Not The Usual Suspects

Empowering community champions

LBL doesn’t make

consistent & effective

connections with local

communities.

Different departments

spend time & money

repeatedly compiling lists

of community groups and

contacts which are soon

out of date.

Citizens, Activists, Communities & Groups

have a jaded view of engaging with LBL and

trying to get things done.

They often feel isolated and are unable to

connect with parallel groups or engage with

the right parts of the council.

The Problem - Disempowerment

• Empowering two-way communication with

involved communities

• An open network for citizens, activists, leaders,

groups, council officers and projects to engage

with each other and GET THINGS DONE

• Empowers and supports community

leaders/champions

• Enables effective engagement with LBL

• Community generated through open access,

ensuring it is up-to-date and relevant

• Arms length – Not LBL Branded

Not the usual suspects

• Online – Self register as an individual or group

– Invite other individuals and groups

– Existing social media – e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

– Open data – allow anyone to build a portal to it

• Offline – Work through “connected” individuals

• Community/Faith Leaders

• Councillors

• Activists

• Existing Lists held by Lambeth and other organisations

– Advertising, Editorial, Radio, Newsletter

• E.g. Brixton Blog, Urban 75, Live Magazine etc

How it can work: Outreach/Network Building

• Online – Individuals can register interest via tags & receive tailored

information.

– Can create ‘projects’ to invite others to participate

– Network with others to share skills, ideas and experience

– Interactive map of local resources & activities

• Offline – Subscribe to automatic newsletter by post with topics of

interest.

– Community noticeboards

– Community champions and LBL contact act as “connectors” - will post items for you and provide phone contact

– Micro leaflet delivery and door knocking

– SMS text notifications

How it can work: Feedback/Communication/Interaction

• Support with building the tools to collect & store data and

make it available

• Input & connection with existing projects

• Support for community initiatives – incentives for people

to sign up

– Micro finance (B£) for leaflet/poster printing

– Help finding venues for meetings

– Mentoring/training for community leaders/activists

– Support in accessing funding – e.g. CSR

– Support in arranging community initiatives, e.g.

Street Parties

• Funded post (perhaps graduate) to support network as a

single point of contact with the council

What support does it need

Engaging people

It’s hard to get people to

take the time to engage

Example: the Neighbourhood Enhancement project

recruited

6 people in one day

What was the problem

What we did

We tested out different engagement techniques a bus stops.

Bus stops provided a perfect window of opportunity;

Time, place, diversity and exit route

What we learnt

People are keen to share their views

when given the space to do it

People are interested in changing

their streets

Tips for engagement

• Different areas need different engagement techniques – have a range up your sleeve

• You need to go where the people are

• Things that look too polished can be off putting, keep it low-fi

• Asking people to write can be a barrier (issues around literacy, confidence etc)

• Give people clear instructions e.g. “write your ideas here”

• Provide examples to get people going

• A take-away element, so people can find out more (wellbeing/leaflet/tear-off)

• Be approachable – smile and be friendly!

The future…

If I ran my street...

It would be safer….

It would be greener and cleaner….

It would be fun….

It would be active….

What about you?

Imagine it yourself……

Plan it yourself…..

Create it yourself…..

Over to you.

Competition to…

• Competition to: Enable community to design their own measures:

“Thinking beyond speed-bumps”

Outcomes: •Community development, cohesion, growth & resilience •Increasing communication & trust •Identify vision for communities •Use existing knowledge skills & resources •Enable buy-in & responsibility •Community action beyond the competition & build •Local interventions beyond those funded by LC •Promote the NEP consultation.

Calmed Places

People places

Play spaces

Grow spaces

• Competition Proposal & Toolkits, judging criteria (DONE) • Invitation to the community to engage (DONE) • Docs uploaded to NEP website • Marketing strategy to local media, local champions, groups and networks. Promo via

social media • Support via council - e.g. Council run design workshop for designers to test concepts

before final submission • Presentation to Co-design workshop • Submission for Competition • Winners selected and built, & • Losers encouraged to adapt and build without council resource.

Design needs:

Competition Proposal & Supporting Guidance, including judging criteria.

• How to create your core team • Identifying visions for improvement • Consultation questionnaire • Having key skill sets • Engaging the community • Starting the Creative Process • Developing & testing your concepts • Getting final agreement • Support from Lambeth Council

Judging criteria

•Prove you have created a community team that has co-designed the proposal

•Prove how you have consulted so that it is inclusive and sufficient

•Prove your community strongly supports your idea (e.g. this would include your street and particularly the households/business owners close to the initiative

•Prove there is need for the initiative •Prove the community is keen to maintain the initiative •Engaged with the council to get a steer to help design and

ensure it can be done within their budget •Illustrate what the community would like to do next - how to

maintain the momentum.

Connecting skills to make changes

The results

462 × 620 - livingwithrats.blogspot.com

The website…