Transcript Case Study Template 2010 - Operational Research Society

Some examples of
O.R. in the third sector
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Improving performance by redesigning shifts
The client:
The client’s problem:
Crimestoppers: the charity which helps solve crime
How to take on new business and improve performance without a big
increase in staffing costs
through members of the public providing information
anonymously.
The solution
The benefits
• A simulation model of the call centre using PRISM
software, used to try out different staffing patterns
• Better performance without increasing cost, through new shift patterns
• Ability to continue to improve, and to adapt to changing circumstances, into the future
• Thorough data analysis to understand variation in
demand
• Recommended staffing levels for different demands
The approach
Two OR Society volunteers specified data requirements and analysed data on demand for
Crimestoppers services both via phone calls and online forms. They summarised arrival patterns
by time of day, day of week, and time of year.
They built a simulation model of the call centre, using PRISM software, based on three separate
staff groups: call handlers, online staff and shift leaders. The model allowed phone calls to be
diverted from call handlers to other staff at busy times.
They validated the model using actual data on arrivals and staffing for a specific week and then
used it to explore the impact on KPIs of different proposed staffing patterns.
They produced a report recommending new shift patterns which improved performance without
any increase in staffing costs.
“We’ve benefited hugely from your work and support in all areas of the project, and
from an organisational perspective you’ve enabled us to take a highly professional
approach to increasing the efficiency of our charity” (Performance Manager)
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Improving processes, increasing impact
The client:
The client’s problem:
Reach: an organisation matching skilled
volunteers to charities that need them
to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of matching processes, free up
resource, develop more value adding activities
The solution
The benefits
• Identified short term efficiency improvements
• A new perspective on current processes, helping develop, challenge and validate internal
thinking
• Recommended additional value adding activities
• Identified ways of measuring impact
• Recommended a roadmap for moving to a new service
delivery model
• Skilled staff could be freed up to deliver more value, through early implementation of one
process improvement, and planning for more
• Reach services can be better targeted and marketed, through improved impact measurement
The approach
Two ORS volunteers spent a day interviewing staff and facilitating focus groups with teams of
matching staff and IT support. They work shadowed one of the ‘matchers’ and the Foundation
Services Co-ordinator, and discussed potential measures of impact with the Research and
Business Analysis Manager. They examined available documentation, collated and distilled the
information, and discussed issues identified with a process improvement expert.
They produced a report with clear recommendations for process improvements and potential
value adding activities that could be developed with the released resource. These
recommendations were phased into short, medium and long term.
“Consultants approached the issues from a holistic point of view and homed in on
key issues. Very thorough and professional. Some very useful new ideas which we
will explore.” (Director of Services)
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Managing risk, ensuring sustainability
The client:
a community youth venture
The client’s problem:
to ensure sustainability, management needed a risk management
plan which had the involvement and backing of trustees.
The solution
The benefits
• define and prioritise the key factors necessary to
sustainability of the venture
• trustees were fully involved in risk identification, enabling them to play their proper
part in risk management and oversight
• identify key risks to its continuation
• risks were reduced through sensible and proportionate mitigation
• assign mitigating actions to specific individuals to
ensure risk reduction
• the venture’s ability to remain in business was significantly improved
• provide an Excel spreadsheet for the organisation to
take over the process
The approach
Blue Link Consulting started by eliciting individual board members' initial thoughts and
combining these into an 'influence diagram‘. This gave them a visual and intuitive display
of the connections and interplay between all aspects of a complex environment. We then
provided expert facilitation to enable them to reach a jointly-owned and robust view of
the key risks, consequences and mitigation. By grouping the risks into three main areas factors affecting the wood itself; personnel issues; finance issues – we made it easier to
assess the risks, and plan for their mitigation. Finally, we converted this into an Excel
spreadsheet showing risks, level, impact, and actions assigned to mitigate them, so that
the organisation itself could take over the process going forward.
