Latest posts from One EM

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
If you were to look at what has been trending on twitter in the last month with the word ‘Europe’ in it, I would have an educated guess that you would see Eurovision and UEFA (possibly not so much outside of Europe). I’m sure you are aware of Eurovision, but maybe not UEFA. UEFA is the governing body for football in Europe (not FIFA which has been trending globally), and most of you will know Eurovision is that annual singing competition, and yes Simon Cowell is currently nowhere near it! What has all this to do with ESIF and ERDF? ESIF like the other two is competitive, ESIF like the other two probably leaves joy for some and maybe despair for others, and that is probably where the similarities end. Thinking about Eurovision, I like to imagine the ways we could get really excited about ESIF ERDF, maybe projects present live on television on Saturday night primetime and all EU member states can vote, of course, not for their own country! Maybe DCLG second Simon Cowell to add some glitz (maybe not on second thoughts).
What is the point of this blog, apart from my usual light-hearted take on ESIF ERDF? The serious point is that, unlike Eurovision, where our involvement is three or so hours watching from the sidelines every year, with ESIF ERDF we can be a key stakeholder in delivering economic and social inclusion. Even if we can’t make it a top twitter trending topic!
Have a good summer whatever you’re doing.

Written by Claire Chapman, Information and Membership Officer, One East Midlands
In my last few weeks at One East Midlands (I’m leaving for South Yorkshire VCS pastures new at the start of March) I have been on a bit of a case study writing frenzy; whether its highlighting ERDF funded VCS projects, focusing on groups who have received training through an ESF funded project or just showcasing the great work of our members.
Throughout my almost five years providing communications support to a VCS infrastructure organisation I have lost count of the number of case studies I have written but not of the lessons I’ve learned writing them. My learning from the process is easily shared, making the experience as simple as possible for the project or organisation you are focusing on.
So here goes with my top five case study lessons:
1.    Do your homework. By researching your case studies in advance, making use of both the organisation’s website and other research that has highlighted the project, you will already have the majority of information you need for your case study so won’t need to rely on your case study organisation to spend time gathering it for you.2.    Don’t be a time waster. All VCS organisations and projects are busy and even though they will always be grateful for the publicity they don’t have time to spend hours assisting you. Tell them you only need half an hour of their time and give them your questions in advance so they come prepared. Only relying on them for a quick proof at the end, and by using times convenient for them, your case study won’t see you as a time waster.3.    Add some colour. Whether it’s a photograph (you can save even more time by taking this yourself), quote from a service user or volunteer or even just a logo you turn a page of text into something that shouts out to be read.4.    There is such a thing as free publicity. It is one thing adding the final case study to your website and hoping someone will find it, but by making the effort to spread it wider, through social media, your local press, in-house publications or by distributing copies at your events those featured will know you’re really spreading the word out and promoting their great work.5.    Do their own thing. My final lesson is give the featured organisation their own copy of the case study to use and show off as they wish, allowing them to show to others their great work and the support they’ve received from you.
Bearing all that in mind, don’t forget that it’s a case study and not a free advertorial for those featured. It can be difficult to explain to an organisation that re-writing the entire case study adding “excellent”, “fantastic” or “superb” to every sentence distracts from the point of the example study. Changing it back requires more than a little tact and diplomacy!
To look through the many case studies produced by One East Midlands visit www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/case-studies.
P.S. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the East Midlands voluntary and community sector, its staff and volunteers, who I have worked with since joining One East Midlands in June 2010 and wish you all the greatest success for the future.

