Blog posts

Greetings from sun-kissed Vauxhall!

Long may the weather continue!

Week four is well underway here at the Big Issue Foundation and the project is coming along. I wish I’d written a little more sooner, it’s evolved a great deal since I first arrived and I don’t quite where to begin. I’ve still got a few more weeks before I need to log out for the final time, so I’ll start from the top, lay out the basics, and (hopefully) catch up before the end.

Speaking broadly, the nature of the third sector is changing.

Charities are becoming more businesslike. They are learning the lessons of the private sector and applying to their own to cut costs and grow impacts. The rise of the terms ‘social enterprise’ and ‘third sector’ seems symptomatic of the change; charities are getting more serious. Uniquely they are looking to marry the cold calculation of business with the warm, fuzzy outcomes of charity, with a view, you could say, to making them warmer and fuzzier.

The change is already underway, with the charities at the top taking the lead. The press worked themselves into a lather last month over the fact that many charity bosses earned salaries upwards of £100,000 a year. But many of these charities have turnovers that run into the hundreds of millions of pounds, dwarfing the pay cheques of their management team and making them equivalent in size to a FTSE 250 company. When dealing with such significant responsibilities, having someone with the requisite skills is key. Working in the third sector is rapidly becoming a career in and of itself, and not just as a way for executive retirees to keep themselves busy altruistically.

Philanthropy too is changing. The rise of corporate social responsibility has meant giving back is not just a free gift from corporations to charities but now is an integral part of any modern business’ identity. It defines how the company is viewed from outside and, perhaps more importantly, how employees view themselves and what they do. Equally, by and large, philanthropy is no longer about the super-wealthy throwing cash at a pet cause. Donors are now investors and they want to see bang for their buck.

Most significantly, governments now see that many of the goals they set out to achieve through policy – in healthcare, crime, education, whatever it might be – lie very closely to the work undertaken by charities. If a social enterprise works with teens to help them keep on track in school, go on to university and become happy adults, there’s a knock on benefit to society. Potentially, it could lead to reduced crime, better health, improved economic output – all goals that the State sets out to improve via policy.

But what if you could transform this social benefit to fuel its creation in future? To incentivise (for want of a better word) future, better, more efficient projects, just as financial incentive drives business?

It’s this idea that has lead to the social impact bond, or SIB. A SIB is a way for social enterprises to fuel their growth, for social investors to put their money to good use and for governments to reward actions (preventive interventions) that ultimate save them money down the line. The investor puts up the funding, the social project receives the funding it needs and the government rewards the investor, analogously to interest, based on the outcomes that the project brings about. No social change, no payout; big social change, big payout. But how do you measure this social change? How much money will it have save in the long-term?  How can you put a monetary value on an intangible outcome?

This is where social return on investment (SROI) comes into play. Given the increased need for a consistent and shared language around accounting for social value, the principles of social return on investment were developed. By its very nature, translating social impact into pounds and pence is very difficult, but SROI offers a methodology for arriving at a balanced, best estimation. Once undertaken, a SROI study can be used in a variety of ways, from making a more compelling case when fundraising to evaluating the efficiencies of the work undertaken by an organisation.

Originally, I was tasked with attempting a SROI study for the Big Issue Foundation. And technically that’s what it still is. But having immersed myself into the organisation, it’s got a bit more complex than that.

But that can wait until another post, as there’s tanning that needs to be done.

Charities may be getting more serious but they’re not too serious (yet).

The final chapter

The past month seems to have flown by. When Friday rolled around, I couldn’t believe that I’d already spent 4 weeks working at the Royal Society. I guess that’s a good sign though. It’s been such a great experience and certainly something I’d recommend to all PhD students. It can be so useful to have something lift you out of the PhD bubble for a little while…

Thinking about the internship overall, I feel like I’ve managed to get a lot out of the placement given it was relatively short. I really benefited from having the mixture of helping out on the typical day-to-day editorial tasks and working on some of my own mini projects (for the RS anniversary issue and Neuroscience marketing strategy). This not only made for a varied and interesting experience but also ensured that I got a good insight into the world of academic publishing.  I’m really glad I had the opportunity to talk to people from other departments within the Royal Society as well, as it opened up my eyes to the different options available for graduates within the non-commercial sector that still have some relation to science. It was great to find out more about the amazing work of the organization; I really respect how committed they are to supporting scientists and ensuring that science plays a bigger cultural role within society so it felt really special to be a part of it. Even if it was only for a month.