“This work was very beneficial ..” (Chair of Board)
“Risk management is now coming from the top down..” (Chief Executive)
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Getting started: what to do first in a complex world
The client:
a small new community-based charity
aspiring to develop supported housing
The solution
• enable group to understand the challenges it faces,
and their scale
• provide a stock of research material that it can use in a
variety of contexts
• support lead trustee to build her experience of
discussions with council and grant or loan providers,
and facilitate group in taking decision on timing of
further work
Types of accommodation where adults with learning disabilities are
living: Lambeth and England overall compared
% of all
adults
Others in family or own home: mostly with mild learning
disabilities
2%
Where the residential
care homes are in Lambeth
= 11-20
Family or own home: not receiving support or care
services, with learning disabilities sufficiently severe to
be identifiable by DoH 2003/4 survey
= 51-60
Family or own home: receiving 'Community Care'
0.5%
Own home: receiving 'Supporting People' services
= Residential
care home
Residential care within area
Residential care out of area
England
Lambeth
Competitor analysis: Unit cost comparisons - total cost
excluding loan interest and repayments) per resident
(Note: Width of bands indicate uncertainty in estimates from incompleteness of available
information)
Competitor A
Competitor B
Competitor C
Competitor D
Competitor E
Full proposals
Full proposals without specialists
0
1
2
• the group is armed with information to support fundraising, awareness-raising and
future service delivery, giving it capacity to be more influential, as well as more effective
• the group is better able to negotiate effectively with important partners
• all of these factors mean that the group is more attractive to funders and
commissioners and more likely to be able to achieve its goals
At the start, the group knew that it needed to know a lot more about a lot of things, but
couldn’t easily prioritise this. The analyst began by taking an incremental approach
using presentations and initial papers to board meetings aimed at helping the group to
identify and clarify what it already knew and what it needed to know. This developed into
a gradually evolving set of papers and reports which could form the group’s evidence
base. By providing hands-on support, after the initial work, to the lead trustee in
developing a financial plan and business case, and in approaches to possible funders
and the local council, the group was helped to develop its capacity at making use of the
research material in practice, and to identify its further information needs.
No.s living in community:
= 0-10
= 41-50
• the group has a better chance of longer term effectiveness, because it is better able to
formulate strategy with confidence, and to plan how to deal with the current uncertain
environment
The approach
1%
= 21-30
= 31-40
The client’s problem:
the group, mostly of carers, wanted to act to address the local
shortage of housing options for adults with learning disabilities,
and needed some research to help decide how to proceed
The benefits
3
£K per resident per w eek
4
.
“We now have a stock of valuable research material which we can put to a variety of uses”
(Lead trustee)
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External data: making it work for you
The client:
a housing-related charity running
community development projects
The client’s problem:
the charity wanted to improve its exploitation of externally
available statistical data and other information in its work
The solution
The benefits
• provide a reference document and guidance on the
range of possibilities, with illustrations
• the organisation has greater capacity to exploit external statistics and other information
in the different aspects of its work, eg overall planning and prioritisation, fundraising,
project management and evaluation, and so to improve its effectiveness
• provide specific step-by-step guidance on exploiting a
particular information source that should be of frequent
value
• work with individual staff to make and demonstrate
practical contributions to current projects
• provide 2 in-depth seminars on specific complex
subjects, to illustrate some more extensive uses of data
A verag e 2001-2006 mig ration rates for L A s in Wes t
Midlands - 'long -term' international inflows
Percentage of a Local Authority's neighbourhoods which are in the 1%, 10%, 20% and
30% most multiply deprived in England: London LAs
8
6
4
In 2-10% most deprived
In 11-20% most deprived
In 21-30% most deprived
R edditc h
Worc es ter
Wyc havon
Birmingham: population change 2001 to 2005
LHA rates in London
700
300
200
2001
100
C hines e or O ther E thnic G roup:
O ther
C hines e or O ther E thnic G roup:
C hines e
Blac k or Blac k Britis h: O ther
Blac k
Blac k or Blac k Britis h: Blac k
Afric an
Blac k or Blac k Britis h: Blac k
C aribbean
As ian or As ian Britis h: O ther
As ian
As ian or As ian Britis h:
Banglades hi
As ian or As ian Britis h: P akis tani
Mix ed: O ther Mix ed
Mix ed: White and As ian
Mix ed: White and Blac k Afric an
White: Iris h
As ian or As ian Britis h: Indian
2005
0
White: O ther White
5 beds
400
Mix ed: White and Blac k
C aribbean
P opulation 000s
2 beds
500
White: Britis h
2000
1500
1000
500
0
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£s per week
600
Wyre F ores t
Malvern Hills
S olihull
Broms grove
D udley
Wals all
S andwell
Wolverhampton
R ugby
Warwic k
C oventry
Birmingham
S tratford-on-Avon
Nuneaton and Bedworth
S tafford
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L ic hfield
S outh S taffords hire
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S taffords hire Moorlands
0
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O s wes try
2
Herefords hire
10%
10
C annoc k C has e
20%
E as t S taffords hire
30%
12
Bridgnorth
40%
14
North S hrops hire
50%
16
S outh S hrops hire
60%
S hrews bury and Atc ham
80%
70%
T elford and Wrekin
90%
S toke-on-T rent
Migration per 1,000 population per yr
100%
• some existing projects have already improved their planning, fundraising and
evaluation, improving the organisation’s impact and reputation
• staff and partners have improved knowledge about some relevant complex issues,
improving their personal credibility and authority and leading to greater effectiveness and
influence for the organisation as a whole
The approach
The analyst began with a scoping study of the organisation’s work programmes, past
and present, to propose options for how the work should proceed. After discussions with
the senior managers, a two-pronged approach was chosen. This involved: firstly,
producing detailed research, reference material and guidance on the different types and
sources of information available which could be useful to the different stages of the
organisation’s work (from high-level planning and fundraising, to project planning,
operation and evaluation); and secondly making practical contributions during the course
of the project, both to make useful real-time contributions to existing projects and to
demonstrate possibilities. The latter included in-depth seminars on 2 complex subjects to
all the organisation’s staff, and specific analytical contributions to a few current projects
working with individual staff.
