Developing community assets: Innovative ways to empower communities

Shelley Breckenridge

#communityassets

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AGENDA14.00 Welcome and introduction

Shelley Breckenridge - Interface – The knowledge connection for business14.05 Challenges of community empowerment

Dr Peter Matthews - Institute for Building & Urban Design, Heriot-Watt University14.25 Building community assets

Dr Tom Moore – Geography & Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews14.45 Innovative assets Dr Peter Matthews – Institute for Building & Urban Design, Heriot-Watt University15.00 Developing assets with a university

Caroline Richards – Prospect Community Housing Association15.15 Accessing the knowledge and expertise of Scotland’s universities and research institutes

Shelley Breckenridge – Interface – The knowledge connection for business15.30 Live and online Q & A16.00 Close

#communityassets

Challenge of community empowerment

Diverse communities and places

Dr Peter Matthews

Institute of Building and Urban Design

School of the Built Environment

@urbaneprofessor

Credits

Contents

• ScotCERB – main proposals and themes

• Whose community are we empowering?

• Putting the community in planning

• All communities are equal but some are more equal than others

• Concluding thoughts

ScotCERB

• Renewing/reinvigorated (restarting?) Community Planning

• Reform of community councils

• Urban community right-to-buy

• Community right to challenge

• Miscellaneous

Tom Parnell: http://www.flickr.com/photos/itmpa/6200745928/sizes/o/in/set-72157627793156184/

Tom Parnell: http://www.flickr.com/photos/itmpa/6200745928/sizes/o/in/set-72157627793156184/

Individuals Percentage of whom live in bottom 15% SIMD areas

AllMen 14.4%Women 15.7%

Health problems / disabilityDisabled 22.0%Long-term illness 22.5%Disabled AND long-term ill 27.5%Neither long-term ill nor disabled 12.8%

EthnicityWhite 15.0%All non-White ethnicities 22.9%

Religion No religion 14.8%Church of Scotland 12.4%Roman Catholic 26.3%Other Christian 8.6%Buddhist 9.3%Muslim 27.1%Other religions 14.4%

Sexual orientationHeterosexual 13.4%Gay / lesbian / bisexual / ‘other’ 17.0%Refused 17.6%

Community? Planning

The Commission heard a consistent view that the potential benefits of a local partnership approach are far from being fully realised; that there are significant variations in the effectiveness of community planning partnerships; and that, for the most part, the process of community planning has focussed on the relationships between organisations, rather than with communities...

(Christie, 2011: 44; emphasis added)

ScotCERB

“It will be important to ensure that community empowerment takes account of diverse communities and reaches both more marginalised individuals within communities and more marginalised communities within society.”

(Scottish Government, CERB Consultation: 7)

The influence of the middle classesTheory name   Definition

I’ll stand as the parish council chair

That the level or nature of middle class interest group formation allows for the collective articulation of their needs and demands, and that service providers respond to this.

I’ll write to my councillor and complain

That the level and nature of middle-class engagement with public services on an individualised basis means that services are more likely to be provided according to their needs and demands.

I’ll just phone our doctor That the alignment in the cultural capital enjoyed by middle classes service users and service providers leads to engagement which is constructive and confers advantage . 

I’ll vote for them That the needs of middle class service users, or their expectations of service quality, are ‘normalised’ in policy and practice or even that policy priorities can favour middle-class interests.

Empowering the powerful

“Many equality groups and individuals however feel disassociated and disenfranchised from community councils. They have expressed that they are often cliques who do not represent nor discuss anything of relevance to them, and only those with the loudest voices are acted upon.”

NHS Lothian

Strategy of equality

“‘Local control will result in a postcode lottery’ – Decentralisation will allow different communities to do different things in different ways to meet their different needs. This will certainly increase variety in service provision. But far from being random – as the word ‘lottery’ implies – such variation will reflect the conscious choices made by local people. The real lottery is what we have now, where one-size-fits-all policies are imposed by the centre whether or not they work locally.”

(Communities and Local Government, 2010: 5)

“Under no circumstance should any management of spending be transferred to local area groups. Control of spending at local council and national level is essential to ensure fair and equitable distribution of spending for the entire population of Scotland, rather than for the benefit of individual community groups.”

(Arnprior Community Council)

Concluding thoughts?

• Marginalised individuals and communities as King Canute?

