Improvements to the Can Do Toolkit
As part of CIH’s commitment to community benefits and disseminating best practice to the housing sector in Wales, i2i has regularly reviewed the effectiveness of its CAN DO toolkit and looked for ways to improve service delivery of community benefits and targeted recruitment and training (TR&T). i2i’s four Years on report
in 2013 showed that the housing sector in Wales has procured 3,765 jobs and training opportunities that directly benefit welsh communities. this is testament to the vision and ambition of welsh housing providers in delivering services and benefits that far exceed their normal activities. these organisations continue to push to maximise the value they get for their investments.
The sector’s appetite for the provision of community benefits has led i2i to question what improvements can be made to the CAN DO approach. While the focus of the toolkit has been towards ‘targeted’ recruitment and training, consideration was given to whether training could be further targeted to ensure that it is benefitting the groups that are most in need of it.
In February 2014, a report by Green Park warned companies that they were
missing out on business opportunities due to a ‘diversity deficit’ within their workforces. Could i2i help to identify and combat inequality in the procurement of community benefits and TR&T?
In December 2013, i2i/CIH Cymru hosted a ‘Capturing the Lessons’ session on the subject of equalities in community benefits and procurement. This roundtable discussion brought together experts in housing, procurement and the equalities agenda to focus on key strategic and practical issues with a view to identifying deliverable actions around equalities. The session was attended by representatives from organisations such as Tai Pawb, Chwarae Teg, Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind, RCT Homes and SPA Somali Advice and Information Centre. The discussion explored the barriers to employment and training for those groups with protected characteristics as described in the Equality Act 2010.
As a result of this session, i2i has produced the latest in its ‘Active Response’ documents: Active Response 10: Community Benefits and Equalities. ‘Active Response’ is a series that highlights current issues in housing and makes recommendations to the sector to address them. This edition features an overview of the challenges in promoting diversity and reducing inequality. Contributors discussed the protected characteristic groups that are disproportionately affected by welfare reform and how the sector can help them mitigate its effects. The document also includes good practice case studies focusing on innovative projects designed to address equalities and anti-poverty agendas. Active Response 10 and all other publications from i2i are available for free from www.cih.org/i2i/publications.
Five Years on
The CAN DO Toolkit is five years old! Over the past four years, the toolkit has been a vital guide to help Welsh landlords create jobs and training opportunities through procurement. Last year’s review document, Four Years On, collected good practice examples from across the sector and counted the jobs and training opportunities that have been created by the housing sector in Wales at 3,765.
This year will see the publication of ‘The CAN DO toolkit…Five Years on’. In December 2013, all housing providers in Wales were polled about their procurement activities and the provision of community benefits in their communities.
At this significant milestone, we hope to see the principles of the CAN DO Toolkit being used as standard practice for Welsh landlords, as well as good practice examples from beyond the housing sector.
The results of the survey are currently being collated and the final document will be launched at CIH’s TAI Conference 2014 in March. The Wales Procurement Policy Statement published in December 2013 showed Welsh Government’s commitment to community benefits in procurement, and through this document, i2i hopes to be able to demonstrate that the housing sector in Wales is leading the way having created over 5,000 jobs and training opportunities in the last five years.