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Improving performance management
The client:
A media sector charity supporting
freelance newsgatherers worldwide
The solution
• A review of business processes and analysis of how
everyone in the team was spending their time
• A re-design of roles and responsibilities to enable the
Director to focus her time on Fund-raising and
Strategy
• Implementation of a CRM system with performance
metrics and reporting
The client’s problem:
In a small organisation where everyone has to be flexible about
their roles it’s easy to get bogged down in daily operations and
not devote enough time to strategy and growth.
The benefits
• By understanding where everyone spent their time, it became clear that the Director
was over-loaded with operational matters that could be better dealt with by other team
members
• Freeing-up the Director’s time and re-structuring everyone’s roles and responsibilities
has enabled the Trust to focus its efforts more effectively on fund-raising
• The CRM system has provided an effective way to manage relationships with donors
and beneficiaries and provides up-to-the-minute performance reports on fundraising
The approach
Facilitated by Improvement Skills Consulting, the organisation’s key business processes
were defined and broken down into key activities. Staff were asked to identify how their
time was spent against each of these activities. The analysis revealed a mis-match
between what the Director felt was needed and how the team actually spent its time.
Several options were developed for restructuring roles and workloads; these were
presented to the Trustees and a preferred option was selected. The analysis of
processes also highlighted the need for a single CRM system (to replace four separate
databases), with integrated performance reporting. A cloud-based CRM solution was
implemented and has been tailored to the Trust’s requirements, enabling them to
eliminate data duplication and to create timely and accurate performance reports.
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Fundraising: getting the evidence, telling the story
The client:
a small international ‘umbrella’ charity
for street children
The client’s problem:
the new fundraising manager wanted to improve the arguments
and evidence for why the group’s work should be funded
The solution
The benefits
• construct logical and graphical descriptions for how
the group achieves its impacts
• the fundraising manager has been assisted in reformulating the fundamental
arguments for the funding of the group’s work, increasing its chances of securing funding
• provide systematic analysis, of extensive unstructured
written material, about group’s past work and its actual
and possible impacts
• the organisation has improved evidence on what its has done and what it has funded
others to do in the past and on what may have been achieved, plus clearer appreciation
of where its evidence is limited and why, enabling it to improve the effectiveness of its
future planning and fundraising
• develop new logic-based impact-focussed processes
for the grants scheme, and then test and refine via
analysis using past grants applications and consultation
The organisation's four
programmes
and how they have their
impact
The approach
Research
ORGANISATION AS A
WHOLE
Central staff
support &
management
The 4 programmes support &
strengthen each other,
Capacity Building
Of
members
Of allies
Advocacy
and impact on street
children:b) By getting
others to
change
policies &
practices
a) By
improving
grassroots
work with
street children
Improves
grassroots
support &
help
to
street
children
STREET CHILDREN
• the organisation has been enabled to improve the effectiveness of its grants scheme
Reduces
harm &
barriers
for
street
children
The analyst began with a scoping study of the group’s work programmes, past and
present, to propose options for how the work should proceed. Two strands of work were
agreed: firstly, to draw together and analyse existing information held within the
organisation about past projects that could be used as supporting evidence to arguments
for funding the organisation’s different work programmes; and, secondly, to review, and
propose a redesign to, the operational processes of the group’s small grants scheme,
with the aim of giving these a much greater focus on impact. This required, in both
cases, a systematic analysis of a large quantity of unstructured written material, followed
by a consultative approach with the group’s staff and relevant trustees to agree new
processes for the grants scheme.
