lessons from npc’s homelessness research Katie Boswell, Rachel Tait 28 March 2019

NPC: TRANSFORMING THE CHARITY SECTOR RT NPC: TRANSFORMING THE CHARITY SECTOR As a think tank and consultancy NPC works at the nexus between non-profits and funders Non-profit Increasing the impact of non-profits eg, impact-focused theories of change Funder Sector Increasing the impact of funders eg, framing issue & mapping needs Strengthening the partnership eg, collaboration towards shared goals

About our research RT – 2 mins. Explain why we did the research and that we published our report in November, along with a few blogs during and after the research. Put it in the wider context of our research. About our research

Why you should fund systemically RT 4-5 mins Share key findings from the report re: what is homelessness, who’s affected, factors that put people at risk. Couple of spoken sentences about the facts – definitions, increase, diff profile of people. Then make the case for systems approach Long-term & collaborative… GrantNav data showed lots of 1 year grants, and there are diff levels of collab from sharing learning to pooling funding. Pooling funding happens in the US. Root causes… you can’t just look at symptoms… efforts to tackle health issues are undone by failures in other parts of the system like poverty & housing More than grants… if you own a company you could galvanise local business community, use your position as an employer to address low pay, social investment, use influence to support public awareness or policy change Then handover to KB to do practicalities. Why you should fund systemically When tackling social issues, a systems change approach can enable funders to do think strategically and do things differently. We believe that ending homelessness requires more funding that is: Long-term Collaborative Addressing root causes More than grants

Why do people become homeless? KB Why do people become homeless? Map created on kumu.io

Why do people become homeless? KB Why do people become homeless? Map created on kumu.io

KB At this point, the map gets quite overwhelming! So we simplified for an external audience… Map created on kumu.io

A systemic view of why people become and remain homeless KB Question to the room to hear people’s London perspectives. A systemic view of why people become and remain homeless To what extent does this resonate at a London level? LOW HOUSE BUILDING LOW PAY LESS SOCIAL HOUSING WELFARE REFORM AUSTERITY

UNDERSTANDING ROLES IN THE SYSTEM RT UNDERSTANDING ROLES IN THE SYSTEM

RT – potential discussion if there’s time Many other roles: redesigning services, scaling innovations, evaluating change etc etc What is your role in the system? What roles do you fund others to take? Provide services Advocate for change Innovate Share data & knowledge Navigate services Amplify voices Scale innovation Convene people

Four priority funding areas to prevent and end homelessness RT – this is what we identified, might be different to your priorities. Four priority funding areas to prevent and end homelessness Scaling effective approaches Improving service navigation Addressing the root causes Improving data and evidence such as: Trauma informed approaches Strengths based practices Place based models that take a holistic approach to tackling homelessness through: Targeted practical and emotional support at key transition points Digital solutions to improve navigation Service user involvement in designing services through: Campaigning on housing, welfare, and service cuts Social investment in affordable housing Services that address the poverty premium Initiatives to address low pay through: Building the evidence base on effectiveness and implementation issues Mapping charities working on the issue, resource flows across the sector, needs and funding gaps

RT – you could take these back to your org to explore systems change approach Questions to Consider Which part of the system do you fund? Has that changed over time? What impact do you think you (or your grant holders) have had on the system? How do you interact with parts of the system that you don’t directly fund? How do other parts of the system affect your work? Who do you work with in other parts of the system? How can you work together better to increase pressure for change?

Find out more www.thinknpc.org/themes/explore-causes-and-issues/housing-and- homelessness/ Katie.Boswell@thinknpc.org Rachel.Tait@thinknpc.org

THANK YOU London, March 2019 NPC - title of the document (can be changed under view/header and footer. Add date here if needed.