This year ASAN’s Board of Directors has set out an ambitious plan aimed at meeting our vision and mission. The organisation has gone through a lot of change over the last few years. This year we hope to build on what we have achieved and continue to run high quality enterprises and services for local residents.
As well as sustaining and developing the services we already run we are also seeking to develop new services. Some of the ideas below build on existing initiatives and are ready for us to start working on this year. Others are at an early stage and we will need to devote time to shaping them.
Below is a summary of the Business Plan for the year. Each action is grouped under one of ASAN’s five key objectives.
Objective 1: To work with local people to establish community managed services
- Reinvigorate the All Saints and Parkfields Community Forum as well as reviewing and implementing a new plan to communicate better with local residents.
- Run the Community Maintenance project, ASAN’s Recycling service and the Tool library. More work needs to be done to ensure the sustainability of the service
- Increase usage of Southside Sports by supporting a new sports association to coordinate sporting activities on the pitches. Develop a bid to the Community Sports activation fund.
- Organise the annual All Saints Festival as a fun event for local residents
- Support the user group who maintain the Mike Swain Memorial Garden. We want to formalise the group and support them in their work
- Develop activity that enables the organisation to engage more effectively with All Saints residents. This will include applying to Reaching Communities so we can recruit a qualified Community Organiser and to establish a time banking project.
Objective 2: To work towards a sustainable approach to the organisation’s activities
- Install Solar PV panels on The Workspace roof.
- Continue to minimise our impact on the environment by reducing the use of resources on a day-to-day basis.
Objective 3: To provide a route to employment through training, the development of skills and building local capacity
- Create employment roles in the local community as well as volunteering opportunities.
- Seek funding for a time banking project to enable local residents to develop their skills and confidence. We are also seeking funding for tailored training programmes for local residents.
- Create further work experience and volunteering opportunities for local residents through the development of new enterprises under Objective 4.
Objective 4: To become financially self-sustaining through the development of physical assets and social enterprises
- Continue to operate The Workspace as ASAN’s flagship social enterprise. We will seek to further develop our offer to tenants and make plans for the future development of the building.
- Develop the All Saints Day Nursery and ensure it continues to operate as a high quality daycare setting serving the needs of local people. We will seek to increase occupancy and make plans for future development.
- Run The Big Garage as a revenue generating business for ASAN. The recent decision by Tesco to sell the site presents a challenge to ASAN should we have to vacate the premises. On the other hand there is a significant opportunity. We are exploring purchasing the site and running it as a sustainable asset for the organisation.
- Develop Southside Sports. As well as increasing community use (see Objective 1) we want to work with other agencies to increase paid for bookings. We are also looking to put together a funding package to resurface the pitches with the latest 3G pitch technology.
- Continue to work on taking on All Saints Community Centre as an asset for the organisation. Following feasibility funding we are working with architects and business planners to put together a proposal for a centre which can be used by the whole community. If the ASAN Board think it’s a workable plan we’ll try to get funding to make it happen.
- Gain feasibility money to explore the creation of new enterprises. These include:
- Catering – With an existing level of need for catering at the Workspace and All Saints Nursery
- Briquette making – Using waste wood to create briquettes which can then be sold to individuals or businesses.
- Grounds maintenance – There is an opportunity to extend our maintenance service to other areas of Wolverhampton.
- Research a property service. There is an opportunity for ASAN to work in partnership with local housing organisations to attain a number of residential properties in the All Saints area.
- There is also an opportunity for generating small surpluses through bike advertising
Objective 5: To develop and manage the organisation effectively
- Sound management of ASAN’s finances and its other resources remains a strong component of ASAN’s core structure. We need to ensure that our services are running efficiently and that we are maintaining our assets to a high standard.
- Manage and support staff to perform to the best of their abilities and feel valued. This year we want to communicate better with staff through regular update meetings.
- Revisit the ASAN marketing plan and refresh actions to ensure we are marketing our services appropriately.
- Maintain a skilled and knowledgeable board. This year a governance review is being carried and we need to make sure we implement its recommendations.
- Complete our annual Social Accounts to ensure we are demonstrating our impact.