The Recovery Initiative Fund 2013/14 End of year report Introduction
The Recovery Initiative Fund (RIF) was launched in March 2013 as a partnership between the Scottish Recovery Consortium (SRC) and Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland (the Foundation) with funding support from the Scottish Government. This report has been created to review and evaluate the impact that the RIF has made across Scotland across the first 12 months of operation.
Background
The SRC received a total funding grant of £155,000 from the Scottish Government to create the RIF in partnership with the Foundation. The grant was distributed between four key areas as listed below:
Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland administration £10,000
Marketing and promotion of the RIF £15,000
To create a new post £30,000
The RIF fund £100,000
Each of the areas identified above are explained in detail within the body of this report. The RIF: SRC and Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland
The SRC and the Foundation have a shared ethos to support grassroots and community needs which is a key asset to the partnership and in turn ensures that funding reaches those best placed to realise local recovery communities. The model utilises the skills and expertise of both organisations to ensure effective distribution of funds that have the greatest impact. By the Foundation supporting SRC in the administration and backroom processes it has ensured that SRC can concentrate on promoting and encouraging local developments based on a strong recovery focused assessment. The SRC has found working in partnership with the Foundation to be both productive and enjoyable. Kuladharini, SRC Chief Executive said:
“We feel that SRC and Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland share a value base and approach to the exploration of good governance for the RIF. Communications between us were straightforward, helpful and purposeful and each organisation brought particular expertise and unique connections to the project. The experience was extremely positive and we are delighted to continue this partnership for a second year of the RIF.”
Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland said:
“The Foundation’s role in this partnership was to administer applications, track funding spend to date and issue payments to successful recipients. This included the provision of weekly and quarterly financial reports for SRC in respect of grant expenditure together with detail of any underspend. In the first year of this partnership there was a constant flow of communication between each partner which created an efficient and timely turnaround of applications. This helped to ensure that funds reached recovery
development at the right stage and encouraged a seamless approach to grant funding to
The RIF: Communication
The communication budget for the RIF was used in the following ways:
To launch the fund with an accompanying logo, promotional materials and
dedicated section on the SRC website.
To create a simple application form and evaluation tools.
To host an event for successful fund applicants.
The RIF was launched with a bespoke logo and a section on the SRC website that explained the aims of the fund and who could apply. Applicants are encouraged to apply online but can also download the application form to submit a paper copy. We created a branded RIF postcard for distribution that directs interested parties to the SRC website for further information, branded application form, two month evaluation form and end of project evaluation form. Evaluation of the RIF will be fully explained in the next section. On Thursday 6 March 2014 the Scottish Recovery Consortium hosted RIF Talks, an exclusive gathering for the recovery community in Scotland. The event marked the one year anniversary of the Recovery Initiative Fund (RIF) and aimed to connect people who have used RIF funding to build recovery in their local area with those who are ready to learn from their experience. We designed the event to:
To mark the one year anniversary of the RIF;
To share learning from those who have successfully used their grant to build
recovery in their local area with the next generation of recovery activists;
To provide the opportunity for recovery activists across Scotland to connect and
share their experience;
To create 5 short films of each recovery activist presentation to share online as a
‘second generation’ recovery share.
A total of 61 people attended the event. Our post event SurveyMonkey evaluation showed that 90% of respondents agreed that the RIF had been helpful to the growth of regroups and communities across Scotland in the past year.
The RIF: The Recovery Grants Support Officer
The SRC created an additional post within its staff structure for a person in recovery to administer the RIF. The Recovery Grants Support Officer post was positioned as a trainee role where the person recruited would also have the opportunity to gain experience within the SRC office and develop their skills in the workplace.
The post was filled in February 2013 by a graduate from the first SRC Recovery College which took place in June 2012. The role focused upon promoting the RIF, meeting potential applicants and providing regular updates for SRC reports and briefings. A significant amount of time was dedicated to traveling across Scotland to build direct relationships with recovery communities and building their relationships with each other. Since taking up post the Recovery Grants Support Officer has trained to become an accredited Steps to Excellence facilitator and now leads the delivery of this programme as part of the SRC Recovery College model. The post holder has also trained in group
work, mindfulness based self management systems, IT systems, event management, and co-facilitation practice. A new goal is to become a Steps to Excellence Lead Facilitator (Trainer for Trainers) and good progress has been made towards the achievement of this.
The Recovery Grants Support Officer post was initially offered on a fixed term basis for one year. This has been extended to 2 years to provide a strong background of
experience from which the post holder can move on to future employment.
“The opportunity to take up post as SRC Recovery Grants Support Officer has been beneficial for both my work experience and my personal recovery. I have learned a great deal, grown in confidence and feel that taking the next step into further employment is no longer a daunting possibility.” Recovery Grants Support Officer
The RIF: The Recovery Initiative Fund
The RIF is a small grants fund that offers grants of up to £1500 to independent recovery groups across Scotland. To qualify for a funding award a group must work in its local community to build and sustain long term recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and have the following in place:
A management committee or steering group with 4 members of more
An organisational bank account or access to one
An annual income of less than £50,000.
