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"'Work at Any Price' Not Working 09/11/2009 Work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty, according to research published this week by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. A study of the experiences and perceptions of work among residents living in six deprived areas in the UK highlights the fact that many are trapped in a cycle of 'poor work/no work' that fails to lift them out of poverty. A team from Sheffield Hallam University found that poverty-level pay can force those in employment to work excessive hours, harming the quality of their family life. For those out of work, this can act as a disincentive to leave benefits, it says. Many of those interviewed saw the value in working, in terms of increased self-esteem and reducing isolation, but gained little financially. Other issues that the research highlights include the tensions between work and parenting, with many low paid workers unable to pay for childcare and their jobs lacking the flexibility to fulfill parenting responsibilities. The research is part of a wider three year study called 'Living Through Change in Challenging Neighbourhoods'. The wider project examines the extent to which the place where you live makes a difference to your experience of poverty, and is following the lives of 180 people over three years from 2008 to 2010."

Funky offices: Reflections on office design in the 'new economy' Explores how & whether there is a sufficiently quantitative impact of the new economy work culture and new economy organisation's perspective on fun work environments. Paid for though. £13.00

"Not for Profit Contribution to Pathways to Work Highlighted in New Research 30/10/2009 Provider-led Pathways is the final research phase of the Pathways to Work initiative that was first introduced in 2003. It provides information, advice and practical help to people receiving incapacity benefits to help them take up paid employment. Provider-led Pathways is delivered by private companies and not-for-profit third sector organisations rather than Jobcentre Plus. This report presents findings from qualitative research carried out in 2008 to explore experiences of the early implementation of the Provider-led Pathways programme from the perspectives of incapacity benefits recipients, staff of provider organisations, and staff of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus."

Next Generation User Skills: Working, Learning and Living Online in 2013 Posted on December 20, 2008 by Colin Harrison Sero Consulting, based in Sheffield, have produced a report for Digital 2010 (now Digital 2020 the regional digital skills partnership for Yorkshire & Humber) & the Scottish Qualifications Authority on next gneration user skills (NGUS) and how well they are covered by our current qualifications. The report written by David Kay (Project Leader), Bob McGonigle, Walter Patterson and Barbara Tabbiner is a fascinating analysis.

"Managing Collaboration The Collaborative Organization: How to Make Employee Networks Really Work By Rob Cross, Peter Gray, Shirley Cunningham, Mark Showers and Robert J. Thomas September 14, 2010 The traditional methods for driving operational excellence in global organizations are not enough. The most effective organizations make smart use of employee networks to reduce costs, improve efficiency and spur innovation. "

"The Community programme focuses on funding core work that helps disadvantaged people to play a fuller role in the community. We are particularly interested in work that achieves this through: * improved social and community involvement * improved life choices and chances * helping people to be heard."

"Voluntary Value Conference - FREE Event 14/11/2009 Preparing for the European Social Fund in 2010 - unlocking the potential for voluntary and community delivery Thursday 3rd December 2009 (9.30am - 2.00pm) at Somerset College of Arts and Technology Taunton. ***Limited places still available - book in whilst you can!*** This FREE South West Forum event is for organisations who deliver (or would like to deliver) ESF projects in the South West Competitiveness area, whether as a provider or a sub-contractor. The event will showcase good practice and champion the role of voluntary and community organisations in adding value to ESF funded work. It will focus on the value of partnership-working between providers and sub-contractors. Come and find out what the ESF can do for you in 2010 Download a flyer and booking form. (870 KB PDF)"

New Regional Worklessness Fund for LAA and MAA Areas 13/11/2009 A new funding opportunity will shortly be launched by the SW RIEP Local Economy Programme. A combination of funding from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and SW RIEP will be used to assist local authorities and their partners as they work to alleviate worklessness and deliver their worklessness related LAA and MAA targets. The funding will be used in two ways: * each LAA or MAA area will be invited to submit a proposal to draw down funding to support projects addressing the causes and effects of worklessness in their area * Regional Worklessness Network will be established to supplement the individual project proposals from local authorities

Hi Rachel, I've placed a call to LawWorks and left a msg for someone to get back. My email and networks drives not working. So easier to leave this via Diigo.

