Karin Gavelin from Involve presents a summary of a recent Involve report that provides a pragmatic framework to enable local authorities work more effectively with local people towards community cohesion.
Recent years have seen a growing public debate about the state of Britain’s communities. Politicians, academics and media commentators all paint a picture of a society that is struggling to cope with a transient population, inter-group tensions and antisocial behaviour. As part of these debates, there is a growing interest in the role that citizen participation in public life can play in building stronger and more cohesive communities. Promoting public participation as a remedy for tension and division in society has been a theme in a number of recent policy documents, including the 2007 Lyons Inquiry, the 2006 Local Government White Paper and the Commission on Integration and Cohesion’s report. These policy recommendations are based on the belief that bringing people together to address local issues that affect them will encourage people to develop a stronger interest in their local area and a sense of commonality with others who live there. This can then in turn help people overcome preconceptions about those who are different from them and create a sense of understanding and shared purpose within local communities.
Involve has just completed a study into these ideas around the relationship between local-level public participation and community cohesion. The aim of the research was to explore how and when citizen participation in local decision making can help strengthen communities, in order to produce practical guidance for local authorities and other bodies who are working to support community cohesion. The findings were presented in a report which was published in early May.
Involve’s research has shown that when public participation initiatives are carried out well, they can offer many different benefits to individuals, communities and public bodies, some of which are directly relevant to the cohesion agenda. Hence, although public participation is only ever part of the answer to building stronger and more cohesive communities, it is imperative that all participation opportunities seek to offer the best possible experiences for participants as well as maximum benefits for wider society.
The framework is based on the experiences of a broad group of community practitioners, policy makers, politicians and academics who took part in the research. This is a summary of the lessons they identified:
Understanding the local community
Repeatedly, the study participants stressed that those who work to improve community relations need to know and understand the communities involved. This means charting who lives in the area to ensure that no group is inadvertently missed out from the work that takes place. It also means talking to people about their concerns and priorities, to build a strategy for a stronger community that is founded on the needs of the local people rather than the visions of policy makers and elected members.
Tapping into local resources and networks
The research participants argued that often it is through informal relationships and networks that people get to know their neighbours and build a sense of belonging to their local area. Hence, rather than simply adding new opportunities for people to take part in civic activities, the local authorities would benefit from mapping and interacting with these existing groups and networks, as well as reaching out to those who do not belong to any informal networks. This point has been explored in greater detail elsewhere.
Learning from informal relationships
Many research participants spoke of the importance of spontaneous and relaxed interactions in shaping social bonds, and contrasted this with the more formal and rushed feel of local authority initiatives such as public meetings or area forums. Repeatedly, it was argued that public agencies should consider what it is that motivates people to get involved and stay involved in informal community activities, and try to bring those factors into their own community cohesion work. In these arguments, many highlighted the importance of time to allow relationship to develop. Others spoke of how an element of fun, bringing people together around food, games, sport or celebrations, can make all the difference.
Joining up strategy and delivery
Throughout the research respondents were clear that it was vital to join up efforts to sustain community cohesion with public service delivery. However, it is often the case within local authorities that those who are charged with supporting community cohesion are not the same people who deliver services or public participation activities, and no connection is made between the two strands of work. Respondents highlighted the need for strategic and delivery officials to work together, with cohesion objectives running as a cross-cutting theme through the work of local authorities.
Less rhetoric – more action
Many participants felt that enough time has been spent researching and building the rhetoric around community cohesion. There were repeated calls for local authorities to spend less time refining their community cohesion strategies and instead put more effort into their actual work in communities, building a practical knowledge base and sharing their experiences with other areas. Working closely with local residents and encouraging small-scale and innovative approaches were mentioned as promising ways forward.
Keeping a long-term perspective
Community cohesion is an ongoing process, not an outcome that can be achieved overnight. As such it does not fit neatly within the policy cycles and time-restricted funding streams of local and national government, something that was identified as the source of much frustration for the people who work directly with communities. Many told stories of seeing valuable funding cut short just as it was starting to show results. Consequently, many participants called for a more long-term perspective on community cohesion to be reflected in the government’s policies and funding streams.
Bringing people together around issues that connect them
In common with other studies on this topic, the research confirmed that bringing people together around real-life issues that connect them is more likely to generate enthusiasm among local residents than initiatives centred around topics defined by the local authority, or abstract debates about values and visions. Research participants argued that the best way to find out what people care about or want to change in their local community is to talk to them, and to then use those discussions as a starting point for shared activities.
Read the whole report here: