MD2966 Civic Strength Index – Receipt and Expenditure of Funds

Civic Strength Index

1.1. The Civic Strength Index is a key pillar of the Building Strong Communities mission. Its purpose is to create a framework by which the strength of civil society, across a range of indicators, can be measured to give a picture of what contributes to strong communities across the capital. Developing a mechanism to measure civic strength is necessary in order to demonstrate the true value of the contribution made by communities and civil society to the strength of the capital.

1.2. In year one, the first iteration of the Civic Strength Index was co-produced with Londoners and gives a shared definition of civic strength; the key domains that underpin it; and a set of indicators that help determine the level of civic strength across the capital.

1.3. The first iteration of the Civic Strength Index was published in October 2021. The Index and its underlying framework have been co-designed by Londoners to understand where good conditions for civic activity exist; to make those conditions visible; and to reflect the unique mix of these factors within London. This work responded to calls, from boroughs and civil society, for a London wide measure of the strength of civil society.

1.4. The index’s framework was co-designed by Londoners, highlighting the factors which are most important to communities when defining Civic Strength. This gives credibility to focusing on these factors when working towards developing a robust measurement for civic strength.

1.5. This includes a robust definition of civic strength which is, “Civic strength exists when communities are supported by robust public and social infrastructure to build strong relationships and feel able to meaningfully engage in the issues that matter to them.” And three overarching themes: relationships and social capital; democratic engagement; and public and social infrastructure.

1.6. However, the first iteration has also highlighted certain limitations and data gaps, meaning several of the agreed indicators within the framework are difficult to measure. These data gaps and limitations are accompanied in the first report with a set of clear recommendations on how to further improve data quality.

1.7. In year two of the development of the Civic Strength Index, approval was granted (under cover of MD2854) for the purchase of, and the GLA commissioned services to respond to these recommendations to:

• further develop the index to improve the robustness of its ability to measure civic strength – this includes getting the index peer-reviewed, and will involve working with key stakeholder groups to fill the data gaps identified in the first iteration; activating and/or collecting relevant data to measure domains; and supporting innovative methods for measuring domains
• digitise and automate the data feed into the index, so that it is automatically updated annually and when new datasets become available
• engage with and support key groups, such as funders, civil society and local authorities, to use the index effectively.

1.8. To ensure the Civic Strength Index becomes a tool that offers a robust measurement of civic strength that stakeholders such as local authorities, funders and civil society across the capital use, further expenditure is required in addition to the £50,000 approved by the Mayor under the cover of MD2854.

1.9. Further expenditure will be used to develop the index by improving and expanding the datasets that underpin the Civic Strength Index.

1.10. This will be delivered through the launch of a Civic Strength Data Innovation Challenge, which will invite cross-sector individuals and organisations to develop solutions for measuring indicators within the index that currently cannot be measured.

1.11. The Innovation Challenge will develop solutions for measuring areas of civic strength in new, innovative and robust ways. The challenge will support the development of new methods of measuring domains of civic strength, which are then scalable across London boroughs.

1.12. Interest in supporting the aims of the Innovation Challenge has bought investment from Impact on Urban Health.

1.13. Impact on Urban Health has agreed to contribute £294,000 to the GLA’s costs of delivery of the Innovation Challenge. This decision seeks approval for receipt of this funding.

1.14. This MD also seeks approval of the expenditure of the £294,000, in addition to £86,000 from the GLA’s Civil Society budget. In total, this MD seeks approval to spend £380,000.

1.15. The expected outcomes for the challenge include a deeper understanding of civic strength across London; and methods of measuring civic strength, disseminated across the wider system, that support the implementation of the social value act. Additionally, a more robust evidence base underpinning the Civic Strength Index will increase the ability to identify gaps in strength, and to tackle these gaps and build resilience across London.

1.16. £330,000 of the funding will contribute towards the funding pot, which will be awarded in grants as a contribution to innovators’ costs, in accordance with the Contracts and Funding Code. The funding pot will consist of two types of funding: seed funding of up to £10k to assist with costs of exploring and testing ideas during the co-design phase; and scaling funding for which innovators will be able to apply after the co-design phase, when they have established a proof of concept for their idea and want to scale it. These will be awards of up to £30k.

