Community Conversations during Responsible Business Week 2016

Background The Community Conversation events involve local businesses and community organisations. They are an opportunity for organisations hosting the events to be seen as facilitators within their community – creating the space for connections to be made across sectors. The sessions are likely to work best either first thing in the morning, before the working day really kicks off, or towards the end of the day. The idea is to invite key local businesses of all shapes and sizes, as well as charities and community organisations to the events. The idea of the event is for community organisations and businesses to discuss the challenges they see their community facing, to break down barriers and alter perceptions of different sectors, to identify need and how these could be met. Holding a Community Conversation during Responsible Business Week (18-22 April 2016) is a great way for your business to raise the profile of responsible business in the local community [and benefit from the increased publicity generated by the Week. Intended outcome: Connections between business and community organisations with the potential for these to develop into collaborations to address the challenges facing the local community e.g. youth unemployment, anti-social behaviour, and homelessness.

Suggested agenda 1.Arrival of attendees with refreshments 2.Introduction from host organisation 3.Group roundtable discussions – groups are mixed across sectors and facilitated by host organisation staff. They identify a) the challenges facing the local area and community organisations b) potential solutions to these challenges. 4.Groups share the main themes of their discussion 5.Networking 6.Close Tables (ideally circular) Pens Paper/Flipcharts Refreshments Suggested room set up and agenda Kit list

Discussion guide Below are some prompt questions that table facilitators may want to use to keep discussions moving: What are the big issues that our community seems to be facing? How are local community organisations and charities working to address these issues? What could local business do to help address these issues? What are some of the challenges that community organisations and charities are facing? – We know that funding will be a common answer here, but encourage attendees to think broader than this, looking at skills and capacity gaps. How could business work in partnership with community organisations and charities to help address some of these challenges?

Follow up cards In order to capture the enthusiasm and good will of those in the room, you could ask people to fill out ‘follow up cards’ before they leave so that any connections and commitments are followed through. This is not a necessary step, and will depend on the time you have available, but it may just help to convert great conversations into action! Here we have produced templates for two versions – for business and for community organisations.

I am a community organisation My organisation could benefit from support with/through: Volunteering at a specific event or occasion Pro bono assistance with:………………….... Other:………………………………………….. Regular volunteering Mentoring Website/online/social media assistance I would like to work with:………………………………………………………………………………….. Please give details of anything that particularly inspired you today or you would like to learn more about:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Name:………………………… Tel:…………………………..... Organisation:………………………….. address:…………………………

I am a business My organisation can offer: Volunteering at a specific event or occasion Pro bono assistance with:………………….... Other:………………………………………….. Regular volunteering Mentoring Website/online/social media assistance I would like to work with:………………………………………………………………………………….. Please give details of anything that particularly inspired you today or you would like to learn more about:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Name:………………………… Tel:…………………………..... Organisation:………………………….. address:…………………………

Name badges Consider using name badges that will help attendees with their networking, giving them a springboard for their conversations. Below are some suggestions of what could be included. Hi my name is……………………………. From………………………………… I’m interested in ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………... Hi my name is……………………………. From………………………………… I’m interested in ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………... Hi my name is……………………………. From………………………………… I can support with ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………... Hi my name is……………………………. From………………………………… I can support with ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………...

Template invite Business Dear X, On X, [Host organisation] will be hosting a networking event for [location] businesses, charities and community organisations. This community conversation is part of Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Week where businesses and communities work together to tackle the big issues facing the local area. Similar conversations will be happening across the country. It’s rare that community organisations and business get to talk. [Host organisation] would like to change this. We know that [Name of organisation you’re inviting] is a big part of the [location] community, and this is a great chance to engage with some of the key organisations delivering vital services in the area. We hope that this short event will lead to useful connections for the businesses and the community organisations that are attending. It’s not about fundraising, it’s about pooling our collective talent and experience to help tackle some of the biggest issues facing [location]. [Location of event and timing details] I hope to see you or a colleague on X, and look forward to discussing how collectively we can support [location]. Best wishes, [Name]

Template invite community organisations Dear X, On X, [Host organisation] will be hosting a networking event for [location] businesses, charities and community organisations. This community conversation is part of Business in the Community’s annual Responsible Business Week. Similar conversations will be happening across the country. It’s rare that community organisations and business get to talk. [Host organisation] would like to change this. We know that [Name of organisation you’re inviting] is a big part of the [location] community, and this is a great chance to engage with local businesses and other organisations delivering vital services in [location]. We hope that this short event will lead to useful connections for the businesses and the community organisations that are attending. It’s not about fundraising, it’s about pooling our collective talent and experience to help tackle some of the biggest issues facing [location]. [Location of event and timing details] I hope to see you or a colleague on X, and look forward to discussing how collectively we can support [location]. Best wishes, [Name]

Pre thinking for community orgs It’s useful for the community organisations attending to think through the type of support they would get the most value from before the event. This will help organisations get the most out of the event, rather than thinking about it on the spot. Ask the organisation to work through the table below, they don’t need to send it back to you unless you’d like them to, the thinking process is the useful bit. CURRENT ISSUES & CONCERNS PRIORITY (1 = High, 5 =Low) VISION, STRATEGY & PLANNING e.g. Communication of the organisations vision to stakeholders GOVERNANCE e.g. Applying for funding, trustee vacancies LEADERSHIP e.g. Need for leadership development for middle leaders STAFF RECRUITMENT, RETENTION & MOTIVATION e.g. Addressing staff shortages, dealing with staff absenteeism STAFF DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING e.g. Need for industry placements for staff OPERATIONAL & FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT e.g. Challenges with fund raising, budgeting, need assistance with IT strategy and systems development or project management

Local organisations In order to invite local businesses and charities, you may like to consider approaching some of the following local groups who can help: Local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) Local Chamber of Commerce Local Rotary Club Local support and development charities (search via NAVCA membership)NAVCA

Promote your event and tell us about it Tweet about it yourself, and encourage those attending to tweet using #RBWeek Tell us about it at so that we can include your Conversations in our rundown of everything happening in the week. Visit the Responsible Business Week Resources page at to download the Engagement Pack, Posters, Icons, Press Release template and more Find out more about Responsible Business Week at