07.09.15
Community organisations win funds for reshaping public services
Six organisations have been shortlisted for their local work to reshape public services, and have won funding to continue their work to put service users and communities “in the driving seat” of change.
The ‘Enabling State’ competition was launched by Carnegie UK Trust after a two-year research programme that explored how wellbeing could be improved by changing the relationship between citizens and local and central government.
Its head of policy, Jennifer Wallace, who is chairing the panel overseeing the project, said: “Despite legislation to put more power in the hands of communities, we know that most people feel that little has changed in the past five years and many people feel that they have less control now, not more. The Enabling State competition was focused around rewarding groups and organisations that were helping to improve the wellbeing of citizens and communities and the work of our finalists are perfect examples of this in action.”
Each of the six finalists gets £5,000 each, with an additional £5,000 available for the overall winner selected by public vote. The deadline to vote is Friday, 2 October, with details available here.
Wallace said: “We hope the funds received go some way to helping the teams continue their great work and wish them all the best of luck in the final vote.”
Organisations identified by the research as truly helping to deliver an enabling state are those doing things like giving people permission to act, helping to do more themselves and investing in disadvantaged communities.
Wallace recently wrote for PSE, explaining more about the competition and its aims.
The six finalists are:
- Club Soda – A UK-wide support group which helps people to change their drinking habits, whether they want to cut down, stop for a bit, or quit. Its innovative approach enables it members to decide on the type of support they receive so that they have a programme specific to their needs.
- Cartrefi Cymru – A floating care service in rural Wales for people with learning difficulties. They have moved away from set care plans to a new person-centred and flexible approach to care.
- Envision Community Apprentice – A business and life skills programme for young people aged 16-18 in Birmingham. The group works with 20 schools to challenge young people to identify problems or issues in their local community and come up with practical solutions to tackle them.
- South Yorkshire Housing Association – A housing association that created a new healthy eating project, Eat Well, to educate and encourage its service users in Sheffield to make healthier choices.
- Durham County Council – Its community asset transfer programme has seen the management of a community hub, Macrae House, taken on by members of the community. In just two years, the centre has gone from being used by just six people a week to 150.
- Worcestershire Micro-enterprise Project – Supports local ventures and businesses that help older people and those living with a disability.