Liberty Programmes CIC

Liberty Programmes is a Cooperative Community Interest Company, operating exclusively for community benefit rather than for the benefit of shareholders.

We are a small team of trusted Associates, each with our own set of talents and prior experience. This means that we can meet the demands of a wide range of commissions, drawing on our different insights and skills, while meeting capacity needs cost effectively.

Any profits we make are ploughed back into doing more good.

We have  a formal Board and, perhaps unusually, we also have a cooperative structure. This means that anyone can apply to become a member and influence direction.

This additional aspect to our governance is very important to us. It means that we stay closer to the beneficiaries we seek to support, as well as allowing us to involve others interested in and supportive of what we do. We all think that it’s vital to stay grounded and connected and to be open to new and different perspectives.

We believe that everyone deserves an equal chance to fulfil their potential, but that some get a raw deal in society. A combination of exploitation,  reduced life chances, discrimination, stigmatisation and mistrust work against many people who are struggling, effectively reducing opportunities to fulfil their best potential. All our work seeks to address this structural unfairness, as far as we can.

The challenges and constraints in making a real, lasting and positive difference in 2018 and beyond are many. Nevertheless, we’re willing to try because we’re stupid/smart enough to believe we can change things for the better together!

We’ve taken on some really challenging projects over the years, but we’ve always met them head on. We have plenty of references and are happy to share them with you. Our rates are fair and we deliver what we agree to do.

Finally, we are building this CIC around doing good, having fun, creating and learning. If that sounds like an attractive approach to life and work, then use the contact form to ask any questions, or to start a discussion about commissioning us. Of course, I’m also very happy to meet up with you and chat informally.

With very best wishes

Dave Conroy – Associate & Chair

Supported by:

  

Amongst our team of four Associates we can probably help you out with the following broad areas of work and pull together flexibly and efficiently to make things happen:

Strategy, planning, operations, programme & project design/management, business development, relocation, research, monitoring and evaluation, senior coaching, start-up mentoring, training design and facilitation, design and implementation of learning programmes, bid writing (including advanced knowledge of European Social Fund and related monitoring and reporting) , and report writing, proofreading and commenting.

Chatting to us is free. Creating a simple scope for any possible work together, for you or your board to consider, is also free.

We tend to operate inside of a number of models. Firstly, we understand that complex systems can conspire to keep problems in place, so it’s important to understand and seek to influence change at system level, if that is possible. Second, we believe that creating a new solution that works is the best way to extinguish an existing problem: current problems may once have been a viable solution, but times and circumstances change and so a new solution is needed that accounts for current reality. Finally, we are committed to Asset Based Community Development. This recognises that people within a community have talents, perspectives, passion, knowledge and solutions that are more likely to solve the challenges that they face today, better than any outsider. Our job is aften to support people in that process, if needed.

Here’s a sample of what we’ve been working on most recently:

Alignment of differently funded project outcomes and outputs into unified programme of work for Spring Housing. Training programme review. Co-production of new learning units with young unaccompanied asylum seekers and other stakeholders, through to OCN accreditation.

The Liberty Cookhouse – creating the concept and funding strategy for a new social enterprise, dedicated to training and supporting refugees and others seeking employment in the food industries, as well as housing a food business incubator for the self-employed. This is our team pro-bono project, supported by many others who have rallied around the idea.

NorPIP – interim Chief Executive role, running from February to approximately end May 2018. Acting as a safe pair of hands and supporting the board during this key transitional stage ahead of a new Chief Executive starting.

Spring Housing – designing and project managing a Birmingham City Council sponsored Local Innovation Fund project in Handsworth Wood. We’re using an asset based framework to support the generation of local social action projects and piloting a ‘lean helper agency’ approach to make it all happen.

Vegan Society – Project managing the entire relocation of this high profile national organisation, involving moving from three remote premises into the one building. Coaching the internal project lead.

Ashley Community Housing – Contracted on a rolling consultancy basis, specifically around programme design, planning and business development. Created the delivery infrastructure and project managed two Building Better Opportunities programme streams (BIG/ESF funded), whilst also integrating Skills Support for the Unemployed and Advanced Learner Loan provision into a unified training offer targeting B&ME communities.

Ask us about our previous programme/project work.