Public Sector cuts seem to be the news story of the moment right now – so it seemed fitting as the subject for our latest charity effectiveness podcast for the Guardian (and sponsored by knowhownonprofit.org).  We also wanted to know how the current economic situation was affecting the charity sector’s umbrella groups: NCVO, NAVCA and the many CVS organisations around the country.  So we gathered together a small panel of esteemed guests to thrash it all out!  We also consider coalition working and how charities can make the most out of strong partnerships with some wise words from Lesley-Anne Alexander, the chief executive of RNIB.  This time the host is Jane Dudman, the editor of Public – the Guardian’s Public Management website.  We hope you find it an enjoyable and informative listen – do let us know what you think!

Programme guests

Kevin Curley, chief executive of NAVCA

Peter Lewis, chief executive of the London Voluntary Service Council

Vandna Gohil, director of Voice 4 Change England

Alan Lewis, the chief executive of Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services

Lesley-Anne Alexander, chief executive of RNIB

Patrick Butler, the Guardian’s head of society, health and education

Programme links

Capacity Builders Survey of local third sector support providers: http://capacitybuilders.org.uk/node/460

London Voluntary Service Council’s Big Squeeze Report: http://www.lvsc.org.uk/Templates/information.asp?NodeId=100050

Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services: http://www.lcvs.org.uk

Voice 4 Change England: http://www.voice4change-england.co.uk/

Guardian Cutswatch: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/series/cutswatch

ACEVO’s cutswatch microsite: http://www.cutswatch.org.uk

NCVO’s guide to “coping with the cuts”: http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/copingwithcuts

For the third of our charity effectiveness podcasts series we’ve been commissioned to produce for the Guardian (and sponsored by knowhownonprofit.org) we decided to tackle the topic of the Big Society.  Commentators across the Charity and Social Enterprise spectrum have been working themselves up into a frenzy trying to work out what it will mean for them and the way they work.  We took a considered approach inviting comment from the Chief Exec of Urban Forum, Toby Blume, ACEVO’s chief executive, Stephen Bubb, and the Policy and Communications Director at the School for Social Entrepreneurs, Nick Temple.  As usual the Guardian’s Public Services Editor, David Brindle, was there to chair the debate and keep the guests in order.  We also spent a day at Parliament where we spent time with two new MPs who bring with them considerable voluntary sector experience.  And we couldn’t resist another look at Name Changes as we waved goodbye to the Third Sector and welcomed in the shiny new Civil Society! Enjoy!

Programme guests

Stephen Bubb, Chief Executive of ACEVO

Nick Temple, Policy and Communications Director at SSE – the School for Social Entrepreneurs

Toby Blume, Chief Executive of Urban Forum

Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey

Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan

Programme links

ACEVO’s guide to the Big Society: http://www.acevo.org.uk/Document.Doc?id=682

School for Social Entrepreneurs: http://www.sse.org.uk/

Urban Forum: http://www.urbanforum.org.uk/

Stuart Andrew MP: http://www.stuartandrew.com/

Lisa Nandy MP: http://lisanandy.blogspot.com/

Family Activity Breaks (FAB) provide bereavement support, adventure activities and peer support in the aftermath of a family’s loss.  The aim is to provide a safe and nurturing atmosphere for families to deal with their grief and meet other people who have been through a similar experience.  FAB is a partnership between the Armed Forces, YHA (Youth Hostels Association) and the Ministry of Defence.  sounddelivery has worked to support this project since pilot camps were run last summer.  We were recently asked to provide support for the project by getting regional coverage for a 6 day charity bike ride from YHA Coverack in Cornwall to YHA Whitby in Yorkshire – a journey of almost 600 miles.  The cyclists included YHA staff and military personnel.

We managed to secure coverage on many regional BBC and Commercial radio stations including BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC Radio Derby, regional Heart stations, BBC Radio Gloucestershire and BFBS: the station broadcasting to British military personnel.  Many of these stations also broadcast pre-recorded audio clips that we had recorded previously to add a fresh element to their broadcasts.

Here you can listen to the interview YHA staffer Mick Horan did with BBC Radio Gloucestershire on day 3 of the mammoth cycle ride:

Many of the broadcasters took some of our broadcast clips to help illustrate their coverage, with Chelsey’s moving talk about how FAB gave her confidence back being particularly popular. You can listen to this piece below:

We also headed up the social media campaign during the cycle, ensuring that the public could interact with the campaign. This saw the number of Twitter followers to the Friends of FAB account more than double, the Facebook group jump in use and over 150 photos and videos added around the web!

The cycle has so far raised more than £20,000 for FAB – a fantastic amount for a great project!  We’re really looking forward to seeing what else this amazing project can achieve.

