A Glass Half Full: taking an asset approach to improving community health and wellbeing

Launch event feedback

This feedback document has been compiled by Lorna Prescott from Dudley CVS and aims to answer questions asked at the launch event, share feedback, provide our responses, and offer a participant list.

It wasn’t possible to provide a full participant list on the evening as we kept the booking process simple and allowed people to book places for friends and colleagues without giving their names.

49 people attended the launch event of this project, held on Tuesday 24 April 2012. They are listed towards the end of this document, in section 5.

20 participants have asked to be kept informed about the project by email, with 8 of those saying that they would be likely to read and perhaps comment on a project blog. 12 people who attended the launch event would like to be involved regularly in learning and networking opportunities through the project, and a further 4 would like to be involved occasionally. 12 participants would like to access free training and support which assists asset based community work.

We asked participants for feedback, below is their feedback and our responses.

1. Questions asked at the launch event

Q. Has anything like the proposed project been attempted before?A. We are not aware of asset based approaches being used in this way in Dudley borough before, although many current and previous projects and services work effectively with a range of assets. Asset based working is taking place in other areas in the UK and across the world, in relation to wellbeing and health that these are a couple that we are aware of are:

• Living Well: an asset approach to improvement of health and wellbeing and reduction of inequalities in the North West

• A mental health project in Scotland: www.blogs.iriss.org.uk/assetmapping

We’ll be adding links and signposts to similar activity on our blog page: www.oursocietyhealth.wordpress.com

We are networking with practitioners through the ABCD Europe online site and have arranged to meet up with a team of Community Builders in Manchester to find out how

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they work with asset approaches. The Birmingham and Black Country Community Foundation are starting to use asset approaches in 4 Fair Share areas in the West Midlands.

Q. What kind of language will you be using with neighbourhood teams because the language tonight has been very jargony and probably meaningless to some people?A. We hope that we articulated definitions or explanations of the terms which relate to concepts which are less familiar people. However the training sessions we run will be heavily participatory, so the language used will be whatever participants use. We will be unpacking concepts like community empowerment to draw out their relevance and meaning to people in their contexts.

Q. How will you handle the inevitable disappointment of the neighbourhoods who do not get the £50,000?A. We aim to build a group spirit and hope that together the group will celebrate success within it’s members and support each other through disappointment.

Q. How broad an approach to ‘wellbeing’ will you take? For instance people who want to improve the physical environment and the like?A. This will be up to the people who get involved in the project. Within the chosen neighbourhood local people will shape and decide what the parameters are and how resources are used.

2. Feedback: what people liked about the launch event

Comments are below, grouped in to themes.

Ideas and concepts• The whole concept of salutogensesis and social health• Inspiring ideas. Innovative new ways of working!• The skills card game. I found that interesting for other aspects of community

engagement• Developing community engagement• Lively, creative, inspiring

Learning about asset approaches• Opportunity to find out more about asset based working• Emphasis on “the person”, “the place”, the community and working differently to

achieve change skills game• The opportunity to find out about asset management and to see how my role could

link into it

[NB. The term ‘asset management’ is used in relation to how buildings and land are managed. This is different to, but can be part of, asset based approaches which look at intangible assets in communities as well as physical and other tangible assets. Lorna]

Information• Background information

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• The information on what we can do in the community• It’s new• Useful info

The format and delivery of the launch• Liked the way they explained things• Friendly, approachable overview• Interesting presentation• Very informal – which was good• Very informative• Presentation• It was excellent as a launch

Networking opportunities• The range of new people I met!• The chance to network in the future• Networking

3. Feedback: what people learned at the launch event

Comments are below, grouped in to themes.

About an assets approach• Principles of asset based approach and its link to policy and community “place”• What an asset is• That it is a positive approach to health and well being is possible and wanted/

needed• How to motivate residents in local neighbourhoods• Head, heart, hands• Concept of asset approach

About working in different ways and working in communities• To build on those areas of work/projects/activities that work well, rather than trying

to create new projects to tackle problems• Be understanding in the community and help each other• That the approach we are using as a group which includes (i.e. inclusive) the social

enterprise (CEC) is very similar as are the outcomes• Ways to network in a different way. Work together• The things we can do together• How skills vary within Dudley• Some ideas to take back to Beacon Centre to review how we approach some of our

work• Lots of interesting ideas new to me

About the project• That the project is grassroots led to meet needs in the community• That it wasn’t what I was expecting!• About the approach in Dudley

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• About the project and assets• How to form a team• Inspired by your approach

4. Feedback: What could have made this launch event even better?

Less jargonFour participants fed back that they would have liked less jargon, more plain english.We are sorry that the use of new terms and concepts was off-putting or confusing. We did discuss this as we were preparing the launch event and decided that it might be helpful for people to know what some of the concepts and ways of working are called. It seems to be one of those instances where you can’t please everybody, as others fed back that they liked finding out such things.

