Luton Roma Trust (LRT) is a recipient of a three-year National Lottery Community Fund grant. As this grant period comes to an end, the organisation commissioned CSC to deliver an independent evaluation to demonstrate their value and impact, and to secure more funding, off the back of successful Steps to Recovery collaboration.
In partnership with statutory agencies, LRT supports the local Roma community, many of whom have migrated to the UK in recent years, to establish their lives in Luton and integrate holistically into life in the UK. With lived experience as its heart, the organisation works with the community delivering three pillars of support: empowering the Roma community in Luton; advocating for the Roma community in Luton and helping Roma individuals to develop a sense of cultural identity.
The Project Brief
CSC’s evaluation report assesses and demonstrates the impact that Luton Roma Trust (LRT) has had on its beneficiaries and the wider community over the past decade. The evaluation also provides recommendations for LRT’s organisational development, partnership working and future programmes.
Our Approach
The evaluation adopted a people-centred, consultative approach. CSC carried out qualitative research to collect the views from the Roma community with the support of a Romanian-speaking research consultant. From November 2021 to January 2022, CSC engaged with the Roma community. Once the data was collected the team worked with Professor Margaret Greenfields (Professor of Social Policy at Anglia Ruskin University) to analyse the data and develop targeted policy recommendations. The team also spoke to Luton-based community organisations working with LRT to understand how the organisation could improve partnership working.
Impact
Luton Roma Trust: Civil Society Consulting delivers an independent evaluation
THEMES
Funding
Equalities
PROCESS
Impact Evaluation
CSC’s evaluation of LRT found that the organisation’s work has led to a number of improvements in the quality of life and the social integration of individual beneficiaries, and LRT has successfully partnered with other statutory and community organisations to contribute to social development in Luton on a community level. This report reflects that LRT’s model of support is effective at providing much-needed support to people from disadvantaged backgrounds, equipping them with the skills and confidence to support their own lives in Luton.
