A Guide to Financial Metrics
This guidance note aims to support the Towns to think through how different types of measures can be used to assess success for their intended outputs and outcomes.
The purpose of this guidance note is to support the Towns to think through how different types of measures can be used to assess success for their intended outputs and outcomes.
It enables Towns to understand which measures are best suited to their needs dependent upon the interventions proposed and the context of their place. This will allow them to not only prepare a TIP which considers the preferred option(s) but allows them to consider a suite of scenarios as part of their internal thinking.
The guidance note will provide information for each key financial metric, including:
A brief description
‘What good looks like’
Opportunities for Towns to present their view on specific metrics
An Introduction to Strategy Planning
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview for towns to develop their strategy for their Town Investment Plan.
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview for towns to develop their strategy for their Town Investment Plan.
The information is intentionally presented at a high level. Please contact your Town Coordinator if you require more detailed strategy support or to request more detailed guidance or workshops in this area.
Project Prioritisation Tool
This updated tool aims to help towns ensure that the projects put forward for further appraisal fit the Town’s objectives and MHCLG’s requirements. This version supersedes the previous version uploaded to the website.
NB: This is an updated version of the previously provided tool
This Project Prioritisation Tool aims to help towns ensure that the projects put forward for further appraisal fit the Town’s objectives and MHCLG’s requirements.
The tool will help you to prioritise a long list of projects, taking you through two stages of assessment to score the projects against a set of town specific criteria, and Green Book appraisal criteria.
The recent blog posts Project Prioritisation 101 and From long list to short list provide some guidance on how to use this tool, but please do read the ‘Overview READ ME’ tab of the Excel prior to using the tool, as this provides a thorough explanation as to how the tool works.
If you have any issues accessing or using the tool, please contact your town coordinator.
An Introduction to Theory of Change
This short video presentation will provide you with an introduction to “Theory of Change” – what it is and why it matters for your Town Investment Plan
This short session will provide you with an introduction to “Theory of Change” – what it is and why it matters for your Town Investment Plan. Please find a recorded video and presentation slides below.
An Introduction to Education, Skills & Enterprise
Our Education and Skills team have provided an introductory guide, highlighting the key considerations for towns when designing projects.
Our Education and Skills team have provided an introductory guide, highlighting the key considerations for towns when designing projects.
The guide has been designed to help towns consider education and skills in supporting and driving forward their TIP ambitions, as well as reflect upon the intrinsic link between skills and employment, and the role of skills development in enabling learning opportunities.
Good Governance Tool
This tool is designed to help you get the best from your board. It’s an opportunity for you to reflect on what a high performing board looks like, plan how you can support and improve your board and identify any extra support needs you may have.
The Towns Fund provides an opportunity for transformational investment in your town and acts as a platform for future policy and development. Your Town Deal Board has an essential role to play and is responsible for producing Town Investment Plans and overseeing compliance with the Heads of Terms Agreement with the government. Therefore, it’s crucial that the board performs well.
This tool is designed to help you get the best from your board. It’s an opportunity for you to reflect on what a high performing board looks like, plan how you can support and improve your board and identify any extra support needs you may have.
The tool looks at the four themes which are core to good governance and high performing boards:
working well as a board team
working in the open
engaging with relevant partners and the community
making good decisions
An Introduction to Environmental Monitoring & Impact Analysis
One of the principles of the Towns Fund is clean growth. Clean growth increase productivity, create good jobs, boost earning power for people right across the country, and help protect the climate and environment upon which we and future generations depend.
Towns are well placed to incorporate clean growth investment in their TIPs. Using an ‘outcome-let design process’ Towns should set clear objectives at the outset of their TIP to drive positive environmental outcomes and clean growth.
This document provides outcome ‘themes’ that Towns could consider in their TIPs. It provides example indicators that can be used to assess the effectiveness of the environmental objectives as well as signposting to key guidance documents and information resources.
Sustainable Energy Brochure
This short brochure sets out the key steps to realise your sustainable energy aspirations as part of your Town Investment Plan.
Sustainable energy can make a contribution towards clean growth. Depending on the eventual interventions, sustainable energy projects are most likely to contribute to your Target Outcomes relating to local transport or urban regeneration.
In this short brochure we set out the key steps to realise your sustainable energy aspirations as part of your Town Investment Plan.
Total Towns Outcome Framework
The Total Towns Outcomes Framework is a tool to help you think holistically about the longer-term factors and considerations in shaping a thriving, healthy and economically-sustainable place.
To aid you in the request for all towns to complete the Total Towns Outcome Questionnaire, the Total Towns Outcomes Framework is a tool to help you think holistically about the longer-term factors and considerations in shaping a thriving, healthy and economically-sustainable place.
We’ve aligned this framework with MHCLG’s requirements for assessing Town Investment Plans and agreeing deals. We recognise many of the outcomes this framework references go beyond the lifespan of the Towns Fund programme. We therefore hope that it provides you with a way of framing the medium- to longer-term aspirations for your town. You should use it to identify the people, skills and investment you’ll need to achieve these aspirations.
EIA Screening Guidance
It is advised that towns undertake an internal EIA Screening exercise for all projects in their TIPs. This guide sets out the process.
Our Environmental specialists have put together a short guide to the Environmental Impact Assessment Screening process. This note provides Towns with a brief introduction of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations and overview of the EIA process.
It is recommended that Towns undertake an internal EIA Screening exercise for all projects in their Towns Investment Plan to ensure that sufficient time and budget for the EIA process is factored into the project programme and budget. This note sets out the steps for EIA Screening as well as providing a checklist for Towns to screen projects against.
Biodiversity Net Gain Webinar
This recorded video introduces the subject of Biodiversity Net Gain, providing towns with advice of how to incorporate the principles in their proposals.
