The last post, maybe

This blog should have been put to rest some time ago, I guess.  But late last rites are, I hope, better than none.

Empowerment Works has been far from the only effort to energise people to create an alternative narrative to the Big Society that has decided to jack it in. The admirable Our Society website and its crew have done the same, and I can't do better than Julian Dobson in describing why things are as they are in what has turned into an empty space, so far as lively collaboration is concerned. 

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Big society – some evidence

‘Crowding out’ is the notion that if the state withdraws, others will rush in to fill the gap.  It’s popular with big society thinkers.  They may be wrong when it comes to volunteers crowding in, according to the authors of Public Spending and Volunteering: "The Big Society", Crowding Out, and Volunteering Capital.

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The Localism Act — Santa or Scrooge?

I’ve opened the shiny present in the capacious Christmas sack of the Localism Act marked ‘new rights and powers for local communities’, and had a horrid disappointment.  It rattled enticingly, but what has fallen out of it strikes me as having greatly more potential to disempower than to empower.  The year’s labour of the Elves over the Bill has, I fear, been wasted.  It’s time to move on.

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Localism in Action – the South West way

Would you like some advice on how to get local people more involved in local decision making from people in public authorities whose job is doing this?  It’s in the shape of 52 pages of case studies, tools and tips put together by a group of people with no other motivation than a wish to share what they know.

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Neighbourhood planning - will it make any difference

Just thought I'd share a post about new Neighbourhood Planning proposals in the Localism Bill, including a list of the pilot areas in the South West, which is just posted at http://www.southwestforum.org.uk/neighbourhood-planning-will-new-plans-really-make-any-difference

The People’s Budget

Giving people more control over how their area is run is something all political parties say they want, and The People’s Budget is a new campaign to get a much bigger say for local people on how public budgets are spent.  It’s the latest in a series of efforts to interest people in something with a name that is hardly likely to attract headlines and a terrible mouthful to say – Participatory Budgeting.

Persuading local Councillors that their constituents can make better decisions on how to spend money than they can was never going to be easy.  So it’s great that the Participatory Budgeting Unit and others are stirring up more interest in the subject, and using a bit of people power to persuade Councils to move on from using PB just to divvy up small grant pots to taking decisions about serious budgets.  There’s a good discussion on Toby Blume’s Posterous blog.  And there’ll be more here soon, as next week the South West’s PB and Localism Group launches its 52 page guide Localism in Action, which includes 16 pages of case studies tools and tips on PB.  Go to Creating Excellence at http://tinyurl.com/5sv38zz for the flyer, and, from 1^st November, the guide itself.

Speak up while you can

South West Forum’s timely report mixing useful case studies with grim tidings on how cuts are already muffling the voices that influence decision makers (see previous blog post and here) was welcomed at a meeting at Bath Spa University last week of funders and others who support voluntary sector organisations in the region.

A number of funders have been doing their own surveys into how the cuts are beginning to bite, and sounded gloomy – the representative of one national funder said that the cutbacks in funding advisers and support were really beginning to show.

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Who's Listening to the Big Society?

We have recently published a report about the voice and influence of voluntary and community organisations across the South West. It looks at voluntary sector forums and assemblies, and how far they include marginalised groups such as asylum seekers and refugees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities. You can access the report, case studies and recommendations at www.southwestforum.org.uk/whoslistening.

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If it can’t be measured, it doesn’t count

Crying “But we know it works!” doesn’t cut it with bean counters, as community development workers and empowerment enthusiasts know well.  So it’s great to see another shot at turning confidence, engagement, participation and better decisions into brass.  This time the magic words and spreadsheet come from Involve and Consumer Focus, under the name Making the case for public engagement - How to demonstrate the value of consumer input.

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What we know and what works - update

Over 70 people gathered to discuss the past and future of empowerment in the region at this sell-out event on 29th June at the Albemarle Centre, Taunton. Visit the Creating Excellence website for speakers presentations, list of delegates and more.
The afternoon session got people talking about their successes and achievements, hopes and aspirations and generated a long list of resources, contacts and offers (Word file).

