A Call for Action for Community Development Alison Navarro, Chief Executive, 17.03.17

My Journey…!

The Way Ahead The Review Team developed the following definition of civil society: “Civil society is where people take action to improve their own lives or the lives of others and act where government or the private sector don’t. Civil society is driven by the values of fairness and equality, and enables people to feel valued and to belong. It includes formal organisations such as voluntary and community organisations, informal groups of people who join together for a common purpose and individuals who take action to make their community a better place to live”

Vision and System A shared understanding of need should be co-produced, with communities driving this process, and with the involvement of a range of other players. Communities should be enabled to find and deliver their own solutions where possible. Communities, civil society support and funders should act as catalysts for action and also identify emerging needs. Frontline volunteers, groups and organisations, civil society support and independent funders should campaign and influence locally and regionally.

Voice & Campaigning

From The Way Ahead… “The challenges presented by factors such as the impact of the Lobbying Act coupled with reduced capacity within civil society organisations has made campaigning and influencing work more complex”

Emerging Recommendations from Voice and Campaigning Group Equalities focused/Grassroots organisations > supporting social action > social justice The relationship between voice and campaigning and individuals & communities awareness of their rights is made explicit The role of Community Leaders The role of infrastructure organisations and the voluntary and community sector > supporting the ‘voice of local people and those most unlikely to be heard’ The role of networking and particularly the concept of a Networked The role of ‘Critical Education’ + The concept of developing a Standing Conference to explore key issues affecting Londoners and the voice and campaigning response be developed so as to enable a coordinated and collective response to those issues That the role of Equalities focused/Grassroots organisations be seen as a key mechanism supporting social action, leading to social justice and therefore resourced appropriately The relationship between voice and campaigning and individuals & communities awareness of their rights is made explicit The role of Community Leaders in voice and campaigning around particular equalities or geographically focused issues is recognised and promoted. The role of infrastructure organisations and the voluntary and community sector more generally in supporting the ‘voice of local people and those most unlikely to be articulated or heard’ The role of networking and particularly the concept of a Networked City (and technology more generally) be explored further in relation to voice and campaigning The role of ‘Critical Education’ and the ability of individuals and communities to develop awareness of rights and tools for campaigning (sure this can be phrased better but it is about empowerment as opposed to oppression!) The concept of developing a Standing Conference to explore key issues affecting Londoners and the voice and campaigning response be developed so as to enable a coordinated and collective response to those issues

A CALL TO ACTION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – MY REFLECTIONS! Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector Development has to have community development at its core – without it the VCSE cannot flourish! Community Development practice supporting communities of geography and communities of identity Support for ‘Community Development for non CD practitioners’ Explicit recognition of the importance of community development to successful infrastructure organisations