As someone who will be shortly be leaving One East Midlands to work on another project, funded by another funder, in another region, I thought I’d reflect on the lessons I have learnt marketing One East Midlands ERDF Reach & Impact project.
1.    A ruler is your best friend (okay not your best friend, but your ever close acquaintance). Keep it on your desk at all times and bond with it every time you go anywhere near an ERDF logo. Your colleagues will notice how close you are getting every time you do so but it is a necessary.
2.    The DCLG National Publicity Requirements are to be obeyed. Keep them nearby at all times and when in doubt check, even if you are 99.9 percent sure, and every time you have checked previously the information hasn’t changed.
3.    Spy on your colleagues. Not because you are a stalker, but because you know the ERDF publicity rules better than any one else in the team which gives you the power to act as Logo Police. Don’t worry your colleagues will get to the point where they run everything past you anyway just to be on the safe side.
4.    Mind your language. In a world full of acronyms, rules and wording make sure your communication is correct as you never know who you will be communicating to.
5.    Don’t trust other people’s marketing skills. You’re working in marketing because you are your project’s expert. Other people might not be natural copy writers or proof readers but you are so be the team oracle and let your communications light shine through.
6.    You will never be able to completely leave. Like the name of an obscure international dance company from a previous role in the arts that I will never forget how to spell, I expect ERDF to follow me around forever. Whether it will be spotting an EU flag when I’m on holiday or the desire to check the size of the logo on any publicity from an ERDF funded project that crosses my path, the memory of my years on the project will haunt me (in a nice way) forever.
7.    Remember there is life away from ERDF marketing. Whether it’s your home, family, friends or just another aspect of your work, remember there is more to life than European funding and if you don’t let it take over you never will.
So Reach & Impact thank you for having me, and for all of you still marketing ERDF funded projects remember your ruler and guidelines and Good Luck!

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
Christmas’s are associated with many things, one of them being a Christmas Quiz (Claire in our office loves them, she does one for us every year!)
So here is the ERDF Christmas quiz (just a bit of fun!) – I don’t necessarily know the answers

• How many more Christmas’s until the new EUSIF programme officially opens?
• By what figure will the England programme either under or possibly over spend on N+2 (2007-13 programme) in 2014?
• How more EU SIF Draft strategies will be required from LEPs before the new programme opens?
• What will be the date of the first ‘call’ or commission for projects in the new programme?
• Which European team will the Champions League next year? (My colleague Claire will be disappointed if I don’t do a sporting reference!)
• Which EU SIF Theme will have the most applications over the seven year programme?
• Which EU SIF Theme will have the least applications over the seven year programme?

And a couple from our new ERDF Reach & Impact Project Officer, Alex Archibald:

• How many jobs were created in the 2007-13 programme?
• How much many Christmas crackers can be bought by the GVA generated by the 2007-13 programme (assuming three times procured crackers value of £4 per box)?

Some of these questions we will inform you of the answer once we know so make sure you keep looking out for all your EU SIF information from One East Midlands!
Whatever you’re doing at Christmas/New Year, if you’re celebrating it or not, enjoy!

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
Last weekend saw another great victory by the European golf team against the USA, and all the talk after was of a united team and great support structures put in place to manage and support each European golfer in what is very much an individualist sport.
This process has been going on for a number of Ryder Cup ‘cycles’ so what can we learn from this for the European Structural Investment Funds (EU SIF) programme:

• A strong united Europe can succeed.
• Great individual ‘projects’ can come together to become a winnable ‘programme’.
• A strong collaboration ‘theme’ (I know some of you may be struggling with how I am interpreting the Ryder Cup but its Europe and it’s a winning formula and lessons could be transferred!).
•  Leadership can change in programmes and projects, however the ‘winning’ formula, and attention to detail can remain.
• And even normal rivalry can be put to one side for the greater good.

So with this ERDF Reach & Impact blog post take what you will from it and apply how you feel best, and no more golf analogies promise!
Finally don’t forget look at and book onto our upcoming ERDF workshops at www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/reachandimpact#Upcoming_events.

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
Football season kicks off, schools start back, autumn begins (not officially just the weather!), so it’s back to some familiar territory, however refreshed or renewed, though some of you may have still not had a ‘summer’ holiday (as yet) so may not quite feel refreshed or renewed!
For the EU SIF programme and the Reach & Impact project, we start back on our workshop programme after a couple earlier in the summer so ‘on the road’ with Northamptonshire / Lincolnshire and then it will be full on across the region.
We are aiming to follow the EU SIF ERDF timeline, however as we know times can slip. Over the next six to nine months there will be a lot of information to digest so the best place for VCS organisations to find out all of this information will be at one of our workshops.
We look forward to meeting you along the ‘road’ or ‘journey’ to the first wave of successful EU SIF ERDF applications from VCS organisations. Remember keep an eye on announcements for workshops, and further tools and resources that will be added to our website.
Finally like a timetable of football fixtures (I hear the groans as I know not everyone is into football) we have recently updated the EU SIF ERDF equivalent of a ‘fixture’ list i.e. the timetable!

