In the 2010 Demos report, Measuring Social Value, supported by the Foundation, BTCV was identified as ‘the most comprehensive reporter of social value’ of the 30 charities assessed by the report. At the same time, BTCV’s participation in an event at the Foundation to discuss the ACEVO report Learning to Succeed brought to light the potential of its powerful in-house Management Information System (MIS) to track the activity of its volunteers. This was of interest to the Foundation in its work to take forward some of the recommendations from the Demos report.

BTCV was keen to explore further how to develop the MIS as a tool to identify the impact of volunteering which could be useful across the sector as charities struggle to measure outcomes. The Foundation awarded BTCV a grant of £15,000 to commission a panel of independent experts to assess the MIS’s potential and produce a report with recommendations for further development.  The Foundation also hosted a one-day workshop for the panel as part of the research. For an organisation of BTCV’s size and resources, this represented modest financial support. However, as Miles Sibley, BTCV's Development Director, says, "BTCV’s core expertise is in hands-on project delivery on the ground.  We valued the Foundation’s willingness to take a risk, and to invest in BTCV’s capacity for wider reflection and research. 

The Foundation’s independence and authority in the sector was crucial in convening power and view across a range of interests and disciplines".  

In return, partnership with BTCV offered the Foundation the opportunity to strengthen its relationship with an expert environmental volunteering organisation with extensive grassroots networks as it developed programmes of work under its Environment and Maximising Social and Cultural Value themes. The Foundation’s relationship with BTCV is an example of how a partnership may develop over time and deliver more than the sum of its parts.