Putting science of influence to work in fundraising: The Power of Persuasion - Standford Social Innovation (free PDF). This is based on the psychological principles found in the authors book! - by the same title

"First Figures for DWP Volunteer Brokerage Scheme 30/10/2009 As reported in Third Sector magazine, nearly 2,400 unemployed people have completed volunteering placements in the first five months of the £8m volunteer brokerage scheme being run by environmental charity BTCV for the Department for Work and Pensions. The scheme, which began in April this year, has a target of matching 34,000 jobseekers with volunteering placements within two years. A DWP spokeswoman said the department had no monthly targets, but expected the numbers to rise significantly in future months and did not intend to alter the overall target. The scheme is being run by BTCV in partnership with volunteering charities Volunteering England, CSV and v. BTCV said 1,128 of the 2,365 placements were arranged by BTCV itself and the rest by its partner charities. "

"Optimists Get Jobs More Easily - and Get Promoted More, Researchers Find Recent research finds evidence that optimism pays off in job hunting and promotions." Useful info for workshops related to wellbeing and work.

Screen Casts/Video Casts: Resource Dev & Workflow (to work with flip cameras)... Xilisoft video converter: http://www.xilisoft.com/video-converter.html Get the Ultimate Edition: $ 55.95 (US Dollars) One Converter Person - Save many license fee costs... This video editor does the conversion from Flipcamera to windows movie maker compatible video! Doing it in this way would save the organisation license fees as the converted files could be converted & trimmed in a a free standard video editor that comes with windows. You would then have one person do the conversion and other people the editing. I can help with Video editing to the standard that you see tutorials on youtube... I have done many video edits for technology/software screen casts. We could discuss the screen casting workflow. I will CC Rach in case she also needs to develop similar resources. Kill two birds with one stone!

Youtube Video "formatting" & guidelines and making your video work harder for your and your non-profits

"A key point of the Big Society agenda is using community organisers to mobilise communities and identify things that they want to change and improve. If you have an active community organiser in your area already then you should be networking with them to see how you can work more collaboratively together and with the groups you are supporting."

The European Social Fund (ESF) is funding from the European Union designed to improve the skills of the workforce and help people who are having difficulty finding work. This money is distributed by the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) to the co-financing organisations in the region: * Learning and Skills Council * Job Centre Plus * South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

Brief Summary of ESF - What is ESF? The European Social Fund (ESF) is one of four main structural funds set up to help reduce differences in living standards between the regions of the European Union (EU). ESF contributes to the European Employment Strategy supporting policies and initiatives described in the Operational Plan and South East ESF Framework 2007-10. * Priority 1 - Extending employment opportunities; to increase employment and reduce unemployment and inactivity and to help tackle barriers to work faced by disadvantaged groups * Priority 2 - Developing a skilled and adaptable workforce; to develop a skilled and adaptable workforce by reducing the number of workers without basic skills, increasing qualifications to L2, and L3, reducing gender segregation in the workforce, and developing managers and workers in small enterprises. ESF funds revenue projects which are principally aimed at combating unemployment, improving the skills of the workforce to improve adaptability, and increasing levels of entrepreneurship and small business growth.

inancial Stress and Absenteeism: An Empirically Derived Model Author: Jinhee Kim and E. Thomas Garman This paper examines the relationship between financial stress and absenteeism. A conceptual model was derived from a Health Promotion Model and empirically tested to investigate relationships among determinants (individual characteristics), stress (financial stress), physical and psychological responses (organizational commitment and health), and absenteeism. Using data from white-collar workers at an insurance company in three midwestern states, this research determined that financial stress was negatively related to organizational commitment and was positively associated with absenteeism. Employers might consider offering workplace financial education programs to reduce absenteeism. Key words: financial stress, absenteeism, Work

Channel 4's three minute wonders are televised compelling films that are bite-sized. Just three minute for the whole lot! Why not prepare the groundwork? and see what audience responds to b4 approaching channel 4? you could get your stories televised - work with Bunny ;o) spread your message for free on three ;o) and use feedback to position your stories for the 4 mintue wonder ;o)