Community Investment Team

Steve Cranston, Cath Lee, Michelle Smith and Amanda Symonds

Format

• What is community investment?

• What is happening now?

• The future?

• Discussion

Principles

• More than Bricks and Mortar

• Squeeze as much value from existing and new work

• Work to priority needs of our key partners

So What Is Community Investment?

• Getting people into work

• Raising skills levels

• Engagement with young people

• Income maximization

• Reduced bills/carbon

• Community facilities

• Better physical environment

• Promoting enterprise

Why important ?

• Scale of challenge

• Long term

• Housing + needed to break cycles

• Says who…..

• Research on what works

• Our partners

• Welsh Assembly Government

Whats Occuring?

Training and Employment Action …. and words…. Done !

By developing relationships with Local Authorities & Funded Employment Agencies such as JobMatch and training providers. This has meant an immediate start with over 25 trainees on site within 3 projects since I started my post in April 2008.

Social Inclusion Clauses been developed to further increase the opportunities to our targeted recruitment and training project.

Social Inclusion Clauses

Social Inclusions Clauses seek to develop tangible skills that will make the trainees attractive to our supply chain, these include:

Carpentry

Bricklaying

Plastering

General Construction

We also fund tools, equipment and training to the wider programme through United Welsh and Job Match

Current Projects

• Planned Maintenance

• Day to day Repair Services

• New Build Sites

• Case study detailed in HouseMark

Future Projects

Construction Youth Trust

Rassau – Community Construction Skills

Penrhos Extra Care

Church Street - Regeneration

Other Activities

Construction Skills for the team

School Projects

• Art projects

• Ivor Goodsite

• Site visits/landscaping

• Free Fruit

Credit Union partnership

• Pilot project involving 2 schools

‘Young Savers’ scheme

Linked to one of United Welsh’s key priorities for the future –

Financial Inclusion

Regeneration

Church Street , Ebbw Vale

• Identified as a priority regeneration area

• Local perception is that nothing is happening

• Our catalyst role - to bring stakeholders together to create momentum and drive work forward

Regeneration

Marine Street

Cwm

Similar area which has been identified as a priority

Regeneration in Bargoed

Regeneration in Bargoed

• New Health Centre

Future Priorities

• Jobs and Training

• Regeneration

• Financial Inclusion

Jobs and Training

• Build on current work

• More opportunities for UWHA tenants

• Options to scale up through Integrate

• Explore social enterprise opportunities

Regeneration

• Play an active and creative role in regeneration programmes

• Help identify local needs and win investment for community facilities

Financial Inclusion

• Credit Crunch – massive fuel and food price rises

• Education - Understanding the basics of money management - Schools

• Advice – Signposting, Early intervention and Support

• Access to financial products & services - Basic Bank Accounts, Bank and Building Society Accounts and Credit Union Accounts

Achieve more impact by doing as much as possible through

Communication Challenges

• Sharing information - Inviting suggestions - Partnership opportunities

• What’s going well – and what is notOptions• Face to face sessions• Newsletters• Focus groups/citizen panels• Intranet – to

www.investuwha.blogspot.com

Thankyou

• Questions… Comments… Suggestions