This report shows how an inexpensive Local Government scheme can prompts lots of action around a social challenge. It shares learning from our micro-grant scheme to find new ideas for addressing the social isolation that too many new parents experience. The scheme was a partnership between ThePublicOffice and Essex County Council and operated across 74 libraries in Essex between May and December 2015.

1. Prompting ideas and action:
Learning from our micro-grant scheme in libraries
December 2015

2. Introduction
“We are never short of good
ideas, but we are not always sure
they’re welcome. Are you sure we
have permission to do this?”
Library Manager and Grant Recipient
“

3. Introduction
In May 2015, Essex County Council (ECC) started a
programme to prompt new ideas and action around a
social challenge.
The micro-grant scheme ran between May and November 2015.
It responded to a challenge that commissioners had identified in
a recent review of the Early Years system: the social isolation
that too many parents with young children in Essex experience.
The scheme invited staff in libraries to share ideas for how they
would address the challenge. It offered small cash awards of up
to £200 to support the best ideas to happen.
The scheme was simple in design and inexpensive to run.
But its impact has been profound.

4. Introduction
“This is a new way to work.
This is the way we work now.
The ideas are endless.”
Library Manager and Grant Recipient

5. Introduction
The micro-grant scheme has prompted new activity in 17 libraries
to help parents and carers with young children to connect and
make friends. It has also had significant unintended benefits: staff
feel much more empowered to put ideas into action, respond to
local challenges, reach out to new partners and learn and improve
as they go. They feel they have support and permission to use
their initiative to help shape local outcomes.
This report shares what we’ve learned about this simple
yet powerful prompt for innovation.
Describing the scheme, its method and its impact, it should be of
interest to anyone who’d like to use a similar approach to address
priorities and incentivise action – especially social action.

6. Background

7. The challenge
How could
we help
parents and
carers with
young
children in
Essex to
connect and
make
friends?
ECC’s micro-grant scheme was a response to
a priority that commissioners identified in a
recent review of the Early Years system.
Researchers had found that social isolation was a huge, un-
addressed problem for families with small children in Essex.
Too many parents and carers had fragile support networks,
making them vulnerable to crisis if things went wrong.
Many new parents had difficulty making friends and were
also lacking the confidence to even approach services and
support that existed for them.
Commissioning leads believed that there was so much
more ECC could be doing through existing services and
with existing staff and resources to address this
challenge.

8. The method
The scheme also grew out of a desire to
explore new methods for generating ideas
and mobilising action in communities.
Commissioners at ECC were interested in trying new
methods that allowed them to source ideas from a much
wider pool. They were especially interested in ‘challenge’
methods, where people are openly invited to respond to an
identified challenge and prizes are awarded for the best
ideas and solutions.
Challenge methods are currently enjoying a resurgence in
public services in the UK and internationally. They are also a
simple way to commission for outcomes, so chimed with the
new strategic direction for commissioning at ECC.
The idea for ‘micro-grants’ comes specifically from
Amsterdam, where the municipal government has had great
success building community capacity by issuing small grants
to local people to address local problems.
The programme adopted a simple challenge prize or
‘inducement’ method to stimulate ideas and action.

9. The partnership with libraries
Libraries have always been important places
for families and children: they were a natural
partner in starting to address the challenge.
Face-to-face services were a great partner for other reasons.
Their newly-appointed leader, Sophia Looney, was already keen
to empower staff to work differently with each other and with
communities to bring new life to libraries.
When she stepped into the role, Sophia had been advised that
ECC couldn’t afford to run so many libraries, but neither could
any be closed. This was a huge challenge that couldn’t be
solved by ‘business as usual’. Sophia’s ambition for libraries has
‘civic innovation’ at its heart.
Leaders of libraries were already exploring different ways to
enable staff and communities to address their own local
challenges and seize opportunities. They readily agreed to
work with Early Years commissioners to try new ways to
reduce social isolation for this group.
We need to
encourage
staff to
make best
use of their
creativity
and
initiative

10. How did we do it?

11. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review
of the Early Years system.
Our short, intensive timeline
1
Call for
ideas
2
Select
ideas
3
Kick-off
workshop
4
Interim
workshop
5
Final
workshop
Mid-May
2015
End May
2015
3 June
2015
6 July
2015
24 Nov
2015
TESTING IDEAS IN LIBRARIES FOR HELPING
PARENTS TO CONNECT AND MAKE FRIENDS

12. What happened?Participation
74 libraries
17 submitted ideas
13 projects in train
All ideas had potential so every applicant
was invited to join the scheme, to work
together to develop thinking and put
ideas into action.
Projects in train: Basildon, Billericay,
Chipping Ongar, Colchester, Earls
Colne, Epping, Great Baddow, Harwich,
Maldon, Manningtree, Melbourne, South
Woodham Ferrers and Witham.

13. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review.
Design principles
The scheme was
very simple in
design. The
following principles
were critical to
success (and not all
of them were
things we thought
to be important at
the outset).
1. Clearly articulate
the challenge
2. Offer incentives
3. Remove barriers to
participation
4. Support
collaboration
5. Reflect on impact

14. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review
of the Early Years system.
Design principles
1. Clearly articulate
the challenge
In this project, we issued a challenge
question and shared the research which
had found that social isolation was a
huge problem for families.
In our first reading of the submitted
ideas, applicants had not addressed the
challenge with as much precision as we
had hoped. We responded by holding a
workshop to share what we knew about
the problem of social isolation for young
families, and to help people to formulate
even more precise responses to the
challenge.
Provide participants with a
clear and precise
understanding of the
challenge (expressing it as
a ‘how could we’ question
is helpful). And take time
to clarify the challenge if
necessary. It

15. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review
of the Early Years system.
Design principles
2. Offer incentives
Competition and the
promise of reward is
critical to how the method
works. Even small or non-
financial awards incentivise
action and encourage
people to make a priority of
addressing the challenge.
The micro-grant scheme awarded small
grants of up to £200 to library staff to
put their ideas into action.
These small grants unlocked a huge
amount of energy and activity.
Participants told us that the money
ended up not being that important (and
many have not spent their entire grants).
But the promise of a prize gave them a
push to develop and share their ideas in
the first place, and to try new things that
they might not have otherwise been
encouraged to attempt.

16. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review
of the Early Years system.
Design principles
In this project, we encouraged
applications from anyone working within
face-to-face services in Essex.
We also made applications very simple,
asking only that applicants share their
idea for meeting the challenge in no more
than a paragraph or two.
We asked that people let us know how
they proposed to spend their grants
should they be successful. But we also
offered no conditions around what was
an acceptable spend – as long as the idea
responded to the challenge, we
encouraged the project.
Our aim was to keep things as open as
possible so that people had minimal
constraints around their creativity.
3. Remove barriers to
participation
It should be easy for people
to participate – don’t stifle
creativity or drain energy
before you’ve started. This
means making the application
process straightforward, with
no complicated criteria to
decipher or forms to fill in.

17. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review
of the Early Years system.
Design principles
4. Support
collaboration
We did not intend to facilitate conversations
between the libraries through the
programme. But it transpired that enabling
people come together to discuss what they
were doing was hugely valuable; it drove up
levels of confidence, ambition and the
quality of ideas.
Through the 6-month programme, we
brought people together 3 times: to
strengthen ideas before grants were issued;
for mutual support as people started the
work; and to reflect on the early impact of
the work after 3 months of activity.
Participants began to see themselves as a
‘community of practice’, modelling the
attitudes and behaviours of a more open and
innovative workforce culture.
Provide opportunities for
participants to come
together to discuss the
challenge, share and
develop ideas and reflect
on what they’re doing and
what’s working. It

18. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review
of the Early Years system.
Design principles
5. Reflect on
impact
Share your expectations
for when people should be
able to report on
implementation and impact,
and create simple, clear
milestones.
This programme encouraged people to put
ideas quickly into action and to report on
impact within 3 months.
This milestone was an important spur for
action and collaborative learning. It meant
everyone got something done and had
insights to share on the most fruitful ways
to tackle the challenge.
But evaluation in this programme was light
touch and focused on supporting
development and learning. Participants
were grateful for the license they were
given to ’not get things right first time’.
The most important aim was to build staff
confidence to develop and learn, and to
continue to work at solving the challenge.

19. Impact and learning: the challenge

20. What happened?What have libraries actually been doing?
When they first came together, the
libraries had lots of great ideas for
supporting parents and carers to
connect with each other (see their list
of Ten Things to Try Today).
But as they put their ideas into action,
the libraries also learnt more about the
nature of the challenge and began to
make breakthrough progress in three
key areas. They have been:
1. Partnering strategically to
reach people
2. Becoming more welcoming
3. Unlocking hidden capacity
and resource

21. What have libraries actually been doing?
Libraries are now firmly focused on
encouraging parents who might find it
daunting to enter a library for the first time.
Most are pursuing partnerships with other
agencies (such as children’s centres, birth
registration, health visitors and GPs) to
identify and encourage people. They are
tackling issues such as confidence and trust
in new relationships, showing a willingness
to get under the skin of the issues to
develop understanding and find the most
effective solutions.
1. Partnering
strategically to
reach people
”I’ve learnt that it’s really
helpful to make positive
relationships with other
agencies in order to begin to
identify families who might
need additional support.”
“Staff need to create the
networks to support the
community – a ‘finger on the
pulse’ attitude is needed.”

22. What have libraries actually been doing?
Libraries are discovering the small
things staff can do do make people feel
welcome and to help to facilitate
conversation between visitors. Many
have had great success in encouraging
conversations around new tea and
coffee facilities, while others are trying
name tags and introductions for
parents at Stay and Play groups.
Others are focused more generally on
improving the way staff relate to
people.
2. Becoming more
welcoming
“Encourage adults to chat and
stay. The idea of tea and
coffee in libraries is great to
facilitate discussion.”
“I’ve been encouraging all my
colleagues to make new
people to the library feel
especially welcome.”

