Engaging with Communities

1. Scottish Community Safety Network Wednesday 13th February 2013 Engaging with Communities

2. Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) • Who are we and what do we do? • National voluntary organisation – small staff team, based in Glasgow, largely working on grant programmes and contracts • 3 areas of focus: • Policy influence and engagement • Practice development – for a wide range of practitioners • Direct work with and support for community and voluntary sector groups and organisations

3. Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) • What do we work on? • Community engagement • Community capacity building • Community-led action research • Community-led health • Participatory planning and evaluation

4. What is community engagement? • “Developing and sustaining a working relationship between one or more public body and one or more community group, to help them both to understand and act on the needs or issues that the community experiences” • Scottish National Standards for Community Engagement

5. What is it not? • Community engagement is not … • … just about informing people of what is planned (although good information is an essential part of good community engagement) • … just about consulting people about things (although good consultation is also an essential part of good community engagement)

6. Engagement and Empowerment – Scottish Government view • Community Empowerment Action Plan (2009) –embedding community empowerment through building on work to support community engagement • Best Value 2 –seeks evidence for community engagement at strategic and operational levels • Single Outcome Agreements(SOA)- require communities to be engaged • Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill (2013) – focus on implementing the National Standards for Community Engagement, requirement for community engagement plans to be in place in every area • National Performance Framework • ‘We have strong, resilient and supportive communities, where people take responsibility for their own actions and how they affect others”

7. Community engagement: why we do it • Increased influence for communities • Improved information for service providers • ‘Joined up’ thinking across services • More flexible use of resources • (Active Governance: the value added by community involvement in governance through local strategic partnerships’ • Kath Maguire and Frances Truscott, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2006)

8. What are the National Standards for Community Engagement ? • Measurable performance statements for good community engagement • Launched May 2005 • Built from community experience • Designed by community and agency representatives • Based on best practice principles • Specific enough to guide actions • Useable in different types of engagement • Achieving highest quality practice • Endorsed by key stakeholders and 3 national events

9. What are the National Standards for Community Engagement ? • Involvement • Support • Planning • Methods • Working Together • Sharing Information • Working with others • Improvement • Feedback • Monitoring and Evaluation

10. The Standards in Practice • Sheil Gardens/Hayfields Playparks (Falkirk) • Use of the Standards as a template to assist with planning and undertaking community engagement in a local neighbourhood • Dumfries & Galloway – Integrated Children’s Services Engagement Framework • Use of the Standards as a framework for agencies providing services to children, young people and families – to inform their approach and offer a checklist for good practice

11. The Standards in Practice • Dunoon Area Development Group • Range of uses including: • Planning a community consultation • Developing ground rules for local area partnerships • Updating a working agreement between a Public Partnership Forum and a Community Health Partnership • To train youth activists • Training community researchers to undertake local consultation and feedback to Community Planning

12. Why community engagement and community safety? Community Engagement Outcomes Project/ programme outcomes Identified Need/Issue Inputs/ Resources Output/Activity Wider/End Outcomes e.g. community events seminars workshops information campaigns questionnaires focus groups e.g. High levels of knife crime in <x> neighbourhood particularly amongst male 16-25 year olds e.g. staff time funding venues strategies and policies e.g. target community have a greater say in local decision-making about community safety target community are actively involved in developing solutions to identified issues e.g. there is a reduction in violent crime in <x> neighbourhood less fear of crime (self-reported) in <x> neighbourhood e.g. the Single Outcome Agreement outcomes relating to safer, stronger communities Logic Model – Worked Example

13. SCDC, community engagement and community safety • Key developments: • Introduction to VOiCE software for community safety staff involved in CPPs – specific sessions for fire service and police organisations • Input to Engaged and Confident Communities module for the Community Safety Unit • Training/workshop inputs on community engagement and the use of VOiCE – SCSN, Scottish Community Wardens Network

14. SCDC, community engagement and community safety • Key developments: • Input to the Child Protection and Community Engagement short life working group • Development of a set of case studies exploring good practice in community engagement and community safety – target areas at present: • Borders, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian, Clackmannanshire, Fife, and Angus

15. Further Information • For further information about SCDC or community engagement please contact: • David Allan: Tel - 0141 222 4844/ Email – david@scdc.org.uk • or visit the SCDC website: www.scdc.org.uk • or the VOiCE website: www.voicescotland.org.uk