Evaluating the Building Connections Fund

Key findings

Our Part 1 report details our findings from data collected before March 2020. We worked with a subset of 23 grant holders who collected data from their service users.

We found that:

• Grant holders seemed to successfully target people who were more likely to be chronically lonely than the national average.
• In terms of loneliness, positive relationships, and confidence, resilience and wellbeing, levels of need were highest for children and young adults aged 10-29. They were generally lowest for adults aged 30-59.
• Female service users had more concerning levels of mental health and wellbeing than male service users, and reported slightly higher levels of chronic loneliness.
• Most service users who completed follow-up surveys reported improvements around loneliness, confidence, resilience and wellbeing as a result of attending activities.

The Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on the work of the grant holders, with some no longer able to deliver activities as planned. We therefore switched to a developmental evaluation approach to capture and share learning about how the pandemic affected grant holders, to understand how the Building Connections Fund tackled loneliness in this period, and to build the learning capacity of organisations working to tackle loneliness.

Our Part 2 report details our findings from the developmental evaluation, which spanned two national lockdowns. We found that:

• Social distancing made loneliness worse for service users, particularly those from vulnerable groups. Across Britain as a whole, an ONS study from April 2021 suggests that chronic loneliness increased to 7.2% of the population (a 1.2% increase from 6%), and was particularly prevalent among young people, unemployed people and those living alone.
• Following lockdown, many grant holders adapted face-to-face activities to provide remote support. This included practical support (e.g. delivering food), online support (e.g. peer support groups), and offline remote support (e.g. phone support). Some organisations blended online and offline models of delivery. We put together a document of tips for adapting to remote delivery to support grant holders who needed to change their approach to delivery.
• Service users had mixed views about using online versus face-to-face services. Some felt anxious about meeting in person, and liked the accessibility of online methods, whereas others found online activities to be more alienating.
• Grant holders who already delivered services remotely or who had invested in digital skills and infrastructure prior to March 2020 found it easier to adapt.

What have we learned?

Through the pandemic, grant holders learned a lot about how to adapt their delivery models to support people dealing with loneliness. Organisations had to find ways to increase people’s engagement with online activities, and offer a choice of activities to meet different and changing needs. This was challenging for grant holders, who needed to invest in re-planning and delivering more intensive services at a time when capacity was already stretched. Many saw negative impacts on staff wellbeing and finances.

Going forwards, it will be important for organisations and funders focused on tackling loneliness to:

• Target those most severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, including those who have been shielding, facing poverty, or experiencing domestic abuse.
• Tackle digital exclusion, to address the needs of those without the skills, equipment or confidence to access digital services.
• Consider delivery models that blend online and offline services, in order to meet different service users’ needs and preferences.

It will be essential to keep building the capacity and resource of organisations tackling loneliness as they continue to face increased and changing demands on their services. These charities and community groups provide an important space for service users feel connected to others as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives.