline
organisations. Certain services may no longer be free, for instance.
‘…we have a broader more confident and more competent offering to the sector. The
downside of that is a lot of it is paid for content. But when we get pots of money we
try to make previously paid for contents free for some people.’ (local infrastructure
organisation)
‘…it’s helped us to formalise some of that work in terms of understanding what a
customer is looking for, what we can offer, costs that are related to that and so on, so
more of a rounded relationship with them.’ (local infrastructure organisation)
Part of this can include demonstrating the local infrastructure organisation’s impact.
‘I suppose we’ve always been busy doing things, not actually proving to anyone that
we are making a difference and [the supplier] hammered that home: “so what
difference have you made?” So, being a little bit more accountable. Probably that’s
the main difference and trying to monitor and evaluate what we do much more than
simply doing it’ (local infrastructure organisation)
It should be noted that the loss of a free service for a local frontline organisation has to be
offset against the other services they would lose if the local infrastructure organisation
folded.
Negotiating crossovers with other organisations’ work
By expanding their operations, local infrastructure organisations often encounter challenges
from local frontline organisations. One interviewee from a CVS spoke about how their board,
predominantly made up of representatives of local organisations, were resistant to the CVS
encroaching on activities that had traditionally been their domain. Yet other frontline
organisations could be accepting of this type of change.
‘We were slightly anxious when we were looking at changing this culture and starting
to both charge for existing services and moving to new markets that could potentially
be seen as competitors…but actually the response we’ve had, touch wood, has been
unanimously positive in that people aren’t surprised that we’re asking.’ (local
4.3 Chapter summary
The previous chapter had demonstrated that the change process could be slow for the local
infrastructure organisations, so it might be expected that frontline organisations had not yet
benefited from changes resulting from the Big Assist work; it was too early to observe any
such outcomes to any significant degree.
However, over half the interviewees had felt there had been some effect on local frontline
organisations. This included the local infrastructure organisations, with more stable finances,

33
having more time to devote to them, as well as better communication and, in some cases,
increased grants funds.
Yet it was not all positive. Sometimes the local infrastructure organisations had to reassess
what they could offer frontline organisations in a more challenging economic climate and
either reduce services or start charging for them. However, this needs to be offset against
what the frontline organisations would lose if the local infrastructure organisation closed
altogether. There was also an issue that, by seeking out new markets, they could be seen by
the frontline organisations as encroaching on their areas of work.

34
5. Local infrastructure organisations’ perspectives on
the Big Assist
This section draws together the views of the local Infrastructure organisations interviewed, in
terms of their satisfaction with the suppliers, the Big Assist overall, and their view on what
impact it has had.
5.1 Views on the legacy of the suppliers’ work
The interviewees were asked their views on the implementation and impact of the suppliers
work. On the whole, the local infrastructure organisations were positive about the work of
suppliers and its potential legacy.
They were asked how easy it was implement the advice. Just under two thirds found it easy
or very easy. See Chart 7.
Chart 7. How easy was it to implement the advice/training that you received from the
suppliers?
It is worth noting that a fifth of the organisations interviewed found the recommendations of
the supplier not easy or not at all easy to implement. As reported in Chapter 2, there were a
few organisations that found it difficult to engage with their supplier and their
recommendations.
In terms of how likely it was to make a long-term difference to the organisation, over two
thirds reported that it was likely or very likely. However, it is worth noting that over one in
five did not feel the work would make a long-term difference. See Chart 8.
2% 9%
27%
37%
25%
Not at all easily Not easy Neither easily nor uneasily Easily Very easily

35
Chart 8. How likely is the support from the approved suppliers that you received to make a
long term difference to your organisation?
5.2 Views on the Big Assist overall
Overall, the interviewees were positive about the Big Assist. Forty-five out of 49 would
recommend it to a friend or colleague, the other four would still do so provisionally. See
Chart 9.
Chart 9. Would you recommend the Big Assist to a friend or a colleague
In terms of how important the support they received through the Big Assist is, nearly three
quarters thought it relevant or very relevant. See Chart 10.
8%
3%
20%
35%
34%
Not at all likely Not likely Neither likely nor unlikely Likely Very likely
45
4
Would recommend Big Assist Provisionally/maybe recommend Big Assist

