Building Belonging Strategy
Barnwood is an independent charitable Trust. We get millions of pounds of funding out into the county every year. But money is only part of the story. Our strategy is to fund and influence change. We listen and learn, test what works and share our learning for lasting impact.
Here are the 4 steps to the Building Belonging Strategy:
Step 1: Build relationships
First, we find people who are passionate about change on disability and mental health issues. Or they find us. We build relationships with local organisations looking for funding; connect with people in community; and join groups and networks to stay in touch with what matters for people in Gloucestershire.
Step 2: Listen to understand
Listening and learning run through all we do. We start by understanding the barriers people experience. We find out what needs to change through meetups and co-design projects with Barnwood Circle members and others; by gathering insights from our Funded Partners; and through primary and secondary research.
Step 3: Make changes happen
Next, we bring people together to collaborate on an issue to find and share solutions. We offer something to catalyse a small change in thinking or practice – this could be funding, a learning or network opportunity. We often co-design this with Barnwood Circle members. By testing what helps an issue, we can share this for other people to learn from too.
Step 4: Influence lasting change
Finally, we share our evidence about what helps an issue, to influence wider change. We want to learn from our work with others. We evaluate at various stages to help us understand what makes a difference and also how our approach has worked (or not worked) to catalyse change. By passing our learning on, we hope to influence shifts in policy and practice for the better.
Please click here for a PDF diagram of the Building Belong Strategy.