Community engagement is central to local area agreements. There
are two principles behind this:
- People should have as much control over their own lives as is
reasonable and possible.
- Services that involve people and communities are more
effective.
For this reason, every LAA must include a
statement of how local
people and the VCS are involved in the design and delivery of their
LAA.
Statement of local people and voluntary and community sector
involvement
The statement of involvement is an important element of the
final LAA document. It should reflect how the VCS and the wider
community have been involved in the development of the LAA and how
they will be involved in its implementation.
The VCS should not only be involved in developing the practice
that informs the LAA and its statement of involvement of the VCS
but in signing off the final document. It might include:
- how residents have been involved in identifying the local
priorities for the LAA;
- how the voluntary and community sector were involved in the
process of drawing up and negotiating the LAA;
- the scope of the VCS role in the final LAA;
- how the VCS will benefit from and contribute to the LAA
outcomes;
- the links to the local strategy for community engagement and
VCS involvement, including investment in capacity building,
community development and the VCS infrastructure;
- how the VCS will be involved in monitoring LAA activities;
and
- how the VCS will be involved in the governance of the
LAA.
Your region's Government Office is responsible for overseeing
this and reviewing it's progress every six months.
More information is contained in the latest
LAA Guidance.
Good examples of statements of involvement developed by VCS
organisations
Work with neighbourhoods
The Neighbourhood Improvement Fund (NIF) project is part of
Ealing's neighbourhood renewal programme, where resident led panels
on 4 key deprived estates have direct control over budgets for
local service improvements on their own estates. NIF is the vision
and creation of the local voluntary sector in Ealing, working
directly with residents.
•
Ealing NIF review introduction
•
Ealing NIF review report
Neighbourhood development resources
Useful websites which deal with neighbourhood development and
citizen participation