‘Values driven’ – what people say about Haref

There is no other organisation like Haref. They need to rise above the tensions and take the opportunity to lead.

This summer Haref commissioned an external consultant to evaluate all of our work streams. Haref has now been part of Connected Voice for 5 years, over a period of significant change. This seemed like the right time to review our work, look at our strengths, what we could do differently, and how we can take our work forward so we can have the greatest impact. 

We also wanted to celebrate everyone's achievements and contributions to Haref. 

Vicki Harris, the Haref Coordinator, said about the evaluation:

We are really grateful and delighted how many people found the time to talk about Haref to our consultant. All the feedback is really important to us, and it will help us to shape and strengthen Haref in the future 

We face challenging times ahead, with pressures on funding, communities and organisations, and the NHS. Having a better sense of what works well in Haref and what areas we need to develop will help us to consolidate and strengthen our work.

Our consultant ran 44 interviews with a range of interviewees involved in Haref in different ways. She collated this information and pulled out key themes and recommendations. We would like to thank all of those who took the time to feed in their views and thoughts on Haref. Your input was extremely valuable.

The evaluation found Haref’s strengths to be:

Meaningful community involvement

As a black woman I felt that what they wanted to achieve was for me and people in my community and in other communities. So it was the best thing to be part of. This was something specifically for us. I always feel they are listening.

Collaboration between communities and cross-sector organisations

The Allies and Network, that makes so much sense. The building up of the Network and Allies is useful, and can be built on as an organic progress. Things can spin off from communication between organisations.

Effective information-sharing

Without the bulletin you wouldn’t know what information to trust. I really trust the information they give me, and it gives me the wider picture.

Cultural competency training

There were videos with people sharing their experiences and saying: This is what it feels like, this is what it can be like. The focus for me was a powerful message that I took away, that we make so many assumptions.

Response to health challenges, including the pandemic

They’ve been really key in getting that information out, and their expertise in the planning about vaccine rollout was invaluable. They can feed back why people don’t want the vaccine and why they are hesitant.

Recommendations have been made on how we should take this work forward and what work areas need strengthening and developing. Haref will be taking time over the next three months to look at how we can use this feedback to strengthen our work

For full information, download our full report or our three-page summary below: