Empowerment Works supporters are an army of active and committed people who understand the value of community empowerment and regularly take small and big steps to promote and make the case for community empowerment in their areas.
For some people it can be isolating working on your own on empowerment, so we’re using this website to inspire each other and share info on what we are doing.
We want to find out what you are doing, so please use this post to share your actions. They might include:
- Running a training course on community empowerment
- Saving an empowerment project from the cuts (or trying to!)
- Writing a letter to the council or government about community empowerment
- Lobbying on the Localism Bill (see www.rp4c.org.uk)
- Having a chat with a local councillor about some interesting community empowerment projects in your area
We know the value of community empowerment – it enables people to identify for themselves what needs changing and equips them with the skills and contacts to influence decision makers. We know what makes community empowerment work – when it is both top-down and bottom-up; when support is targeted at equalities groups and the most excluded; and we know the value of small grants, particularly in supporting networks. We know that it is more important than ever. When cuts are made it is vital that those who are most marginalised are heard by decision makers so that the least damaging cuts are made. In difficult times we cannot afford to abandon community empowerment.
We know that Government says it wants people to be empowered to challenge public authorities, and that community empowerment is one of the key strands of its much maligned ‘Big Society’ vision. However, we also know that many great community empowerment projects and initiatives are threatened by local and national spending cuts. As cuts bed in throughout the year we will see further implications for community empowerment as there is less direct and indirect funding and other resources available to help people to influence public bodies on the issues that matter to them most.
We know that Government says it wants people to be empowered to challenge public authorities, and that community empowerment is one of the key strands of its much maligned ‘Big Society’ vision. However, we also know that many great community empowerment projects and initiatives are threatened by local and national spending cuts. As cuts bed in throughout the year we will see further implications for community empowerment as there is less direct and indirect funding and other resources available to help people to influence public bodies on the issues that matter to them most.
We all need to do what we can to support and promote community empowerment. Tell us what you are doing…
As for me, I’m promoting Empowerment Works to help develop it as a network for people involved in empowerment, and also speaking to the people running www.oursociety.org.uk about linking what we are doing with them. I’m planning some training for organisations that support the voluntary sector (infrastructure organisations) to help them to increase the influence of community organisations, and to embed community empowerment values in their own work. This is being developed by Changes (www.changesuk.net) and will run on 23rd-24th June, do let me know if you’re interested. I haven’t done any letter writing to campaign for support for community empowerment yet, but I plan to! Do share what you are doing….
ReplyDeleteThe Zebra Collective is running courses on community engagement, facilitation skills and methods, supporting a community food project, skilling up community activists with our toolbox package and working with councillors, service user representatives (Plymouth PIPS today), Housing Association staff and others to develop engagement skills and strategies.
ReplyDeleteI’ve sent an email about Empowerment Works to some residents’ reps on my local Neighbourhood Partnership to see whether they connect community empowerment with local neighbourhood activity!
ReplyDelete