This is the second of our podcasts we’ve produced for societyguardian in association with KnowHowNonProfit.org.  This time we gave ourselves the challenge of pinning down the Minister for the Third Sector and her political shadows.  But rather than simply interview them ourselves we decided to ask people working in the charity and voluntary sectors to suggest their own questions.  The interviews were all carried out just days before the General Election was announced and the podcast went live on Wednesday April 7th.  The presenter was David Brindle, the Guardian’s Public Services Editor.

The starter’s pistol has been fired and the race is underway. With the general election fast approaching on the 6th of May we have been putting YOUR questions to the three main parties on the issues affecting the charity and voluntary sectors. We’ve also been getting the views of the Scout Association on how to navigate the political landscape in times of change and the best ways of achieving success in your political campaigns. Plus you may have found your email inbox clogged with charity manifestos recently. We find out what they’re for, and more importantly who’s reading them.

Programme guests

Angela Smith, the Minister for the Third Sector

Nick Hurd, the Shadow Minister for Charities, Social Enterprise and Volunteering

Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat’s Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Paul Palmer, Associate Dean – Ethics, Sustainability and Engagement, Charity Effectiveness

Simon Carter, The Scout Association

Farah Nazeer, Head of Policy and Strategy, Motor Neurone Disease Association

Programme links

NCVO guide to campaigning during an election:
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/policy-research-analysis/policy/charity-law-regulation/election-campaigning

Motor Neurone Disease Association manifesto:
http://www.mnd2010.org/manifesto

The Scout Association – rainwater campaign
http://www.scouts.org.uk/water

To support the Big Lottery Fund’s recent BIG CHAT (a live webchat with the Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, Sir Clive Booth) sounddelivery was commissioned to produce a series of podcasts.  We collected questions from BIG beneficiaries, grant holders and interested parties and then interviewed the four Country Chairs that head up the decision-making committees in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  The podcasts sat on the BIG CHAT website – where you can still listen to them – and helped to build momentum up to the Live WebChat.  The podcasts were promoted through the main sections of BIG’s website as well as their social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter.  We also created versions of the podcasts which would last beyond the date of the BIG CHAT, and will be hosted on the Country pages of BIG’s website.  You can hear the Northern Ireland podcast with the Northern Ireland Chair, Frank Hewitt, below:

sounddelivery was asked to attend One in Four’s Conference: Talking About Mental Health-Getting it Right.  The half-day conference aimed to spark a debate about how to communicate sensitively and appropriately about mental health.  Delegates were encouraged to consider the way mental health is represented by the media and the public at large.  Discussions centred on the “normalising” of mental health difficulties; the shock-tactic headlines used by newspapers where mental health is concerned; and the ways people working within the field of mental health “label” and represent themselves.

sounddelivery was asked to record interviews with panellists and speakers to create a podcast of the event, and provide separate edited interviews with key figures.

All the speakers and panellists have direct experience in mental health and
of working in media and communications. They included:

Alastair Campbell, formerly Tony Blair’s Director of Communications and a campaigner for mental health awareness

Debra Allcock Tyler, CEO, Directory of Social Change

Jacqui Thornton, freelance journalist and former health editor of The Sun

Heather Payne, Media Action Worker, South Warwickshire User Forum

Click below to hear the podcast from the event:

You can also listen to the interview Mark did with Alastair Campbell:

sounddelivery has been working with London Youth, a member organisation with more than 400 youth clubs serving 75,000 young people across the capital. We were brought in to create an audio evaluation CD of one of their youth worker training schemes.  We interviewed 8 young people who were taking part in the Youth Works programme – a project funded by the new youth volunteering charity V. It’s aim is to train a new generation of youth workers with a specialism in community activism. Young people who access the programme volunteer full time for 6 months in one of London Youth’s Quality Marked clubs. During this time they take their Level 1 Foundation in Youth Work, organise a community project and take part in a full programme of personal development.  The young people also benefitted from the advice and support of a life coach who helped them through any problems they were facing and gave them positive steps to deal with personal issues.

Click below to hear Rowan talk about the YouthWorks programme and his own personal journey:

Single mum, Josie talks about balancing the needs of her young children with her commitment to the training:

The Family Holiday Association has been using audio and video in its marketing mix for many years. They know the best way of engaging people in the work they do is by presenting the families they support and getting them to tell their stories. The FHA has now formed a partnership with Thomson Airways. 50% of the donations made on board aircraft go directly to the charity. In October the Thomson Airways fundraising broke the £150,000 barrier! The FHA commissioned sounddelivery to create a number of audio features to support their key partnership and showcase their work.

This is just one of a series of multi-media case studies and stories provided for the company by the charity using cost effective production techniques.

What does Ken Loach have to say about the rise of social media and its impact on social change?  Well the great filmmaker may not be up to speed with the likes of twitter or wordpress, but he can definitely see the value in sharing ideas and collaborative working.

At the recent Social Media Exchange, Ken explained how he goes about starting a new project, how its the story that matters most, and how we can all learn from each other.

He spoke to Jude Habib and took questions from a hall of more than 150 delegates.