Putting people at the centre
How to empower us all to take part
Putting people at the centre Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) is asking everyone – that is people, communities, third sector and statutory partners – to work together putting people at the centre of all we do and empowering us all to take part. Change in how we provide public services for people in Wales is now needed because demand for acute services is rising, money is running out and preventative and community services are being cut. Quality of life cannot be delivered by the local authorities and the NHS alone; community action and volunteering need to be capitalised and communities need to be resilient at the local neighbourhood level. Putting people at the centre and sharing responsibility, power and resources results in better services and outcomes for everyone. Encouraging and supporting people as active citizens is critical to the future public service in Wales where increasingly many of the services may well be community-owned and run. WCVA is committed to a strong and active third sector building resilient, cohesive and inclusive communities; giving people a stake in their future through their own actions and services; creating a strong, healthy and fair society and demonstrating the value of volunteering and community involvement.
The three main elements of putting people at the centre of service delivery are: nabling people to be active E citizens, part of strong local groups and strong communities. orking with people and W their communities unlocking potential through robust third sector organisations capable of delivering services. S tatutory partners recognising and investing in communities and the third sector.
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Strong communities
Strong communities provide wellbeing at local level through informal networks, social activity and basic services such as the provision of meeting places, transport, civic pride activities, social events and interest based activity. Strong communities contain active citizens and a level of contact, collaboration and inclusion that taps into people’s assets and aspirations and provides a foundation for wellbeing.
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Robust third sector organisations
Robust third sector organisations means well governed, efficiently run and sustainable organisations which understand the lives, needs, interests and aspirations of the people they represent. Many, but not all, will provide services. Some will be groups of like-minded individuals. Those organisations which do deliver services, either publically or voluntarily funded, are particularly well placed to understand the realities of people’s lives.
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Statutory partners investing in communities
Building the service around the person and the community unlocks potential resources of time, assets and expertise, with our statutory partners as supporter and enabler rather than direct service provider or contractor/ procurer of a service. Active citizens, local groups and communities need nurturing to become strong communities playing their part confidently, providing quality services. Statutory partners have a critical role in investing in communities and supporting the social fabric so that demand on statutory services can be reduced. Multi-purpose hubs at the heart of communities can play a pivotal role in providing the focus for local people and the springboard for community economic, social and environmental development.
The building blocks for putting people at the centre In order for all of us to work together truly putting people at the centre, the main building blocks are:
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Real engagement
Engagement built on an understanding of the contribution the third sector can make to service delivery in Wales. In Wales we do not have an embedded localism agenda and community planning is not part of the policy development landscape. We do however have a national conversation about the Wales we Want, place-based initiatives such as Cynefin and a range of good practice which could act as a platform for a more coherent Welsh approach.
Example: Local conversation in the Upper Afan Valley Neath Port Talbot County Voluntary Council (NPTCVS) worked with 24 local volunteers trained as ‘community researchers’ resulting in over 1,500 people taking part. The outcome is community-led projects that will improve local health and wellbeing under four themes of: local spaces and places; local people and organisations; the local environment; and flexible local transport links.
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Asset mapping
To understand what resources are available and how they can be used to promote community wellbeing.
Example: Seiriol project, Ynys Môn County Voluntary Council (Medrwn Môn) where asset mapping has been used to create a vision and crucially set boundaries about what can and cannot be achieved by the local authority.
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Asset / service transfer
Where appropriate, giving third sector organisations control over resources in order to sustain activity. The increasing transfer of assets (buildings, services and land) from local authorities to communities needs to be well planned and designed together.
Example: Community run libraries in Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot County Voluntary Council (NPTCVS) is working with community voluntary groups to develop community-led co-designed and delivered library services in some areas.
Example: Asset transfer policy Development Trust Wales, working with Locality, have worked with a number of local authorities including Cardiff City Council.
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Community-based funding
The setting up of a local fund to ensure that good ideas do not wither almost as soon as they begin is critical. This provides smallscale core funding but also needs to be part of on-going commitment. Local organisations such as County Voluntary Councils used to have, and deliver, this type of funding. The only place where there is this sort of funding now is small development trusts. Recently the Intermediate Care Fund has provided local grant schemes in some areas for innovative community based approaches providing care for the elderly.
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Brokerage
Investment in brokerage activity has been funded by Big Lottery’s Community Voice projects and the recently finished European Social Fund WCVA Making the Connections project to ensure that the potential for collaborative work is able to be recognised and acted upon.
Example: Community connectors in the Llynfi Valley enabling Bridgend County Voluntary Council (BAVO) to target working where health statistics have shown that life expectancy is 20 years below the Bridgend average.
Example: Voluntary sector brokers in Pembrokeshire employed by Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS) and funded by Pembrokeshire County Council. As members of the multi-agency Community Resource Teams, they broker third sector services into individual care plans and are starting to work within the Primary Care Clusters and GP surgeries on social prescribing.
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Third Sector readiness
Understanding the role of the third sector and making the most of the opportunities offered by its energy, commitment and resources. This means understanding the potential of third sector organisations at all levels and maximising it. It also means a coherent third sector infrastructure that supports, builds skill bases, creates opportunities and delivers real solutions.
Example: Place-based locality teams Monmouthshire County Voluntary Council(GAVO) is a key partner in the Community Co-ordination Leadership Group exploring place-based locality teams who would share resources to implement the integrated service delivery of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act.
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Collation and dissemination of learning
Including the use of practitioner-led workshops, action learning sets and the use of existing websites to share good practice. Conferences and other events have a role in maintaining momentum.
Example: Ceredigion Third Sector Alliance Ceredigion County Voluntary Council (CAVO) has developed and facilitates the county-wide Third Sector Alliance which fosters networking among the third sector service-providing organisations, for instance increasing their capacity to tender, alongside dialogue with statutory commissioners.
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New competencies
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An enabling strategic environment
Collaboration will come to nought if it just gets bogged down in the same old way of doing things, instead of being receptive to needs and the real situations in people’s lives. This is linked to the emerging new Public Service Boards, how they will operate and what lessons they will learn from other places such as Scotland.
Example: Wales Wellbeing Bond Cwm Taf Health Board is using WCVA’s loan scheme to re-engineer mental health services, moving away from costly drug prescriptions to a range of community interventions supporting local people to improve their wellbeing, develop their resilience and better manage their emotional wellbeing in the future. Moving to a transformed service includes joint management with a number of third sector service providers and service user groups.
A new skills set for all those seeking to develop services that recognises the importance of enabling, nurturing new ideas and constructive support for a collaborative approach.
Example: Facing the future in North Wales Two events in North Wales brought together statutory and third sector agencies to explore and develop new collaborations around service delivery, with a training/skills needs analysis alongside sessions on the National Principles for Public Engagement, Shared Power/Citizen Control, and Asset-based Community Development.
Example: Participation Cymru Participation Cymru’s range of training, alongside its peer network of practitioners from all sectors. Published by Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Baltic House, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5FH Registered charity number 218093, company limited by guarantee 425299, August 2015 ISBN 978-1-910340-09-7 Designed at Creative Loop www.creative-loop.co.uk