Importantly I managed to get in another visit to the archive in my final couple of days and enjoyed more geeky time with some old letters/manuscripts. But I have to say that the main highlight of my last week was the farewell banana bread that one of the lovely ladies from the editorial team made for my last day. YUM.
And so back to the reality of PhD life…oh joy. Hmmm, maybe my supervisor will surprise me with a ‘welcome back’ cake tomorrow??

 

 

Death masks and Franklin’s guide on how to be struck by lightning

Apparently death masks were all the rage in the past…especially for highly important people like Isaac Newton. The one that I saw last week was taken as a guide for the artist who had been commissioned to make Newton’s tomb in Westminster Abbey. This wasn’t the only Newton goodie (if you can call it that!) on display when I was taken on a tour of the Royal Society’s Library and Archive last week. There was also a lock of his hair, the original manuscript of Principia, a diary detailing the first recorded version of the famous apple story and even a piece of bark from that fateful apple tree. They even let me touch it all! Crazy people.


Newton goodies


The death mask


Original manuscript of Principia (mostly written by Newton’s clerk BUT features amendments by the man himself)

Anyway, the Newton memorabilia was just the start of the excitement. I was shown various other cool things like the ballots for the election of Charles Darwin into the Fellowship, letters written by William Herschel and Benjamin Franklin (…not to each other) and the minutes of the first ever meeting of the Royal Society.


Franklin’s letter thanking the RS for awarding him the Copley medal.


Minutes of the first ever RS meeting from 1660.

And then in the depths of the climate controlled stores I got to see the very first editions of the PhilTrans journal. These literally used to be made up from all of the separate hand written letters from each of the submitting scientists, bound together into a single book. Something I found really striking was that the figures were also all hand-drawn and were beautiful with exquisite detail. Enlightment era scientists had some serious skillzzzz.

These early journal submissions were actually pretty topical for me because as part of my internship I’m helping to put together a list of key publications from the journal for the 350th anniversary celebration. The publishing division is planning to bring out a special issue in 2015 featuring the most significant/interesting of these articles alongside their original manuscripts. It’s been a great opportunity for me to embrace my (not so inner) geek. It’s pretty funny reading through some of the early contributions. They range from the bizarre like the one describing «An Account of a Monstrous Birth» to the DIY instructions by Franklin recommending how best to charge a metal rod with lightning whilst holding it and standing in a doorway during a thunderstorm.


Another item I spotted in the archive stores…the archivist had no idea what it was. Any guesses?

Rathlin Island days 10-14

Hello again from Rathlin Island!

I have nearly reached the end of my first two weeks here and it is hard to imagine where all the time has gone. The days tend to blur together with working at the seabird centre and spending the evenings socializing with other volunteers and locals. I feel very comfortable around everyone I have met here, and am getting better at managing things at the seabird centre. Just a couple of days ago I was given the responsibility of opening up the centre with the other volunteers while the boss was running an errand. Although everything went smoothly, we had an interesting beginning to the day when we found that the gate to the centre was open and approximately 40 cows had invaded the welcome area and bus park of the centre. It took an extra 20 minutes for us to usher the cows out of the gate along the Cliffside, making sure they were out of harm’s way both from the cliff and the incoming buses.

Although nothing else quite that bizarre has happened, there is plenty to keep us busy at the centre. I have learned to recognize the signs of kittiwake and fulmar chicks that are preparing to fly – one that is nesting just a few metres below the viewpoint has been flapping its wings as if it wants to take off. We have also had a lot of sightings of birds of prey such as peregrine falcons, ravens, buzzards, and gannets. I also spotted my first oystercatcher a few days ago. The visitors also have interesting stories to tell, from other RSPB reserves they have visited to the species of birds that they get in their backyards. A few days ago we even had a MP visit the seabird centre

Sometimes we will run into some of the day’s visitors in the island pub later that evening. It is strange and nice to be in a place where one is so easily recognized and where so many people all know each other. There have been relatively many events occurring on the island this week, from the rathlin run (a half marathon around the island) to live music nights at the pub. Tomorrow, the town if ballycastle, where the ferry from the mainland departs for rathlin island, there will be a festival called the lamas festival. As I have been given a day off tomorrow, I think I will take the ferry back to ballycastle and see what festivities will be on. After that, there is just one week before my placement as a residential volunteer is over. It should be an interesting week, as the centre is closing for the season and so there will be lots to do in the way of closing up the centre.