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
Are we all enjoying the good weather so far? Are we all looking forward to more nice weather? Have we enjoyed delivering the Reach & Impact workshops so far? Are we looking forward to delivering more Reach & Impact workshops? Yes, yes, yes and yes.
One East Midlands is entering into the third year of the ERDF Reach & Impact project, and probably the most important year as the VCS is gearing up to continue to engage, but more importantly in accessing the new ERDF (EU SIF) programme so we will also be ‘gearing’ up our delivery.
The nine prospectusworkshops will be delivered across the region and will cover the programme in the detail from introduction to project management. Please look at these again and register for the ones that you are interested in and are appropriate to your needs if you haven’t done so far by emailing clairechapman@one-em.org.uk.
The team here have been very European with one colleague taking photos of ERDF funded projects in Malta, but don’t worry we are sticking to the England programme, and more importantly for yourselves the East Midlands programme!
Enjoy the remaining summer, and we look forward to seeing you across the region at one of our forthcoming Reach & Impact events.

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
Our obsession with the weather seems to go up a gear around now as we hope that we can get some decent weather, with some of us (like myself) wanting it to be hot and very sunny, while others wanting it not to rain but not too be too hot!
How does this relate to ERDF and the new 2014 to 2020 Structural Investment programme, not a much really just demonstrating that we are obsessed with the weather in the UK!
Okay, let’s try to link the two, it’s at this stage, hopefully that the VCS is doing as much as they can to secure as much investment from this programme as possible.
We plan for the weather, like the VCS is planning for the formal launch of the programme. We research the weather, especially if we are going somewhere on holiday during the summer, like we research the EU SIF programme and LEP strategies.
If we go away with family we ensure that plans include family members, like we are planning for a ‘family’ of VCS organisations to be involved in delivering EU SIF (collaboration).
We manage realistic expectations over the weather, like we are managing realistic expectations from the EU SIF programme.
Finally we watch for changes in forecasts and we watch for updates and changes in the EU SIF programme.
I think that I have done enough on this topic now, hope you get what you want from the summer weather, and if you are interested in the Football World Cup, enjoy whoever you want to win!
Before I go we have now launched the initial ERDF Reach & Impact prospectus workshops, don’t worry if you registered you will hear from us, however we are launching specific workshops in specific locations to start with. Thanks again for your interest in this, and keep an eye on your emails.

Written by Claire Chapman, Information and Membership Officer, One East Midlands


Volunteers Week, taking place from Sunday 1stto Saturday 7th June, is a great time to consider why volunteers volunteer, and as a volunteer myself I know there are many reasons volunteers do so.
Outside of my role as Information & Communications Officer for One East Midlands, I have two voluntary roles, one volunteering in a charity shop and the other as a trustee of a local charity, and for me volunteering is about giving something back to the community and supporting causes I believe in.
However at the shop especially the reason people volunteer varies considerably, including adding it to their CV or UCAS form, keep them busy during periods of unemployment or retirement, doing it as part of a University of Edinburgh Award, meeting new friends and potential other halves, just because they’ve being doing it for years, or for the same reason I do.
Most volunteers will start volunteering with one of these reasons for doing so in mind, but what they won’t anticipate is another great reason, which I will call “the buzz”.
The buzz is that reason for volunteering that is unplanned for but makes you feel all warm and fuzzy whilst volunteering. It can come unexpectedly but will come. Here are some examples of when I’ve had “the buzz” whilst volunteering in the shop:

• When you make a customer’s day by finding them a get a great bargain or just providing a friendly face;
• When you receive a massive donation, especially if you get the donor to sign up for gift aid at the same time;
• When you train up a fellow volunteer;
• When something you’ve chosen to sell through the website or display in the shop sells faster than you could have imagined;
• When customers keep coming back during your shift just because they know you’ll be there and be able to help them;
• When you know how much has been taken through the till during the time you’ll been volunteering and what a difference it will make to the charity;
• And many, many more!

Everyone who volunteers will have their own buzzes but will pretty much always keep them to their selves.
Now working in VCS communications I know the benefit of spreading the word, so when I’m volunteering I will happily tell anyone who inquiries in the shop about volunteering or who is doing their first shift how great it is and nine times out of 10 they’ll keep volunteering.
So this volunteering week, why not encourage your volunteers to do the same or what about asking for their buzzes and use these to create a buzz about volunteering with your organisation.
And a final thing to do this volunteering week, sign up for our monthly volunteering e-bulletin herefor all the latest volunteering news, events and opportunities of interest to VCS organisations in the East Midlands.

