Business Direction and Key Results

The three year strategic direction published in March 2011 identifies six key strategic priorities for the period 2011-2014.

Five Lamps' Board recognised the success of the previous three years and these priorities remain unchanged. They are firmly in tune with the Government’s plans to build a stronger civil society, particularly in opening up public services.

• Growing our four business divisions
• Winning Contracts
• Growing Our Asset Base
• Building Effective Partnerships
• Measuring Social & Economic Impact
• Building VCS Capacity & Infrastructure

The Business Plan for 2011-12 was reflected in the budget approved by the Board at their February 2011 meeting. The full Plan was presented to the March 2011 Board Meeting and our staff and key stakeholders were consulted before final ratification in April 2011.

Strategic Direction & Future Plans

Our Vision: Creating Possibilities : Improving Lives

Our Mission: To Transform Lives, Raise Aspirations, Remove Barriers and Offer Choice

Our Business: Driving social and economic impact through being a leading social enterprise focused on: service quality; new models of public service delivery; securing social investment.

Delivered through: trusted brand; quality assured services; Making People Matter; innovative and integrated services; superior contract performance; new funding models; measured social impact; brilliant partnerships.

Five Lamps has a clear and coherent strategy. We will continue to drive stakeholder value through being a leading, quality-focused and customer-centred social enterprise, driven by our strong vision, mission and values.

We have built a trusted brand and will continue to invest in it. We will continue to invest in our infrastructure, including advanced use of new technology. We will continue to be a sector-leading, cost efficient organisation with recognised capabilities in reaching hard to reach and disadvantaged communities; helping people who are socially, economically and financially excluded and in forging outstanding external relationships.

Strategic Priorities

Five Lamps sees excellent prospects to drive greater impact across each of our business divisions and from the continued integration of our service offer. We can increase our geographic reach and use our excellence and capacity for innovation to secure substantial social investment, create compelling growth opportunities, develop new delivery models which fully understand and meet the needs of our customers and truly influence market development.

We have positioned Five Lamps as a regional organisation, increasingly building a national reputation, and able to influence policy at local regional and national levels.

• Building on our strengths in the field of Financial Inclusion
• Maximising value from our partnerships and joint ventures
• Extending the geographic reach of our business
• Securing substantial scale asset transfer to open up opportunities for asset-backed investment
• Securing large-scale social investment
• Measuring the social, economic and financial impact of our business
• Developing new models of public service delivery in each of our business divisions and in new areas such as health and social care and early years provision
• Continuing to invest in our people and our infrastructure

Business Model

Our aim is to maintain growth and associated profitability to create the capacity to reinvest surpluses in furthering our business activities and charitable objects. It is important to continue to build a strong balance sheet capable of enabling investment at the point of growth.

Five Lamps has a simple business model.

• Growing Our Asset Base
• Maximising Revenue / Earned Income
• Lowering Unit Costs
• Driving Profitability To Enable Re-investment
• Securing Substantial Social Investment

Underpinned By:

• Service Quality
• Demonstrable Social & Economic Impact

Key Initiatives 2011 - 2014

Great North Loan Fund

To continue the growth to scale and sustainability of the Great North Loan Fund, our regional financial inclusion initiative. We are seeking:

• Capital for on-lending to financially excluded individuals
• Continued revenue support for our lending activity from DWP
• Confirmation of support from local authorities for the continuation and growth of Helping Hand
• The DWP contract to deliver the New Enterprise Allowance Loan Service in the north east and Yorkshire
• Social investment from the ‘Big Society Bank’
• Social investment via bond issue
• Continued support from the Northern Rock Bank Community Flagship Programme

Social Investment Bond

To secure large-scale social investment through the Charity Bank/Investing for Good Note Programme, issuing a prospectus in summer 2012. Target investors to include SRI funds, wealth managers, public and private foundations, public bodies, in denominations from £25k to £500k. A key element of the Note Programme is its social impact reporting. This investment would be unrestricted debt finance with no limitation on its use other than it would be in furtherance of Five Lamps ‘ charitable objects.

Health & Social Care

Five Lamps commissioned a proposal paper for the establishment of a Health & Social Care division, during 2010. This paper has been well received in local authorities and we await upcoming commissioned service opportunities around first contact, personalisation and direct payments services.

Commissioned Services

Winning contracts remains a key element of Five Lamps strategic direction. We will continue to seek commissioned service opportunities across all of our business. Areas for new projects and programmes include youth services, family intervention, early years/SureStart, health improvement, social care, empty housing, supported accommodation and apprenticeships.

Asset Transfer

Dialogue is ongoing with Stockton Borough Council around transfer of our leased premises to full Five Lamps ownership and potential transfer of other assets.

Social Impact/ Social Return on Investment

Five Lamps published our first set of Social Accounts in April 2011. It is our intention to build on that initial work moving forward to support the case for social and other investment.

Geographic Expansion

In recent years we have seen a considerable change in the geographic delivery of our services, primarily as our financial inclusion service has grown. There is a keen interest in our integrated service offer across the region and clear potential for future tenders to include Cumbria and Yorkshire.

Enterprise

We are increasingly recognised as an Enterprise Agency, being the only NfEA member organisation in the Tees Valley. The success of North East Enterprise Agencies Ltd (NEEAL) has created a new range of products and services which allied to our Enterprise Gateway provision in Stockton has built a strong service base. We are also able to integrate enterprise and employability activity. Other potential developments include:

• NEA Loan Service and associated mentoring. Loan service to include 5000 loans over two years in north east and Yorkshire
• ERDF-funded enterprise coaching activity
• £750k capital over 3 years via CDFA Regional Growth Fund bid
• Capacity to refer to Regional Enterprise Loan Fund administered by Entrust
• ISUS delivery and Lot2 workshops
• Establishment of a range of social enterprises
• Feasibility study for serviced Business Units & review of ‘Enterprise Arcade’ pilot

Big Society

A key theme throughout this parliament will be Big Society. While Five Lamps has seen conspicuous success with our volunteer programme, we view the potential to design new models of public service delivery as creating even greater opportunities to build ‘life changing’ interventions.

Governance Review

It is of real importance that Five Lamps can demonstrate the highest standards of corporate governance. The review of Governance to be complete by July 2011, and fully implemented by January 2012, identified new structures and governance models and core competencies for Trustees.