A wide range of skills and experience has been purposefully established to provide a comprehensive operational and strategic team incorporating both public and private sector acumen. Such experience includes the design, development, implementation, facilitation and evaluation of project management practices, management information systems, organisational structures, financial management and administration. Era Ltd employs and contracts people who have demonstrated their commitment to social and economic change for organisations, individuals and regions. Era has years of experience managing European Social Fund (ESF), London Development Agency SRB and SDF, and Regional Development Agency funded projects.

Programmes currently being managed include the ''ici' Development Partnership', a proposal focused on three geographical areas, Birmingham, Liverpool and Slough, where there are both significant and deprived minority communities and also significant creative industry presence and development. Era’s initial role in this exciting programme is to facilitate and animate the programmes on the ground by developing delivery partnerships and activity. 'Learning in Creative SMEs', a business learning programme funded by ESF designed to address and remedy skills shortages and gaps in small to medium sized Creative Businesses; and 'HeART of Slough' a 29 acre cultural quarter for the creative and media communications industries. Era also recently project managed the following projects:

European Social Fund:

Learning for Creative SMEs (2000-2002), a £1 million project under Objective 3
Role: Accountable body, co-ordination, management and design of project and its off-line and on-line delivery.
Delivery: Successful business recruitment and learning delivery to over 400 SMEs. Network strategy set up to keep members in touch. Research activities into future learning programme design and delivery.

UK Work Organisation Network (1998-2000) a £1.5 million project under Objective 4
Role: Partnership development, national co-ordination, management of project delivery.
Delivery: Successful action research producing three learning network case studies within London and Cornwall (two creative industries, one social entrepreneurs). Completed and published strategic report on work-life balance with the National Work-Life Forum.

National Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries (1998-2000)a £200K project under Objective 4
Role: National co-ordination, management, design and development of project delivery.
Delivery: Successful action research producing learning network case studies within London and Sheffield, and developing strategic collaborative partnerships across UK.

Single Regeneration Budget:

Grid for Creative London (2000-2001)a £3.5 million programme funded by the London Development Agency
Role: Partnership co-ordination, liaison with funding body, partnership administration, delivery management, qualitative and quantitative output collation and analysis.
Delivery: Knowledge base development within London of social enterprise and creative industry sectors. Successful development and design of bespoke learning programme for freelancers and micros. Pilot test of learning programme.

Skills Development Fund:

Building Community Capacity for Social Enterprise (2000-2001)an £800K project funded by the London Development Agency
Role: Partnership co-ordination, liaison with funding body, partnership administration, delivery management, qualitative and quantitative output collation and analysis.
Delivery: Completed report, jointly with DEMOS, looking at the future of social enterprise. Successful recruitment of social sector beneficiaries into Community Action Network.

Millennium Commission

Contracted by the DfES (2001-2002) to support and act as programme management advisors to its UK-wide Millennium Volunteers programme(£70K)
Role: Monitoring, evaluating and coaching Millennium Volunteer (MV) project managers and their projects.
Delivery: 30 successful project monitoring, evaluation, health & safety, remediation visits across UK projects funded by Millennium Commission. One report for the DfES making recommendations to improve communication within and between those working within the MV programme.

Other project management, research and administration experience gained by Era Project Management staff includes European and National projects funded by: FORCE, NOW, LEONDARDO, SOCRATES, DTI, and ERDF.

View Flagship Projects...

Equal ‘ici’

A £5.2 million project focused on three geographical areas, Birmingham, Liverpool and Slough, where there are both significant and deprived minority communities and also significant creative industry presence and development. Era’s role as the lead body for the Development Partnership is central facilitation and animation in the development of the programme steams, including business learning for creatives, drawing on its considerable industry links to support and enhance the three regional developments and the definition and implementation of the Learning Platform and business learning for employability. It has also driven the initial analysis and reporting that will inform the substantive thrust of the regional developments and the work of the proposed Community Forums. As accountable body, Era will ensure delivery of the project in line with Equal principles: the financial administration and accountablity required; the proper monitoring and evaluation of 'ici' as it develops; and the appropriate dissemination and publicity of Equal and ESF within the project.

National Centre for Social Entrepreneurship 2001-2002

Era programme managed this flagship £800,000 project for a Social Entrepreneurship Centre (funded by the London Development Agency) to build community capacity for social enterprises and mutual learning, support, exchange and trading network for social entrepreneurs. Era’s role encompassed partnership co-ordination, liaison with funding body, partnership administration, delivery management, qualitative and quantitative output collation and analysis.