36
Chart 10. How important has the support received through the BIG Assist programme been
to your organisation?
It was also seen as being worthwhile, with just under three quarters seeing it as mostly or
very worthwhile. See Chart 11.
Chart 11. Overall, how worthwhile has your experience been of the Big Assist programme?
5.3 Chapter summary
The majority of interviewees were positive about the work of the suppliers and the impact on
their organisation, and positive about the Big Assist overall. Over two thirds felt the work of
the supplier would make a long-term difference to the organisation.
2%
11%
15%
39%
33%
Totally irrelevant Somewhat irrelevant Neither relevant or irrelevant Relevant Very relevant
3%
1%
24%
28%
44%
Not worthwhile Slightly worthwhile Somewhat worthwhile
Mostly worthwhile Very worthwhile

37
There was a small but not insubstantial minority who had not found so much value in the
work, and a small number finding little of value at all in the work of the supplier.

38
6. Conclusions
The Big Assist aims to help local infrastructure organisations adjust to changing
circumstances. The last few years have proved a challenging climate for these organisations,
as the OPM Big Assist evaluation and other research7 has documented. There has been a
seismic shift in the funding environment for local infrastructure organisations. There have
been cuts both to local authority core grants and the end of various government
programmes that had been a significant revenue stream. In light of the 2015 Comprehensive
Spending Review, this climate does not look like altering and it appears there will be even less
funding available from both local and central government in the coming years.
It is in this environment that that the Big Assist has operated. Local infrastructure
organisations are having to fast adapt to a radically changing funding landscape, which has
affected both themselves and the organisations they support, and the Big Assist has aimed to
support them in this process.
This evaluation has observed considerable value of the Big Assist in helping those local
infrastructure organisations we spoke to adjust to this new environment. The majority of the
organisations were satisfied with their experience of the supplier and the Big Assist overall.
They also outlined important changes to their organisation in the last year and Big Assist’s
role in this.
Facilitating reflection and planning
Where it was most successful among the organisations interviewed, the Big Assist had
provided expert guidance to an organisation prepared to embark on a change journey. The
most highly valued suppliers brought specific, relevant expertise to help the organisation
focus on the difficulties it faced and to develop solutions to those difficulties. They helped to
upskill the staff and trustees, and increase their knowledge in pertinent areas. The suppliers
also brought an outside perspective and helped act as the catalyst for change. This was
particularly valued.
Tangible changes emerging on the road to sustainability
The organisations had taken steps to achieving sustainability. The majority of organisations
had undergone change in the last year since engaging with the Big Assist. New strategies and
services had been devised and were beginning to come to fruition. There were cases where
this change was relatively minor, others where the organisation had been substantially
transformed or even merged with another organisation. The majority of interviewees
credited the Big Assist with playing a role in this change, sometimes a significant one. Over
two thirds felt that the work of the supplier had made a long-term difference to the
organisation.
Furthermore, although much of the work conducted via Big Assist vouchers was relatively
recent, there was evidence that, in over half the organisations, the changes were beginning
to filter through to frontline organisations. However, there could be unsettling changes for
7
See for example: Curtis, A. (2015) Volunteering in Downturn, http://www.ivr.org.uk/ivr-news/188-
volunteering-in-the-downturn-research-report-launched.

39
frontline organisations in the short term, with local infrastructure organisations having to
cease unsustainable services to them or starting to charge.
Therefore, while it was too early for most to speak about the long-term with confidence,
there was optimism for the next few years and clarity about what they needed to do in this
period.
Barriers to change
There was not blanket success or satisfaction among the participant organisations. There
were cases where it was difficult to find a suitable supplier, sometimes with vouchers
expiring without being used. Others had suppliers who did not demonstrate a sufficient
understanding of the organisation or the environment it operates in, and did not produce
work that was useful for the organisation.
However, the barriers could also lie within the organisation itself. Not all of the organisations
were ready or able to change. There could be internal resistance to change or a lack of
recognition of the shifting climate and the urgent need to adapt to this altered funding
landscape, with sections of staff or trustees not engaging in work around change.
The Big Assist model
We have observed that the Big Assist model can produce tangible outcomes, both for the
infrastructure organsiations themselves and the local organisations they work with. However,
these outcomes are contingent on finding an appropriate supplier, as well as a willingness to
participate and the requisite ability to act on the recommendations in the organisation itself.
Yet with the right supplier, and sufficient buy-in from their own organisation, varying types of
meaningful change have been achieved.

