Connecting Communities - cohesion for CLG
The Connecting Communities programme was set up to help councillors and senior officers understand community cohesion in their local area, and support them in designing more effective cohesion and engagement practices. It is particularly focused on understanding the needs and aspirations of longstanding white working class communities, which have historically received less attention from local and central government projects.
TCC designed and delivered bespoke Leadership Training projects in each of thirty local authorities across England. These were developed to suit the exact needs of each area, but all involved an in-depth research phase followed by reports and workshops for councillors and senior officers.
The research phase used TCC’s innovative Values Modes system to recruit segmented focus groups in wards with lower levels of community cohesion and other specific challenges. We also used staff focus groups and stakeholder interviews to develop an in-depth understanding of community cohesion in each area, and collected video interviews of local residents discussing their areas.
We are delivering feedback through a combination of presentations and workshops, many of which use video and interactive voting sessions to build a shared understanding of cohesion among officers and members.
This project has developed a stronger understanding of community cohesion for authorities across the UK, particularly those which face the toughest challenges. This is enabling them to develop more targeted and effective cohesion and engagement processes which address the needs of the whole community. Effective cohesion policy can play a key role in stopping tensions in the community from escalating, so its importance is increasing as budgets are getting tighter.
Last Updated on Monday, 20 September 2010 11:40