The slides were difficult to readThree participants fed back that it was difficult to read the powerpoint presentation.We apologise for this. We have no access to a larger screen, and we couldn’t prevent the low sun coming in through the high windows just when we didn’t want it. However some of our slides were text heavy, which we would avoid in future in order to help readability.

Using a microphoneOne participant said it would have helped if we had used a microphone. We did consider this, but felt the acoustics in the room were OK. This is a learning point and if we did this again we would use a microphone to ensure that everyone could hear well.

Understanding of the projectParticipants said that they would have liked:• A better understanding beforehand about how it was geography based• Clearer guidelines about what project entailedWe tried to make this as clear as we could on the Eventbrite site which people used to book places. We will produce a short hand out to help explain the project further.

One person said “I really did not grasp what it was all about until ¾ through the event”.It is a complicated project and quite difficult to explain as it embraces a number of approaches and ideas. We are glad that by the end people had some understanding of it.

Linking and working togetherOne person would have liked workshops, another suggested less theory and another suggested more opportunities to link with people in room. Similarly one participant fed back that “If you are unaware of all the local groups or people willing to work together….there was no way of knowing who you could possibly work with unless you introduced yourself to everyone in the room (not enough time)”.We did struggle with this. We weren’t sure that many people would come to a session which was two hours or longer on an evening and participate in workshops or

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networking in relation to a project which at the outset they knew nothing about. Which is why we chose to host a short event aimed at giving information and allowing people the opportunity to ask questions. It would have been useful to have had a way to connect people in the room from similar neighbourhoods, and time was a limiting factor. In hindsight we should have allowed some time for introductions around the room and time for people to make contact.

One person would have liked a delegate list.5It wasn’t possible to provide a full participant list on the evening as we kept the booking process simple and allowed people to book places for friends and colleagues without giving their names. A participant list is provided below.

5. Participant list

Name OrganisationSue McGavin A2CN/Citizen Engagement CompanyBarbara Dudley Adult and Community Learning, Dudley MBCDean Campbell Alumwell NHW WalsallAsima Khalid Apni Zaroorat Community NetworkGohair Mumtaz Apni Zaroorat Community NetworkFaziat Ali Apni Zaroorat Community NetworkJo Ellis Beacon CentreDawn Carr Birmingham and Black Country Community FoundationJillian Hartland CHADDKaren J. Turnock CHADDJoyce Thompson Church of God of ProphecyRobert Franklin ConnexionsAnnette Darby Dudley Association of Community NetworksJulia Simmonds Dudley Children’s ServicesLesley Robson Dudley LibraryCllr Adrian Turner Dudley MBCL. Bradshaw Dudley MBCDulcie Stephenson Dudley MBC – Road SafetyLiz Dalloway Dudley MBC – Road SafetyMatthew Cartwright Dudley MBC (DACHS)Andy Webb Dudley MBC (DUE)Cheryl Gazen Reu Dudley MBC HousingEmma Marks Dudley MindJane Chase Elysia Therapeutic CentreMelanie Taylor Elysia Therapeutic CentreAdrian Large Elysia Therapeutic CentreLissa Graham Enlight ProjectsAmbrose S Kovyong Health Exchange Shelley Squire Health Exchange (Dudley Health Trainers)

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Rachael Gardener InsightMarc Carter InsightJulie Dillon Lions BoxingJim Charles Lye Amateur Body BuildingDennis Parry. Lye Amateur Body BuildingJan Jones Mary Stevens HospiceSarah Dayle Mary Stevens HospicePeta Curno NHSAngela Parnell NHSRichard Peuss Revival FiresE. Tomlinson Seventh Day Adventist ChurchCynthia Billings Seventh Day Adventist ChurchR. Brooks Seventh Day Adventist ChurchGrace Walsh Seventh Day Adventist ChurchV. Lawrence Seventh Day Adventist ChurchJanet Hilken St. Thomas’s NetworkJayne Hunt West Midlands PoliceHelen White Women’s AwarenessSam Wall Youth Offending

Compiled by Lorna PrescottSenior Development OfficerDudley CVS01384 267421lorna@dudleycvs.org.uk

1 May 2012

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