Combined European Bureau for Social Development (CEBSD)

Training and Learning for Community Development

Report on the Relay visit to the UK

The Community Development Foundation (CDF) hosted the UK Relay

meeting of the partners involved in the TLCD project
This was a three day meeting 12th 13th 14th March 2008

This project is funded by Europe

This report outlines the visit to the UK of the relay group, as part of the Training and
Learning for Community Development (CD) project. This project is led by the
Combined European Bureau for Social Development (CEBSD’s) and is a partnership
between CEBSD’s and a consortium of organisations working within a CD context.

Meeting of European Partners

Partners attending the UK meeting were from Hungary (Hungarian Association for
Community Development), Bulgaria (Creating Effective Grassroots Alternatives) and
Romania (Foundation PACT)

Relay Visit Aims are:

• To transfer lessons from training and learning for CD from one context and
country to another.
• To build on the specific experience and expertise available from a range of
settings to work out common guidelines for action and policy on Training and
Learning for Community Development
• To build up sustainable networking via the development of a network for
Training and Learning for Community Development, this can cross local, national
and European borders and boundaries.

The experience from one Relay visit is transferred to the next and so on until the final
relay visit, which combines the findings and prepares for a Laboratory in Malmo Sweden.
There are 16 partner organisations and each partner participates in one of the relay
visits.

At the Laboratory in Malmo in September 2008, partners will analyse the results of the
relay meetings. The partner organisations will test methodologies that make exchange of
experience come alive and distil the most important points for dissemination. The
combination of relay visits and Laboratory is designed to test the most effective means
of sharing outcomes from the exchange of experience, skills and knowledge.

The UK Relay meeting considered:

• Key elements of Community Work and practitioners roles in different contexts,
• The nature of Influencing Policy within different cultures and contexts
• An overview of current European policy
• Lessons from training and learning for CD from one context and country to
another

Training and Learning For Community Development (TLCD) UK Relay

Visit

Dates of relay visit: 12th-13th March 2008

Aims of TLCD project:

• To work out common guidelines for action and policy on Training and Learning
for Community Development

• To build up sustainable networking on Training and Learning for Community

Development, which can cross local, national and European borders and
boundaries

• Influencing Policy within different cultures and contexts for community

development

Objectives of UK relay visit:

• Exchange experience and share good practice on elements of community

development workers

• To transfer lessons from training and learning from one context and country to
another

• To build on specific experience and expertise on community development

available from a range of settings
The meeting will consist of a mix of group discussion, project visits and presentations
with practitioners in the field of community development. Participants will each be
encouraged to write their thoughts down during the course of the two day meeting
which should help provide a space for reflection and comment.

At the end of the meeting, participants will be invited to share some of their thoughts
and reflections to both feedback into the group and take away as part of the learning
and exchange process.

Tuesday 12th March

Location: CDF London Office

Programme

10.30 Welcome & Introductions – Sue Webb

10.45 Overview and logistics of the two days – Sue Webb

11.00 Report summary of February 2008 Budapest relay meeting -

Mate Varga

11.30 The practice of community development within a national

voluntary agency
Denise Taylor, Adept Community Development Agency

12.00 A local policy perspective: The practice of community

development within a local authority
Paul Formosa, Haringay Council

12.15 Refreshments

12.30 Community Engagement methodologies and practice within

voluntary & community sector
Rehka Shivam, Wolverhampton Network Consortium

1.00: Lunch

1.45 Influence of national policy upon resources and practice of

community development
Jane Dobie, Community Development Foundation

2.15 Presentations/case studies of community development in

Bulgaria, Romania Hungary
Discussion of context and practice

3.00 Refreshments
3.15 The view from Europe – Sue Webb

3.30 How does this fit together in a policy context?

All, Discussion and recommendations

4.00pm Close of meeting

Project Participants:

Mate Varda Hungarian Association for Community Development

Emile Metodiev Creating Effective Grassroots Alternatives (Bulgaria)
Ruxandra Sasu Romanian Association for Community Development

UK participants and facilitators

Sue Webb Community Development Foundation

Jane Dobie Community Development Foundation
Liz Court Community Development Foundation
Helen Animashaun Community Development Foundation

Denise Taylor Adept Agency

Dave Crossan Consultant
Nicky Dee TBC
Paul Formosa Haringay Council
Rekha Shivam Wolverhampton Network Consortium
Mel Passmore Wolverhampton Network Consortium

Day One

This was an all day meeting held in the offices of CDF in London. Besides the visitors
from Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, invitations had also been extended to a few
potential multipliers of the training and learning project based in the UK

Adept, a Community Development Agency, was invited to present a local and national
UK perspective on Training and Learning for CD. A Local Authority CD worker was
also invited to the meeting and presented a contrasting perspective, which also allowed
us to reflect on the role of CD as part of a mainstreamed service. For example some
workers had CD as part of their other work within a community, such as Community
Safety Officer, or Youth worker.
UK Presentation during Relay visit
Overview
Why are we meeting?
Training & Learning for Two day meeting
Community Development
Get to know one another
Relay Meeting UK
Share experiences

Sue Webb Contribute to ongoing learning

Community Development Foundation UK

European and International Unit

Overview CEBSD’s
What do we need to talk about? • Combined European Bureau for Social
Development
• Programme • Project promoter
• Questions???? Three areas of work
• Logistics • Projects
• Networking
• Policy

CEBSD’s
CEBSDs
Project
• CEBSD - exchange good practice and to distil • Training & Learning for CD
policy lessons from practice.
Three main areas of exchange • 1. Training & Learning Partnership

• Development of Civil Society • 2. Multipliers

• Including the Excluded
• Training and learning for Community • 3. Sharing & Learning
Development
Community Development Foundation
CEBSD’s Member
• Non-departmental public body
• Approx 70% funded by Department for
Communities and Local Government
• Delivery of projects and programmes
• Context – evolved out of welfare state
• Various policy streams – strengthening
communities, engagement – cohesion
• European work – not funded by UK Gov
Community Development
Policy context
• CD is about enabling the empowerment of others
• Role of government is changing – the need for greater
empowerment
• Change has to take place from the bottom up – society relies
on CD to do this, but CD is not well known
• If there was no CD there may be problems of participation,
inclusion and poor social capital

What is Community Development?

Community development is the “invisible”
profession because CD work is about enabling
and empowering others
Building equity, inclusiveness, participation and
cohesion amongst people and groups and
organisations
European Policy & CD
• CEBSD’s works to influence policy with the aim of
ensuring policy is developed that is favourable to CD
• Social Platform
• The members of the Social Platform represent
thousands of organisations, associations and other
voluntary groups at local, regional, national and
European level representing the interests of a wide
range of civil society.
• http://www.socialplatform.org/PolicyAction.asp

Community Development Foundation

• European and International Unit
• Unit 5, Angel Gate
• 320 - 326 City Road
• London EC1V 2PT
•
• Tel: 020 7833 1772
• Fax: 020 7812 6584
• Web: www.cdf.org.uk
• sue.webb@cdf.org.uk
Presentation from Adept
ADEPT is a specialist and award-
winning national community
development agency, established in
1990 as an independent not-for-profit
company and charity.

Our organisational experience and the

expertise of our team have shaped the
organisation we are today.

In 2000 we won a British Urban

Regeneration Association (BURA)
Commendation for best practice in
capacity building and its "outstanding
contribution to community life".

In 2001, the then Office of the Deputy

Prime Minister (ODPM) funded
ADEPT, as part of its best practice
dissemination work across England.

Throughout this time we have worked

alongside local community groups
supporting their own problem solving,
and delivering interactive training.

The training was developed with the

support of local groups, around a
modular course entitled 'Working in
Community Organisations', accredited
through the Open College Network,
but also available in a workshop format.

This training continues to be updated

and modified to suit the specific needs
of neighbourhood community groups,
and political agendas based around
renewal, cohesion, empowerment,
engagement and consultation around
local services.
Tailored support to community groups

ADEPT has, with local community groups, developed a modular course - 'Working in
Community Organisations'. The course is available accredited through the open College
Network or in a workshop format.

Stand-alone modules can be delivered, or a combination of aspects of different modules

creating a tailor-made package.

We are regularly commissioned to provide bespoke packages to support groups in their

development and sustainability, by supporting them to arrive at their own solutions
while achieving knowledge and skills for group members during this process.

ADEPT is an approved centre for the Open College Network, which ensures all of our
training is delivered within a clear quality standard.

It also gives us the flexibility to provide tailor-made accredited training that is responsive
to the needs of a community group and the individuals within it.

The changing nature of local communities and neighbourhoods makes it increasingly

important to provide support that is flexible, adaptable and responsive to individual and
community needs.
ADEPT has developed a dedicated resource for groups in the form of a website -
groupsinaction.com .

This provides a range of materials including examples and templates, while offering
steps, suggestions and things to avoid, as part of an ongoing resource.

We have also developed a learning module entitled "Facilitate your Group" aimed at
those members of community groups who wish to provide additional support to new
members or to extend the membership of their group.