As promised, here are some photos of the seabird centre. The stacks in the first photo are what we can see from the seabird viewpoint, and are home to the many bird species that breed in the area. The other shows a fulmar chick being fed by its mother. Neither of the photos are very good quality, but as soon as I get back and have access to my own computer I will be able to upload many more photos!

Rathlin Island Days 4-9

And so, my first week at Rathlin Island has come to a close. The views are just as breathtaking as ever, and I feel that I am slowly getting used to the relaxed atmosphere on the island. The weather is very unpredictable, with winds bringing different weather from both NI and Scotland. As for the RSPB seabird centre, unfortunately a majority of the birds that were left have flown away for their winter migrations. The few that are left are mostly fulmars and kittiwakes, with the occasional guillemot and gannet flying around. Today I also saw my first great Skua. However, there is still an abundance of things to share with the visitors, from puffins heads (the poor things that had been caught and killed by peregrine falcons, eaten, and their heads and legs left behind) to guillemot eggs to a number of RSPB bird and nature books to peruse. I have now also been trained in membership recruitment, and recruited my first two members this morning! Even a couple of new members recruited at the centre is significant to the centre as it receives a significant amount of funding for every member that joins at the centre. It is also interesting to hear the opinions from visitors and answer their questions about conservation work on the island (focusing mainly on corncrakes and choughs) and the threats that seabirds face today,ranging from overfishing to warming climates to habitat destruction. I think the experience I am gaining here will help me substantially as I address similar topics in my third year at Imperial.

The work we have done on the island has also extended beyond the seabird centre. Just a few days ago we drove over to a local family’s farm and helped them pull ragwarts (yellow flowered weeds that are toxic to livestock that may graze on them) from their fields. The local name for the weeds is bendweeds, a nickname I fully understood once I had spent a few hours bending over to pull them out. The following day we helped the same family tag some of their newly born calves. While both evenings involved hard work, it was interesting to experience the work that locals have to undertake in their daily lives – so different from the city life!

This week two new volunteers have arrived to the RSPB centre. It is nice to meet so many new people who are also interested in the conservation work of the RSPB. I look forward to the coming weeks and hope I will enhance my knowledge of the bird conservation of RSPB even more.

(A shout out from volunteer James, sitting next to me, to all his mates in London and who wanted to be included in this post 😉 )

An eventful eggs-perience…

It’s been just over a week since I started here at the Big Issue Foundation and already I’m starting to feel at home! I couldn’t have hoped for a more welcoming atmosphere that stands in stark (and pleasantly surprising) contrast to some of the places I’ve interned before.

And what an eventful week it’s been! I’ve met with people from across the organisation, in distribution, fundraising and Big Issue Invest. To a man, everyone has been lovely.

But one in particular sticks in the mind. On my second day here, I was introduced to a former vendor now working as a cycle courier, an exuberant character called Dean. Dean had this energetic charm and we had a chat while Moira, one of the foundation’s full time fundraisers, helped him paying for his application for the Big Issue’s London to Paris cycle ride. (A good eleven months in advance, no less.)

That afternoon, I made my way across the river towards college – a benefit of working part-time – as I needed to sort out some paperwork for my accommodation next year. Sitting on the bus, I’m scrolling through Twitter and see my feed abuzz with the coverage of Ed Milliband getting egged whilst on a meet-and-greet walkabout. Stuttering as it is on my feeble 3G, I check out the video of the moment itself on my phone. But then, as the film crews pan across the perpetrator and back to a egg-splattered victim – ‘that’s weird. That looks a bizarrely like Dean.’ I think nothing of it, as the 3G gives us the ghost.

The downside of part-time is missing the moment the bad news breaks in the office. For, lo, it was Dean and the fundraising team now had a job on their hands to monitor and handle any media repercussions that might head the Big Issue’s way. The next morning of a brilliant window into the sometimes prickly practicalities of running a nationally recognised charity.