• Spaces for deliberation

• Role of representative democracy and political leadership

• You can’t eat community engagement

Role of voluntary sector

• Community development

• As advocates for groups and communities

• As anchor organisations

• Capital ownership and assets

‘Hard-to-Reach’ or ‘Easy-to-Ignore’? - A rapid review of place-based policies and equality

Dr Peter Matthews, Dr Gina Netto and Dr Kirsten Besemer, Heriot-Watt University

http://bit.ly/hardtoreach

"Sharp Elbows": Do the Middle-Classes have Advantages in Public Service Provision and if so how?

Annette Hastings, University of Glasgow, Dr Peter Matthews, Heriot-Watt University

http://bit.ly/sharpelbows

Building Community Assets

Opportunities and challenges of the Scottish Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill

Dr Tom Moore (Centre for Housing Research, University of St Andrews)tm55@st-andrews.ac.uk

Developing Community Assets Webinar, May 2013

Objectives of this session• What do we mean by community assets?

• Scale, distribution and policy context of the community asset agenda.

• Reflect on the key ingredients and challenges involved with developing and supporting community assets.

What do we mean by assets?• Ownership of physical assets such as land and buildings that are controlled, managed and owned by place-based community organisations.

• No uniform model:

• Organisations may be stewards, community developers and entrepreneurs (Aiken et al., 2011).

• Assets may be acquired and funded in a variety of ways.

• Involved in the ownership of a variety of assets: village halls, housing, community facilities, land.

Scale and distribution of community assets

• Current scale:• 75,891 assets owned by 2,718 organisations.• Combined value of £1.45bn.

• 66% of assets found in remote rural areas.

• Over 90% of non-housing community assets are found in the 80% least deprived areas of Scotland, while only 3% are found in the 5% most deprived (DTAS, 2012).

Source: DTAS (2012)

Why community assets?• Economic benefits

• Income generation• Reduce grant dependency and create independent revenue streams.

• Physical benefits• Reverse local decline and tackle community disinvestment (Satsangi,

2007).• Restoration of disused or underutilised buildings.

• Social benefits• Tailored solutions to better reflect local needs (McKee, 2012). • Place-based community organisations that accord key roles to local

people in democratic governance structures (Moore and McKee, 2012).• Renewal of local democracy (Satsangi, 2007).

Policy context• Community assets hold popular currency in policymaking

• Land Reform Act (2003) and the right to buy: rural communities offered the opportunity to purchase land when it is up for sale.

• Big Lottery: Growing Community Assets.

• People and Communities Fund (2012-15)

• Scottish Community Empowerment & Renewal Bill proposes:

• Introduction of an urban right to buy• Expansion of asset transfer

The key ingredients of community asset acquisition

• Political will and intent (legislation useful but not a panacea - see Macleod et al., 2010)

• Appropriate resourcing and support is required.

• Finance to support asset acquisition.

• Investment into infrastructure and partnerships to nurture community capacity (Moore and Mullins, 2013).

• Community-led desire, capacity and strategic realism

Challenges to the community asset agenda

• The constitution and impact of legislation.

• Community engagement and challenges of empowerment.

• Skills, resources and desires of communities.

• Asset or liability? (see Aiken et al., 2011).

• Fit with wider policies and strategies.

Implications for Community Empowerment & Renewal Bill

• There is much that is positive about the community asset agenda:• Assets can positively benefit communities, improve local services

and boost local resilience.• Not always the most desirable option.• Bespoke rather than blanket solution.

• History shows it requires stable, dedicated and targeted resourcing.• Tap into existing support services (DTAS, Community Land

Scotland, Highlands & Islands Enterprise).

• Community ownership transcends who and where we are and any new legislation needs to accompanied by a recognition of this.

ReferencesAiken, M, Cairns, B, Taylor, M and Moran, R. (2011) ‘Community organisations controlling assets: a better understanding’, York: JRF, http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/community-organisations-assets-full.pdf

DTAS (Development Trusts Association Scotland) (2012) Community ownership: a baseline study. Available from: http://www.dtascommunityownership.org.uk/content/publications/community-ownership-in-scotland-a-baseline-study

Macleod, C, Braunholtz-Speight, T, Macphail, I, Flyn, D, Allen, S and Macleod, D. (2010) Post Legislative Scrutiny of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. Available from: http://www.crrs.uhi.ac.uk/publications/reports/reports-and-other-papers

McKee, K. (2012) “Housing Associations and the Big Society: lessons from Scotland’s community housing sector“.  St Andrews: Centre for Housing Research, University of St Andrews. Available from: http://ggsrv-cold.st-andrews.ac.uk/chr/publications.aspx

Moore, T. and McKee, K. (2012) ‘Empowering Local Communities? An International Review of Community Land Trusts’, Housing Studies, 27, 280-290.

