Getting the Job Done

By now you've decided what you want to do, designed how you want it to look and are well on the way to securing the money for the project. Now comes one of the most exciting parts of the project - starting work. You will need to decide how you want to carry out the practical works and who will be best placed to carry it out.

You may decide to use:

Volunteers

It's a good idea to involve the project group and other local volunteers as much as possible when implementing your project, especially the practical parts. This may be easier to achieve on some phases than on others, but even small contributions such as photographing the work as it progresses or assisting with planting can promote a feeling of ownership and enthusiasm for the project. A photographic record is particularly good to include when claiming your grant money as it provides a positive way of informing funders of how the money has been used.

If you do decide to use volunteers for part of the practical work it's important to do a risk assessment to identify any possible risks that may be present on site and to decide how you can tackle them. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) have some useful information on public safety in a variety of situations on their website*.   You will also need to consider getting some form of insurance cover for your volunteers.

Local Organisations

There are a number of organisations operating at the local level that have a great deal of experience in implementing projects as well as having experience of working with and encouraging project volunteers, enabling them to take part in projects at an appropriate level that is both safe and rewarding. You may already have contacted one to help with your design or community consultation, if so you may have already discussed how they can help you with the implementation phase of your project. Our contacts section has a list of specialist organisations that can help community groups with a variety of services including practical project work.

It's worthwhile spending some time finding out what these groups can offer you. A fairly small amount of money to make use of one of these groups can potentially mean an enormous bonus in terms of the quality of the final project and the number of local people successfully involved in carrying it out. Many people feel more secure about volunteering their time in a practical project if they feel there is professional guidance and experience available.

* - External Link
Please note that views expressed by external websites may not be those held by the Lancashire County Council. Lancashire County Council accepts no responsibility for any material contained on these sites.