40
Appendix 1 – Case studies
Case study 1 – Upskilling a community foundation
Case study 2 – Reviewing an advice partnership’s services
Case study 3 – A CVS becoming more entrepreneurial

41
Case study 1 – Upskilling a community foundation
This community foundation was founded in 2001. It describes its mission as ‘strengthening
local communities and tackling issues of disadvantage and exclusion’. This is achieved by
building permanent endowments and the allocation of grants to local organisations. Since
2008 they have delivered more than £4million in grants to more than 3000 organisations. It
has built some of its endowment funds through government programmes in the late
2000s/early 2010s.
In their self-assessment the organisation recognised various challenges. These were:
 an increased demand for grants from local organisations due to a decline in
government funding
 the need for new revenue sources for the community foundation itself after grant
distribution programmes ended
 the need to attract donors to fund administration costs and overheads, which can be
especially difficult as they often prefer to support projects with more obvious and
immediate impact
Ultimately they wanted to become more sustainable and less dependent on fluctuating
funding coming through government programmes.
Big Assist application
In contrast to other funding they had applied for in the past, they found the application for
the Big Assist relatively straightforward.
‘…this process has been really easy. The turnaround from when we did the interview,
because we had the phone interview as well as the assessments and everything that
had to be done, the turnaround between actually finding out we’d been successful and
in receiving the voucher was very quick as well and that surprised me quite a lot as
well.’
The suggested outcomes of the Big Assist voucher were:
 The staff and trustees have improved skills in the area of fund development resulting
in the endowment increasing to target levels.
 The overall income of the organisation will grow to target levels over the next 3 years.
They were awarded a Big Assist voucher for £6000 in the area of financial sustainability. The
supplier they chose has conducted 40 projects with the Big Assist so far and specialise in
working with community foundations.

42
The main objective of the training was to improve their financial sustainability by attracting
new private philanthropists and being less dependent on managing government
programmes.
‘In my opinion, we were too dependent on flow-through programmes to guarantee our
own sustainability. So it was about moving us into a position where could generate our
own income without drastically changing what we do.’
They had already provided some training and support to their trustees and staff concerning
fund development, managing cash and investments and how to attract high net worth
donors. They wanted to have more comprehensive training in this area through the Big Assist
voucher.
The Big Assist vouchers were used for training for key staff and board members. The activities
were three training days, with some follow-up support. The first session was a general
overview, the second and third focused more on the local context. The training explored trust
transfers, legacies and fund development, specifically looking at high worth individuals. The
courses were tailored to the organisation, providing specific information based on their
needs and the operating environment.
The local dimension of the training was important. They had found in the past that, whilst
community foundations often share good practice and learning, this had not always easy to
apply to their locality. The training also helped them build on previous their own learning.
‘It was giving the staff the extra skills they needed to be able to take it to the next
level. So they have the basics, this was the enhancements that would allow us to do
more and be more successful.’
In the period since receiving the vouchers the organisation have seen several outcomes
 Increased confidence with potential donors
The staff had gained confidence and were more proactive about approaching
potential donors, and in particular high worth donors. It was not just about
approaching them, it was the way in which they approached them.
‘It’s not a power thing where we are going in and saying “you can’t do it without us”.
But we are far more confident about going in and saying “If you want to do this
effectively you need to work with an organisation like us because this is what we have
going for us”. And this has made a big difference.’
This had led to funding coming in that would not have done so otherwise.
‘In all fairness it has come from sources where we wouldn’t have approached them
before.’

43
 Increased income
In total, since the training funded by the Big Assist, they have brought in an additional
£2 million, including a new endowment fund worth £1.5 million. Of this new funding,
around £100,000 came from existing sources, the rest came from new ones. They will
be able to distribute more grants to frontline organisations.
 Gaining more influence with the local authority
They have tried to drive local agendas more, rather than just being a ‘passive
participant’. Previously, for example, they would be invited to the launch of a
initiative, now they are invited to participate in the process earlier. Although they are
not the only people being consulted, they felt they had more influence.
‘It means that we have a seat at the table where we actually steer things opposed to
just following after… And also to involve the communities far more. Some local
authorities would come up with an idea and say “well this is what’s needed”. No one
had actually thought about asking people whether they would engage or if that was
something they wanted to do. So that is something else we have bought to the table’.
 Increase in staffing levels
They have increased the number of staff from three and a half full-time equivalents to
six. Furthermore, they have brought finance in-house.
 Moved to larger premises
Due to the increase in the number of staff they have moved to new, larger, premises.
The new location is more visible. The previous premises were free, whilst they have
the rent funded in their new premises for a year only.
Big Assist’s role in their journey
The Chief Executive attributed much of the change to the training they received through the
Big Assist:
‘I’d put most of the [changes] down to the BIG Assist. I can’t honestly say all, but most
of them.’
Whilst the training had the desired effect, it was the speed with which many outcomes had
been achieved surprised the Chief Executive.
What the supplier also added was access to a way of working and to certain documents and
data. The supplier had a good relationship with national charities, who did not always
respond to local charities if they were inundated with requests. So being provided with the
data by the supplier was particularly valuable. The suppliers also provided contacts:
‘It is also the networks the trainers and delivery agents actually have which they have
allowed us to access as well.’

