John Lyon's charity Annual Report 2024 - Report - Page 24
Achievements so far
A total of £2,457,700 in Replication funding had been
committed as of 31 March 2024, out of a total budget of
£4,655,000. Funding has been awarded to 28 organisations
to replicate some of the most successful projects and
initiatives to reach more children and young people in
other parts of the Beneficial Area.
Impacts and lessons learned
Our experience of awarding Replication Fund grants
revealed the key principles needed for a strong and
successful Replication project, that distinguish it from
other meaningful activities and services that could be
supported in other ways by the Charity.
• In order to be replicated, there has to be a strong delivery
model already in existence. Grants awarded through this
Fund do not support the development of new projects,
rather it supports projects that already have a clear
structure of tight inputs, outputs and outcomes.
• It is impossible to replicate services that are dependent
on either a unique venue or one or two key individuals for
success. Services need to be able to be transported to a
new location and with different members of staff without
compromising on the quality of the provision.
• The replicated activities, or expansion should not detract
from the organisation’s existing programmes or cause
the organisation to become unstable and overstretched.
Putting an organisation at risk of collapse as a result of
spreading themselves too thin is the exact opposite of
what we are hoping to achieve.
• Highly replicable projects are those that can generate
economies of scale through increased activity across
multiple settings.
It is certainly not the case that every successful project can
be replicated, and, like the Collaboration Fund, the Charity
had to temper its enthusiasm to replicate projects that were
only just managing to stay afloat. It was easier to replicate
models that already ran across multiple settings, and had
a strong delivery model, such as Emotional Wellbeing
initiatives in schools.
The Charity’s priority has always been to support grassroots
local organisations, so we have needed to be very sensitive
to not parachute services into an area that could be seen as
taking over or stepping on the toes of others. The support
of the local YPFs has therefore been crucial in smoothing
the path for replicating organisations to ensure that they
really are filling a gap in service delivery and not duplicating
something that a local provider is or should be doing.
Identifying our six key themes for expanding services in
underserved boroughs has allowed us to replicate a diverse
range of impactful projects. However, we’ve deliberately
taken the time to ensure that we are implementing the right
initiatives in the right locations to effectively address the
needs of vulnerable children and young people.
CASE STUDY
Turtle Key Arts
Turtle Key Arts have run its award-winning monthly Key
Club based at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith since 2007
to support autistic young people aged 16-30 through life
transitions utilising the power of the Arts. Club members
grow in confidence, improve their social skills, form
friendships and learn how to work in a group through
participating in creative activities. The Club responds to the
increased risk of autistic young people to become socially
isolated during key life transition points which can impact
on self esteem and cause mental health issues.
Using the Charity’s long-standing relationship with The Kiln,
in Brent, Turtle Key Arts with support from the Replication
Fund, have been able to replicate the Key Club in a new
setting reaching 16 autistic young people from the Charity’s
outer boroughs.
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JOHN LYON’S CHARITY ANNUAL REPORT 2024
