Steering Group Overview Moira Blood & Helen Barnes

Bid for I&GP funding i) Housing Market Renewal lead ii) Number of interventions in Pathfinder area iii) Impact of cohesion activity Board set up to provide strategic overview Steering Group to deliver the project i) Range of partners ii) Clear focus on evaluation

Promoting cohesion in areas of existing housing where cohesion appeared to be weak Promoting cohesion in mixed tenure new build developments Evaluation techniques – how to measure cohesion and the impact of projects

Thinking through the whole process from need to evaluation Designing & selecting interventions Responding to changes in circumstances or focus Research & evaluation

Input from a range of disciplines and perspectives High quality project management Partnership working at its best

Impact of design on cohesion in a number of new build developments including The impacts of consultation process on new and existing residents How shared spaces may have improved community cohesion at schemes where they did not exist

New Build and Cohesion Linking private development with the rest of the estate Integrating residents in a new block of flats with each other and their surrounding area

Philosophy for Communities Open discussion sessions with targeted individuals Creates a safe environment for wide ranging discussion Builds bridges between participants Wanted to evaluate P4C as a tool

Dance, Sports and Creative Arts Intergenerational dance sessions Sports sessions for young people with adult volunteers Use of creative arts to explore cultural identity and differences

Conflict awareness training Working with community groups to help them deal with conflict Linking two community groups from adjacent areas who do not mix

Cohesion Counts Impact Evaluation Lisa Hall & Kathryn Crowther York Consulting LLP

Cohesion Counts Evaluation Overview YCL commissioned in May 2009; Focus on “Real-Time” Evaluation Impact Evaluation Report covers: –Good Relations Oldham: Conflict Awareness Training and Bridge Building Project –Groundwork: Multi Sports and Dance-Uni –Spiral Dance – Folkways in Falinge And: –Philosophy for Communities –First Choice Homes Oldham Linking Project –Limeside and Clarkwell Linking Communities Project “Transforming neighbourhoods to improve peoples’ lives”

Evaluation, Evaluation, Evaluation IMPACT Real-time: Responsibility split between Steering Group and YCL Impact Evaluation Report covers: –Aim 1: to improve residents’ satisfaction with the neighbourhood in which they live; –Aim 2: to improve resident’s sense of belonging to their street, neighbourhood and Borough; –Aim 3: to improve residents’ perceptions of living in communities mixed by age, tenure, property types, areas of the neighbourhood, and social and ethnic backgrounds; –Aim 4: to improve relationships within neighbourhoods between residents mixed by age, tenure, property types, areas of the neighbourhood and social and ethnic backgrounds; and –Aim 5: to encourage residents to build relationships with people from different backgrounds from themselves through meeting and talking in a variety of places.

Good Relations Oldham: Conflict Awareness Training and Bridge Building Project Project Refocused Evaluation –Impact on Relationships: Volunteers, Committee Members; User Groups and Participant Personal Development –Breaking down barriers and building inter community links Activities –Pre and Post Questionnaires; One-to-one Consultations Impacts –Belonging: Skills development to deal with situations of conflict and support their local communities –Perceptions: become more aware of different cultures, opinions and lifestyles –Relationships: inter and intra linking of communities

Groundwork: Multi-Sports and Dance Uni Evaluation –Impact on breaking down barriers and perceptions; change in negative behaviours; forming relationships. Activities –Pre and Post Questionnaires; One-to-one Consultation; Mood Boards; Scenario Testing Impacts: –Satisfaction – expanded use of community facilities; engagement in secure and safe, healthy and creative activities –Perceptions – Volunteers and Young people felt people from different backgrounds could get along well together –Relationships – Develop skills and meet with other people, older and younger

Philosophy for Communities Evaluation –Impact: contribution towards improving community cohesion on the Alt in Oldham and Kirkholt in Rochdale estates. Activities –Pre and Post Questionnaires; One-to-one Consultation; questionnaires, Blog activity Impacts –Satisfaction: encourage communication and understanding between groups –Belonging: ability to influence local-decision making; confidence to speak out –Relationships: Opportunity to meet with people and address stereotypes

Spiral Dance: Folkways in Falinge Evaluation –Impact on raising awareness of issues around community cohesion and hate crime, breaking down barriers between different social groups –Change in negative stereotypes and preconceptions. Activities –Pre and Post Questionnaires; One-to-one Consultations; Graffiti Walls; Scenario testing; Story-telling Impacts: –Belonging: Showcase of activities to wider Rochdale area –Perceptions: Benefits of having a mix of older and younger people in an area –Relationships: Positive experiences considering people from different ages and backgrounds

Limeside and Clarkwell: Linking Communities Project Post- Evaluation –Long-Term Impact on bringing the two communities together and working towards building friendships –Changed perceptions of each other’s cultures. Activities –One-to-one/paired Consultations; Secondary Data Impacts: –Positive perceptions of people from different ethnicities, ages and backgrounds –Opportunity to ask questions, share best practice, consider different approaches and opinions –Broke down barriers and stigma –Extremely positive start but longer-term momentum/ sustainability needed

Cohesion Counts Impact Evaluation Report Additional Impacts of the projects on Individuals and Communities Best practice: –using efficient and effective methodologies and approaches to get individuals interacting with the projects; and –the steering group and support networks that were created as a result of the programme. Lessons Learnt: –evaluation engaged from the outset: Real-Time; clear steer and focus –delivering impacts under time pressure Sustainability

Cohesion Counts Impact Evaluation Questions: & York Consulting LLP