Three more briefings are now available from the WGI Learning and impact services.

Despite the disruption caused by Covid-19, the work of Women and Girls Initiative (WGI) projects and the learning and impact services partners (Tavistock Institute, DMSS Research and CWASU), have continued at pace. We have been sharing insights based on the experiences and learning that projects have accumulated since lockdown began, through a series of blogs. We have also continued bringing together learning, that was gathered just before the lockdown, into a series of briefings. The first three briefings published are:

Partnership working for women and girls shares learning from three of the largest partnerships of the WGI: Women’s Lives Leeds, the Greater Manchester Women’s Support Alliance and the Sheffield Women and Girls Partnership. They came together in March to share learning from their experiences of partnership working as part of the WGI. The briefing summarises some of their successes and challenges, and what they are finding is working well in delivering effective services.

Women’s mental health: the essential contribution of feminist services is drawn from presentations and discussions at a WGI MSterclass that took place in January 2020. It gives a brief introduction to feminist approaches to women’s mental health, explaining why they are needed and the value they add. It includes the words of women who have benefited from such services and examples from WGI projects.

“It’s been a game changer” shares what projects have told us about the impact of being funded through the WGI. The report describes how longer-term WGI funding helped organisations move from survival to growth, increased the profile and reputations of organisations, strengthened their voice, networks of support and learning and helped to increase capacity, co-production and sustainability of services.

All three documents are relevant for:

• Organisations working with women and girls, whether WGI funded or not.
• Commissioners, funders and anyone else interested in supporting, or wanting to find out more about, specialist work with women and girls.

Other publications generated through the WGI so far are available by visiting the project page.

All of the work undertaken as part of the WGI Learning and Impact Services has been funded as part of a £44.7million investment into the WGI, using funds raised through the National Lottery. This funding is supporting 62 organisations across England to empower women and girls, providing dedicated support for women and girls in local communities through outreach, advice and advocacy, refuge and prevention projects.

Additional support for WGI grant-holders, through the Learning and Impact Services, was contracted by The National Lottery Community Fund, in recognition that there is a need to empower projects to provide strong evidence of what works when supporting women and girls, ensuring they have the confidence, skills and ability to share inspirational stories and communicate their successes and learning.  This support is being delivered by three partner organisations: Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR), DMSS Research (DMSS) and the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU).

• “It’s been a game changer” The impact of National Lottery funding on women and girls’ projects
• Women’s Mental Health – The Essential Contribution of Feminist Services: briefing paper
• Partnership Working for Women and Girls: Briefing Paper