This is available in a paper work book format at present, and is being developed as a
web resource, and then as an e-learning accredited package.
Presentation from Haringay Council
Supporting New Communities
&
Building Community Cohesion
Community Cohesion is…
At the heart of a safe and strong community, where:
•There is a common vision and a sense of belonging
•Diversity is appreciated and valued
•People from all backgrounds have similar opportunities
•People from different backgrounds have positive relationships
And it is:
Something that local authorities have a duty to promote
• The UK has had its most significant and diverse waves of immigration
in the past decade.
• statistics and comments regarding rural issues and recent report.
• This has been made up of eastern europeans and refugees.
• Additionally the impact of immigration has diversified in three key
ways: Location; Activities; Culture
• E.g. paint a picture of a typical Somalian, Polish and Colombians path
and experiences.
• What is Community Cohesion and why is it important?
• What do we mean by new communities and why are they
relevant?
• What can local authorities do to increase community cohesion
through their work with new communities?
• What has been done in Haringey?
• What do you think?
New Communities
• Britain has always had community change.
• Community change in Britain is dynamic.
• This means that there are changes that people can find
unsettling.
• Outcomes influenced can depend on the actions and policies of
local authorities and community leaders.
• Community change is hard to record.
The Role of Local Authorities
• Local authorities have a duty to work towards community
cohesion- this is an overarching concept (related to race
relations, dda, inclusion, every child matters etc)
• New communities will use/be affected by Local authority
services, they have to make sense of the system and citizen
responsibilities.
• They are also enfranchised and equal participants in the
democratic system.
• Support communties develop social capital and provide them
opportunities to interact and develop understanding and shared
goals

• Set out an enabling context where al communities can have

equal opportunities to participate in local politics and access
services
Presentation from Hungary
I am working for the Hungarian Association for Community Development and the Civil
College Foundation, which is an adult educational institution.
Both of them are nation-wide organizations and working on three levels.
On the local level, we are initiating local development processes on a long term basis,
where through CD methodology and trainings we are enforcing planning and local
action.
On the national level, we are linking the local initiatives by networking, and we are
influencing the development of new civic structures by help to create various formal and
informal ways of cooperation. We are influencing the policy making processes too on
the National and international level.
Related to the profession, we are developing methods, making publications on the
results of our activities, we are running a Civic Radio and an internet based community
database, we are developing training courses and running trainings all over Hungary.
On the international level we are members of different European networks, running
international projects on various issues, and influencing the policy making procedures.

We organized the previous relay in Hungary, which was already reported. There was a
possibility to introduce the results of the Bp. Relay, so I presented the main topics and
details of the agenda. At the end of the report we collected the main points and results
of the Relay, what I highlighted in London too:
During the meeting we expressed some important key points related to our
understanding (and the TLCD project) and also about our possible common efforts for
training and learning in the future. We all felt that for the issue of sharing among us, it
was really important that we made space to get to know each other’s national and
professional contexts and history. That helped a lot to recognise the similarities
and differences and also to realise what we can bring back to home from each other.
Sharing about our frameworks was also helpful to recognise the different focus points
and actors within our societies, which/who are the most responsible in the
change of people’s attitude on the different levels. We agreed that our task also
includes the support of grassroots initiatives, but we also have a responsibility to
influence these actor’s activity and cooperation with each other (we defined some,
as the general education, adult education, helper and developer professions –
community, rural, cultural, social professionals etc. - and the state both on the national
and European level).
We need such policies and support which are making possible real participation in
which people can really take over the responsibility on their lives and empowered
properly to this participation. This cannot go without influencing policy on each
level in the society and Europe for gaining good opportunities which can be seized
both local activists and CD professionals.
It seems that it worth to link these national efforts on a European level, where our
basis can be the Budapest declaration in a more strategic way, more concrete on
the educational aspect.
It also can be a formalized group (an international Alliance?) which collects, attracts
and influences the key actors responsible for civil society development.
It also came out, that we are all involved and we all are implementing long term
processes in our work but the present situation needs a special focus from CD and
adult education to be more action oriented too. It means that reflective steps are
needed from our profession towards the key actors in policy making and
implementing, and through trainings we also have to support directly the local action.

More notes from the final discussion:

- Within TLCD we should try to bring back the bigger issues. We are thinking a
lot in contents and methodology (what is very important), but we should try to
focus on the bigger analysis that you work from (the community itself,
unemployment, disabilities, economics, rights) - this big issues should be
emphasised within training. That also helps to avoid to use CD as a tool by the
hand of the power, which is helpful to increase people’s “happiness” instead of
dealing with real problems
- Use an analysis to link local concerns to wider structures, issues
- Facing our work, we have to make a balance, that besides developing trainings on
professional issues (training professionals), we have to support active citizens
directly, the active citizen should be supported. The professionals have to be more
prepared (and their education should focus on that) about how to support active
citizens, rather than using the toolkits they already have. Need to concentrate
and focus on people in communities, developing active citizens, whether
working with professionals or communities/politicians
- This has an implication for training methods and contents, they should be more
action oriented (e.g. Saul Alinsky – Rules for radicals)
- But there is a tendency to simplify the world everywhere (quick knowledge,
very practical, simplifying structures, pictures, summaries, guidelines etc.) which
represents an attitude avoiding the “deep” and the realization of the deeper
relations, so that is why the CD training is very important on the University
level as a part of various studies
- Important to look at history and key developments of community work in
order to better understand current context and influence future developments
- Be explicit about the values+beliefs+vision – value oriented community
development – how our values shine in our practice?
- Focus on power-powerless+need of those excluded. Have an analysis of power,
who has it, who doesn’t, how it is used?