We’ve been listening closely to your feedback and are excited to share the updates we’ll be rolling out in the coming months.
These improvements are all based on your must-have requests, and we’re working hard to make your experience even better!
Here’s a sneak peek:
Clarified Login Process: We’ll make it easier for suppliers and community organisations to identify the authority they’re logging into so there is no more confusion!
Correct Account Sign-ups: We’re streamlining the sign-up process to ensure organisations select the correct account type—no more mix-ups.
Feedback Visibility & Nudges: Authorities will be able to see who has completed feedback and remind users to finish it, saving time and speeding up projects.
Unmatch Supplier Offers: Authorities will be able to unmatch offers that can’t be completed, making it easier to keep things on track.
Remove Supplier Offers from the Directory: If a supplier offer becomes irrelevant, authorities will be able to remove it from the directory.
Ask Suppliers About Contracts: We’ll add a simple question to help with approval processes and make identifying who you’re already working with easier.
Improved Directory Cards: The cards in the community project directory will include useful project details, such as dates and locations, for better matches.
Project Flags: Projects that have been waiting for support for a long time and new projects since your last visit will be flagged.
Edit Feedback After the Window: Authorities will soon be able to reopen feedback editing if it needs to be amended outside the usual 3-week window.
Feedback Edits & Requests: Authorities will be able to request edits to feedback directly on the platform, eliminating email back and forth.
Plus, there are many more improvements like easier search for locations, the ability for suppliers to add documents to offers, and making sure your projects don’t expire unexpectedly.
These updates are designed to make your time on the platform more efficient, transparent, and productive. Stay tuned for these exciting changes!
Here are some things to think about when posting projects and using Match My Project.
When signing up for an account, DO…
Sign up with accurate information about your organisation
Wait for an email to access your account, once the contracting authority has accepted your registration
Remember to look and check at whether there are supplier offers that you can match to, which will help your project without having to make a request
When posting a project, DO…
Include information that is relevant to the project, for example, does it require a DBS check if working on site? If the building is leased, do you have relevant permissions to undertake any work? etc.
Think about if your project adds a social, environmental or economic benefit to our customers, communities or society.
Remember that there are other resources available for projects from our suppliers, including time, materials, advice, training and jobs. This isn’t just about funding
Upload a breakdown when asking for funding – with quotes where possible
Ensure your project has a very clear title and description
Highlight whether communities and residents are already engaged in the project
Highlight if projects are time sensitive. Please then upload with as much notice as possible to increase the likelihood of a match. For example, if you have a Christmas activity, then post the project by the end of October
Remember that the “ideal value” of a project is between £1,000 to £3,000. Larger projects have been matched, but this is rare
Be aware that larger requests are less likely to be matched. So, can they be broken down into smaller separate requests and uploaded in stages?
Remember that your project will appear in the ‘Directory’ for Businesses to view
Get ready to receive offers from businesses to complete your projects and respond promptly
Contact the business about your requirements before accepting the offer to ensure you’re both aligned (do you need to see copies of Insurance? Names of staff working on a project? Key contact details? Etc). Make sure that you’re happy to go ahead with them as a project partner
Ensure that each party agrees and understands its responsibilities
Accept the offer
During project matching, DO…
Get started with the project once you’ve accepted an offer from a business. Reach out to them via the contact details provided
Make sure you keep track of the hours, donations and resources that the business is donating during the project. Verify this information with the business as well
Share feedback once the project has completed. You will be able to see your feedback from the business once you’ve given them feedback
Keep trackof your progress using your dashboard
…DON’T
Post a project if you don’t have the relevant permissions or can’t provide evidence for it
Apply if you think it’s purely a way to save on budgets
Additional things to consider
Have you thought about other means of support for your project?
Empower other community groups by encouraging them to register and post their own projects
Please note that there is no guarantee of a match on the platform and we don’t have unlimited resources from suppliers
Once a project is complete, please upload your feedback onto the platform to ensure verification of the project can take place and other groups can see what parties are like to work with
Please note that support and resources are limited. All requests will be assessed, but unfortunately making a request doesn’t guarantee a match
Top Tips based on feedback from businesses using MMP
Make your project title specific and clear!
Scenario 1 (Example taken directly from supplier)
A community organisation is requesting mobile devices, computers and tablets
DON’T put your project title as: “Request for mobile devices, computers and tablets for volunteers”
DO put your title as : “10 tablets for volunteers” (this is more specific)
Scenario 2
A community organisation is requesting books for students
DON’T put your project title as: “Reading books for [Community Organisation]’s student reading programme”
DO put your title as: “15 reading books for students”
Reason: The title of the project provides the supplier with a clear understanding of the request from the outset, which can increase the attraction to the request. This is how you win the supplier over, so be specific and concise.