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
Wow, what a fantastic response to our recent ERDF Reach & Impact Prospectus, which we formally launched at the ERDF Annual Information Event on 31 March.
We have had nearly 70 people register their interest, most of who have registered for multiple workshops, so thank you to those of you who have already registered.
It would be interesting to see how many people registered from receiving a printed version and how many found it through an email link or other online communications, however the feedback we have had from the printed version has been overwhelmingly positive.
This does show that even though we understand the importance of an online presence, social media etc, good old fashioned printed marketing materials still has its place in the marketing/communications mix. So when considering Marketing/promoting your (future) ERDF projects don’t forget that some people still like to read a physical document.
Please click here to find out more about the Reach and Impact Prospectus, as it is not too late to register!

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
Having a regional role has taken me all over the region, and the Reach & Impact team have managed to cover a fair few miles by car, train, bus, tram, foot, van (yes we even have a van driver in the team). Sometimes this means zig-zagging into other regions to reach our final destination. I have sat on trains which have been packed and one’s where I have had six seats all to myself.
What have I noticed about the region, as compared to other European Countries, is that our regional identify is not so strong apart from EU funding, and other specific programmes that identify the East Midlands as a region?
Yes, we have do have the urban areas, especially around the main cities, however let us not forget we have large rural landscapes as well as seaside towns where many of us have happy memories as well as contributing to the local economy.
The VCS as well as other sectors have realised that collaboration and larger projects are key to unlocking the 14/20 EU SIF programme, however the region has many different communities both geographical and of interest so the sector is currently zig-zagging across the LEP areas, using different forms of ‘transport’ i.e. partnerships to get there, whilst still meting the local needs of local communities i.e. making sure there are enough stops on the line to bring a project together.
The Reach & Impact team has been working with local infrastructure to help draw the ‘map’ that connects us, with the timetable and routes to get there – the EU Structural and Investment Funds!
Yes, there will be the occasional ‘leaf’ on the line and unexpected ‘weather’, but we have the ‘engineers’ to help keep the ‘tracks’ and ‘trains’ running to get to the final destination. Make sure you have a ‘valid’ ticket to join us; otherwise you may not make the journey!

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands  Well today I saw the first EU funds to be formally opened in the new EU funding cycle, however before you get too excited they are not the Structural Funds, which ERDF form a significant part of.
The funds that opened were other EU programmes within this new cycle, which I would encourage the VCS to also keep an eye on. Unfortunately we cannot provide any support on accessing these other programmes as we specifically run our Reach and Impact project through ERDF.
We include a link directly to the EU commission website so that you can look at their various grant funded programmes.
http://ec.europa.eu/contracts_grants/grants_en.htm
The EU commission website unlike the shop in the ‘Open All Hours’ is actually open all hours so if you feel like browsing through what is ‘on offer’, and want to keep an eye on new ‘stock’, i.e. programmes, then you can do this at 4am or 4pm, or any other time that suits you.
In the meantime we will continue to keep you informed on the new structural funds programme, including ERDF information.

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
On 1st January how many people woke up and had a spring in their step, and thought yippee another seven year funding cycle of EU funding??
I haven’t spoken with anybody who did just that yet, but maybe one of you did but don’t want to admit it!
It is here but there is still plenty of work to be done on the existing programme through many projects still running until 2015, so we are officially in the ‘overlap’ phase of ERDF.
What does this mean? Well today is 14th January (when I started writing this blog) and there is no actual cash available yet for the new programme and all the funding from the current programme had to be committed by DCLG by 31st December 2013. Our Reach & Impact pagedoes have a link to the 2014 timeline in preparation for the new programme.
The Reach and Impact project will be completing their ERDF Collaboration events in January and we will hold the Annual Information Event in Derby on Monday 31st March for all stakeholders, with booking information to come out very shortly.
We have an exciting way of promoting case studies from the current programme, and we will be working on our ERDF resources/webpage to ensure the VCS can access the most up-to-date and relevant ERDF information. That will be just January to March!
Most importantly as well as still giving focus on the outcomes from the current programme, we will provide up-to-date information on the new programme once more information is available.

