Public & Voluntary Sector Case Study - Community Economic Development for the Muslim community in Greater Manchester

The Problem
A faith based voluntary organisation in a metropolitan city is dependent on city council grants. The pressure on the organisation increases over time, as resources decline. A local council in the same city has tied up several million pounds of grants in a few voluntary organisations that are unable to respond to changing economic and social circumstances.

The Solution
The faith based voluntary organisation develops a trading arm that can address the community's needs, attract additional investment and generate income by trading.
The local council can support this work, not only by funding through grants, but also by contracting with the trading arm to achieve its targets.

Inside Track's Challenge
To find and prepare people from the community who have the potential to:

• create and engage the community in a new social enterprise
• design and promote products and services
• engage with the public sector and gain contracts

Why did the voluntary organisation find Inside Track helpful?

• Inside Track had over 20 years experience of working with diverse voluntary organisations. Through these networks, Inside Track learnt that the emerging difficulties within the voluntary sector were effecting this particular organisation.
• Due to our experience, Inside Track was able to understand specific cultural issues that affected the voluntary organisation's capacity to respond and to mobilise others in the community.
• Inside Track had the skills to offer advice in analysing their problems, finding solutions, and attracting funding and investment.

Why did the public sector find Inside Track helpful?

• Inside Track has a long history of working in the public sector, as an experienced strategic and operative manager.
• Inside Track understood what the public sector needed in order to respond to the community, how policies and funding streams were developed, and so what activities could be legitimately funded. Our public sector contacts were confident we could respond to a situation where they were unable to.
• Inside Track had the skills to build the relationship with the public sector, so the sector received sufficient information regarding voluntary sector needs and capacity, so that the full range of suitable applicants could tender for contracts and bid for funding.

Outcomes

• A new independent social enterprise that created jobs and delivered services
• Information, contacts and joint working with the community to improve the council's performance on targets