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ENGAGING YOUR COMMUNITY
Who are PLANED?
PLANED - (Pembrokeshire Local Action Network for Enterprise and Development) is a community-led integrated rural development partnership, with 15 yrs experience of working with communities.
How can we help?
PLANED’s initiatives are designed to assist local people identify imaginative ways of meeting their communities needs and encourage the widest possible participation. The aim is to strengthen community spirit and get everyone involved.
How do we do this?
1. COMMUNITY VISIONING
Visioning is an enjoyable and participative technique which has been adopted to bring together a wide range of local people and organisations, encouraging them to take a fresh look at their community and identify new and innovative projects that will meet local needs both now and in the future.
Visioning can help the community identify what skills and resources exist locally and look at ways these can be harnessed to address local issues.
Visioning can result in new projects, new ways of working, an increase in action and energy locally and a realistic action plan.
2. A COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN
An Action Plan draws together the work undertaken by the community at the Visioning events. The Plan will provide an overview of the community and outline the changes and activities the community would like to see in the future and the organisations needed to help make them happen.
3. SETTING UP A COMMUNITY FORUM
A Community Forum brings together Town and Community Councils, local organisations, groups and individuals and acts as a mechanism to drive forward the action plan.
What is a Community Forum?
A Community Forum strengthens the work of existing groups and provides a means of consultation and the opportunity to work in partnership.
• A Community Forum gives local organisations and residents an opportunity to discuss issues and opportunities that may arise
• A Community Forum can be constituted as a charity and can be a vehicle for accessing new funding.
Why set up a Community Forum?
A Community Forum can help: -
• Take the Action Plan forward.
• Improve communication locally.
• Demonstrate community support.
• Assist in getting funding.
• Provide mutual support for projects.
• Provide an opportunity for people to work together on projects which may have environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits.
Most Frequently asked questions: -
We have an Action Plan / Appraisal which was completed a few years ago, do we need to have a new one?
You may feel that your Action Plan / Appraisal needs revisiting as many of the projects may have been completed or you may need to enthuse more local people to get involved in community activities Running a Visioning event provides the opportunity for new people to get involved in their community.
If you do not already have a Community Association or Forum you may wish to form one to improve collaboration and communication within your community.
We already have a Community Council, why do we need a Community Forum?
A Community Forum enables everyone in the eommunity to come together and play a part In the future of their village or town,
A Community Forum must work in conjunction with the Community Council, providing additional support by accessing funding and grants that may be available for community projects and complimenting the existing work undertaken by the Community Council. Representatives of the Community Council play key roles on the Forum’s Management Committee, feeding back to the Community Council itself.
How long will all this take?
The Visioning workshops are held over two evenings or one Saturday and then followed by a meeting to identify what goes into the draft Action Plan. The Plan is then circulated to the public and agreed at the public meeting.
If you would like more information on holding a Visioning event In your community or would like to renew your Action Plan, please do not hesitate to contact Claire Narbett, Community Participation Support
Officer at PLANED Tel 01834 862100
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