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Community development
Community development is not new but it is increasingly being seen as an important element of delivering Putting People First by members of our learning community. In particular the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD ) approach which starts with identifying what communities have rather than what they lack is helping to increase capacity within communities to address their own needs. These case studies show a range of community development initiatives and how they are linking in with social care.
A range of community initiatives and approaches are illustrated here, which make a contribution to the transformation of social care. In some cases there are explicit connections between the initiatives and Putting People First, in others they have been developed for another purpose but make a relevant contribution and can be connected.
- Local Area Coordination in England
Local Area Co-ordination, (LAC), is an innovative approach to supporting people who are vulnerable through age, frailty, disability or mental health issues achieve their vision for a good life, to support... - Gloucestershire Stroke Club Development Service run by The Stroke Association
The Stroke Association's Stroke Club Development Service was set up in June 2010 to provide an opportunity for stroke survivors and their carers to set up new support groups in their locality. The project... - Framework for an ideal empowering authority
Local Government Improvement and Development has worked with the Network of Empowering Authorities (NEA) to produce a benchmark of 'the ideal empowering authority', together with diagnostic questions... - Oxford City Council and Oxford Civic Society: Building community cohesion through street parties
This initiative brought several different agendas together: the council's commitment to fostering safer, stronger communities and various projects aimed at changing attitudes to traffic, transport and... - Health Empowerment Leverage Project (HELP): exploring the business case for community development to improve health
The Health Empowerment Leverage Project (HELP),funded by the Department of Health, is an initiative of the Health Empowerment Group, a consortium of professionals working to widen the use of community... - Reading Older People's Partnership Board: Increasing preventative services for older people
ReadingBorough Councilhas commissioned a range of services aimed at reducing demand for social care, reducing emergency hospital admissions, and improving older people's health and well-being. These... - Essex - Village Agents
The Village Agents pilot project operates in the rural areas of Braintree, Maldon and Chelmsford districts, providing face to face information and guidance to 'hard to reach' groups. Village Agents make... - Hartlepool - Connected Care Case Study
Connected Care began as a national pilot scheme in the Owton Manor ward, an area of Hartlepool where deprivation has a detrimental effect on residents' health and wellbeing. Connected Care's role is... - Bournemouth - Building Social Capital in Housing and Extra Care
Bournemouth Council's strategic approach to meeting the housing needs and aspirations of older people. - Richmond - Working Together Groups
The Working Together Groups (WTG) provide a focus for work to improve services in the five areas of relative deprivation in the Borough through partnership working and sharing resources. Led by local... - RSA - Connected Communities
The RSA's Connected Communities action research programme was established in 2009 and set out to explore how social networks and social capital can be better understood, visualised and mobilised to address... - Nottingham - Asset-based Community Development
The SupportNet project in the Beechdale and Bilborough areas of Nottingham is exploring how Self-Directed Support can develop when a local community (defined here as those who live and work in an area)... - Turning Point - Connected Care, Community Led Commissioning
Connected Care is a new approach to community-led commissioning which integrates health and social care in the most deprived communities with a focus on building community capacity and co-production.... - Hampshire - Combining personalisation with community empowerment
In East Hampshire a pilot combining personalisation with community empowerment focuses on a group of 35 people with a learning disability who meet weekly as 'Friends United'. The group is run and led... - Reading - Active Ageing
The Active Ageing Partnership has set a long-term strategic delivery framework for physical activity and older people in Reading. The project provides a system of delivery to engage sedentary adults... - Wiltshire - Building resilient communities
Wiltshire became a unitary authority in April 2009 with an overarching aim of building sustainable and resilient communities through a high level of political decentralisation and a commitment to community... - City of York - 'Danceability': Using community resources to develop inclusive activities for people with disabilities
Following a request from a person with learning disabilities for a dance-based activity, and nothing being sourced within the locality, contact was made with a disability sports coach to explore ways... - Shropshire - My Life My Choice: Stronger Communities Project Group
This project will enable a broad range of local partners to consider how stronger communities can support local people and individualised support packages. It is part of Shropshire's response to the... - York - Community Facilitators
York has introduced Community Facilitators who are becoming instrumental in building community capacity across the city. Their role is to provide advice and information, undertake preventative work and... - Shropshire - Oak Farm and Projects
Oak Farm is a working farm and work-based day service situated in a very rural part of South Shropshire, catering for adults with learning disabilities. This case study details a series of linked projects...