Good Morning Northern Ireland Network tweets and speaks its impact!

Gauge, a social enterprise business which measures social, economic and environmental impact were commissioned by Good Morning Northern IrelandNetwork (GMNNI) to measure the impact and value of its memberservices.  Initially, piloting the impact and value of its North Belfast and Newry & Mourne services (whose reports are pending public launch in Autumn 2011), GMNNI further embedded the work in a planned phased development with Gauge to value the outcomes of each of its member services to funders, and key stakeholders alike.

Good Morning is a free, community based telephone support service for older and vulnerable people, supporting them to remain independent in their own homes.  It provides daily phone calls, alerting others if a call is not answered, thus providing service users and their families with peace of mind. In addition, the service provides telephone support, enabling users to share worries and concerns and connecting them with local community activities and services.  With a membership of 22 Good Morning services throughout Northern Ireland it provides a coordinated and sustainable approach to service provision, giving due regard to the distinctiveness of each service by providing guidance, support, information and training to its membership, and also acts as an alert service should a call be unanswered.

Good Morning Northern Ireland Network recently launched a new website in August www.goodmorningni.org.  The site not only features information about the Network. It provides a platform for Good Morning Services to have a presence on the web.  The main website features access to a home page for each of the 22 Good Morning Services within the Network.  This, in effect, provides each Network member with its own content managed website, and in tandem a Twitter service @Good_Morning_NI.   An ‘expression of interest’ facility is available for anyone who wishes to consider registering for a Good Morning call with a local Service and also features links to other relevant organisations.

Increasingly, third sector organisations are starting to measure the value and impact of their own work with increasing attention to the social and economic value and impacts created for communities and beneficiaries across Northern Ireland. 

Colin Dickenson, Development Officer, at Good Morning Northern Ireland Network recognises the need to develop a sustainable model for its Good Morning Services.  Colin says, “Through Gauge, Social Return On Investment (SROI) has enabled the Network to identify a consistent approach in reporting the changes caused by Good Morning service delivery. This, in turn, will allow for a clear presentation of added social and economic values to current and potential funders.”