44
The organisation’s desire to change and supplier’s intervention were both important in
achieving outcomes. They had not planned to be in the position they are now for another
three or four years.
‘It is something that is entirely sustainable and that is a direct result of the Big Assist. If
we hadn’t have had that training there is no way we would be in the position that
we’re in now, at this time.’
The supplier felt that, like any training, organisations get what they put in. This organisation
had the buy in at the top, including the board and the Big Assist help speed up the change:
‘For most of the organisations we have worked with, the Big Assist has been a factor,
when you reach up to a certain level, this little bit of support helps you accelerate in
your development.’ (Supplier)
They have now been awarded a second voucher for supporting and developing people and
organisational culture, focusing on using a particular IT system. This will build on the previous
work by improving their systems, leaving more time for ‘softer’ activities, such as
approaching donors.

45
Case study 2 – Reviewing an advice partnership’s services
About the organisation
This network is a partnership of over 200 organisations who either offer advice or have an interest in
the provision of quality legal advice to people in need, those facing problems and disadvantage in
area in the east of England. Its vision is that people in the locality will fully understand their legal
rights and responsibilities to help them resolve their problems and overcome disadvantage. They
work towards their vision by offering co-ordination and support that enables organisations in the area
to work together and to work together better so as to improve people’s access to the quality advice
services they need. They focus on joint working; improving access to services; and improving the
quality of services.
It started life as a network created under the umbrella of a small group of Citizens Advice Bureaux
(CABx) and local councils. These CABx had come together because they felt there would be gains for
their local communities if they could work more closely with each other and with others organisations
in the community. Initially hosted by a CAB, the partnership was awarded five years funding from the
Big Lottery Fund’s Advice Plus Programme in 2009. From a small group of organisations loosely
connected, by the time it sought support from Big Assist in 2014, the network had grown into an
independent company and registered charity, offering free membership to organisations with an
interest in advice provision, and with over 200 organisational members working across five districts.
With a small staff team of three it offers a range of services including
 an online referral system which aids smooth referrals to the most appropriate advice provider
and by 2015 was being shared by 130 orgs;
 support for organisations on quality issues – including support to help them achieve an advice
quality mark
 social policy work - drawing together and using information from across the network to
identify common problems and to help plan joined-up responses to these problems.
The drivers of change
In its first five years of operation, the network found a growing interest in and need for the kind of co-
ordination and support role it was offering. Advice providers locally faced a growth in demand for
their service at the same time as cuts in legal aid and in many funding streams that would formerly
have supported the work of advice providers took effect. Nationally the CAB, one of the largest
providers in the local area, also sent through its own period of restructuring and change. All these
factors drove an interest in trying to develop a more efficient and co-ordinated approach across
providers to make the best use of resources across organisations for the benefit of local communities.
Having started life with one major grant funder, the network had sustainability high on its agenda –
increasingly seeing a longer term need for the service that it realised could not be sustained with a
single funding stream.
“We were thinking ahead but we knew it would be challenging. It’s always hard to
find second tier funding. It’s never popular but now it feels maybe less so than
ever.” [Director]

