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Stockport Community Hubs forSocial Action

25th March 2015

Stockport VCSE Redesign Programme

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Welcome: Agenda & House-Keeping

TimeTitle

Start End

13:00 13:30 Registration

13:30 13:45 Introductions, Agenda & House-keeping

13:45 14:15 Community Hubs: Research and Observations

14:15 14:45 The Recipe Book: How to Develop a Community Hub

14:45 15:00 BREAK15:00 15:30 Developing a Dementia Friendly Community Space

15:30 16:00 Essential Ingredients & Shopping List16:00 16:15 What recipe best suits your community?16:15 16:30 Feedback on Recipe Book resource

16:30 Close

Workshop 1: Building Social Action in Stockport

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Introduction

• Ben Crouch is founder and Managing Director of Strong Roots CIC

• Experienced leader in the VCSE sector in variety of paid and voluntary roles.

• GMCVO Associate Consultant for the Stockport VCSE Redesign Programme.

• I will be live tweeting throughout the day so please join in:• #SocActStockport• @StockportMBC• @GMCVO• @StrongRootsCIC• @BenCrouchBury

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• Evaluate six community hubs in Stockport to assess:• Viability• Strategic Position• USPs• Distinguishing characteristics• Assets• Investment needs (relating to growth / expansion) to address new and

changing community demands• Capacity and Capabilities

• Develop a guide to support creation and development of effective hubs for social action.

Community Hubs for Social Action

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Community Hubs for Social Action

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• Share observation from research of community hubs• Share the ‘Recipe Book’ and gather feedback to improve for official

publication in October• Collect your ideas for further support & development needs to

include in our Training Programme

Show of hands: Who is currently involved in a community hub and who is looking to set one up?

Purpose for this event

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• Community Hubs in Stockport researched for this project:• Life Centre Café (Romiley)• Start Point Coffee Shop (Woodley)• Offerton Community Centre• Woodley Civic Centre• Highgate Centre (Bredbury)• Blackshaw’s Café (Stockport Town Centre)

• Methods used:• Desk based research• Secret shopper style visits• Interviews

Research

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Community Hubs for Social Action

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  Community Hub 

DefinitionA group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

The effective centre of an activity, region or network.

A group of people living together and practising common ownership.The condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common.

What is a Community Hub?

An effective community hub ENABLES & ENCOURAGES rather than CONTROLS & DICTATES

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• Community Hubs have played a significant part in the life of many local communities and networks across the World. To appreciate the nature of Community Hubs in the UK we need to recognise its roots in the activities of church workers; of mutual aid and friendly societies; of early social work organisations; and in the development of adult education.

• Essentially they exist because a group of individuals got organised and created them because they believed it was necessary.

• “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead

Why do we have them?

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What do they do?

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Community Hubs for Social Action

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• The Pros:• Majority of the Hubs researched are very independent and focussed on the needs of their

communities as their main priority.• They are low cost whilst achieving significant improvements in the well-being of their

constituents and / or trade commercially generating funds to reinvest back into their community.

• They encourage volunteering / social action through informal means rather than formal roles.• They support micro-enterprises and self-employed individuals through provision of low-cost

space and in-roads to potential customers for their services.• They have survived and thrived during austere times.

• The Cons:• Low or no staffing.• Lack of coordinated networking / partnership opportunities for Hubs in Stockport. • Lack of resource means management information is scarce (e.g. outputs / impact).• Volunteer burnout was a common theme across most Hubs.• Strategic capability and capacity. • Leadership and management skills for potential community leaders.

The Pros & The Cons

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Q. What is Social Action?

• Why a recipe book?• No such thing as a vanilla hub

• Not another boring toolkit

• Essential ingredients

• Simple instructions / guidance

• Flavours to reflect what a community wants / needs

• The Recipe Book will be updated basedfeedback received today.• Photos and graphics will be added to

content.

How to develop a Community Hub?

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Q. What is Social Action?

• The Partnership Hub

• The Entrepreneur’s Hub

• Generating Income for Charitable Aims Hub

• The Work Experience Hub

• The Classic Hub

• The Housing Association Hub

The Recipes:

Each Recipe contains:

1. Overview (purpose and motivation behind this type of hub)

2. Ingredients (what assets / resources do you have or need?)

3. Instructions (simple steps to follow)

4. Top Tips (learning from other Hubs to make improvements and avoid challenges).

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Community Hubs for Social Action

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Community Hub Flavour

The Partnership Hub Multi-agency partnership working collaboratively with communities and neighbourhoods to provide mutual benefits.

The Entrepreneur’s Hub A visionary who creates a commercial enterprise as a Hub with the purpose to reinvest profits back into the local community.

Generating Income for Charitable Aims

A Charity that utilises it’s assets to create a commercial enterprise that can generate profits to fund charitable services / activities.

The Work Experience Hub A safe but professional environment where individuals facing barriers to employment can gain real work experience in a supported environment.

The Classic Hub Volunteer run shared community space for hire.

Housing Association Hub Housing Association owned multi-functional space to serve a local community.

Flavours

What flavours are missing?

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Community Hub Motivation / Purpose

Life Centre Café Generate unrestricted income to fund charitable activities

Start Point Coffee Shop Revive an ailing shopping precinct during the 2009 recession and give local residents a space to socialise, learn and access support.

Offerton Community Centre Bring a facility back into the community.

Woodley Civic Centre Offering space for community groups to gather and run activities.

Highgate Centre Bring life to a disused building in an area with no shared community spaces.

Blackshaw’s Café Provide work experience and training opportunities in a commercial environment to adults with learning disabilities and / or barriers to employment.

Motivation

What is your motivation?

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Q. What is Social Action?

1. Get organised. An essential for a successful Community Hub.2. Consult and engage widely with your community and gather supporters and

contributors along the way.3. Identify a space.4. Secure the resources you need (be creative).5. Make the space ‘fit for purpose’.6. Open and enjoy.7. ‘Sharpen the Saw’ – continue to invest in step 2!

7 Steps (core instructions):

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Community Hubs for Social Action

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Q. What is Social Action?

1. After the break we will be hearing from the Alzheimer's Society and GMCVO about the benefits and practical ways Community Hubs can be more Dementia Friendly.

2. During the break I want you to seek your opposite to work with during the next session. If you are involved in a hub then partner up with someone who wants to set-up a hub and vice-versa.

3. Coffee break is 15 mins so we start at 15:00

What next:

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BREAK: 14:45 to 15:00

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Starting Point: Nicola Wallace-DeanDementia Friendly engagement and

physical environments

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1. Go to page 12 in your workbook.2. You have 30 minutes for the following exercise:

1. Working in pairs answer the 4 questions in the table (2-3 mins per question) based on your own existing or wanted Hub.

2. Once you have completed this exercise discuss your answers with other pairs on your table.1. Are there shared challenges?2. Do you have assets that someone else needs?3. Are any of you the same or similar flavour?

3. Tables to feedback on their discussion to main group (15mins).

Ingredients, Recipe & Actions

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1. What support / training needs to happen in Stockport specifically related to Community Hubs?

2. Is the Recipe Book a useful guide?1. What works?2. What needs to change?3. What is it missing?

3. Please email us after the event with any further feedback or ideas.

Further support needs

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Group Exercise

• For sharing your ideas and experiences.

• Presentation materials will be made available.

• Please feel free to get in touch with any follow-up questions after this event.

• CLOSE

Thank You