The RIF: Aim
To support the growth of recovery groups across Scotland. The RIF: Objectives
To increase the number of recovery support groups that exist in Scotland
To support connection between new and existing recovery groups that exist in
Scotland
To create a legacy resource to document the success of the RIF
To host a celebration of successful grant applicant achievements.
The RIF: An overview of the RIF year 2013/14
We received 124applications for funding and of these 87applications were successful.
The RIF distributed £93,793.71 to recovery communities and people in recovery across
Scotland. From the 87 successful applications;62 were from groups and 25 were from
people in recovery. Grants have been awarded to groups or individuals in 28 out of the 31 ADP areas. The graph on the following page shows a breakdown of the applications by area.
ADP Area Grants ADP Area Grants ADP Area Grants
E. RENFREWSHIRE 1 HIGHLANDS 1 SW GLASGOW 1
RENFREWSHIRE 1 ANGUS 2 EDINBURGH CITY 6
GLASGOW 29 FIFE 4 MID+EAST LOTHIAN 1
EAST
DNBRTNSHIRE 1 WEST LOTHIAN
2 EAST AYRSHIRE 3 WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE 2 EDINBURGH 6 DUNDEE 3 INVERCLYDE 3 ABERDEEN & ABERDEENSHIRE 2 NW GLASGOW 1
SOUTH AYRSHIRE 2 FORTH VALLEY 1 DUMFRIES+GALLOWAY 1
N.LANARKSHIRE 2 ARYGLL + BUTE 3 LANARKSHIRE 1
PERTH + KINROSS 3 AYRSHIRE 2 SOUTH LANARKSHIRE 2
The graph below shows a breakdown of RIF applications by funding request.
Projects Number Projects Number
MUTUAL AID GROUPS 6 SMART FACILITATING 3
FOOTBALL TEAM 1 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES 2
PROMOTING
RECOVERY+ABSTINANCE 11 SOCIAL GROUP ACTIVITIES 4
PROMOTING
RESIDENTIAL REHAB 1 PEER LED MENTORING 5
AFTERCARE GROUP 2
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
WORKSHOPS 3
FURNITURE RESTORING 1 MINI BUS HIRE 2013 WALK 3
KIDS ACTIVITIES 2 RECOVERYCAFÉ 6
MUSIC 3 FILM/ ARTS/ THEATRE 3
CYCLING 1 SOCIAL ENTERPRISE VENTURE 1
The RIF: Evaluation
The Foundation and the SRC agreed upon a two stage evaluation process for
successful applicants to the RIF. Those in receipt of funding would be asked to complete a 2 month update that asked exploratory questions based on the grant application and use of funds to date.
The second stage of our evaluation process asked applicants to complete a recovery orientated asset based evaluation tool that records the benefits gained to their group members, beneficiaries and their local community as a result of their use of RIF funding. Twenty responses to this were received and the results of these are included below. A copy of this evaluation tool is included as an appendix to this report.
What is different for me?
What is different for our beneficiaries?
The RIF: Outcomes
The following outcomes have been achieved:
The RIF has increased the number of recovery support groups that exist in
Scotland. We received 62 applications funding applications from recovery groups in Scotland and the number of established recovery groups has grown from under 10 to 60 in the past year.
We have supported connection between new and existing recovery groups
in Scotland. The Recovery Grants Support Officer has worked to achieve this and recovery groups were brought together at our celebration event RIF Talks at The Caves.
We have created a legacy resource in the form of 5 short films where recipients
of RIF funding shared their learning and experience at our celebration event, RIF Talks at The Caves.
We have hosted a celebration event, the first event held exclusively for
recovery groups only, on Thursday 6 March which was the anniversary of the first RIF award.
The RIF: Challenges
One of the challenges around reporting on the impact of the RIF is that a certain aspect of our work is difficult to measure empirically. We know that change has occurred and that the RIF initiated that change. We also notice that new recovery groups are meeting and sharing both with new and established recovery groups independently of the SRC.
The RIF was initially open to applications from both individuals in recovery and recovery groups. As applications grew, it became clear that the majority of individual applications resulted in personal gain rather than gain within the local community. For example, individual applications were regularly received for training or equipment to pursue a hobby that had supported a person’s recovery journey. We felt that applications of this nature, while worthwhile in their own right, diluted the aim of the RIF which was focused upon the growth of recovery groups in local communities. In light of this we took the decision to close the RIF to individual applications in November 2013 and we would continue in this direction in 2014/15.
There has also been a misunderstanding around the type of group that can apply for a grant from the RIF. Several applications have been received from treatment providers on behalf of service user involvement groups and these groups are not recovery groups, the application was unable to go ahead. Every application of this nature was offered a meeting with the SRC to explain our decision. These groups are not independent recovery groups.
The RIF: Recommendations 2014/15
The SRC would like to make the following recommendations for the RIF’s second year of operation:
To continue to offer one of grants of up to £1500 to recovery groups in Scotland.
To close the fund to individual applications and fund recovery groups only.
To focus upon helping groups to look at sustainable funding models for their
initiatives as they grow. Kuladharini
Chief Executive
