Market Towns Asset Development Fund

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Market Towns Asset Development Fund

• Induction Event
• Centre Parcs
• 3rd October 2006

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Programme

• Everything you need to know about the Asset
  Development Programme
• IRIS, Training programme, Partnership mentoring
  programme
• Workshops
• Social Rate on Return
• Esmee Fairbairn
• Meet the Evaluation Panel
• Asset viability
• Share your ideas and question the panel

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Social Enterprise

• Social Enterprise A strategy for Success
• Growing value of social enterprise in the
  nations economy
• The integration of social and business objectives
• New ways to deliver/reform public services
• Service delivery based on local needs through
  local agencies
• Developing an inclusive society

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Regional

• EEDAs IIC Supporting the development of a
  vibrant social enterprise sector
• SE Contributes to the regional economy
• To make social enterprises more effective
• Funding of business support
• Regional Social Enterprise strategy

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Market Town Partnerships

• Well placed to become social enterprises
• Functions fit the SE business model
• Need to reduce grant dependency
• MT Coordinators - Smarter ways to use public
  funding
• Posts need to be linked to successful delivery
• Promotion of all types of finance

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Market Town Partnerships

• Catalyst
• Research
• Community Involvement
• Action Planning
• Mission/Vision
• Delivery
• Legitimacy

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Becoming Commercial

• Selling goods
• Selling services
• Consulting
• Public sector contracts
• Asset development
• Asset Development Programme

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Being commercial - Pros

• Job creation
• Sustainability
• Increased independence
• Risk taking
• Supporting unpopular causes
• Raising your profile
• Added value
• Building reserves

DTA Cultivating Enterprise Toolkit
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Being commercial cons

• Market forces
• Mission drift
• Hidden costs
• Undermining public services

DTA Cultivating Enterprise Toolkit
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Market Town Partnerships

• Where are you now?

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Baby

• No real partnership to speak of
• No legal form or structure
• An informal coming together of people in the town
• Some idea of what you would like to achieve for
  the town

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BaldockBaby

• Tesco domination
• By pass
• Local authority
• Early meetings
• Some development

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Teenage

• Have identified key local needs that a
  partnership could help to address
• No official research on the strengths,
  weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing your
  town
• Driven by public sector or another single
  interest group
• No or very little public consultation carried out
• A bit confused and could go in any direction!

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Leighton BuzzardTeenage

• Need growth agenda
• Town Council
• Privately funded community consultation
• Local authority funded TCM
• Looking for future direction
• Looking at other partnerships to see what is
  possible

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Middle Aged

• Have researched local need
• Have consulted with community
• Have some history of successful project delivery
• Have worked and talked to organisations at a sub
  regional and regional level
• Planning or have planned legal form or
  organisational structure
• Have an action plan

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Saffron WaldenMiddle Aged

• Funded Healthcheck and action plan
• Partnership Coordinator/enabler funded by
  District Council
• Key projects include
• Traffic flow in town centre
• Rejuvenation of market square during the week
• Saffron Screen
• Skateboard Complex
• Strong partnership with accountable and visible
  members

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Mature

• Have up-to-date and robust research to
  substantiate local need
• Have an action plan with short to long-term
  actions
• Work in a sophisticated and strategic way
• Have a successful history of securing multiple
  sources of funding
• Have a legal from and appropriate organisational
  structure
• Have delivered more than five substantial
  projects or initiatives
• Possibly own or run assets as social enterprises

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HarwichMature

• MTI
• Co-orperative
• Over 100 members
• Key Activities
• Transport
• TIC
• Hostel
• Piloting sophisticated structure

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Emotionally Confused

• May or may not be MTI
• Probably received funding
• Partnership crisis when funding ended
• No clear direction

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Quick Task

• Please write your partnership name on a post
  it note and place it on the flipchart that most
  describes the maturity of your partnership
• Also note the Catalyst for your partnership
• Your current key function

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Babies and Teenagers

• Formalise research to understand real needs of
  communities
• Form a community led partnership or formalise
  existing structures
• Generate a legitimate action plan
• Widen links in a strategic way
• Begin to source funding for activities

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Middle Aged

• Revisit action plan is it still relevant?
• Assess the health of your partnership
• Identify weaknesses and threats
• Attempt to address them
• Consider social enterprise
• Consider asset development

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Mature

• Have you missed opportunities?
• Do you need to collect your partnership?
• Do you have the most appropriate structure for
  your needs?
• Have you succession planning?
• Seek an objective point of view
• Consider mentoring
• Consider asset development

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Emotionally Confused

• Why are you needed?
• What do you do?
• Added value?
• Assess partnership
• Address governance
• Build a robust business plan and action plan
• Think strategically

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Market Towns Asset Development Programme
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Last year we made mistakes
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The Cucumber Cap Syndrome

• Ideas that couldnt make money
• Unrealistic business plans
• Risk assessment issues
• Unskilled partnerships
• Partnerships lacked capacity to deliver
• Ineligible applicants/applications

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MTADP will fund your journey
Performing vital community functions Charging for
activities, services, goods Making a surplus to
be re-invested Diversification Long term
vision Versatile, skilled Wide and inclusive
membership Proactive Powerful
Grant Dependent Short Term Hand to
Mouth Reactive Weak
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Product One - IRISInvestment Readiness Indicator
System
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Why the IRIS?