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Controlling costs and spending in a non-cash economy
The client:
an NGO and social enterprise running a
health centre in rural Uganda
The solution
• provide one-to-one guidance and support to finance
manager on technical solutions to financial processes
• set-up and facilitate participative short-term budget
planning sessions
• develop locally suitable technology to support this, eg
using of home-made blackboards as ‘spreadsheets’ to
record and display the agreed budgets
• evolve use of participative planning sessions, once
working, to start to address planning beyond short-term
The client’s problem:
the NGO had run into severe problems with keeping on top of its
financial position and short-term planning, partly as a result of
the complexities of the local reliance on non-cash transactions.
The benefits
• the organisation is now in much better control of its use of resources, and is better able
to manage the variety of financial complexities and risks that have caused problems in
the past, improving its current effectiveness
• the organisation understands better what it needs from its local manager, and also is
looking beyond short-term problems to start more strategic planning, enabling it to
improve its future effectiveness
• the local finance manager has increased personal capacity, for current and future jobs
The approach
The analyst began with conversations with the different staff, plus analysis of files, to try
to understand the state of play in the organisation. It was clear that it was not on top of
its recent financial performance and current position, but it required detailed analysis of
the various (incomplete) bookkeeping records from recent years to understand why. The
main problems had arisen because financial recording processes and financial
management overall were not dealing adequately with a wide variety of debts and credits
that arose normally because of the frequent lack of cash in this local rural subsistence
economy. A variety of lines of analytical and facilitation work were required to overcome
this, including technical fixes to record-keeping guidance, coaching of the new finance
manager, use of home-made blackboards as spreadsheets for recording budgets, and
crucially monthly participative financial review, budgeting and short-term planning
sessions. The latter also provided a useful forum for starting longer-term planning.
“I now understand better what I need from a local manager” (Director)
“The monthly planning sessions are a very useful way to do this” (Finance manager)
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Supporting a Homeless Charity’s Annual Client Survey
The client:
A Westminster-based charity supporting
homeless people sleeping rough and
families in need.
The solution
•A well designed survey with a representative sample of
online, phone and face to face client input.
•Well presented results which provided maximum
impact and insight.
•A well written, professional report completed to a tight
deadline.
The client’s problem:
The Cardinal Hume Centre needed to know its impact on its
clients and ensure that their voices were heard.
The benefits
•Provided the charity with crucial intelligence and insight.
•Enabled the charity to deliver an evidence-based report for current and potential
funders.
•Helped the charity continue to refocus efforts in order to meet the changing needs of a
diverse client group.
•A standard and framework established for future
surveys.
The approach
The analyst attended meetings with staff and volunteers to understand key requirements
for the survey and to ensure that all involved were working towards a common goal.
Roles and timescales were determined in order to deliver a survey to the Centre’s
deadline. The survey was designed and refined, before being launched online and
through a ‘survey day’, where clients were interviewed in person and by phone. The
analyst led in extracting initial key findings from the data and delegating sub-tasks to a
team. Closely liaising with the client, the findings of the evaluation survey were written
into a report which was completed to a tight deadline.
“We valued the opportunity to work collaboratively and without doubt benefited from
the analyst’s expertise and commitment to the project” (Operations Director)
Developing trustee financial confidence
The solution
The client’s problem:
a new social enterprise’s progress to date had been much slower
than assumed in original financial plans; re-planning was
needed, but trustees had limited understanding of original plans.
The benefits
• develop accessible graphical ways of presenting
complex financial plans
• clearer medium term plans have been developed, based on simpler more realistic
growth targets, which the trustees can understand and ‘own’
• use existing meeting agenda items as training
opportunities
• trustees understand much more what the business needs to do in order to reach a
position of financial self-sustainability
• once group’s basic understanding develops, find
opportunity to trigger fuller discussion of key issues
• trustees can see much better what part their efforts, eg in promoting the business, can
play in helping the move towards financial self-sustainability
The client:
a developing home care co-operative
• if possible, move to simpler financial planning model to
enable broader trustee ‘ownership’
The approach
Expenditure(+) and income(-) by organisational category, but with care work income shown net of care worker costs
Corporate Income
30000
Cluster Care Work
Income NET OF Care
Worker Costs
Corporate Set-up Costs
20000
10000
£
0
-10000
Oct- N
09
D
J
an10
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
J
an11
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
J
an12
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
J
an13
F
M
Cluster Other Costs
-20000
Corporate Running Costs
-30000
-40000
Month
Running balance at month end
70000
60000
50000
40000
Running balance,
surplus(+) or deficit(-)
£
30000
20000
10000
0
-10000
Oct09
N
D
Jan10
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Jan11
F
M
A
M
J
J
-20000
Month
A
S
O
N
D
Jan12
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Jan13
F
M
The analyst began by analysing and developing accessible ways of presenting fairly
complex original financial plans to enable understanding and discussion, using graphics
to talk through at meetings. He used a incremental approach of using agenda items at
successive board meetings as opportunities for board training, eg budget setting, midyear report against budget, and discussion. This led to the triggering, at a later meeting,
of a discussion about the need to redraw financial plans and revise assumptions, and the
suggestion of a simpler medium term objective to analyse and present at next meeting.
