The Community Development Foundation

Winter 2009

The challenge

The Community Development Foundation wanted to provide information on community development for professionals working across public and voluntary sectors. The aim was to create a document for professionals working in the health sector, explaining and offering guidance on the concept of ‘empowerment’. We were asked to provide insight and help develop the product.

How we approached it

We conducted a web-based and telephone survey of over fifty health professionals working in the fields of patient involvement, engagement and consultation, to establish the techniques people were using and where they wanted support. We also interviewed experts from across the public sector on how empowerment can work best. Following on from this, we ran two expert seminars in Leeds and London, to brainstorm how the document should look and feel.

What happened

Our respondents told us that they didn’t need another policy document; instead, they wanted clear steps to good practice and ‘warts and all’ case studies. The guide we ultimately produced was built around ‘key principles’ and examples of good practice. You can view it by clicking here.