46
Between 2012-13, midway through their lottery grant, their Board of Trustees produced a
sustainability strategy. This strategy and a two year business plan primarily focused on diversifying
funding, with strong emphasis on the development of chargeable consultancy services so that the
network could build a trading offer. As their Director observes, perhaps because of how they started
out and them being a relatively new organisation, it was different to some local infrastructure
organisations in that it had always had a core of chargeable services and seen this as part of their
business model so it had always had to start from thinking both what do people need AND what
would people pay for.
“We were offering consultancy services and at that time there weren’t any other
CVS type organisations in our area doing this. I think it’s because we were
developing in the market so we needed to be clear we were offering something
organisations want, we have to cause them to say “actually this is something we
want”. There is free support out there but it doesn’t always meet organisations’
needs and I think a number of organisations do now think “it might be better for us
to pay to get what we want rather than take up a free service that perhaps isn’t
quite so good”.
Why they engaged with Big Assist
The network’s Director heard of Big Assist some time before the programme even got off the ground,
having read about the Big Lottery Fund’s new approach in a discussion paper. His initial thinking was
that they could register as a provider as they were already offering a small amount of paid-for
consultancy, but then he realised that the network might benefit from receiving support rather than
giving it and so completed the online diagnostic.
“The initial self-assessment and then a discussion on the phone were fine but we
were pretty clear what we wanted and that didn’t really change – we wanted
support developing and marketing our consultancy service so that we could expand
this and generate more income ourselves.” [Director]
The idea of seeking support with developing the consultancy offer and charged-for services arose
from some earlier surveying of the partners which highlighted consultancy support around
fundraising and governance as two potential ‘growth’ areas. The service had started on a small scale
but there was a sense that this could be grown into a more robust service and income stream. Big
Assist was seen as a way of bringing in outside expertise and an independent perspective in two areas
where the network’s team felt they lacked the knowledge in-house - trading and charged-for services
and particularly how to approach developing a pricing strategy; and marketing and communications -
how best to raise the partnership’s profile as a provider of consultancy services. The Director hoped
that working with a Big Assist consultant would also help build skills and expertise in the team around
marketing and pricing and costing for the longer-term.
How they engaged with Big Assist
The network received two vouchers worth £2,500 each, and used these to enlist the support of the
same consultant for both advice on business models and charging for services, and on marketing.

47
Once a consultant was identified and brought on board she worked with the team to look at charging
and models. Her role was quite practical and involved her generating and drawing together ideas and
then making recommendations on ways forward for the network. This work on models and charging
was more helpful in the long run than the work done on the second topic – marketing and
communications – though more for reasons of timing and the impact of external factors than
anything about the consultancy itself which the Director reported went well and generated some
useful thinking and planning. The consultant helped the team look at the network’s identity, how to
reach a clearer sense of identity, reviewing its logo (eg, would the name and logo preclude the
network considering moving beyond a county-wide remit in the future?), and how to improve the
description of what the network does. A communications plan was developed but in the end this was
not used because a large contract opportunity came in to work with partners, and winning this meant
that the need for marketing consultancy was no longer as pressing and took a back seat.
Big Assist making a difference
Reflecting back, the organisation has identified some valuable changes they were able to make as a
direct result of the support they received. These include:
 Greater awareness of the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses. Reflecting on the process of
getting involved, the Director felt the initial engagement process was very useful. The diagnostic
process, self-assessment and interview all helped the metwork reflect on its work in a holistic way
and the feedback they received was useful for appraising and understanding their strengths,
weaknesses and priorities.
“something that we found very useful was the initial diagnostic process of going
through and saying where our strengths were and where our weaknesses were.
And just doing that itself was useful to do and getting the feedback from NCVO as
well I think was helpful. And we had a discussion with one of your colleagues as
part of that and we found that was worth it, even if we hadn’t got any vouchers,
that would have been worth it on its own.
 A more realistic approach to pricing and a more profitable pricing structure for consultancy
services. As a result of advice from the consultant, they increased their prices which has meant
that the work makes a more realistic and appropriate contribution to the overheads of the
organisation. In some ways this came about just as a result of having a consultant, taking out the
time to reflect, and the consultant asking the right questions – in this instance about the
importance of charging not just at cost but taking into account overheads and admin in relation to
each hour of consultancy support given. This led to an increase in costs and charges which has so
far had no negative effect on business and in fact the model has not only helped their consultancy
arm, but also the support they are able to offer their wider partnership of members
“The consultant we ended up with was very good in helping us think through those
things and particularly looking at pricing structures and things like that. And so, we
found that very useful and over the past year in particular consultancy work has
increased a lot. … then interestingly when our partner organisations were bidding
to the county council, they costed their work using our new model so it has had a
wider usefulness than just with us.”
 Ideas and groundwork for future marketing. At the time of applying for support the network was
already exploring other funding and sustainability options in line with its business plan. The

