Why should this partnership / collaboration win this award?
The partnership between Babbasa and Bristol Junior Chamber is a shining example of how collaboration across sectors has resulted in meaningful and long-lasting outcomes for young people in Bristol. Babbasa Youth Empowerment is a  social enterprise supporting aspiring young people from disadvantaged communities to pursue their professional ambitions. Harnessing the respective strengths of Babbasa and BJC lent itself to a unique opportunity for both organisations; for BJC to meaningfully engage with young Bristol talent to ensure young people are supported irrespective of their background and for Babbasa's young people to benefit from the insight, professional mentoring, financial backing and work experience opportunities from a range of business professionals, opening doors to new industries and breaking down barriers. The beauty of this partnership was about keeping it simple; recognising and celebrating the added value each partner could bring to the table, resulting in life-changing outcomes not possible working alone.

What made the partnership or collaboration form?
Babbasa's Founder, Poku Osei and BJC's President Oliver Brown had a shared a vision;  to provide meaningful opportunities and raise the aspirations of young people in inner city Bristol. The passion, enthusiasm and commitment from BJC members to support the professional aspirations through their knowledge, experience and networks provided a platform to embark on a 12 month partnership spanning a range of activities targeted at improving the social capital and raising of aspirations of the young people involved. Poku and Oliver were able to combine their efforts to support a diverse and talented next generation of Bristol talent. Babbasa was our organisation of choice as it has great links with young people in Bristol and with in truth areas of Bristol that the Junior Chamber is not so well represented by. Hence it was an ideal opportunity for 2 organisations , both with young people at their heart, who could learn and understand more about each other. Oliver Brown President, BJC.

Please describe how working together has resulted in greater impact for people, place or communities
The BJC and Babbasa partnership involved a range of activities over 12 months resulting in a greater impact for Bristol's diverse and under-served inner city communities.

BJC sponsored the 2016 Empowered event where 128 young people attended. Of those who reported 76% indicated that it encouraged them to take positive action in society, 81% said they were motivated to pursue their ambitions and 86% said it allowed them to foster new community relations. The event also provided a platform for 6 young people to benefit from work experience by volunteering

3 young entrepreneurs with fledgling business ideas delivered successful pitches resulting in £3,000 investment from the BJC judging panel. The business ideas included: 'McCoy's Kitchen', a food delivery company specialising in Caribbean cuisine; 'Graciefullymade', a creative workshop where participants discuss the stigma around mental health whilst making crafts for re sale, and Fawohodie an ethical clothing range sustainably produced in West Africa for UK market.

After the event 11 of BJC members were involved in mentoring other young people who were seeking to progress with their professional ambitions and a further 2 young people went on to participate in a 6 week work experience placement hosted by BJC members.

Tell us what the partnership/collaboration has learned from working together
There are many positive learnings when reflecting on the partnership between BJC and Babbasa. Firstly, the return on investment for Babbasa working with a member organisation like BJC meant that one partnership resulted in a far greater potential to engage with a number and range of Bristol business professionals. Secondly, the effective collaboration of two organisations focussed on young people meant that the engagement was relatable and meaningful for both parties. Thirdly, the partnership with a member organisation meant that the pool of capacity to support was greater than a traditional 1:2:1 business partnership as there was less need to be mindful of resource/time from a single business. This meant there was scope to continue to support after the formal partnership had concluded and Babbasa is looking at opportunities to engage with BJC going forward.

The partnership was invaluable for BJC members as they were able to offer their areas of specialism to the businesses and see them have a real impact as a result. Working with the Babbasa team was a genuinely humbling experience. The ambition and effort they put into raising the aspirations of our young people in Bristol is an example to us all. Oliver Brown President, BJC.

Why should this partnership / collaboration win this award?
Community Access Support Service (CASS) works with community, equalities and faith groups in Bristol, helping them to support their members or communities in accessing mental health services across the city. 

What made the partnership or collaboration form?
For years mental health services have failed to connect with and/or deliver services to all sections of Bristol's diverse communities. The CASS service has a focus on breaking down barriers faced by specific groups in accessing mental health support so that all the diverse communities of Bristol are accessing services, with a particular focus on groups which face exclusion and discrimination.