Biodiversity Net Gain is an approach to development that leaves biodiversity in a better state than before. Where a development has an impact on biodiversity it encourages developers to provide an increase in appropriate natural habitat and ecological features over and above that being affected in such a way it is hoped that the current loss of biodiversity through development will be halted and ecological networks can be restored.
This recorded webinar provides an introduction to the topic, providing advice for towns in considering Biodiversity Net Gain in their proposals.
Covid Vulnerability Tool
This dashboard tool provides data of vulnerable groups for your town, that need to be considered carefully given the impacts of Covid-19.
In developing a robust Town Investment Plan (TIP) it is important to consider the potential impacts and implications of Covid-19. These impacts will be felt across multiple sectors, they will change how people live and work and they will shape consumer behaviour and trends.
The purpose of this tool is to assist in understanding the full impact of Covid-19 on your town, providing data on a range of indicators that start to describe an area’s vulnerability to the effects and impacts of Covid-19.
The dashboard has three tabs:
Introduction - an explanation of the purpose of the dashboard, and how to use it
Indicator explanation - definitions of different vulnerability indicators
Dashboard - the tool, presenting the data of vulnerable residents of your town in an easy to use dashboard format
Stakeholder and Community Audit Guidance
A guidance document providing an overview of the types of information to consider when developing your Business Case or delivery plan and identifying stakeholders to proactively engage in the process.
To develop a successful Business Case or delivery plan you will need to actively engage with key stakeholders within your town. A shared vision and commitment from a range of stakeholders, showing how they have played (and will continue to play) an active role in the development of your project, will go some way to demonstrating that you have secured buy-in from the local community.
This document, produced by Copper, provides an overview of the types of information to consider when developing your Business Case or delivery plan and identifying stakeholders to proactively engage in the process.
Stakeholder Engagement Plan Guidance
This document provides you with initial guidance when developing your approach to stakeholder engagement, and a template that can be followed to establish a stakeholder engagement plan.
Written by our communication and engagement experts at Copper Consultancy, this guidance document aims to assist towns with preparing a plan for engaging, communicating and consulting with their local community and key stakeholders.
The document provides you with initial guidance when developing your approach to stakeholder engagement, and a template that can be followed to establish a stakeholder engagement plan. However, the approach to stakeholder engagement can and should differ according to local objectives, challenges and other specific characteristics of your town.
Including Health and Wellbeing in Your TIP
This document sets out some high-level considerations for health and wellbeing as you develop your TIP.
It also sets out a format for engaging more in-depth with health and wellbeing in your TIP development, if you require 1-to-1 support in this area.
The Towns Fund Delivery Partner will be able to help you incorporate health and wellbeing into your Town Investment Plan through:
Providing web content and blogs on the TownsFund.org.uk website
Hosting group workshops with towns
Providing 1-to-1 support, as requested through your Town Coordinator
This document sets out some high-level considerations for health and Wellbeing as you develop your TIP. It also sets out a format for engaging more in-depth with health and wellbeing in your TIP development, if you require 1-to-1 support in this area.
An Introduction to Crime and Security
This short guide from our Crime and Security experts provides an introduction to the topic, and highlights key areas that towns should consider when designing and planning projects.
It is imperative that projects designed to enhance the town, do not inadvertently compromise the safety, security and the well-being of residents, or adversely affect the attractiveness and ultimately the economic stability of the area.
Our Crime and Security experts have provided an introductory guide, highlighting the key considerations for towns when designing projects.
You’ve declared a Climate Emergency…Next steps: Transport
This guide focuses on practical actions towns can take now to encourage sustainable transport, while creating social, economic, and health benefits for residents.
Excessive car-dependence is a critical component of many challenges towns in the UK are facing, including the impact of climate change, the health and well-being of people, and the vibrancy of neighbourhood and town centres. This guide focuses on practical actions towns can take now to encourage sustainable transport, while creating social, economic, and health benefits for residents.
Foresight Guidance
How do you make sense of the range of evidence to inform the development of your town strategy, to ensure it is robust, credible and has the support of the stakeholders? This guide provides information to support your TIP.
How do you make sense of the range of evidence to inform the development of your town strategy, to ensure it is robust, credible and has the support of the stakeholders?
This short guide highlights the evidence base supporting town strategies and TIPs. It provides information on:
how to use evidence to build a shared understanding amongst stakeholders of the issues;
how to consider the drivers for change impacting on your town; and
future scenarios on how your town can develop and change in the future.
Sustainable Growth Index
Looking beyond traditional measures of success, Grant Thornton’s Sustainable Growth Index provides key information to help you understand the performance of your town across six key outcomes.
The Towns Fund Further Guidance explicitly suggests that towns incorporate a focus on inclusive growth in order to reflect the fact that many of the towns face serious social and economic challenges.
In order to support discussion around this and to stimulate thinking, Grant Thornton’s Sustainable Growth Index provides a useful tool for analysing the different components that create successful places. This document provides guidance on how to effectively use the Index.
You’ve declared a Climate Emergency...what next?
Many of the 100 towns have declared a climate emergency, and the Towns Fund Guidance issued by MHCLG states that “clean growth represents a huge opportunity for the UK economy, and is a core principle of the Towns Fund.” This short guide helps break down the challenge of tackling climate change, based on our experience of helping local authorities around the world to develop and deliver effective climate action plans.
Many of the 100 towns have declared a climate emergency, and the Towns Fund Guidance issued by MHCLG states that “clean growth represents a huge opportunity for the UK economy, and is a core principle of the Towns Fund.” This short guide helps break down the challenge of tackling climate change, based on our experience of helping local authorities around the world to develop and deliver effective climate action plans.