48
opportunity arose at this time to co-ordinate bids in the local area to the Advice Services
Transition Fund. Being successful with this meant that the network secured further funding and
marketing plans for consultancy took a back seat. Though this meant no significant shift in the
way the network marketed its services, the Director felt it was still very helpful in terms of their
thinking and ideas for the future - “we certainly had a big think about marketing”.
“We didn’t really progress our marketing plans very much because we got a big
lump contract which means that we haven’t had to market our services individually
as it were or to organisations in the area because that’s done under a larger
contract. But certainly we had a sister brand developed and some ideas about
marketing services and they’re on the back-burner and can be used in the future.”
Reflecting on the Big Assist experience
Though finding both the diagnostic and aspects of their consultancy support very helpful, they did
find it challenging trying to find right consultant. Though happy in the end with the consultant they
identified, she travelled from a different part of the country to support the team as there was no-one
suitable locally. It was not an easy process to locate someone suitable as their Director reports:
“One of the difficulties we had was about finding the right … consultant because I
think on the NCVO website, there’s this big splurge of consultants and it took us
quite a long time to wade through those to find the right ones, or what we thought
were the right ones. But then the process we went through of the setting of
specification and sending that out to a certain number of consultants, the
responses we got back were very poor, … they just didn’t address the specification
at all. And it was interesting that the consultant we ended up using is someone
that we’d used a few years ago on a different issue and we hadn’t really thought
that she would be appropriate for the specification that we wanted this time
around, but she gave the best response possibly because she knew the
organisation, possibly because she put effort into it, which the others didn’t really
do I thought. So that was very disappointing.”
What next
Since receiving the support from Big Assist the landscape for advice providers generally has continued
to prove challenging with funding for advice less high on funders’ agenda and many advice providers
finding it difficult to survive despite high levels of need for their services. The network has considered
its options and the landscape for advice providers in the longer-term, and where it might have most
impact, and as a result is now considering a merger with two other local generic infrastructure
organisations. The network sees an advantage of them being able to run the services that are most
needed (eg developing their shared referral system so that others including community organisations
could benefit from it), whilst not having to run their own back office and all the associated costs of
running a small organisation. As the Director sees it, the move makes sense as the best way to sustain
and even grow important support and co-ordination for advice services in a more cost-effective way.
“The way things are going we may reach a point where advice on its own may
simply not be so fundable any more so looking at it in a more holistic way and in

49
community settings is a different way of securing the future of something that’s still
going to be really needed.”

50
Case study 3 – A CVS becoming more
entrepreneurial
About the organisation
This Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) is a large inner-city organisation with a track record of more
than 85 years delivering high quality support services for community groups and voluntary
organisations. These have broadly centred on practical support and advice; opportunities to network;
advocacy for and representation of the sector at a strategic level in the local area; and research and
policy work on issues affecting the sector.
Like many other CVS’ around the country, their model for delivering services had long been one of a
central core offering support services, complemented by various projects, often time-limited and
developed in response to needs and opportunities arising locally and funded by either grants or
contracts. By 2013 the organisation had reached the position of having four ‘arms’ of service delivery:
core support services; an advocacy centre; the local Healthwatch; and a charities accountancy service
which was set up as a subsidiary trading company, feeding profits back in to the organisation to
support its charitable activities
The drivers of change
Despite having a good track record of winning grants and contracts over the years and having
diversified its income base, the CVS was experiencing financial pressures by 2012 cuts were impacting
on its core funding and there was a concern within the organisation that too much dependence on
grants would be problematic as cuts were set to continue in the future. With the added driver of a
pension deficit that the organisation was keen to reduce year on year, the organisation felt significant
change was needed to safeguard the future of its core services for the sector in the longer term.
Largely in response to these funding challenges, a restructure took place in 2012-13 with some cuts in
staffing as a result. The new CEO at that time was clear that this restructuring would need to be part
of a longer journey of change, but also found herself in a position where this change was difficult to
progress at the pace that was really needed. She recalls:
“Funding was being decimated really, particularly for infrastructure organisations
at the same time as demand for services was increasing. Having had to restructure
and reduce staffing levels, it leaves you with a kind of triple whammy where you
know you have to change to survive but that’s precisely at the point when you have
less resources to think about and manage that change.”
Why they engaged with Big Assist
For the CVS Big Assist was timely. The organisation had settled down after its first structural change
and was clear that the way forward was to continue to embed a flatter, less hierarchical group
structure where people would be able to work within their groups with more freedom, but also work
horizontally where this would be beneficial. They had recruited a new business manager with a remit
to look at services and products and the development of new income streams and new markets. The

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