My excitement aside, it’s a real shame for Dean. A tireless supporter of the Big Issue, they’ll now need to be cautious over his involvement with them – any political leaning, or association with a political leaning, would go against the charity’s nonpartisan ethos. Hopefully his moment of immaturity and foolishness won’t cost Dean any more than that.

At the business end of affairs, the project is gaining pace. Having been tasked to embark of a study to evaluate the charity’s social impact in financial terms, I’m slowly getting to grips with the available data and the recommended accounting methodologies. I’ll go into more depth in a later post, provided this week remains uneventful! This Thursday I’m taking to the streets to help out with a Freshfields CSR event they run for their new graduate inductees. They’re partnered up with a vendor and sent out on to the streets to sell. I reliably told that usually the grads are on their best behaviour, not least as most of them think they’re being judged! I fear my inner sadist might be the better of me. Why not make them sweat a little now, when tomorrow they’ll be the ones charging me an arm and a leg by the hour?

It’s not very charitable I know, but hey, you only intern at the Big Issue once….

(And, my apologies for the egg pun. These posts sadly don’t write themselves.)

Earning my publishing stripes and golden maces

With the second week of the internship came that feeling of settled-ness where you enter the comfort zone of knowing what you’re doing and is expected of you. Although there’s still plenty of variety in the tasks that I’m assigned so there’s no time to get complacent or procrastinate really! Some new tasks I’ve been helping with include making promotional flyers for forthcoming editions of the journal.  I also worked with another of the editors in the department to select reviewers for articles submitted to Interfac,e a more conventionally structured research journal published by the RS. It was really interesting finding out some of the different approaches taken for this journal, compared to TransB. It’s great to get this experience, as one of the major draws of the Charity Insights placement for me was to discover as much as possible about the world/process of academic publishing.

There was further development in my responsibilities as I started the first of my special mini projects. For it, I’m helping to develop the marketing strategy for TransB. To this effect, I’ve started to put together a marketing plan/report for the forthcoming Neuroscience and Cognition theme issues. There’s a nice batch of really interesting editions coming out over the next couple of months so I’m trying to think of more inventive ways to get them the attention they deserve! (Trying not to disappoint with my «insider» knowledge of the neuroscience field (!!)…ahem) It’s fun coming up with new ideas, especially trying to introduce more social media marketing. One of the benefits of coming into a relatively small publishing department (rather than going through an internship with a large commercial publisher) is how closely the editorial/production and marketing sections work together. Their offices are next door and throughout the day, there is constant interaction and collaboration between the departments. I’ll get a chance to discuss some of the ideas I’ve come up with so far in a meeting tomorrow with the marketing coordinator of the publishing division.

Another aspect of the past week which I’ve really enjoyed was meeting representatives of some of the other departments within the Royal Society. The ones I was most interested in finding out about were the Science Policy and Science Communication sections. These are both really important directions for RS and I guess their overall objective is quite similar: disseminating science to a wider audience whether they’re acting to make science more accessible for politicians or the general public,. Emma from Science Policy took me through  some of the great work she’s involved in which includes translating science into reports for both local and international government bodies in order to implement more evidence-guided policies. She’s worked on some really important issues such as climate change, UN development goals, etc and the job seems to strike a nice balance between keeping up to date with exciting developments in science and using them to drive change. On the other hand, Rose from Science Communication talked how work in her department is more concerned with communicating research to the general public. The RS organises loads of great events such as public lectures and the annual summer science exhibition throughout the year, as well as bringing out regular podcasts and video interviews with some of their fellows.

If you’ve managed to make it to the end of this week’s blog, congratulations! As a reward here’s the picture of the golden mace promised by the title. It was a gift from Charles II to the RS.

Ooooooh shiny.

 

 

Rathlin Island Day 1-3

I have arrived at Rathlin Island!

I am currently sitting at McCuaigs pub, enjoying one of the few sources of WiFi on the island. The pub overlooks the harbour, from where I can see all the way to the town of Ballycastle in the mainland of Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is my first time in NI and the views  are absolutely spectacular. I have just started working at the RSPB Rathlin Island Seabird Centre two days ago.

