Ben Reynolds Consulting Ltd

1. City and County of Swansea Council/Swansea Council for Voluntary Services (SCVS) - Compact

Policy recommendations and production of a new Compact agreement
between the Local Authority and the voluntary/community sector in Swansea.
The work included consideration of the positioning of the Compact in the
context of the modernisation of local government and the Community Planning
process.

The work undertaken involved consultation with a wide range of stakeholders from
within the voluntary/community sector in Swansea, as well as key officers and Members from the Local Authority and also the Better Swansea Partnership, which
oversees the implementation of the Swansea Community Plan.

The research phase involved quantitative questionnaires and setting of baseline data and qualitative research with focus groups and one to one interviews.

2. All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (AWEMA)

Community Consultation work via Sylfaen Cynefin:

Swansea multi-cultural centre

Consultation with BME (Black Minority Ethnic) community organisations as part of a pre-feasibility study in to the demand for a multi-cultural community centre for the Swansea Bay area.  The research involved a series of focus groups and interviews with representatives from a range of BME community organisations.

Cardiff multi-cultural women's centre

Consultation with women from BME communities in Cardiff to generate a needs analysis.  The research involved an on-street questionnaire survey with BME women, alongside focus group research.

Perceptions and take-up of childcare in Wales

The commission for AWEMA and the Welsh Assembly Government carried out research in to perceptions and take-up of childcare by Black and Minority Ethnic communities across Wales.  The research utilised interactive ICT data capture methods to gather quantitative data from groups of respondents, supplemented by focus groups and key informant interviews.

3. Swansea Youth Arts Strategy

This was a collation of research materials developed through a 3 phase research process, and working with stakeholders to produce the Youth Arts Strategy for the City and County of Swansea area.

4. Dylan Thomas Fringe Festivals 2005, 2006 & 2007

Project development, funding and coordination of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Swansea Fringe (subsequently Dylan Thomas Fringe) festivals.

5. Dylan Thomas Prize Ltd.

Ongoing tailored finance and governance support for the Dylan Thomas Prize.  The largest literature Prize in the world after Nobel, the Dylan Thomas Prize focuses on young writers, writing in the English language in a variety of media in which Dylan wrote.  The focus of the Prize is to reward the unique voice of young writers.  The first Prize, awarded in 2006, was won by Rachel Tresize for her novel Fresh Apples.  The Prize is bi-ennial, with the next award due in November 2008.

6. Ty Agored Abertawe Open House 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008

Organisation and management of Ty Agored Abertawe Open House 2005 - 2008 events in conjunction with Sylfaen Cynefin. The work involved developing the event, raising finance and managing the Open House events in 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008.

7. >SOL<
This work involved consultation with a hard-to-reach potential consumer group to gauge potential demand for alternative therapies specifically focused on those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.  The work informed the development of project >SOL< as a developing charity and social enterprise

8. Gorseinon College & Swansea Arts Forum Trust Ltd

Small Grants scheme; design and implementation of small grants schemes for Gorseinon College and Swansea Arts Forum Trust Ltd.; covering application guidance, liaison between all relevant parties, formulation of guidance notes and applications process, provision of terms of reference and guidance notes for grant panels.

9. Cydcoed

Project delivery of Cydcoed funding, working with voluntary/community groups, undertaken for the Forestry Commission Wales.  The commission involved working with voluntary/community sector groups to access Cydcoed funding to improve community access and ownership of woodland.  A 100% success rate was achieved, generating £855,000, split between 9 different community projects based in the City and County of Swansea, Neath-Port Talbot and Bridgend County Boroughs.  Projects ranged from small school nature reserves to ambitious county-wide schemes covering multiple sites.

Work in 2008, undertaken with Hall Aitken, has provided further project delivery support to Cydcoed and the Forestry Commission, working with 36 Cydcoed funded projects in South Wales to achieve physical, financial and technical completion of projects on time and on budget.

10. Working groups and publications

Ben is also a regular contributor to many community work think-tanks, and
has also contributed to published works. He is currently contributing to
the revised edition of 'Community Work' by Alan Twelvetrees (forthcoming).

Ben Reynolds Consulting also works with a team of subject matter experts in
various related fields.