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Community organising in the Big Society

3 February 2011 Linda Roberts, OPMSam Sparrow, Catch22

Community organising – the Government’s vision

• To create a “Neighbourhood army” of 5,000 full-time, professional community organisers

• The role will be to:– Identify gaps or failings in services provided by the state – Mobilise community support to tackle these gaps or failings locally – Help people to start groups and charities– Liaise with civil society organisations, the state and the community – Help to secure funding for local activities and their own work– Enhance social capital, strengthen interactions between all parts of

the community and result in relevant local change

• Tendered for a national partner to support organisers and first group of recruits to begin training in April 11…

Broad concepts of community organising

• The concept of community organising is not new! • It draws upon the thinking of radicals from well over 50

years ago – Alinsky in Chicago• While distinct, there are overlaps between community

organising and other approaches and interventions– Community development, community empowerment, action

research, community building, community activism

• Defining features:- Collective action to influence decision making - Empowering those who don’t have a voice - Provision of independent voice - Change may require conflict

Challenges facing organising

• What are they going to organise? • How will conflict be managed? • How will they be recruited? How can equalities be

assured? How do we ensure that organisers are credible at the local level?

• Who is accountable, and how will accountabilities be managed?

• Where is funding to support it? • What about those that don’t have the time to

spare?

Organising in disadvantaged communities

• Lower levels of volunteering in some communities

• Low levels of social capital

• Lack of social cohesion

• Capacity issues in voluntary and community sector

• Multiple disadvantages are experienced both personally and in the community

Disadvantaged communities – principles into practice at Catch22

• Services are tailored to develop the people we work with into better functioning members of the community

• Community Space Challenge – allowing participants from all areas of the community to design and carry out their own form of social action

• National Citizens Service – required element is that each cohort is “socially mixed”

• Programmes exist to build capacity of young people to engage with communities – need to develop this model

Making community organising work

• Map and understand communities

• Recruitment needs to be multi channel and sophisticated

• Appropriate training

• Building a respectful, open and engaging leadership culture

• Sustained and intensive support

Continue the debate…

• Twitter hashtag: #communityorg• @OPMnetwork

• OPM blog: http://opmblog.co.uk• lroberts2@opm.co.uk