I applied to be a residential volunteer with RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) in early April, and was happy to get a position working and staying on Rathlin Island.  Rathlin Island is located a few miles off of the northern coast of NI, and it hosts thousands of seabirds during the summer months of May-August that come to breed on the rocky cliffs. . The main species found include guillemots, puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills, and fulmars, all of which I have had the opportunity to watch as they rear their chicks. The seabird centre is a unique opportunity to view these birds as the island can host up to tens of thousands of Birds at a time, and tourists come from all over the world to see them. The centre is run by volunteers, and my job includes guiding the tourists through the centre, finding and identifying the birds as well as answering any questions on the habits and characteristics of the species, the conservation work at the RSPB and raising donations and recruiting members to the RSPB. I also take care of managing the reserve and keeping facilities clean and ready for visitors.

This experience is unique for me as I am also living on the island and representing RSPB during ny stay.. The island only has one shop open for three hours a day, a pub, a fish and chip shop, and various other amenities used by the locals. The cottage I am staying in is cozy and shared by all the volunteers, of which there are currently three, including me. Although the usual comforts of tv, internet and home are not available, the views and landscape make up for it and I think I will have a fantastic stay. Walking to the seabird centre takes 25 mins on Rocky, hilly roads. In the first two days I have been working I have already learnt a great deal about the birds. One of my favourite facts to share with visitors is that fulmar chicks can use the long nasal tube on their beaks to spit fish oil at incoming predatory birds, as such defending themselves and allowing the parents to be away hunting for days on end. It is very rewarding to spot puffins and show them to visiting kids as well, as many of the visitors come excited to see the puffins. Unfortunately a majority of the birds have already begun their autumn migrations, and spotting some of the species is difficult. During May and June the cliffs are supposed to be absolutely packed with birds, something I would love to see in the coming years.

For now I will get back to the cottage and prepare for the days to come by reading one of the many bird books that have been provided for us. I am really looking forward to the rest of my stay and hope to have plenty to report back in the next few weeks!

I hope to be able to post some pictures soon!

Last Week at DWT

Sadly, this week is my  last  at DWT. I was out with the reserves’ team again this week, this time at a coastal reserve called Blackhall rocks near Hartlepool. The views of the County Durham coast were fantastic. In my first week I was the only girl and this week I was one of only 2 girls out on site! But I go to Imperial, so I’m used to that. The habitat at Blackhall rocks includes woodland, scrub and para-maritime magnesium limestone grassland (wow, what a mouthful). Although scrub provides a good habitat for birds, it is common around the UK. Para-maritime magnesium limestone grassland however, is a lot rarer and most of it is found along the Durham coast. It supports a large number of plant species, including sea plantain and scabius. I was helping to remove coarse scrubland species like brambles and some small trees. Some DWT staff used strimmers to cut back the vegetation while volunteers raked it up and put it into bags. This will allow the grassland to grow back instead of scrub. In ecological terms we are preventing succession. The grassland is teaming with invertebrates and we even came across a few frogs. I never knew that such a unique habitat existed in my area. The North East is certainly not as “desolate” as some people may think. The land was very steep though, and I had a few aches and pains in the morning!

I would like to thank both DWT and Charity Insights (especially Amy and Eileen!), without whom I would not have been able to do this internship. For me, it has been a much more rewarding and valuable experience than having a summer job could ever have been, and I am sure it is going to look great on my CV. Thank you!

Penultimate Week at DWT

It’s my penultimate week at DWT. I’ve really enjoyed myself so far and I find the work I’m doing interesting and, most importantly, relevant to my future career goals. As well as this, I feel like the document I am working on will really be of benefit to the overall project and I have written something that my supervisor can actually use. I have been encouraged to add headings and any other information that I think is relevant while reading papers, and I am able to focus on the sections that I find most interesting. Not only does this keep me motivated, but I also have the opportunity to be creative and add my own input to the project, which I think is rare for an intern! This week I have been viewing GIS maps made by DWT for County Durham in a computer programme called ArcMap. I’ve got to grips with different colour schemes and overlaying different kinds of map.

I haven’t suddenly become a GIS expert over the past 3 weeks, but I have learned a lot about a tool I had never come across before starting my internship. I feel that this internship will benefit me when applying for jobs in the conservation sector because I will already have experience of working for a conservation charity and I have experience with GIS that another candidate may not.