From time to time the trustees of the Baring Foundation choose an issue to support which lies outside our three main grant programmes but within our values. The sums of money deployed are less than for grants programmes. Funding is used flexibly, for instance on commissioning research, networks or awards.

Creating a Better Deal for Parents with Learning Difficulties and their Children
People with learning difficulties are now more likely to become parents, but the chance of a child being taken into care is remarkably high - by some estimates 50%. In 2004 the Foundation began to explore what might be done to enhance support for those parents.

A report published in March 2006, commissioned by the Foundation, Finding the Right Support? A review of issues and positive practice in supporting parents with learning difficulties and their children, (to download, click here) created a great deal of interest among the media, policy makers and practitioners.

To sustain this momentum, we have funded, initially for 18 months, a consortium led by the Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol, with additional funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. The consortium involves parents with learning difficulties in all it does which includes: a dedicated website; bi-monthly newsletters; a network in Scotland; a policy Taskforce; and a series of regional meetings in England for practitioners.

More information can be found on the website www.right-support.org.uk

Interculturality
For the past year the Baring Foundation has been exploring the concept of interculturality through a series of meetings. The term interculturality is unfamiliar to most people and its definition and merit contested. We see it as an acknowledgement of the cultural diversity of the UK along with a belief that cultures should not live in isolation. Interculturality is suggested as a process of dialogue between cultures which recognises that all cultures change over time. The Foundation sees this as a positive, though sensitive, process and wishes to promote its daily expression on the ground though annual awards to celebrate and document good practice.

Our working definition. Interculturality is a dynamic process whereby people from different cultures interact to learn about and question their own and each other's cultures. Over time this may lead to cultural change. It recognises the inequalities at work in society and the need to overcome these. It is a process which requires mutual respect and acknowledges human rights.

A major element of this initiative is the creation of new awards for interculturality in action. They are funded by us and delivered by the Institute of Community Cohesion. The awards are for smaller and larger voluntary sector organisations and for public and private sector organisations helping them. The deadline for applications is 1 October 2008. Full details can be found on a special website: www.bridgingcultures.org.uk Please do not contact the Baring Foundation about these awards but use the special website.

We have also commissioned a paper "Interculturalism: Theory and Policy" by Malcolm James, which can be obtained from our office, free while stocks last, or downloaded by clicking here

Interculturality - notes of a Core Costs Club meeting.
In February 2007 our Core Costs Club met and discussed the topic of interculturality.

Climate Change and the Third Sector
Our first step in 2007 was to offer free energy audits to a selected group of organisations which we fund or have funded. The environmental audits generated some useful outputs for organisations in terms of practical ideas for reducing their carbon footprints. The extent to which organisations have been able to implement all the recommendations is currently being measured. In the meantime, it was felt that a useful next step was to broaden the scope of the work with organisations to explore the wider impacts of climate change on voluntary organisations and their beneficiaries. As such, the Foundation felt that audits go some way to helping an organisation change its own practice but, on their own, do not change the discourse on climate change to one about the radical action needed at organisational, political, economic and social levels to address its implications. We believe that a comprehensive approach is needed for non-environmental voluntary organisations which will have the added benefit of generating compelling new information to share with policy makers about the urgent need for action. We think that by connecting up experts in climate change with experts in non-environmental areas of the voluntary sector, new perspectives on the urgency for action can be generated. The Baring Foundation has issued an invitation to tender for a programme of work which can be downloaded by clicking here. Please note that this is not a grants programme and we are not seeking applications.

Replication
Although not a current Special Initiative, the Foundation has funded a number of pieces of work on the theme of replication in the voluntary sector which are brought together here. The first instance of our interest was co-funding the 2003 publication under the auspices of the Association of Charitable Foundations of Replicating Successful Voluntary Sector Projects by Diana Leat click here to download. We went on to give core costs grant to two major pieces of work in this area. Firstly we funded the Young Foundation's Launchpad project. Accompanying this work has been a report by the Young Foundation's Director, Geoff Mulgan, on social innovation, growth and replication: In and Out of Sync. You can obtain them by going to the Young Foundation's website here. Secondly we funded the UnLtd Ventures team to work with social entrepreneurs on replication which led to a series of resources which can be found by clicking here. We were very sad indeed to here of the tragic death of Sarah Dodds who worked so hard to complete this work. Lastly, the UnLtd Ventures team worked with one of our grant recipients, the Revolving Doors Agency. The reflections of their Director, Julian Corner on this issue can be found in Same Difference? which can be downloaded here. The Foundation held several seminars for funders under the auspices of ACF on this issue.