Moore, T. and Mullins, D. (2013) Scaling-up or going viral? Comparing self-help housing and community land trust facilitation. Third Sector Research Centre Working Paper 94.

Satsangi, M. (2007) ‘Land tenure change and rural housing in Scotland’, Scottish Geographical Journal, 123, 1, 33-47.

Innovative assetsWeb 2.0 and social capital

Wacquant (among others...)

“By the closing decade of the century, the press of stigmatization had arisen sharply due to the explosion of discourses on the alleged formation of ‘cité-ghettos’ widely (mis)reprsented as growing pockets of ‘Arab’ poverty and disorder...”

Dean and Hastings 1999

They are regarded as places of high crime, peopled by the feckless and unemployed, but a key finding is that it is inappropriate to talk of the image of an estate. Rather there are fractured images. Individuals emphasise different aspects of the estate, and perceive it differently, depending on their own characteristics and experiences

Marked by...

• Physicality • Tenure• Disinvestment• Notoriety and myth

Residents’ perceptions

“when I first lived here Wester Hailes Drive you couldn’t escape from Wester Hailes that was your address Wester Hailes Drive you know. And I was unemployed a lot of the time you know in and oot o’ work and sometimes going for a job because of yer address was difficult you know because Wester Hailes had this reputation you were all thieves crooks and drug addicts”

Residents’ perceptions

“they look doon the hill at us you know they can be we’re in the middle but they’re still looking doon the hill at us because we’re part o’ Wester Hailes and they do not want to be involved wi’ Wester Hailes”

Turn back time...

...1977

The Wester Hailes Sentinel

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=322812907796229

2008...

Promise of web 2.0

• Democratisation of the web

• Digital utopians

• Digital dystopians

What’s happened

• Meetings.

• A lot of meetings.

• Getting planning permission

• Getting the totem pole in the ground

© RCAHMS

© RCAHMS

Place attachment and social capital

Place attachment and social capital

• Photos elicit stories

• Stories describe complexities place attachment

• Is this supporting bonding social capital?

• Is there a scope to develop bridging social capital and empowerment?

Bonding social capital

Social media is media

• Audience is based on content

• BanalismoReminiscenceoNarratives of everyday life

• Is this a problem?

Concluding thoughts

• University involvement as catalyst

• Limit to what we can do

• Academics are selfish

• Academics are a pain to work with

Prospect Community Housing

Caroline RichardsCommunity Projects Officer

Prospect Community Housing

•Located in Wester Hailes, South West Edinburgh•We provide and manage899 homes for rent all within Wester Hailes•Set up by local people in 1988, our community attachment will always be strong. We’re still managed by a board made up of people who live in the areas we serve

Prospect and Wider Role• Core business is housing but building

community takes more than homes• Initiate and support projects and

services that benefit tenants and the wider community

• Wider Role activity complements existing area needs and local priorities

• Work in partnership • Able to act as an anchor organisation• Wide range of projects- young people,

employability, health, environmental, building capacity

• Use of social media to engage with local online users• Encourages interaction, builds a network• Sentinel Newspaper archive shows history of estate• Involved in a local partnership developing innovative

ways to publicise and use area’s social history• Social history blog and Facebook page• Positive images that celebrate past and redefine present

                                                                                                                        

                            

From There To Here:Engagement via memories

Journey to Partnership• Social History group- local resident who recognised

potential value of university involvement• Initial contact via Edinburgh University’s

Urban Geography Dept- research on marginality

• Limited long term impact but led to partnership with Edinburgh College of Art

• Community Hacking project looking for a community to work with

• Led to a set of activities/ projects focused on engagement, interaction and capacity building

Ladder To the Clouds• Tales of Things- collecting memories,

linking social history to interactive technology

• QR Codes- information and write back• Code Books- QR coded social history walks

developed by Eoghan Howard and the Wester Hailes Health Agency

• Totem Pole co-ordinated by WHALE Arts Agency

• QR Code Wall Plaques- Prospect CH working with RCAHMS

• Our Place In Time: local partnership

Digital Sentinel• Sentinel was an independent

community voice• Online resource more sustainable• Co-ordinated by local steering group

drawn from Our Place In Time• A live community space for Wester Hailes residents to

share current news, views, interests and stories• Content and format being driven by local community• A front page acting as a portal using free to access

platforms such as Flickr, Youtube, Audioboo etc • Currently training local residents interested in

becoming citizen journalists, uploading content etc.