23. What have libraries actually been doing?
Libraries all reported on the unexpected
capacity and resources they were able to
muster when they shared the challenge.
Colleagues, partners, families and local
businesses were forthcoming with
additional ideas and support, and
sometimes with gifts of equipment and
toys. Participants commented on how
easy it was to gather support, when the
challenge was clearly articulated and
shared with others in the community.
3. Unlocking hidden
capacity and
resource“Ask the parents what they
want! And let them tell you;
take time to listen. Empower
the parents; they have great
ideas too.”
“Staff were completely
supportive of what we were
trying to achieve, so much so
that I only spent half my grant
and staff donated the items I
was originally going to buy.”

24. TEN THINGS TO TRY TODAY
1
Learn names: Too often we know the names of the children we meet in Stay and Play
sessions, but forget to introduce the parents to each other. This is a huge missed
opportunity to connect people and put them at ease.
2
Make Tea: Probably the simplest and most effective thing we could do to encourage
parents to talk to each other is to provide facilities for tea and coffee making – with a
hot beverage to encourage folks to linger, the rest takes care of itself.
3
Ask people what they want: What kind of activities might appeal to new parents?
What might get new folk through the door? Have informal chats or host an organised
group discussion to gather insights and ideas.
4
Let other people design and run things: You don’t have to do everything yourself –
allow others to come up with ideas for sessions and have a rolling programme of
activities.
5 Open on weekends: Lots of parents and carers are busy during the week, but would
love to meet others on the weekends. Let’s create those kinds of opportunities.

25. TEN THINGS TO TRY TODAY
6
Work with partners: By collaborating with certain kinds of partners – midwives, birth
registrations, health visitors, children’s centres – we could engage parents at the
most opportune moments.
7
Experiment with branding: The names we give to sessions can draw people in – or
put them off. Try mixing up the names of different sessions to see whether this
attracts a different crowd.
8
Use social media: You can assume that most people in Essex – especially young
parents – use smart phones. Use social media to ask questions, publicise events,
generate conversation and grow communities.
9 Host one-off events: Clothing and toy exchanges, quiz nights, BBQs and picnics … a
one-off event can create a buzz and get new people involved.
10
Think beyond the building: The things you run can happen in other venues and
around the community. They can also happen in the green spaces around libraries.
Ever thought of a community vegetable garden? Get planting!

26. Impact and learning: wider benefits

27. Impact on workforce culture
★ Staff feel much
more empowered
to put ideas into
action and respond
to local challenges
and opportunities.
They feel they have
support and
permission to use
their initiative to
help shape local
outcomes.
“The scheme not only prompted
new ideas, but gave the ideas
status and support.”
“It allowed us the freedom to
target isolated families using
our own ideas that we thought
would appeal.”
“This is a new way to work – this
is how we work now. The ideas
are endless.”

28. Impact on workforce culture
★ Staff are taking a
‘develop and learn’
approach to
implementation.
They loved having
license to test and
develop ideas,
building on
knowledge without
pressure for
everything to be
perfect the first
time around.
“We could just get on and do it, without too
many forms being filled or permissions from
everyone. Quite liberating that we were
responsible for taking our project forward …
It’s important to measure success in the
ideas being developed and then evolved into
something that works within the community –
reflecting what the community wants.”
“It’s breaking down the barriers we have put
up in recent years in libraries ... being given
the freedom to run with an idea and not be
criticised if it doesn’t initially work. Staff
have so many ideas that these relaxed
environments will facilitate and can only
benefit the library and the community.”

29. Impact on workforce culture
★ Staff are
collaborating with
peers across the
library system.
They loved
exchanging ideas
and supporting
each other to
explore a difficult
challenge.
“It’s been great to meet other colleagues
and share ideas. This project has really
made me think about how libraries cater
for all ages and communities.”
“It’s not just about how we spend money,
but how we share ideas and take things
forward. We’ve worked very well in the
group … and we have been able to poach
ideas from each other. It was a great
personal opportunity for me to embrace
and take forward as my own.”

30. Next steps

31. The micro-grant scheme responded to a challenge that
commissioners had identified as part of a recent review
of the Early Years system.
Colleagues have agreed the following…
1. Addressing the challenge of social isolation: Libraries will continue to test,
develop and implement ideas for supporting parents and carers with young
children. They want to stay in touch with each other as they do this and would
love light touch support to facilitate meetings.
2. Sharing learning about the challenge: Libraries are keen to share what they
have learned about the challenge with the wider library system. They want
their good ideas – developed through practical work – to travel. Again they will
need light touch support to make this happen.
3. Running new schemes and developing workforce culture: The leaders of the
scheme are keen to explore new ways to deploy the micro-grant mechanism
and grow a more creative, empowered and responsive workforce. Specific
ideas include using small grants to prompt staff to act on new commissioning
priorities (such as older people’s social isolation or dementia). We are also
interested in exploring how micro-grant schemes could be used to empower
community members and social entrepreneurship.

32. We’d love to tell you more about
our experience of running a
micro-grant scheme.
For more information, please contact:
★ Paul Probert - Essex County Council - paul.probert@essex.gov.uk
★ Perrie Ballantyne – ThePublicOffice – perrie@wearethepublicoffice.com