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Steve Skinner Associates |
Our work in supporting effective community
engagement includes:
·
Work with practitioners – front
line officers, volunteers and professionals who work with,
consult and support communities – focussing on practical
approaches to engagement.
·
Work with organisations – to
help develop a strategy or action plan on community engagement –
focussing on the longer term planning and development issues,
and ensuring effective systems for engagement are in place. This
usually needs to be based within the wider context of
sustainability and the local area agreement, depending on your
needs.
·
Work with community groups
– practical support to strengthen skills
for getting involved and having a say in local decision-making.
We can help groups look at how they
work with larger voluntary agencies and public sector
organisations and the key roles they play in community
engagement.
Our support The range of our support work in community engagement includes:
Training
– for example,
one
or two day workshops on developing skills in community
engagement, looking at a range of methods and the key underlying
principles. Examples include:
·
Through the
Local Government Information Unit, we train Council Members in
approaches to engagement and community leadership.
·
We have trained outreach workers in
·
Through the
Community Development Foundation, we trained community leaders
from rural projects in
Policy work – we can work
with you to help develop a strategic approach to community
engagement, addressing both community needs and the priorities
of the organisation.
·
Strengthening Communities,
written by Steve Skinner and published by the Community
Development Foundation in 2006,
provides a framework for planning and enhancing
community engagement strategies. To order a copy contact
www.cdf.org.uk
·
We also work closely with Changes
Consultancy who have developed a new ‘axis’ model, a practical
tool that can help in designing an effective engagement
strategy. To find out more contact Changes on
www.changesuk.net Steve was formerly a
member of a Home Office working group that led to the policy
report Firm Foundations.
He has also carried out policy work for national voluntary
sector membership organisations.
Facilitation – including
away days, reviews and conferences, focusing on community
engagement approaches and practice.
·
We worked with neighbourhood leaders in
inner city
·
We have run
tailor made sessions to help people work through their issues,
discuss their work and plan new projects.
Evaluation and reviews – we
can help your team, organisation or partnership to review and
evaluate its community engagement activities.
·
For
example, in Calderdale we helped the Park Community Initiative
neighbourhood management partnership to assess the effectiveness
of their first year, interviewing local service providers and
residents.
Training trainers – usually
at least two days to help develop training skills for people
wanting to train in the areas of community engagement and third
sector representation; can include follow up support, advice and
mentoring.
Action Learning Sets – can
be facilitated with a focus on community engagement, usually
involving a minimum of four sessions.
Our approach In
community engagement – and all our work - we emphasize the
importance of practice and methods being based on a set of
values – methods and techniques are not enough!
We
have experience of supporting marginalised groups, including
people with disabilities and BME groups.
We promote diversity and
equality in our work and encourage a close look at more
inclusive ways of doing things. Valuing the skills, talents and
experience that people bring is a key part of our approach.
We tailor our work to
your needs – and generally support an
‘empowering approach’,
working with you to build effective engagement in and with
communities. |
