Community Planning in D&G and the Third Sector

Background to Community Planning Local Government in Scotland Act Concordat with Local Government Statement of Ambition Audit Scotland Reports – 2013 Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act “Community Planning is a process which helps public agencies to work together with the community plan and deliver better services which make a real difference to people’s lives”

Community Planning Framework Dumfries and Galloway Community Planning framework - Strategic/Corporate Partnerships - Thematic Partnerships contributing to the Single Outcome Agreement (SOA) - Locality Arrangements - Community Planning Thematic Working Groups Governance, Operating Protocol and Financial Framework (as of 22 nd June 2015) available from Community Planning website

Strategic/Corporate Forums Strategic Partnership (leadership and vision) -Elected and Board representatives of local public sector bodies with statutory responsibility; Third Sector, Housing, Further/Higher Education and Private Sector Executive Group (direction and advice) -Senior Executives of local public sector bodies; Third Sector and Further/Higher Education that have resources and/or responsibilities for community planning Stakeholder Group (engagement and consultation) - Any organisation or agency that wants to be part of our partnership consultations and engagement

Thematic Partnerships Individually constituted – different background and governance arrangements Membership defined by the Partnerships themselves Community Planning Office brings together, as and when required, representatives of the Partnerships that have a contribution to each of the six SOA Priorities

Single Outcome Agreement 1. We will provide a good start in life for all our children 4. We will support and stimulate our local economy 2. We will prepare our young people for adulthood and employment 5. We will maintain the safety and security of our region 3. We will care for our older and vulnerable people 6. We will protect and sustain our environment

Locality Arrangements Area Based Teams (4) - will be established in parallel with the new health and social care locality arrangements -provision for a Third Sector representative, drawn from the local Third Sector Forum Local Rural Partnerships (4) -meetings and events on an ad hoc basis at present -report to the Area Based Teams (when up and running) - membership open to all organisations within that area

Community Planning Thematic Working Groups Community Covenant Grants Scheme Equality & Diversity Tackling Poverty Co-ordination Group Compact Group (TS D&G remit)

Performance Management Annual Report on progress, key issues, challenges and opportunities for each Priority to Executive Group and then to Strategic Partnership Six month and End of Year Performance Report on the SOA overall to Executive Group and then to Strategic Partnership. End of Year report to Scottish Government Performance Management Framework

Communications Strategic Partnership papers are public – papers on community planning website. Meetings open to partners to attend on request e-newsletter – quarterly after each Strategic Partnership Specific events e.g. SOA development and review – members of all community planning forums are invited TSDG website – “Engage and Influence” section with info on third sector representation

Planning and Performance Unit – D&G Council Senior Manager Planning and Performance Liz Manson Policy and Performance Advisors Melinda Dolan – Priorities One and Two Sheila Davies – Priority Three Gillian McLeod – Priority Four and Six Andy Reed – Priority Five Performance Development Officer Donna Maxwell

Third Sector Engagement Framework X 1 Strategic Forum Annandale & Eskdale Forum Nithsdale Forum Stewartry Forum Wigtownshire Forum X15 Community Gatherings Stranraer and The Rhins, Newton Stewart and the Cree valley, The Machars, Kirkcudbright, Castle Douglas, Dalbeattie, Upper Glenkens, Dumfries, North West Dumfries, Thornhill and Mid Nithsdale, Upper Nithsdale, Moffat and Upper Annandale, Lockerbie and Mid Annandale, Annan/Gretna (A75 Corridor), Langholm and the Esk Valley

Thematic Forums In 2015/16 the TSI are giving priority to developing Thematic Forums for: - SOA Priority 1 – Providing a good start in life for all our children - SOA Priority 2 – Preparing our young people for adulthood and employment - SOA Priority 3 – We will care for our older and vulnerable people

Mission and Aims of the Third Sector Forums Better connect the third sector to Community Planning Act as a community where third sector organisations can discuss and share ideas, and networks are developed Provide a collective voice for the third sector to strengthen engagement with Community Planning partners and processes Long-term aim - Help to better coordinate third sector representation on the various forums and groups of the Community Planning partnership Example – Glasgow Third Sector ForumGlasgow Third Sector Forum

Role of the Convener Act as a ‘conduit’ for the third sectors collective voice to be heard at strategic level Get people involved in finding effective solutions together, in order for the solutions to be truly bottom-up, with the role of the convener remaining independent of this process Direct rather than dominate discussions, help encourage participants to talk to each other rather than the convener

Key Roles of a Third Sector Rep What are the tasks that third sector representatives are likely to be involved in?

Key Roles of a Third Sector Rep Four main tasks: Feeding back information to voluntary and community groups Standing up for the sector whilst maintaining good relationships Reading papers and analysing complex documents Influencing decisions

Building relationships with the partnership Developing a view Standing up for the sector whilst maintaining good relationships Influencing discussions Presenting a good case Feeding back information to voluntary and community groups Reading papers and analysing complex documents Bridging differences in cultures between communities and organisations Enabling and facilitating others to be involved in the process Promoting the Partnership and being accountable for collective decisions

Influencing the agenda Making decisions about funding and resources Working with partners to deliver on programmes and projects Monitoring and evaluation of projects Reflecting on ways of doing things Taking part in negotiations Writing reports Presenting information and reports Resolving conflict

Engaging with officers, sounding out opinions and views Representing the Partnership on other Strategic Partnerships and Boards Chairing and attending related meetings Developing a particular piece of follow-up work Bridging the strands together Coming up with other ways of doing the work

Sharing Experiences What you get from being a third sector rep/expect to get ‘Top tips’ on being a rep How you currently engage with partners and the third sector

Key Skills of a Third Sector Rep What are the main skills and abilities that third sector representatives are using?

Future Training 2 strengths 2 areas for training

Where Do We Go From Here?