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Presentation delivered by Sam Sparrow, Head of the Volunteer Unit at Catch22 and Linda Roberts, Senior Researcher at OPM on community organising in disadvantaged communities.Looks at findings from OPM/Catch22/Turning Point report on community organising and the Big Society, "The new neighbourhood army".Delivered at Public Policy Briefing event on 03/02/2011
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www.opm.co.uk
Community organising in the Big Society
3 February 2011 Linda Roberts, OPMSam Sparrow, Catch22
Community organising – the Government’s vision
• To create a “Neighbourhood army” of 5,000 full-time, professional community organisers
• The role will be to:– Identify gaps or failings in services provided by the state – Mobilise community support to tackle these gaps or failings locally – Help people to start groups and charities– Liaise with civil society organisations, the state and the community – Help to secure funding for local activities and their own work– Enhance social capital, strengthen interactions between all parts of
the community and result in relevant local change
• Tendered for a national partner to support organisers and first group of recruits to begin training in April 11…
Broad concepts of community organising
• The concept of community organising is not new! • It draws upon the thinking of radicals from well over 50
years ago – Alinsky in Chicago• While distinct, there are overlaps between community
organising and other approaches and interventions– Community development, community empowerment, action
research, community building, community activism
• Defining features:- Collective action to influence decision making - Empowering those who don’t have a voice - Provision of independent voice - Change may require conflict
Challenges facing organising
• What are they going to organise? • How will conflict be managed? • How will they be recruited? How can equalities be
assured? How do we ensure that organisers are credible at the local level?
• Who is accountable, and how will accountabilities be managed?
• Where is funding to support it? • What about those that don’t have the time to
spare?
Organising in disadvantaged communities
• Lower levels of volunteering in some communities
• Low levels of social capital
• Lack of social cohesion
• Capacity issues in voluntary and community sector
• Multiple disadvantages are experienced both personally and in the community
Disadvantaged communities – principles into practice at Catch22
• Services are tailored to develop the people we work with into better functioning members of the community
• Community Space Challenge – allowing participants from all areas of the community to design and carry out their own form of social action
• National Citizens Service – required element is that each cohort is “socially mixed”
• Programmes exist to build capacity of young people to engage with communities – need to develop this model
Making community organising work
• Map and understand communities
• Recruitment needs to be multi channel and sophisticated
• Appropriate training
• Building a respectful, open and engaging leadership culture
• Sustained and intensive support
Continue the debate…
• Twitter hashtag: #communityorg• @OPMnetwork
• OPM blog: http://opmblog.co.uk• lroberts2@opm.co.uk
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