On June 22, the NANM London Learning Event was held at the Royal Institute of British Architects. The event was attended by a professionally diverse audience of neighbourhood managers, community group leaders, NDC boards, and private sector regenerators. The event was kicked off by keynote speaker, Ted Cantle, Chair for the Institute for Community Cohesion. He was followed by, Local Improvement Advisor, Jo Broadwood, discussing the new community cohesion impact assessment she wrote for Department for Communities and Local Government. The two morning speakers were joined by the workshop presenters on an interactive panel that connected the policy to practice.
In the afternoon, participants attended two sessions from three of the workshops held. The workshops included Renaisi’s Adam Barnett discussing how planning system can be used to improve cohesion, Fiona Berry, Neighbourhood Manager from Lewisham discussing the challenges faced in a diverse London borough and providing best practice examples from Lewisham. EC1 NDC’s Kirby Swales and Kate Arnold presented on the communication and engagement tools that have been used in the NDC area to promote a sense of belonging and community cohesion.
Morning presentations summary
Keynote speaker Ted Cantle, Chair of Institute of Community Cohesion
Ted Cantle spoke about how national and local challenges facing cohesion, specifically:
- how national issues are manifested locally
- the challenges of plural identities to cohesion
- building social capital
- notions of citizenship and
- how to better engage at the local level.
He concluded furthering cohesion required building capacity and partnerships, developing an effective communication strategy, and promoting community leadership, improving the role of the voluntary sector.
Ted Cantle’s full presentation can be found here.
Jo Broadwood, Local Improvement Advisor, author Community Cohesion Impact Assessment and Community Conflict Prevention Tool.
Jo Broadwood discussed the steps to conducting a community cohesion impact assessment. A community cohesion impact assessment test if the project/ activity planned will have a positive or negative impact on community cohesion and community conflict in an area. Additionally, the assessment helps to clarify the aims and purpose of the project, engage project stakeholders and participants in development, and gather baseline information, so that the project can evidence that it has made a positive difference on the community.
Jo Broadwood’s full presentation can be found here.
Workshop Summaries
Workshop A:
Fiona Berry led workshop 3 discussing the challenges and successful strategies used in Lewisham. Her workshop provided examples of how to actively engage local people in decision making and influencing services and what issues local people in Lewisham found most pressing. She also discussed how to manage the allocation of limited resources and effectively communicate to residents why a particular course of action has been chosen.
Fiona Berry’s Presentation is available here.
Workshop B:
Renaisi’s Adam Barnett presented on how to address cohesion through the planning system. The workshop discussed how the ‘new’ flexible planning system and comprehensive area agreements provide an opportunity to improve cohesion through spatial planning. Adam provided guidance on how to gather information and gain a thorough understanding of the social dynamics of a community. He also discussed how to move beyond the bricks and mortar to improve cohesion through service delivery.
Adam Barnett’s workshop presentation can be found here.
Workshop C:
EC1 NDC presented a workshop on successful methods for fostering cohesion in their local area. Their work included campaigning behind common interest, awareness raising monitoring population shifts and impacts, and improving joint working of community facilities. They also provided examples of the specific projects that promoted cohesion including:
- The EC1 magazine. The magazine has been very successful in communicating to residents and there are plans to continue publication after the close of funding for the NDC programme. The magazine’s success is due in part because it provides a forum for local news and is not simply a marketing tool. It covers local stories outside of the NDC, profiles local people and has wide distribution to every household in the NDC area.
- EC1 Summer Festival, an annual event, attracts a wide and diverse audience. The festival encourages participation through recruiting local volunteers and booking local entertainment.
- EC1 Pride Awards, an awards programme, where local people nominate their local heroes. The ceremony recognises the good work of residents and generates a sense of pride.
- Youth Film Project, KCP Youth and EC1 NDC used a film making project to generate discussion about generational cohesion issues. The film gave residents a chance to dispel myths about young people and cross generational boundaries.
The EC1 NDC workshop presentation can be found here.
Participant Quotes:
“The ability to directly gain from Lewisham’s experience and share Best Practice
in Swale”-Kelly Walker, Swale Borough Council, Community Cohesion Worker
The Practical Workshop of Community Cohesion at the neighbourhood level provided good ideas to use in Dudley- Judith Ashford, Area Community Renewal Officer, Dudley MBC
“I enjoyed the workshops at they were small and interactive” – Dawn Miller, Aston Pride, Community Representative
“The theme of relating community cohesion policy to practice was most useful”-Dawn Osborne, Sunderland City Council, Policy Officer
Renaisi won the contract to manage New Deal’s Environmental Task Force (ETF) programme in Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth. This, added to the contract won in Hackney and the ongoing delivery in West and North London shows the programme team is going from strength to strength.