Utilising external resourcing to deliver on contracts that require a mix of technical and engagement capability
An NFP case study
Introduction
After the successful commencement of a recent stakeholder engagement and community development contract (in partnership with a not-for-profit (NFP), we have gained a number of insights into how external resourcing can support the NFP sector to deliver on service delivery contracts. We believe that dedicated resourcing relating to a number of project support functions (e.g. stakeholder engagement and community development) can enable NFP’s to focus on service delivery.
In this blog, we’ll step you through our thinking on how to strike the optimal balance of direct employment and external resourcing for your NFP’s next service delivery contract.
The scenario
Your NFP has recently been awarded a new contract (or contract extension) for a typical service delivery contract (providing services to individuals or families such case management, counselling, screening/assessment etc.).
The contract stipulates that you are required to deliver both technical work (e.g. individual support sessions) but also non-technical work such as stakeholder engagement and community development (e.g. community education sessions) to ensure your client targets are being met.
Sound familiar?
The problem
To deliver on the contract, your NFP starts planning out staff recruitment to effectively deliver against the contract. Internal conversations are held to figure out the optimal staffing mix of technical skill and support functions (capability vs. capacity). This is generally where NFPs begin to encounter a number of very common issues.
Trouble recruiting
Given that the contract with your funder is relatively short, the positions you are recruiting for are short-term and temporary, making it difficult to attract high quality talent from other leading NFPs.
Difficulty in balancing business as usual
The predominant focus of your contract is generally on service delivery (not project supports such as stakeholder engagement of community development). Within a small team it is very difficult to ensure that adequate time is allocated to delivering services direct to individuals and families as well as spending time engaging with local stakeholder and members of the community. Having technical and engagement functionality in one staff member can often lead to imbalance.
Unable to find skill mix in singular recruit
Recruiting a new team member with a high capability and interest in technical work (e.g. working with individuals or families directly) but also a high capability and interest in engaging with stakeholders and community members is rare. Often, practitioners and technically focussed staff get frustrated when they are pulled away from technical work, ultimately leading to dissatisfaction.
Our solution
Through utilising a mix of employed staff and externally engaged support, we believe that NFPs can deliver against their contracts in a way that is more efficient and at a higher quality.
We acknowledge and recognise that ‘outsourcing’ is not the solution to everything but at the same time believe that NFPs should focus their time and effort on recruiting and maintaining highly capable technical staff (e.g. counsellors, case managers) and look for innovative ways to buy-in non-technical support such as stakeholder engagement and community development expertise.
How can we support NFPs to ensure they are delivering on both technical and engagement elements of their service delivery contracts?
Plan: We support NFPs to plan out all stakeholder and community engagement activities. Reaching agreement on engagement activities prior to project commencement is critical.
Design: We support NFPs to design and develop all communication and engagement materials requiring to engage effectively with stakeholders and the community.
Deliver: We support NFPs by coordinating and delivering all stakeholder and community engagement activities through a partnered approach.
Case study
Relationships Australia Queensland are funded by the State Government to deliver the Seniors Financial Protection Service. The contract consists of two components, direct service delivery and community engagement.
Direct service delivery: Relationships Australian Queensland focus on delivering a high quality service response for older adults requiring support regarding financial literacy.
Stakeholder engagement and community development: Beacon Strategies are engaged to support the effective delivery of core contract activities through planning, designing and delivering community engagement activities.
For the same investment as directly employing a staff member, we are supporting Relationships Australia Queensland to:
Develop a stakeholder and community engagement plan: development of a structured approach to communicating and engaging with stakeholders and seniors in identified locations.
Develop engagement resources: development of meaningful and independent financial literacy education material tailored to seniors
Coordinate and deliver engagement activities: coordinate, manage and delivery all community education activities in identified locations in collaboration with existing SFPS and Elder Abuse Prevention staff. Inclusive of 24 site visits across Central Queensland
Monitoring engagement progress: report regularly (monthly) on the delivery of engagement activities e.g. hours of community engagement delivered, number of sessions, number of attendees and session satisfaction.
Summary Report: deliver a summative report, compiling the process and output indicators previously reported and expanding the scope of the report into outcomes generated for participants
What are the benefits for Relationships Australian Queensland? We believe that by utilising a mix of directly employed staff and externally resourced expertise, great outcomes can be achieved.
Stakeholder and community engagement activities are delivered by experienced and capable staff, rather than a staff member sharing their time between service delivery and engagement
We are accountable (and contractually obligated) to deliver the work on time and at a high quality
Resourcing is dedicated to engaging with stakeholders and members of the community
We achieved better outcomes with the same level of investment as directly employing a staff member.