Delivering Social Value
had to look at closing down. Luckily, that’s around the same time that I was approached by Keepmoat to become Special Projects Manager and, then later, Group Corporate and Social Responsibility Manager. “I then stayed in that role for about 5 years, before I was seconded to my current post as Social Value and Partnership Manager with the Citywide Developer Partnership. And the experience has been so rewarding! Granted, there are a lot of plates to spin, with us working across multiple different areas and linking in with all kinds of organisations, but it’s always worthwhile and we get 100% backing from the business to propose new ideas and think outside the box.” Sure enough, Mark does have a lot of these proverbial plates to spin, as Keepmoat is involved with a frankly dizzying amount of social value projects that keep him rather busy. From working with young people in care to those who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), residents with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and also the local prisoner population; it’s overwhelming for us to contemplate how much he’s doing. Yet Mark has capably managed to keep on top of his responsibilities and in fact, has aspirations to do even more in the future.
we’re declining a promising sponsorship opportunity or turning down an ethical project that will have a positive impact for somebody. But we [ultimately] have to think about what best aligns with our goals of building more sustainable communities in the region.” Examples of recent initiatives that did make the cut include: helping to establish a new pop-up Youth Hub in Broadsworth (with the aim of reducing antisocial behaviour); sponsoring and supporting New Beginnings and last year’s Recovery Games (an event that celebrates those who are overcoming drug or alcohol dependency); and developing a board game for local secondary schools that’s intended to raise awareness about various social issues (like vaping, sleep deprivation, self-harm, and knife crime)
while also offering careers advice and guidance. What unifies all of this disparate activity is that everything Keepmoat does is focused on making sure that local communities, within which its housing sites are situated, are the main beneficiaries. Elaborating upon this idea, Mark says: “Most of our customers are moving into their first-ever homes and they’ll want to feel safe, engaged, and like they’re part of a good neighbourhood. That’s why we try to look at things like how to bring down antisocial behaviour, how to foster a deeper sense of community via clubs, activities and allotments, and how green spaces can be utilized.”
When we ask him how Keepmoat decides which causes it’s going to support, Mark clarifies: “There’s a whole raft of environmental and social impacts that we can make and that means we’ve got to be selective about the projects we choose to take on. “The other important thing to note is that we cannot always support all of the requests we get, there has to be a shared purpose to these activities somewhere down the line, otherwise, we cannot justify us dedicating so much of our resource to them, as hard as they might be sometimes. Because it can be difficult to say ‘no’ when, for instance, Building Communities. Transforming Lives
“I’m very lucky because I get to be involved in supporting our communities”, opines Mark Burley, as he reflects on all of the fantastic work that Keepmoat does for the betterment of our region. As Social Value and Partnerships Manager for the house builder’s Yorkshire East division — which, tangentially, was identified as our Large Business of the Year in 2023 — it is clear that he takes immense pride in his job. And with good reason too. After all, it puts him in a unique position to make a real difference within the local area and to bring about meaningful change that not only benefits residents here in Doncaster, but that also extends far beyond our city limits. Describing the sense of purpose he derives from his role, Mark continues: “It’s about seeing communities evolve and figuring out how they can become more sustainable. I took on this job because I believe in that goal and in Keepmoat’s mission to transform lives.
A Career-Long Mission Indeed, Mark has been in the Social Value space for a while now. Before joining Keepmoat, he cut his teeth at Sheffield Council, where he oversaw numerous regeneration projects that were related to improving the city’s infrastructure and employment. From there, he started his own consultancy business (Square Orange) that specialised in equality and inclusion programmes and counted the likes of Next & G4S amongst its high-profile clientele. It’s also where he happened to connect up with Keepmoat Homes and, in the process, set in motion the fruitful next stage of his career. Giving us the background on this, Mark tells us: “Towards the end of 2013, a lot of the funding streams that were instrumental to our work at Square Orange began to dry up and so we
On a related, the team have recently been involved in scoping out an ambitious project that’s all about looking after the environment. The way it works is that school children are incentivized to collect plastic waste and take it to a relevant depositary so that it can be reused. The amount of recycling they do under this scheme is then recorded on a bespoke app, which they can use to generate a reward. Not to mention, there are additional plans to use this resource as a way of raising awareness about the career opportunities that are available to young people in Doncaster’s bustling green sector, although the specifics of this are still being figured out. The app isn’t the only way that Keepmoat is engaging with the next generation either, as they also run the innovative Roots to Roof programme, wherein primary school children pretend to be the owners of their very own housing company and must then construct a miniature home (keeping in mind practical considerations like costs, sustainability and environmental impact). The hope is that, at the end of this extended role-play, students will be inspired to take up a career in the construction industry. Describing the rationale behind this, Mark expounds: “We’re in a sector with an ageing workforce and it’s going to result in a skills gap eventually. The industry needs almost 30,000 extra tradespeople by 2026 to meet growing demand, and that’s a daunting challenge when you consider that staffing dropped by 5% in 2021. So being able to engage with young people through all of these activities, and introducing them to construction when they might otherwise never have thought about it, is a massive opportunity for us. It’s CSR work that has a real payback.”
Using students from Doncaster College, Keepmoat Homes helped to revamp the garden area of the People Focused Group, a local charity that helps those who are struggling with their mental health.
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