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Learning lessons - and remembering them!

Most of us have expostulated at some time or another about the facet of British organisational culture which means that when someone new takes over the running of something, they have a tendency to disregard what went before. Lessons learned from programmes and initiatives are forgotten or rejected as 'old hat', products of projects - tool-kits, courses, evaluations and so on - lay gathering dust on real or virtual shelves. Everyone starts again from scratch.

We have been evaluating South West Empowering Communities during 2010-11 and are impressed with its innovative approach to counteracting the 'not invented here' tendency.

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What we know and what’s next – join the debate

On 29th June community empowerment practitioners and activists will gather to review what has been learnt about successful community empowerment over the last few years, and discuss where to go from here. The conference will explore how to meet the current challenges posed by government reorganisation and funding shortages, and ensure that people, particularly marginalised and equality groups, are empowered to make a difference to their lives. We're starting the debate here...
 

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Localism – What does that mean?

It’s something I’d rather not be asked by someone with a questioning mind.  Should it be a relief that the Government is in the same boat?  Or, to wrap it up in the more formal language of the newly published Report on Localism from the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, there’s a ‘lack of clarity about the nature of localism . . . The Government should be explicit about the choices it has made about what type of localism it wants to pursue.’  Putting it another way ‘the actions the Government has set out so far, both in the Localism Bill and in the programmes of individual departments, give an overall impression of inconsistency and incoherence.’

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A new era for neighbourhood planning?

The government has just announced some areas which are to pilot new Neighbourhood Plans, and I'm interested to see how this new approach will follow on from earlier community plans. See the Department for Communities and Local Government for the pilot areas, which include North Somerset (Backwell), South Gloucestershire (Hanham) Torbay (Brixham) and West Dorset (Sherborne) in the South West.

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Bigger Society

Film Real One are an independent film company who've been collecting people's views on the Big Society idea. Three films have just been posted on their Bigger Society channel and copies have been sent to local MPs and cabinet ministers. Who else do you think should see them?

So far, Film Real One have completed this work unpaid and unfunded. They'd like to roll the project out, and are seeking funding to do so. If you think you might be able to help with this, please get in touch.

The multifaceted nature of community empowerment

I spent a really interesting day yesterday exploring the role of voluntary sector networks in supporting community empowerment. It was a research workshop feeding into the development of a new course for infrastructure organisations (such as CVSs, rural community councils and specialist networks of volutnary organisations) to help them to empower community groups. Changes, who facilitated the day, are now developing a new training course which we (South West Forum) are running on 23-24th June in Taunton.

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A Duty to Empower?

I've just responded to Edward Andersson's blog on the Red Tape Challenge proposals to repeal the Duty to Involve with a legally naive, but socially optimistic suggestion that incorporates equality considerations and meaningful deliberative involvement. It's here. What do people on Empowerment Works think?

It's also worth mentioning that the Equality Act is one of those up for consideration under the Red Tape Challenge. If you feel moved to comment on that, you can do so here.

Practical Tools for Community Engagement

One of the most popular workshops on the Empowering Good Practice programme, was our Practical Tools for Community Engagement course, attended by over 100 people during the life of the project. People seemed to like the range and simplicity of the tools presented. “Very logical, very simple .: very effective” - in the words of one participant

All the tools we use and teach have grown out of a long tradition of participatory working that has its origins in overseas development work, and which continues to develop today. For more about the background see Have you been PA'd? or this exploration of community mapping by the Pathways through Participation project. We've often marvelled at the range of participation tools out there, and how some almost seem to be competing with each other – but in reality the ones that work best seem to share some common characteristics.

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What are you doing to support community empowerment?

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.

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People Powered Change

Jumping through hoops is how lottery applicants often describe their experience.  I wonder if David Robinson of Community Links had this in mind when in his motivational talk to conclude the Big Lottery Fund’s People Powered Change event at the Lowry Centre in Manchester on Friday he described how dolphins learn to jump through hoops held high in the air by going through them in the water to reach their food, then find them raised inch by inch.

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