Upload a breakdown when asking for funding!
If you are asking for an item, for example a printer or desk, then:
DO: include the make and model of the item you need
DO: include a quote where possible or link to the item
DON’T: leave this information out
Reasons: Suppliers need to know the financial impact of the request and what exactly the money is being used for.
This ensures that there is no confusion regarding what the community organisation requires.
Break down projects into smaller projects!
If the financial impact of the project is high, break it down into separate projects with each having a financial request of no more than £2,000.
Using Scenario 1:
DON’T write:
Mobile devices, laptops and tablets needed for Volunteers
10 mobile devices, 10 laptops and 10 tablets needed for volunteers across Cambridgeshire to enable them to connect with others and take notes.
DO write:
Project 1
10 mobile devices
To provide 10 volunteers across Cambridgeshire with a mobile device to enable them to connect with others.
Project 2
10 laptops
To provide 10 volunteers across Cambridgeshire with a laptop to enable them to take notes.
Project 3
10 tablets
To provide 10 volunteers across Cambridgeshire with a digital tablet to enable them to create documents.
Reasons: Breaking down the project will give you a greater chance of being matched as the average value of projects that get matched across the platform is £1,100.
More than one supplier can then meet your individual request as opposed to rejecting the request because the financial impact is too great.
Where possible and if your cash flow allows it, consider paying for the project and invoicing for reimbursement.
How this looks practically: If a supplier accepts a project, consider paying for that project then sending the invoice to the supplier to receive reimbursement.
Reason: Once committed to a project suppliers will likely deliver, however, the nuances around your request may be better served by you. Where this is the case, this approach will benefit both parties. Please ensure that you have this documented and agreed prior to the start of the project.
ADDITIONAL TIPS
Provide as much information as possible, especially the cost to get better results!
Here is a blog about top tips for community organisations.
As more and more organisations sign up to Match My Project, an important question is – how does Match My Project work alongside the National TOMs?
The National TOMs framework is a set of financial proxies that provides a financial value for Social Value requirements – often specified in government tender documents.
They were introduced in 2016 by the Local Government Association but are owned by the Social Value Portal. Currently, to access the TOMs you have to sign up to the Social Value Portal.
There are alternatives. For example HACT, Loop, Thrive and the Social Value Engine. The approach set out below can apply to these frameworks as well.
There is currently no technical integration between Match My Project and any of the products mentioned above, including the Social Value Portal.
A general process for using the TOMs alongside Match My Project
Many authorities start by adapting the TOMs to make them specific for their own places.
For example, our colleagues in Stockport have ‘Stockportified’ a number of the outcomes and are using about 40, which reflect Stockport’s priorities.
Once the outcomes are identified, the measures linked to those outcomes are shared with suppliers in tender documentation.
Most commonly, these are:
NT7 – Hours supporting unemployed people into work
NT8 – Local school and college visits
NT15 – Expert business advice to VCSEs
NT16 – Equipment or resources donated to VCSEs
NT17 – Voluntary hours donated to VCSEs
NT28 – Donations or in kind contributions to local community projects
NT29 – No of hours volunteering to support community projects
Suppliers are then signposted, in the tender documents, to Match My Project to find corresponding Social Value projects to deliver.
Within contract meetings, the contract manager cross references between the Social Value projects found on Match My Project and the TOMs to ensure they align, to see whether suppliers have met their targets and / or to calculate the financial proxies.
What if there isn’t alignment between the TOMs and Social Value projects found on Match My Project?
If a supplier can’t find a Social Value project to support, the supplier can post the Social Value commitment on Match My Project and wait for a community organisation to pick up the offer (or refer in a local person to, for example, access an apprenticeship opportunity).
Is the current situation ideal?
No!
From an operational point of view, suppliers have to use two systems. So far, this isn’t proving a problem, but it’s not ‘optimal’. Full technical integration via an API would solve this.
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And we are very aware of the wider debate about the limitations of using a measurement framework like the TOMs.
Pure descriptions of every Social Value projects – like those found on Match My Project – may be true to reality, but would be difficult to compare, generalise and therefore learn from.
At the other end of the spectrum, financial values based on simplifying assumptions allow comparisons to be made while sacrificing some validity of those comparisons.
Match My Project is a Social Value delivery platform
Our primary focus is to get Social Value delivered in communities, where it’s needed most. Our matchmaking tools facilitate connections between suppliers and community partners – of whom we now have approximately 900 registered on Match My Project.
But we also include an annual SROI evaluation, which provides a more robust assessment of the impact delivered.
Meanwhile, our government, business and community partners can see the tangible Social Value being delivered on Match My Project, because it is verified by community beneficiaries.
Come along to our next online event: ‘Match My Project – By the Numbers’ where take a closer look at the impact being created by the platform.
