Community Empowerment Rural Development Council Alasdair McKinlay Regeneration Division.
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Transcript of Community Empowerment Rural Development Council Alasdair McKinlay Regeneration Division.
Community Empowerment
Rural Development Council
Alasdair McKinlay
Regeneration Division
Community Empowerment
• The Scottish Government and Community Empowerment
• Developing the Action Plan - What we heard from our Dialogue
• What is Community Empowerment and why does it matter?
• The Actions Plan
• Shared challenges for the future
The Scottish Government and Community Empowerment
• A cross Government agenda
• Committed to people in Scotland having more control over their own lives and more choice in how their needs are met
• Scottish Ministers were keen to listen to a wide range of views about how to make community empowerment a reality
Dialogue Process
• Spoke with 380 people from October December 2007
• Good mix of participants
• Strong equalities dimension
Dialogue Process – What we heard
• Very broad mix of views – but some consensus
• Empowerment is not something that can be done to communities - but supporting communities is critical.
• Don’t invent new schemes, structures or layers of governance - build on what is there
Dialogue Process – What we heard
• People agreed that community empowerment involved communities taking more direct control of change in their communities.
• However, many people felt that simply having more and better involvement in the planning and delivery of services would be what some communities would want
Dialogue Process – What we heard
• Real community empowerment is about equality, with all sectors of the community being involved and having their voice heard
• Scepticism amongst many community activists and the third sector about whether public bodies were really interested in empowering communities
What is Community Empowerment?
• Joint Statement of commitment with COSLA
• “Community empowerment is a process where people work together to make change happen in their communities by having more power and influence over what matters to them.”
Why does Community Empowerment matter?
• Community Empowerment complements the role of elected members in invigorating democracy
• It helps to deliver better outcomes – Communities doing things for themselves is sometimes the best way to deliver change
• It improves quality of life - People working together unlocks talent and creativity and develops resilience and confidence
Action Plan
• A milestone on a journey – not an end point
• To be launched jointly with COSLA 23 March 2009
• Promoted around the country after that
Action Plan
• Reinforces that the Scottish Government and local government are committed to community empowerment;
• Develops enthusiasm for what can be achieved by empowering communities;
• Celebrates existing examples to show what communities can achieve for themselves;
• Provides clarity on key principles and practical action which will help make community empowerment a reality;
• Shows that this is an agenda shared by all key partners in Scotland.
Actions
• Highlighting 12 examples of community empowerment;
• Sets out for the first time nearly £180m Community Empowerment Programme of potential investment in community groups;
• Investing in an integrated programme to develop skills, learning and networking in relation to community empowerment and engagement;
Action Plan
• Developing support to help communities own assets;
• Investing in improved support for community capacity building;
• Working with Audit Scotland to agree how to assess progress on engagement and empowerment.
Shared Challenges?
• Overcoming scepticism
• Resourcing support for community groups
• Developing an understanding of the benefits of empowering communities with a wide range of colleagues