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
This week I myself sat in, and was a ‘beneficiary’ of a workshop, at the same time that the ERDF Reach and Impact project has been promoting its next set of workshops.
During the workshop I attended there was a discussion about what the beneficiaries thought were the learning points and what the trainer would deliver, which made me start to think when people book onto events/workshops do they realise what the event is fully about, and as an organisation do we make it clear enough?
In terms of the Reach & Impact project, I want potential attendees or beneficiaries to look beyond the words ‘Funding’ and even ‘EU/ERDF Funding’.
I want to encourage people to spend at least some time, as I am aware that people are very busy, to read all the information contained in workshop information email/flyer and then ask themselves:

1. Are we the target audience?
2. If this does mention funding – what funding, will this one workshop directly lead to a successful funding bid?
3. Actually is this workshop part of a series of workshops that I/we need to attend that will build capacity to enable VCS organisations to successfully apply for EU funding? and
4. Where can I find out more about ERDF/Reach and Impact?

Maybe I can’t answer for you personally but I can help.
The target audience for our workshops are firstly funding advisers for VCS organisations in the East Midlands, and VCS organisations in the East Midlands (primarily somebody within the organisation who would typically bid for funding).
We would like to encourage public sector organisations, including local authorities and universities, to attend however the places are initially for the first group, and public sector participants need to ensure that they will collaborate and bring VCS into ERDF delivery.
In terms of question numbers 2 and 3 the realistic answer is coming to only one workshop that relates to ERDF is highly unlikely to lead to a successful bid, especially if you’re new to EU funding so having realistic expectation when coming along and commitment to further workshops is needed.
Going forward the Reach & Impact project will continue to communicate ERDF workshops with various stakeholders but a plea from the team here is always ask yourself the above questions, as well as going to our project and LEPs pages on our website at www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/reachandimpactand www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/leps.
We want you to ensure that you spend your vital time at events and workshops that will benefit the VCS and you.

Written by Claire Chapman, Information and Membership Officer, One East Midlands

With Trustees Week kicking off on Monday 4th November and our AGM taking place later this month, One East Midlands is extremely grateful for the work of our dedicated team of trustees. However the results of recent surveys can sometimes put trustees of VCS organisations in a negative light – I examine why age may play a part in this.

According to research by the Charity Commission the average age of a trustee is 57 and only 0.5 percent of trustees are aged 18 to 25 years old. This has led to the suggestion that the boards of charities lack diversity and are often not representative of their beneficiaries.


As a 34-year-old who at the beginning of the year joining the board of Headway Derby (I’m looking forward to officially getting elected later this month at their AGM), I fall into the age range and views of those under 35s surveyed by Young Charity Trustees, where 85 percent of respondents wanted to become a trustee and 82 percent of those who had been a trustee rated the experience as positive or very positive.


However I should argue that I didn’t become a trustee because of the age range I fell into or to try and drop the average age, but because I wanted to put something back into a charity, my locality and make use of my skills and knowledge.


I’ll admit it took me a while to find the perfect board to join, despite signing up to newsletters and working for an organisation that will advertise trustee vacancies from across the region for free. But I didn’t give up hope and when I found the trustee vacancy for me I was welcomed with open arms.


At any moment there are thousands of VCS trustee vacancies, especially as we enter the run up to AGM season. So whatever your age and background, if you have the passion, skills and the time (often no more than a couple of hours a month) go for it, perhaps even taking your search a step further than mine and write to the charities you would like to support direct.


And if you are a VCS organisation struggling to fill your board vacancies, this Trustees Week make a resolution to spread the word wider and include the VCS in your search. Why, well in the small team at One East Midlands alone I’m a charity trustee, we have one former trustee, and our Chief Executive is a school governor. 
Although none of us have yet reached the age of 57 we all hope to still be volunteering until we get there and beyond. In the meantime we will continue to channel our passion and drive into useful voluntary roles and encourage others, including the younger population, to do the same.