Benefits of Partnership• Technical expertise and support- e.g. back

office set up for Digital Sentinel, QR codes

• Funding- access to new sources• Fresh viewpoint- new ways of thinking and carrying out

processes• Linked into a network that presents wider opportunities• Sharing of knowledge

and good practice• On-going support in

community asset building

Learning Points• Establish reciprocity from the beginning- what is the

community gaining from the relationship?• Partnership agenda should be driven by local partners• Understand that the university partner will be looking

for specific outcomes that may be very different to other partners

• Your university partner may speak a different language on occasion!

• Challenge of differing timescales• Long term commitment from all

partners is key to success

Contact DetailsCaroline Richardscaroline.richards@prospectch.org.uk

From There To Here blog: http://hailesmatters.wordpress.com

From There To Here Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/FromThereToHereaWesterHailesStory

Social History Code Books:

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InterfaceConnecting businesses with Scotland’s academia

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Intelligent brokering

Matching the best with the best

Interface creates a clear path for businesses and universities to find mutually beneficial collaborations

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Providing a free and impartial service across Scotland to find the best solution for the business

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Creating an open platform to accelerate innovation

How do we encourage businesses and organisations to adopt an open innovation mind-set to access knowledge from out-with their organisations to develop new products, processes and services?

• Proactively working with organisationsExpand horizons of innovationOvercoming limited access to expertise and

technologySupport open innovation culture to draw on

knowledge originating from outside business

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We help you access the specialist expertise, knowledge and facilities in Scotland’s universities and research institutions that your business needs to succeed:

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The match making

Academic Partners

All Scottish Universities & Research Institutions

Direct Contact

Via events, social media, word of mouth, press, etc

ReferralsViaIntermediaryorganisations

Business Community

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Support for businesses in Scotland’s Academia

Research & technology capabilities

Contract research

Specialist expertise

Access to equipment & facilities

Consultancy

Industrial placements

Training, support & development

Strategy, marketing & planning support

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Benefits to business

8 companies registered

49 new patents

27 companies forecasted 334 new

licencing deals 

43 companies forecasted 225

jobs being safeguarded

 

10 companies created 25

jobs

33 companies introduced

48 new products

37 companies forecasted 81 new processes

being introduced

18 companies

safeguarded 57 jobs

71 companies forecasted 218 new products / services being

introduced

9 companies reported

expansion into 20 new

markets

2011/12 annual survey results; n=179

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Benefits to Academia

Gain an improved

understanding of

organisational requirements

and operations

Stimulate innovation  Enhance

skills and knowledge

Opportunities for ongoing

collaboration and follow on

projects

Gain ideas for further

research and development

projects

Lead rewarding

collaborations with

innovative businesses

Develop a culture of

knowledge exchange using

industry relevant research

Publish high quality

research papers

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Collaborative funding opportunities

- Student projects- Access facilities

- R&D grants- Innovation vouchers- SMART

- TSB collaborative grants- CASE studentships- Consultancy

- Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

- EU Framework 7

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• £1000 - £5000 grant to offset the costs of the collaborative project with one of Scotland’s HE institutions

• Open to all SMEs with main business operations in Scotland (SC number)

• Matched scheme, either with cash or in kind

• The project should:– Lead to new products, services of process– Benefit the business, institution and Scottish economy– Encourage new partnerships and long-term relationships

SFC Innovation Voucher Scheme

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Albyn Housing Society LtdBenefits• Assess the feasibility of a new innovative

model of delivering ALS to vulnerable customers.

• Evidence gathered is being used to develop a future project that will develop, implement and evaluate this service model.

• The service will allow the company to maintain and/or improve their position in the market, increasing revenue.

“Our involvement with Interface has been hugely beneficial for Albyn Housing Society Ltd as their introduction has been fundamental in developing our relationship with the Centre for Rural Health and has led to further joint work with UHI. We have already generated interest from the social housing sector in the work we have done so far” Calum MacAulay, Chief Executive, Albyn Housing Society Ltd

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Renfrewshire Community Health InitiativeBenefits• Greater understanding of the process of

change from a voluntary organisation to a social business, leading to improved sustainability and the ability to continue to meet community needs

• Relationship with GCU has given RCHI an increased profile and credibility with principal stakeholders

• Framed a successful competitive PhD studentship application, allowing the partners to continue to collaborate for years beyond the initial study

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Creating a path to success

Communication and clear agreement on costs, IP sharing and timelines from outset

Expectation management

Ensuring delivery by both parties in keeping with agreed milestones

Growing initial relationship from small project to strategic partnership

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shelley@interface-online.org.uk

www.interface-online.org.uk

07791 985929

@InterfaceOnline

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