1.17. £50,000 will contribute towards the running costs of the challenge, including the procurement of services to design and deliver elements of the challenge and give support to innovators participating in the challenge. This will include a co-design programme, where innovators have access to support, guidance and workshops to develop and collaborate on their solutions for measuring areas of civic strength.

2.1. The Civic Strength Index aims to offer a robust measurement of civic strength so that the contribution and work of civil society and communities can be measured, and resilience can be increased.

2.2. It will improve understanding of the factors contributing to civic strength in London; measure the distribution of these factors across the capital; and better enable city-wide resources to be directed appropriately.

2.3. The index is a key pillar of the Building Strong Communities mission, as it offers the first iteration of a tool that enables the measurement of the progress being made by the mission.

2.4. Work on the Civic Strength Index will aim to improve the evidence base underpinning the index, and work to make the tool more accessible for all stakeholders.

3.1. Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the Public Sector Equality Duty; that is, the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation

• advance equality of opportunity

• foster good relations between people who a protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2. The Building Strong Communities mission responds to this duty by recognising the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on London’s diverse communities and embracing London’s diversity. The mission focuses the design of projects on fostering good relations by bringing Londoners from a variety of backgrounds together in support of common causes, amplifying their voices and allowing them to play an active role in recovery from Covid-19.

3.3. The Civic Strength Index will aim to improve understanding of domains of civic strength and their distribution across the capital. The domains have been developed through a range of engagement exercises with the steering group, stakeholders and communities; and the next iteration will take the same approach.

3.4. The innovation challenge will be designed by a cross-sector group of organisations to ensure it is accessible and open to all kinds of innovators. It will take a collaborative approach to developing solutions. The outcomes of the challenge will aim at beginning to measure indicators within the index that, previously, we have been unable to measure. This will, therefore, give London a deeper understanding of the contributions of civil society and communities to the capital.

Key risks and issues

Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1. The Civic Strength Index sits within the Building Strong Communities mission, one of the nine missions of the London Recovery Programme.

4.2. The Civic Strength Index links to two Mayoral strategies – the Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, and his social integration strategy ‘All of Us’ – that set out the Mayor’s expectation for creating equal opportunities for Londoners to participate in shaping the future of the capital, by tackling inequalities in voice and power.

Consultations and impact assessments

4.3. Building Strong Communities mission engagement has informed and influenced the design of the programmes. This has included:

• engagement through the Festival of Ideas which took place in July 2021

• engagement during the first iteration of the Civic Strength Index, through both online workshops and Talk London.

4.4. The are no conflicts of interest to clear from those involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision.

5.1. This decision seeks approval for receipt of £294,000 funding from Impact on Urban Health as contribution to the costs of delivery of a data innovation challenge.

5.2. This decision also seeks approval of expenditure of £380,000 (£294,000 from Impact on Urban Health as 5.1 above and £86,000 from GLA’s Civil Society Budget), to deliver a data innovation challenge that will contribute to the ongoing development of the Civic Strength Index, comprising:

• the award of up to £330,000 in grant funding to data innovation challenge participants

• £50,000 on services required to provide support to the grantees participating in the data innovation challenge.

5.3. The expenditure sits within the Building Stronger Communities mission in the Communities and Social Policy unit.

6.1. The foregoing sections of this report indicate that:

• the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to the promotion of social and economic development and wealth creation in Greater London
• in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:
  • pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
  • consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons; and contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom
  • consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2. In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty – namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief) and persons who do not (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3. If the Mayor is minded to make the decisions sought, officers must ensure that:

• they are content that the GLA’s proposed use of the Impact on Urban Health funding is compliant with terms of its award to the GLA
• no reliance is placed upon the Impact on Urban Health funding until a legally binding obligation is in place to provide the GLA with that funding
• to the extent that expenditure concerns the:
  • award of grant funding: that it is distributed fairly, transparently, in manner which affords value for money, and in accordance with the requirements of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and grant funding agreements are put in place between and executed by the GLA and recipients before any commitment to fund is made
  • payment for services: that those services are procured in liaison with TfL Procurement and in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and contracts are put in place between and executed by the GLA and contractors before commencement of such services.