• Guided discovery
• To target resources more effectively
• To identify where partnerships need help and
  support?
• To collate data which will be used to influence
  regional/national funding organisations

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Product TwoSocial Enterprise Training Programme

• Free Courses
• Pertinent Subjects
• Well regarded tutors
• Centrally located in the region
• Open to any MTP

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Organisational Capacity

• Strengths and weaknesses of your partnership
• Skills audit
• Plugging the gaps

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Governance

• Who should be involved in your MTP?
• Roles
• Responsibilities
• Control
• Power
• Decision makers
• Accountability to stakeholders
• Partnership relations

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Legal Forms

• Selecting a legal form to reflect your
  Activities, purpose, stakeholders
• Not vice versa!
• Choices available
• Abby Rumbold Community Interest Companies guru
  and author of Keeping it Legal

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Business Planning

• Essential elements of a business plan
• Vision, milestones, goals, outcomes
• Risk assessments
• Who writes it?
• Who is the audience?
• How is it presented?

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Financial Management

• Budgeting
• Profit and Loss
• Cash flow
• Accounting
• Who does it?
• How are records kept, presented and monitored?

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Employing People

• Two day residential
• Recruitment
• Employment Law
• Motivation
• Delegation
• Leadership
• Appraisals

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Triple Bottom Line

• Social return on investment
• Measuring tools available
• What should you measure?
• When?
• Procedures

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Got the T-shirt Day

• Speakers from successful rural enterprises
• Community cafes, furniture projects, cinemas,
  one-stop-shops and retail operations
• Lessons learned
• Profit making business models

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Asset Transfer

• Sale or lease of land or buildings
• From local authorities and other public bodies to
  community organisations
• At market value or discounted
• To deliver services that meet local needs
• Issues involved, pitfalls and processes

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Housing as a model for Asset Development

• How housing can be used as basis for social
  enterprise
• Incorporating asset transfer
• Development Trust Research for AMT
• Results of report

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Sales and Marketing

• What are you selling?
• Who to?
• For how much?
• Location
• Communications
• How are you selling?

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Product ThreePartnership Mentoring Scheme
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Mentoring Scheme

• Mentors with social enterprise expertise
• Any of the subjects covered in the training
  courses
• Eligibility
• Market Towns Partnership
• Setting up as a social enterprise
• Have attended the course in the subject that you
  wish to discuss with a mentor
• Five partnership representatives
• Premises

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Product FourAsset Development Grants Programme

• Who is eligible?
• Market Town Partnerships with
• A history of delivery
• Robust research and action plan
• A sophisticated organisational structure with all
  three sectors as members
• Clear governance
• Proven stakeholder acceptance
• Independence

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Two Questions

• Is your partnership mentally and physically ready
  to invest?
• Have you identified an appropriate investment
  opportunity?
• Then consider applying for a bursary

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BursariesIn relation to the development of an
identified asset

• Up to 10,000 100 Capital Grants for
• Business Planning
• Business Risk Assessment
• Planning and building consent
• Developing a legal form for holding the business
• Feasibility of the business using that asset
• Market Research
• Skills and Training
• Mentoring from a practitioner/expert
• Where this cannot be sourced free of charge

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Non Legitimate Uses

• Healthchecks
• Developing action plans
• Partnership building
• Consultation exercises
• General staffing costs
• Property search ideas creation
• Partnership form/structure advice without an
  identified asset

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How to Apply

• When you have identified an asset
• Complete an expression of interest form
• Invitation to apply for a bursary
• Receive bursary
• Spend bursary
• Provide evidence that you have spent bursary
  wisely!

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Apply for a full capital grant

• Are you investment ready?
• Have you identified an appropriate investment?
• Have you clear ideas about how you will use the
  asset to generate an income?
• Have you figures and the beginnings of a business
  plan to illustrate this?
• Do you have match funding?

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Capital Grants

• Capital Grants of up to 400k
• Actual Matching
• Up to 200k 10
• Between 201k and 300k 20
• Between 301k and 400k 30
• Loans, other non EEDA grants, other capital

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How to Apply

• For a Full Grant
• Complete an expression of interest form
• Open channels of communication
• Receive invitation to apply for a full grant
• Complete business plans and full feasibilities
• Submit full application
• Evaluation panel visit to the asset

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Assets must

• Become an enterprise
• Generate a surplus revenue after all costs have
  been deducted
• Generate a rate of return (un-prescribed) which
  will have a significant effect on your
  partnership sustainability
• Meet a social need as identified in your research
• Be in the East of England Region and be situated
  within the partnerships market town or immediate
  hinterland

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Your partnership must have a recognised legal
structure to apply for a full Asset Development
Grant (not for bursary)
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Continuations

• For projects started in MTADP 2005-6
• Continue if green light given in round one
• If partnership wishes to change asset then
  approach as if new bid
• Beware flogging dead horses if more than one
  rejection letter think carefully unless there has
  been a significant change
• E-mail sally.williams_at_towns.org.uk

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Change in Culture Not a grants programme

• Not to be approached as a short term funding
  programme
• Deadlines
• Now until March 2007
• New Community Investment Programme
• If you are set on this road you will find a way

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Questions?
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www.markettownseast.co.uk