Please describe how working together has resulted in greater impact for people, place or communities
CASS set up a number of networks which support groups in local communities, giving advice and information on how they can:

• Access mental health support in Bristol
• Understand the current Bristol Mental Health services
• Signpost their members to relevant support
• Start a conversation about mental health and emotional wellbeing
• Address the issue of stigma surrounding mental health issues within the communities
• Report back to service providers about how mental health support is received and how it can be improved

Tell us what the partnership/collaboration has learned from working together
For a number of years NHS Mental Health providers failed to connect with or deliver culturally appropriate mental health services for the diverse communities within Bristol. The CASS service (one of the many partners with the Bristol Mental Health Recovery partnership) have successfully been focused on breaking down barriers faced by specific groups in accessing mental health support so that all the diverse communities of Bristol are accessing services. 

Without the CASS team the progress would have been unfairly delayed.  Monira and her team have worked tirelessly working with statutory & community including faith groups in making mental health services accessible and appropriate to all.

Why should this partnership / collaboration win this award?
This partnership is a wonderful example of community groups serving older people from different BAME communities in Bristol coming together to identify the issues that are facing older people and finding appropriate solutions. The partnership is made of really committed, active older women who are inspirational in the way they work together to support their communities.

What made the partnership or collaboration form?
The partnership was formed in response to the need for health and well-being support for BAME elders in central Bristol. The groups saw an opportunity to access funding from this from the Bristol Impact fund and came together to plan their application. They have since accessed funding for a health and well-being co-ordinator and the grant has also provided them with support for the costs of running their services.

Please describe how working together has resulted in greater impact for people, place or communities
Undoubtedly the partnership has resulted in improved health and well-being services for BAME elders in Bristol, by ensuring that services are more efficient, effective and responsive to needs. This access means there will be less loneliness and social isolation which leads to poor health.

Tell us what the partnership/collaboration has learned from working together
By putting together the bid the trustees of the organisations learnt a lot about organisational forms and admin, they also learned about the different needs of different communities, but also the similarities. I am sure the Bristol Impact Fund project is teaching the groups a lot about effective ways to address health and well-being, and reduce social isolation among BAME elders, as well as how to help them access essential services.

Why should this partnership / collaboration win this award?
The BS2 Collective work to ensure the children and young people in BS2, are supported to play, grow, develop and advance towards their potential and aspirations.

Our service users are predominantly young BAME people and our organisations are led from within the community.

We are local grassroots organisations that have demonstrated significant resilience in the current climate and seek to provide a mix of holistic, safe and cost-effective services came together over a period of time and worked effectively, through a sometimes challenging process, to develop shared values, principles and a working agreement.

This involved realistic recognition and evaluation of varying and current capacities and offers, and above all the building of trusted relationships and a strong policy and practice base, both internally and looking out into the broader context across the city.

This work is taking place in an area where there have been longstanding concerns, inequalities and socio-economic challenges and where strengths and abilities often go under recognised and under developed.

The group is now bound by a set of shared working values and a common purpose enshrined in an MOU agreement.

What made the partnership or collaboration form?
There had been local concerns identified for some time amongst local providers that the needs of the children, young people and families in BS2 were not being well met by the current service provision. And that grassroots organisations working in the area were not being effectively included and
involved in a holistic and meaningful delivery plan.

There was the recognition that we needed to develop a greater understanding of the offer from each of the grassroots organisations and to share these clearly and effectively more broadly across the area and the wider city.

We aimed to improve partnerships and better ways of working together now and into the future internally and within this wider context.

We have a firm belief that this offers a better reach into the communities in BS2 using local intelligence, trusted community relations, available facilities and a culturally sensitive staff mix and capacity.

Please describe how working together has resulted in greater impact for people, place or communities
Each organisation within the BS2 Collective has developed a clearer understanding and offer in relation to current contexts for CYP and families in the city, through the TYS process and more broadly.

Our collective response to the Targeted Youth Services (TYS) Consultation resulted in significant changes to the tender document, most significantly an underlining of the importance of effective local and partnership collaboration in design and delivery of the TYS contract.

The development of an 'Offer and Ask' document from the BS2 Collective was made available to key organisations, that had either approached us or were approached by us through networking opportunities. This provided a clear route through which collaborations with local grassroots organisations could be improved and their offer included.

Organisations in the BS2 collective are now actively engaged in developing their work with the TYS primes as well as in their partnerships with each other across the area.

This service delivery model provides greater opportunity for clarity and improved work between statutory and voluntary partners working in the BS2 area, and improved access to support for the infrastructure in the area.

This will better redress the inequality and level of need, identified through statistical analysis and local intelligence, currently experienced within children, young people and families in the BS2 communities.

The work of the BS2 collective began as a larger group of organisations but through the development process became the following core group:

• ACE
• Babassa
• Bristol Black Carers
• Felix Road Adventure Playground
• Full Circle
• Imayla CIC
• St Werburghs City Farm