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands
“One eye on the ball” is a common phrase used in many different scenarios, including business, and is certainly relevant to me this week, as well as the new EU SIF programme.
After ‘scratching’ the lens on my eye which caused me to get on the wrong train it was even more relevant!
Anyway enough of that, One East Midlands through the ERDF Reach & Impact project is continually “keeping its eye on the ball” and we are pleased to announce our latest workshops for regional VCS funding advisers and other key stakeholders who will support the VCS in accessing ERDF.
The workshops are there to support attendees to ‘”keep their own eye on the ball” as we get ever closer to the new programme. The free workshops which are being run over one day, however you can choose to do one or both of them as we know your time is precious.
The morning workshop will help advisers and VCS organisations who really do understand their community to also understand their economy so that some of the language barriers to accessing EU funding can be tackled. In the afternoon we will switch to measuring economic success through running EU projects, to demonstrate the VCS do contribute and can make an economic difference to their communities.
For further information and to book on to the free workshops, which take place on Tuesday 5th November at St James Centre, Derby visit www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/051113workshops.
In the meantime I’ll be hoping I have two eyes back on the ball soon!

Written by Chris Hill, ERDF Reach & Impact Project Manager, One East Midlands  My very first attempt at a blog ever and it’s on the topic of ERDF, before you leave this blog (potentially because of the subject matter) pause for thought about the impact of ERDF and other European funding on your everyday lives. 
This may include any holidays you have had, as one our colleagues found out when they visited Malta on holiday this year and the EU funded project flag was present at a restaurant they visited! Yes EU funding can support very diverse activities in Tourism as well as what maybe seen as some of the more ‘dry’ activities. 
I don’t expect everyone to suddenly become ‘Europeans’ but the funding recycled into the economy does create jobs, businesses and attract tourists. 
I am not saying that all that the EU do is perfect but we do see positive programmes and projects. It’s just to ordinary folk these may not be ‘visible’. 
My colleague covered marketing in the first ERDF blog so I won’t repeat this just emphasise the importance of ensuring more residents in East Midlands see the benefits so they can weigh up in their own minds if overall the EU benefits them – leave the persuasion to the politicians!
What ordinary folk probably don’t realise is that over the next seven years potentially more EU funding will be benefitting the region once the new programme is in place, with ERDF being a significant part of that new programme.

Written by Claire Chapman, Information & Membership Officer, One East Midlands
As a VCS organisation, spreading the word about your ERDF funded project can be scary, especially as one of the first things you will be handed is a copy of the Publicity Requirements.
However, as with all work carried out by the sector its extremely important that we do, even if it’s with a ruler constantly to hand to measure the size of the EU logo. In fact it is even more so, as how else will your project meet its targets if you don’t let your targets, otherwise known as people, know they are being targeted by it and how to get on target to benefit from it.
Okay enough of the targeted talk, but you get the picture, spread the word.
Whether its through your website, e-bulletins, one or many different social media accounts, or good old fashioned flyers, posters, brochures or, the essential but often forgotten about, word of mouth (don’t worry its not a game of European whispers and your voice won’t need to reach all 28 countries of the European Union).
In fact I would recommend a combination of several, as not everyone will have access to everything and, in the words of 90s dance act Groove Armada “If everybody promoted the same we’d all get tired of promoting each other”.
So how do One East Midlands promote our ERDF funded Reach & Impact project, well we make use of our existing resources by promoting through our website at www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/reachandimpact, our Twitter account @oneeastmidlands, and a monthly e-bulletin - the latest issue, sent today to over 1,000 followers with a slight name change, can be accessed on our website and you can sign up to receive it by emailing information@one-em.org.uk.
But it’s not all about the online as we know that there are a higher proportion of the VCS with no access to computers and the internet than in any other sector, so we produce case studies, circulate business cards and display our banners at events. We will also shortly be taking a deliver of Reach & Impact pens, so every time our project’s targets scribble a note they’ll think of us.
Which all takes us, conveniently, to our most recent delivery, the arrival of the latest edition of One East Midlands Insight magazine. This edition is funded by the project and so as expected focuses on ERDF, including an overview of both the programme and our funding, an article on LEPs and why the VCS should care about them, shortened versions of three of the case studies mentioned previously and more.
However, on top of the 500 we have had printed, all clearly displaying the European Union logo and that of our other funder the Big Lottery (measured carefully with a ruler before going to the printers) we have provided an electronic and interactive version of the magazine online (www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/node/2878) because not everyone has access to a letter box (okay that’s a slight lie) but as all VCS organisations know the price of stamps is expensive and sometimes targets need access to resources at the click of a mouse.
So what am I saying? In a EU funded nutshell, don’t be scared of publicising your project but don’t spread the word on in it with just one knife and one type of publicity bread either. The world is your marketing oyster so get out there and do it, whilst sticking to the guidelines of course.
And if you are an East Midlands VCS organisation with an ERDF funded project or are thinking about applying to the next funding round and want advice on how to market your project get in touch with me at clairechapman@one-em.org.uk.

