What does it look like when the VCFSE shifts towards building community – investing in residents’ confidence, connections and capabilities – so that residents can identify and act on what matters to them?
That’s the question I came away with after a session with our Neighbourhood Networks the other week. It was a pleasure to hear about how things are going for the Networks – the highs and the lows – because it feels real.
The concept of this shift sounds so lovely on paper, but there are some very genuine challenges, from the way the sector gets funded, to concerns about the safety of resident-led initiatives, to finding residents with the confidence and passion to see something through etc. etc.
This is part of what we’re here to learn. The Neighbourhood Networks aren’t just given some money and told to get on with it; we come together once a quarter to dig deep into what we’re learning, to realign our principles and remind ourselves what we’re heading towards, and share the journey to ensure genuine relationships across the borough.
I was particularly heartened to hear of one resident, drawn into a Neighbourhood Network via a leaflet to be part of a resident panel, who now is taking ownership of the cooking group that the panel wanted to see happen. This resident needs some training to get them ready, but that’s why the expertise of the Social Sector is needed. We are able to walk alongside residents, ensure that the structures are in place to support them. We know how to do this stuff, we have the right contacts; what we don’t have is the capacity to do it all ourselves.
The VCFSE can not, and should not, be the answer to all life’s problems. We’ve got to activate the skills, capacity and compassion of our neighbours.
I can’t deny that I used AI to help me think through this next bit, but I think the advice is sound, and I promise I didn’t just copy and paste. I wanted to explore learning from similar programmes to ours, to see their thoughts on how to make the shift towards residents owning what comes out of the Neighbourhood Networks. So, here we go:
1.Ownership comes from having control over something real
What is it in the neighbourhood networks that the residents own? If it’s just the ‘ideas’ for programmes, then we’ve missed something crucial – their engagement will wane and whilst we may have some lovely new programmes, the shift to empowered and resilient residents won’t happen.
2. Start with ‘what’s strong, not what’s wrong’
If you’re reading that phrase for the umpteenth time, you are not alone. However, the principle is foundational; we need to learn from other Asset Based Community Development programmes, because seeing our neighbourhoods as pits of need does not activate resident participation. It furthers the mindset of living in a deprived area.
3. Create ‘scaffolding’ to enable people to do things with support
I think this is an area that needs some thought, and our role as the BD_Collective is to work this through with the Networks. Can we create a template/system that limits the risks, but also enables? We want residents to feel safe, and confident, and we also want to have a healthy attitude to failure. Taking an approach to measuring what is viable to try, rather than expecting everyone’s ‘ducks to be in a row’ before we even consider it.
4. Shared spaces matter
This is an interesting one for our neighbourhoods – not all of them are centred around a hall or centre. How do we ‘hold’ the space that is our neighbourhood broadly enough in order to help residents connect with where they live?
5. Celebrate your wins
Change may be slow but let’s be okay with starting small. What residents connect with the programme from the start? What things have we done that we can shout about? Let’s work on building momentum as we go but not forget the day of small beginnings.
6. Shift institutions/organisations from providers to enablers
This is a big one for me at the moment. I won’t quite say it keeps me awake at night but it definitely nags at me. We need to switch from a ‘charity’ mindset, that feeds into a poverty cycle, to activating community builders. This requires unpicking years of learning, which will take time, but shifts the power back into the hands of our communities.
Is anything missing from this list? I’m not suggesting that this is easy. I feel like we’re walking up one side of a seesaw, and it’s only a matter of time before we tip the balance over into genuine resident-led programmes. Like with the resident mentioned above, how are we building capacity? Where are we building relationships with residents so we can walk alongside them to support them in their goals for their neighbourhood? The Networks are still at the beginning of their development, but if we can clearly see where we want to be, there’s no reason that we can’t get there.
Recent Comments