Minutes:
The Director of Community Participation and Prevention (DCPP) introduced an update on the Social Infrastructure in the Borough. He provided some context as to the invaluable work of BDCAN and volunteers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, providing support to residents in relation to food, welfare and self-isolation, as well as to the vaccination response. The Council had continued to build on this support over the past few months, collectively working alongside its social sector partners to further build on the relationships, values and approaches that underpinned the work of BDCAN, to grow the social infrastructure capacity within the Borough and to enable residents to have their say, influence and lead action on issues that mattered to them within their neighbourhoods.
The Head of Community Participation and Engagement (HCPE) and the Community Engagement Manager (CEM) detailed some of the achievements since the last presentation to the Committee on 4 November 2020 (minute 24 refers), the principles underpinning the Social Infrastructure within the Borough and the progress made since 2016, with increased participation from residents, relationships based on trust and increased sector capacity. They discussed next steps and projects, how the team was building on its volunteer offer and encouraging increased participation, and how it was looking to sustain interest in the work established so far. The next priority related to ensuring that the Citizens’ Alliance Network was as impactful as it could be for the Borough’s residents, as a platform to enable residents to set the agenda around local issues that mattered to them and co-ordinate action. The HCPE detailed the next steps to be undertaken to achieve this, as well as to build a more relational Council, that promoted meaningful engagement.
In response to questions from Members, the DCPP stated that:
· The Council was already working alongside lots of its community partners in terms of the support and offers that were provided for volunteers, and was keen to continue this work. Whilst there was more that could be done, the team had spoken directly to its volunteers to ask them about the types of recognition that they might like to receive from the Council and its partners, introducing a ‘Volunteer of the Month’ as part of this. The Council had also increased the breadth of training programmes and opportunities that volunteers could access, with a key priority of the Council being to help more volunteers into employment, increasing their skills and income.
· The Council was also working alongside volunteers and community organisations, to improve the experience for volunteers who might express an interest in wanting to offer their time and expertise, but who in the past found registering their interest to be a rather arduous process. The Council and partners now had a great digital platform to improve this process, and whilst there was more to done, a key priority was to reach out and hear from volunteers directly, so that the experience could be tailored to them.
· Recognition was a key part of the offer for volunteers, especially for longer serving volunteers, and the community sector was very keen to pursue this.
· The Council had 50 Engagement Champions, who were full-time members of staff with existing roles across different departments. These were staff who had been identified by service leadership, with a critical part of their role being working alongside residents. The Engagement Champions brought together good practice, and helped to build on connections across the Council and drive forward a more relational way of working.
· As the Citizens’ Alliance Network was launched throughout the Community Hubs across the Borough, there would be more opportunities for residents to connect, where previously there may have been some digital or community barriers. The Council was also going to be working with some of its faith communities around topics such as Covid vaccinations, ensuring that it was capturing more of its communities and that it was targeting those that may not have been reached in the first instance.
The Committee widely praised the work of BDCAN. One Member noted that there was initially some confusion around the offer of the network, with some of the community believing that this was only to be accessed by those who were elderly, or self-isolating, when it could in fact be accessed by all within the Borough. She highlighted the importance of continuing to advertise the offer, as well as the ongoing work to connect BDCAN into local spaces such as schools and children’s centres. The DCPP, HCPE and CEM welcomed ongoing feedback from the Committee, as well as other Members, as to how to continue to evolve the Citizens’ Alliance Network, and how to tailor this for different areas of the Borough.