My career with the Third Sector happened by accident. I imagine this is often the case with many Third Sector practitioners. Our varied career experience often lends itself well to the diverse nature of communities and TSOs. A lot of my strategic thinking is driven by two aspects of my earlier experience: “Continuous Improvement through People” and through my Facilities Management knowledge “turning overheads into assets”. We can surely make our communities better places to live through harnessing the power of people embracing citizenship. There has never been a clearer time to encourage communities to break away from the consumer transaction communities believe they have with Public Bodies and for Public Bodies to change mindsets that see communities more as assets than overheads.
I try to steer away from controversial views in my writing but one of my big bugbears is when there is reference made to the “problem with an aging population”. Having an aging population needs effective management (don’t get me started on planned, preventative maintenance) but it is indicative of a successful and healthy society where people are living longer. This should not be considered a problem. Many TSOs are well engaged with our older generations ensuring they enjoy a good quality of life, stay in their homes longer, not isolated and embracing the value of that long life with intergenerational projects sharing knowledge and skills to be carried on by our younger citizens who have the potential to perpetuate community growth. Assets to create a society invested in becoming part of the positive change they would like to see.
These thoughts have been percolating as I further explore and research in readiness for developing the Route Map for Community Participation in the Recovery Phase. We looked at Step One being the need for Effective & Inclusive Community Engagement. Public Bodies being responsive and transparent fostering mutual trust and openness. As we consider what the next steps might be, Step Two continues along the pathway which has brought us to this point in time. It became evident that community capacity was strong enough to play such a vital role in delivering local support during the emergency, reducing the immediate damage caused by the pandemic at a level that could not be achieved by the Public Sector alone. The next step is to continue Building Strong Communities offering a commitment to sustainable resourcing and support to Anchor Organisations focused on building Community Capacity and Social Capital.
In one of my earlier blogs I referred to a point made by a community leader who felt that had the pandemic hit 7 years ago they couldn’t be sure that would know how to undertake the actions that they have been able to now. Anchor organisations are vital in a strong community armoury. Rural Partnerships, Development Trusts, TSIs and other support organisations are the wind beneath wings of many a great project, initiative, or group. In a bid not to take credit for what our communities have achieved we leave ourselves hidden and not credited with the real difference we make. A colleague, whom I hold in high regard, captured a description of this type of organisation fabulously by likening us to the Midwife; we are there at the start, conception of an idea, we are there supporting, informing, nurturing along the way and there at the birth but we do not appear in the pictures at the end. As far as community projects and initiatives are concerned this is absolutely right, but we are starting to sell ourselves short by remaining in the shadows. The truth is that a lot of the great stuff that happens would not happen without that helping hand, point of contact, experience of others that have tried it before.
It is time for Anchor organisations to emerge from the shadows and claim the credit for building community capacity and the key role we play in facilitating the delivery of the community vision. This is not a criticism of government local or national, but so much deserved, I hasten to add, appreciation has been made of our communities, volunteers and council employees in their response to the COVID19 crisis but it is not clear what value is understood of those organisations who play the role of conduit between the two…
The local authority response in Aberdeenshire to the emergency has been incredible. No doubt there will have been mistakes but one cannot ignore the willingness to remove red tape, turn around decisions timely and do whatever they are able to make it easier for communities and businesses to do what they need to do to survive. I think the surprise we all have learnt is that is a lot less about funding than flexibility and responsiveness. It is encouraging to see new approaches such as the one point of contact for businesses needing to make changes to their operation. I appreciate the levels of flexibility offered during an emergency may not be sustainable longer term but if this openness to change can continue, it offers some real possibilities for Community Participation going forward.