'Who is not in the room?' - A key consideration for driving engagement in Grants
Francesca D.
Public Policy | Government Relations | Stakeholder Engagement | Social Impact | Inclusion by Design
Yesterday I attended the Government Grants Conference and Awards in Birmingham, it was great to connect with old colleagues and meet new ones.??
Some of my favourite takeaways from the conference were hearing about the continued great work from Claire Dove CBE in bringing diverse communities to decision making tables; and being introduced to the work of The Blair Project and Big Ideas, in how they co-produce with communities to deliver grants.? It made me double down the importance of ensuring inclusion in the design of a grant, and not just having inclusion as an add on.??
Inclusion by design, for me, is a concept where? the diversity of grantees and end beneficiaries is used as an asset when you are building a grant, and not as something? to add or sprinkle on later. From pre-launch communication to the application process, the due diligence to the monitoring and evaluation, a key question to encourage inclusion by design is to ask ‘who is not in the room?’ I have asked this question throughout my career? in the Charity Sector, Public Sector and in the Private Sector. Below, I share some considerations specifically for getting people in the room, when it comes to the market engagement aspect of grants:
‘Who’ are we talking about? Understanding the target audience is key. Key questions here must include who is always in the room when receiving grants? Who else could be in the room? And what must be done to enable them to take part?
Is it meaningful? - Collaboration and consultation are only meaningful when there is space to change something, not when decisions are made.? Ask people what they think, use that lived experience/expertise and then feedback to them.
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Is it accessible? - How will people know? Is simplicity the thread throughout?? What language are we using? Is it jargon free??
If you missed the conference and you’d like to be added to our funds community and join one of our upcoming roundtable discussions on key topics with peers from across the industry, please let me know.
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PwC | People in Deals
9 个月Love how you’ve described ‘inclusion by design’ Fran! We’ve had a few chats about ‘whose not in the room’ and that’s a really powerful question.
It sounds like the Government Grants Conference was a hub of innovative thinking and collaboration! ?? As Albert Einstein once said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." It's inspiring to see your focus on fostering engagement and diversity in the grants community. If you're interested, our team at ManyMangoes specializes in enhancing partnerships and engagement strategies. Let's connect and explore how we can collaborate for greater impact! ???? #Innovation #Collaboration #ManyMangoes
Great article Francesca
Manager, Business Consulting at EY
9 个月Great blog Francesca!
Director at PwC UK
9 个月I love this Francesca. When I read this and I think of the real impact you made happen by asking these very questions. That was a moment for us all (you know what I mean). Keep being you !!