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Becoming independent

Now that we’ve proved our basic concept works, Surefoot says it’s time for us to become an independent organisation. We have some decisions to make, especially about our mission and whether to be guided by a membership.

We were very lucky to have the Surefoot Effect agree to host us while we were testing our revamped concept for HeatHack – sessions that community groups can use to plan for better energy efficiency in their buildings.

Now that we’ve proved our basic concept works, Surefoot says it’s time for us to become an independent organisation. Surefoot is a Community Interest Company, but that has always created some tensions for us as we rely very heavily on volunteers, even for our leadership. For this reason, we aim to be charity – not a huge one, but we hope a useful one all the same.

The two biggest decisions we face are about our mission our whether to be guided by a membership.

Membership is the easier decision to explain. Membership organisations are more democratic, and funders recognise this – but they take more effort to run and there’s always the risk of an AGM not being quorate because the members are so busy. We’ve always aimed for full transparency and being guided by the needs of those who run community buildings, so they would be our natural members. We’ll talk to them and that will determine whether we become a two-tier SCIO or have one tier with less formal community engagement to make sure we continue to serve their needs.

Here’s our draft mission statement:

  • To help organisations that run community buildings understand how to keep them in good condition, financially sustainable, and suited to local community needs.
  • To provide education, training , and guidance that will improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions arising from community buildings. 
  • To assist community building operators in obtaining, managing, and assessing the data and information needed to understand building and heating system performance.
  • To improve the quality of interactions between community building operators, funders, and the professionals who provide them with building services.

HeatHack is mostly about heating, but that’s part of making a building suitable. We’ve always had an eye on damp and comfort as well as energy costs and energy efficiency, but it’s up for discussion how to balance these aspects in a final version. Carbon emissions are extremely important, but if they were our main concern, we’d probably be targeting an easier and bigger change than community building efficiency. That’s why it’s currently not first in the draft.

We’re often asked if we can help householders with their heating. That’s not in this draft, so we would only do that to the extent it would help us achieve our mission – for instance, by running events that help householders but also have them apply what they have learned to a community building. There are many “climate action” groups that already help householders with retrofit advice, and some advice from general citizen support groups about heating controls. So my personal feeling is we’re best off not diluting what we do, but that is of course up for discussion.

We will also be looking for board members. It’s possible to start with just three, but it makes sense to cover all of the skills that would help us serve better. We’re working on a list by reflecting on what’s been slowing us down so far. Meanwhile, if this is something that interests you, please get in touch: we’re not very good at asking for help, but we do need it.