Big Local Trust update: September 2011 |
posted 15 Aug 2011 back to News |
Round 2 ‘Getting People Involved’ Application In!
The application to secure the next phase of development funding, which in turn will enable us to access the £1 million Big Local Trust funding, was submitted to the Community Development Foundation on 31st August 2011.
The key task in this second stage will be to develop a Neighbourhood Community Plan (NCP), which sets out the priorities for the NW Ipswich area. The NCP is to be owned by local people and developed in collaboration with statutory agencies and partners. This is a major piece of work and will utilise the Peoples Panel, comprising of the Community Stars that have been recruited over the last few months.
As well as the development of the NCP, the application sets out a number of actions which will take the project forward, including:
A Comprehensive Training Programme for our Community Stars, which includes:
- Roles and Responsibilities of being a Community Star
- Meeting Skills – roles, behavior and conduct, etc
- The Big Picture – Looking at the statistical data for the NW Ipswich area
- Understanding the Jargon – the meanings behind the technical words
- The role of Councillors and Political Awareness
- Project Appraisal – How to consider applications for funding
- CrowdWise Training – A method used to make decisions and reach a consensus view
- Public Speaking Training – to improve confidence when addressing public audiences
- Leadership Skills and Facilitation – for those who wish to consider becoming involved in other community roles such as school governors, trustees, residents associations, etc
Community Audit – Creation of a community profile, which identifies what resources and skills currently exist within the local community and give us a better understanding of informal networks and support that is currently in place.
Stars and Stakeholders Visioning/Networking Event – Bringing members of the Peoples Panel together with statutory agencies and other key stakeholders/partners to identify the priorities for the NW Ipswich area and lay the foundations for the Neighbourhood Community Plan. The plan will set out the long term vision for the neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood Community Plan Consultation – A public consultation exercise asking the wider community for their views and suggestions on the first draft of the NCP. Various techniques will be used to consult local people during a twelve week consultation period.
Exchange Visits – Two exchange visits will be arranged for members of the Peoples Panel and other partners to visit two areas which demonstrate good examples of community involvement. These will be held in October 2011 and February 2012.
Big Ideas - The Movie – Production of this DVD will involve students from Suffolk New College/Suffolk University Campus working alongside young people from the NW Ipswich area. The film will be in a ‘Vox Pop’ style and ask people what they feel is good and not so good about their area, the challenges and the solutions they would like to see put in place.
Community Chest – an amount of funding has been set aside to support a Community Chest, a small grants pot which will support funding requests up to the value of £300. The Peoples Panel will be involved in developing the application process and application forms.
Mini Participatory Budgeting (PB) Event – This will give the Peoples Panel the opportunity to make real decisions about where real funding from the Community Chest is to be used. The DVD will be used to help set the scene for this and a larger PB event that is planned for stage three when the larger BLT funding becomes available.
During the development of the second stage proposals, supplementary applications for funding have successfully levered in additional resources from Suffolk County Council Locality Budgets (our thanks go to Cllr Robin Vickery and Cllr Mary Young for their support) and the Ipswich Community Fund. Further applications will be made to other funding streams, adding value to the second stage application. These additional bids have increased the amount of funding available to deliver the second stage of the project from £20K to £30K.
The outcome of the application should be known by the end of September 2011 and this will allow a seamless transition from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of the BLT project.
Community Stars Update
Twenty-eight Community Stars have now come forward and offered to volunteer to be members of the People’s Panel. The first meeting of the Peoples Panel will be held on 28th September and will be a closed meeting. This will be an induction meeting for the Community Stars, setting out the role and responsibilities that people will be asked to undertake.
Recruitment of Community Stars closes on 27th September 2011, so if there is anyone who you think would like to be involved, please put them in touch as soon as possible, contact Leah Douglas.
Henniker Road Wildlife Garden Project
The Groundwork Trust are working in partnership with Riverside Housing to improve a Community Wildlife Garden in Henniker Road, in NW Ipswich. They are looking to recruit a number of volunteers to become involved in the process of improving the space. If you or anyone you know is interested in helping out, please contact James Edge, Regional Development Manager, Groundwork Trust by e-mail on James.Edge@groundwork.org.uk or by telephone on 01234 766058 (Office) or 07710 303346 (Mobile).