Written by James Jacobs, Communications Apprentice at Nottingham CVS, a Full member organisation of One East Midlands
“Getting the message across” is one of those terms that you’ll hear frequently in the VCS – In fact, it can seem like a bit of a cliché. However, it is incredibly important you do. Why? In a world where there are financial constraints on many VCS groups we need to tell people what we do and why we do it. It may be to attract new service users – it may be with the aim of getting some much-needed funding – or it may simply be to raise awareness of an issue that effects your organisation or its beneficiaries.
Of course, there are many ways to communicate with an audience – this blog is a perfect of example of that. It is probably taken as a given that groups need some kind of web presence and although a website is obviously important it is not essential. Some smaller community groups may find it easier to operate a group or page on FaceBook.
Twitter is, of course, used by many VCS organisations. We have a twitter profile at @oneeastmidlands, and use it to compliment our website and blog. Twitter is good for short, pithy news items, links and points of interest and can work really well with a younger audience. Don’t worry if you don’t end up getting the same number of followers as Stephen Fry though – the main thing is that you’re aiming your tweets at the right audience – whether it is service users, fellow VCS groups or local worthies (councillors, MPs etc).
However, as much as social media and internet communications are great, they don’t fully encapsulate that phrase ‘Getting the message across’. E-bulletins and Magazines can prove a really effective shop-window for what your organisation does.
That takes us, conveniently, to our latest edition of InsightMagazine. This Autumn’s edition focuses on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), an important source of income for many VCS organisations throughout the East Midlands. We have a Spotlight on a long standing Member (and our landlords!), Nottingham CVS, and an article explaining the work of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and much more.
Whilst we have a great website and use social media effectively, Insight is a great way for introducing people to our work – it’s a high-quality, well produced magazine that can go in depth more than twitter or a even a website. In a world of the internet – don’t forget that traditional methods of publication can sometimes be just as effective in ‘Getting the message across’!
To access an electronic version click hereor a paper copy of Insight email information@one-em.org.uk.
But lastly, there is still no technological substitute for human contact.  Make all the tools above work for you but top it up with face-to-face as often as you can; the ultimate suite of tools to ‘get your message across’.

Yesterday One EM supported our fourth event focussing on VCS engagement with LEPs and in particular their future role in EU funding investment. The event was a great opportunity to get out into Lincolnshire and meet groups that we rarely get chance to have contact with nowadays. It was also an opportunity to further our thinking about the opportunities and challenges for the VCS in relation to future EU funding. 
In short there are many reasons why the opportunity is huge for the VCS:

• Discussions on the investment of EU funds have moved to a more local level than ever before – through LEPs;
• A large proportion of that investment must be focussed on promoting social inclusion and combating poverty;
• Other investments will include core VCS functions such as learning & skills, environmental protection, access to employment, ICT and local economic growth;
• Match funding is being made available to the VCS through Big Lottery Fund;
• The VCS could help drive better outcomes for LEPs in achieving the Equality & Diversity cross-cutting theme;
•   LEPs are encouraged to identify and respond to social innovation;
•  Community Led-Local Development is seen as a positive approach that can be taken by the LEP in achieving particular outcomes.

So with all this positivity why are some of us struggling to engage or shape our thinking quickly enough in order to respond? After all this is a once-every-seven-year opportunity to get it right.
Karen Parsons, Director of Children’s Links, hit the nail on the head yesterday. As a sector we are so used to being consulted on an almost completed strategy and marginalised in discussions that when our help is truly needed we lack the systems and processes and to some degree the confidence to step up.
This is a real opportunity to demonstrate how our work directly supports growth and productivity across our communities. There is no specified approach or toolkit that will help just us and our ideas. The timescales are tight and the task is huge so don’t procrastinate – get together and decide what needs to change, how and who can deliver it. I can guarantee that the LEP will be delighted that you did.