Creating Changes
Strengthening the Community Development skills of workers who support Small Community Groups and Networks

This is a new emerging and developing Big Lotteries funded project set up by the Federation for Community Development Learning (FCDL) and National Association of Voluntary and Community Associations (NAVCA), with FCDL being the lead organisation. The project runs from October 2009 until March 2013.

The project is offering an opportunity for a wide range of Small Community Groups and Networks and Voluntary Sector Infrastructure Organisations to develop their skills, knowledge and their working practice of Community Development, reflecting the National Occupational Standards that are underpinned by key values (see website for further information www.fcdl.org.uk).

The project will:

• Assess how effective Voluntary Sector Infrastructure Organisations and their development workers are in supporting small grass roots organisations and what kind of support small groups are able to access from them.
• Identify the Community Development Learning needs of NAVCA members by sending out a baseline survey to help identify gaps, barriers and training needs. Similar steps will be taken with Small Community Groups and Networks. Based on the findings Community Development Learning programmes for paid and unpaid workers will be developed and delivered. One will be “training the trainers” new and existing and the others will be around Community Development. Both will be offered to NAVCA members and Small Community Groups and Networks who support small groups.
• Review exisiting training materials and resources to gauge their appropriateness as learning tools as well as the development of new ones.
• Identify three demonstration projects drawn from hard to reach small community groups and networks that are not accessing support from any services. The three projects will receive some developmental support and will be part of the learning programmes, as well as being part of a long-term monitoring and evaluation process. The three projects will be encouraged to network with each other and will shape their own developmental and learning process.
• The demonstration projects will play a key role in planning an international conference that will take place in late 2012 to compare and learn from other international organisations how they do similar work.

Contacts:

Suki Shergill: Lead Project Development Officer (Creating Changes) Direct Tel: 0114 2536774 Email: suki@fcdl.org.uk