Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund: A rapid evaluation of the first £1,000,000 distributed by Foundation Scotland (May 2020)

Foundation Scotland launched the Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund on Friday 27th March 2020 with funding from the National Emergencies Trust (NET). The overall aim of the Fund was to help those most affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak. In order to quickly evaluate the initial impact of the RRR Fund, and understand the next set of challenges in the short, medium and longer-term, we worked in partnership with Scottish Community Development Centre to survey the recipients of all funds distributed in the first 12 days. Within this time we distributed just over £1m in grants to 300 different projects.

The online survey went out to 291 recipients and was completed by 135. In addition, there was also a series of 31 telephone interviews with a cross-section of the grantees. The high response to both the survey and interviews was very encouraging and shows how important this funding has been to the recipients and their commitment to continuing to support those people who are most vulnerable and at risk during the crisis and in the aftermath.

This report highlights what the key impacts of the funding are, and the main challenges that the grantees are now facing. The review has set out a list of recommendations for Foundation Scotland (and other funders) to consider when developing and delivering future phases of the Fund. The report combines an overall analysis of the findings with illustrative examples, along with a set of key findings and recommendations for Foundation Scotland and their partners in the RRR Fund.

Challenges and Opportunities Four broad themes emerged:

• Responding to increased levels of need which have been identified and/or exacerbated through the pandemic.

• Mental health – dealing with and responding to the additional stresses caused by social isolation, and the economic impact of lockdown.

• Adjusting to the new ‘normal’ after the emergency phase has passed – this includes adapting working practices and the provision of continued financial and emergency support to vulnerable groups.

• The long-term viability and sustainability of the projects once the initial emergency funding period has passed.

Recommendations

Based on these key themes SCDC have compiled a set of recommendations/ suggestions to consider when developing the next phases of the RRR Fund and future funding responses:

• Invest in core funding and capacity building

• Plan for implications of increased poverty and inequality

• Recognise mental health as a primary issue in communities

• Support groups to adjust to a ‘new normal’

• Collaborate for community resilience

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