P ARTICIPATING ON P ARTNERSHIP C OMMITTEES Workshop - WCCF

P LAN FOR THE WORKSHOP Introduction to the idea of community participation and the structures and mechanisms set up to assist that Introduction to community forum Reflection on the things that are important to you Reflection on the level of your organisation’s engagement with the community forum Exploration of how the Forum can help you and you can help the Forum

S TRUCTURES FOR LOCAL LEVEL P ARTICIPATION SPCs CCC RAPID Some of these are located within local government Others have been established at more distance from local government While others are largely independent of local government JPCs CDB LSP CCC RAPID SIM LDC

D IFFERENT B ODIES – D IFFERENT R OLES Influence Advocate Advise Promote Inform Communicate Decide Supervise Authorise Evaluate Review Approve Communicate Advisory type role Executive type role

H OW THE L OCAL A UTHORITY IS S TRUCTURED

T HE THINGS THE L OCAL A UTHORITY MUST CONSIDER EU policy and legislation National policy National legislation Evidence Legal precedent Expert opinion The wishes of the electorate Primarily through elected representatives Also through the engagement of representative organisations CF is the representative body of representative bodies

T HE IMPORTANCE OF POLICY Policy basically refers to the rules that will be applied when specific proposals are being considered Policies are, therefore, very important as, if the policy does not support the kinds of things you want to do or they way you want to do them your individual project may be at risk Involvement in policy is critical The Forum and its role facilitate this

H OW DID THE COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY SECTORS GET INVOLVED ? The process of preparing for the involvement of community representatives in local decision making was set out in Preparing the Ground – Guidelines for the Progress from Strategy Groups to County/City Development Boards – sometimes known as the Green Book. This recommended that the social partners should nominate CDB representatives i.e. Business, the Trade Union and the Farming Organisations Given the broad nature of the Community and Voluntary Organisations Sector it was considered that special, localised nomination arrangements should apply in its case. This led the to the decision to establish C+V Fora in all local authority areas.

H OW DID THE COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY SECTORS GET INVOLVED ? In most cases this involved the Director of Community and Enterprise undertaking a consultative process leading to the establishment of a Community and Voluntary Organisations Forum. All community and voluntary groups active in the area were to be invited to the Community Forum. Building on this, the Forum would act as a platform for nominating representatives to the CDB, its supporting groups, and Area Committees. The representatives would be expected to report back regularly to the Community Forum. It was envisaged that the local consultation process would lead to the most appropriate way in which the Community Fora of a county / city should organise themselves.

T HE ROLE OF THE F ORUM Mechanism for election Method of providing a mandate for representatives Representatives and Delegates What this needs

U NDERSTANDING H OW TO P ARTICIPATE Be clear about why you and your organisation are participating. Know what your agenda is - have some idea of a strategy to achieve it. Understand the participation arena and its purpose Develop strategies for participating where you don’t have power Learn to deal with opposition Prepare for the long haul and participation fatigue

How to be accountable You need to have a mandate You need to commit to report back You need to commit to communicate You cannot act alone

Take a wide view of participation Decide if Participation is an end in itself or a means to an end. Judge and be upfront about the end Commit to work collectively, constructively and in solidarity. Support and don’t undermine the participation of others