At the next meeting, a financial plan based on the simpler objective and assumptions
was presented, and the trustees were able to feel they had a good overall understanding
of this. This enabled a constructive discussion of key assumptions and risks, and the
trustees were better able to see how their own efforts could contribute to the ‘whole’.
“We now understand this all much better” (Trustees)
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Facing up to uncertainty
The client:
A medium-sized charity supporting
women affected by domestic violence
The solution
• A spreadsheet model to support ‘what if’ analysis of
different combinations of income and projects
• A facilitated workshop to help Director and Trustees
to explore different futures
• Identification of priority actions and contingency
plans
The client’s problem:
All the main funding sources were due to terminate within the
next six months, and funder decisions on new or replacement
sources would not be made until the last minute
The benefits
• By being able to see clearly the combined consequences of different sets of events,
the Trustees and Director could think realistically about how they could respond or
prepare for them
• This enabled them to take difficult decisions about timing of service closure, to
prioritise fundraising, and to lay contingency plans
• This in turn enabled them to survive and continue to provide their core service in the
face of a bleak and uncertain funding environment.
Overall outcome (scenario 2)
There is a deficit carried forward from 2008/9
No new East funding, and 20% of other speculative funding is achieved.
East office is closed down
West counsellors are reduced
Admin costs are reduced
2009/10
Income
Firm grant
Speculative grant
Other
Total
447,000
71,200
25,000
543,200
Expenditure
Charitable
Staff
Premises
Admin
Equipment
Depreciation
Total
45,518
386,491
40,000
35,785
5,000
6,477
519,271
Net surplus/deficit
Surplus/deficit cf from 2008/9
Surplus/deficit cf to 2010/11
23,929
-50,000
-26,071
No of counselling sessions
No of groupworkers
No of advocates
3,440
0.51
8.10
The approach
The organisation’s total set of activities were broken down into direct project work, and
central overheads, some of which were fixed and some of which varied with the scale of
particular activities. All possible sources of funding were identified; some ‘restricted’
associated with particular projects, and some ‘unrestricted’. The spreadsheet was set up
so that users could ask the questions ‘what if’: what if certain sources of funding
materialised, what if certain projects were cut, what if salaries were increased, what if
staff numbers were changed… with the answers in terms of: the overall surplus/deficit;
the amount of additional funding needed to break even; the number of clients helped
and the overall contribution to the organisation’s objectives. This was then used in a realtime session with Trustees and Director, giving them insight into the relationship
between cost and income, and allowing them to test different management approaches.
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Prioritising Action
The client:
Kaleidoscope Enterprise Ltd (KEL)
supplies services to black and minority
ethnic groups in the Welwyn – Hatfield
and wider areas with aims to empower
disadvantaged people and groups
KEL also runs the Kaleidoscope Festival
to celebrate diverse cultures
(http://www.kaleidoscopefestival.org.uk/)
The client’s problem:
KEL faced increasing pressure with reduced funding and loss of
staff. The organisation sought support to the manager to
develop a sustainable plan to deliver services
The benefits
• The organisation has greater clarity of priorities
• KEL has a developing action plan
• The organisation is emerging from potential decline and re-establishing
its presence
The solution
• Identifying strengths and weaknesses and
exposing issues
• Supporting an open dialogue
• Developing a focus on what is achievable
www.whemgroup.org.uk
The approach
The consultant met with the manager and the Trustees to discuss the issues and
ran a workshop to which Trustees, staff and stakeholders were invited. The
workshop identified issues around what worked well and not so well and began
an open dialogue where information was shared and a greater level of common
understanding developed.
The output from the workshop was used to develop a report for wider
dissemination to key people unable to be present. It also enabled the
development of an initial action plan for the manager to discuss with the Trustees
and prioritise the organisation’s activity to those likely to make the greatest
impact upon their aims and objectives. The intervention also provided a
mentoring opportunity for the manager.
“Very empathetic and honest. An objective outsider who could add to my own knowledge
and skills in understanding my organisation’s needs.”
For more information
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