Author Topic: Swindon Federation of Community Organisations 1st Conference (Feb 2009) (Read 2257 times)

Chav · « **on:** February 16, 2009, 07:15:24 PM »

On Saturday just gone (Feb 14th),
I attended a conference hosted by Martha Parry and Marilyn Beale who both have a wealth of knowledge and experience on anything to do with communities and organizations.

The invitation was from the Swindon Federation of Community Organisations [SFCO].
The aim of the conference was for: Swindon's Community Groups........ To consider 'New Opportunities for some Very Local Democracy'.

Basically it was to look at 'Communities in Control', real people, real power, connecting people, connecting places & the clusters.

Although I attend various meetings in Penhill, this particular one was a first for me.
I came away with a better understanding of what was what in terms of Communities in Control etc etc.
( I also met some lovely people from other communities as well)

The meeting started with a presentation on the white-paper CPCP.
We then broke into groups associated with our location- North Swindon, West Swindon, Central (Townwide) etc.

We were given maps of our area and were asked to map out where we live, with regards as to our community and the wider community that we could see would link in.
This exercise made us look at natural clusters.

We then returned as a whole group and then each in turn showed what we thought was our cluster.

I do not know who at SBC was in charge of splitting Swindon into the seven clusters, but I think they might have got is slightly wrong!
I did point out to Brian Mattock who was there at the end to listen to us, that the council need to be engaging with us to enable us to engage with them and work on developing clusters together- ‘working with each other’ , not just doing it then expecting us to be happy about it.
I did ask him to take back with him what we were saying and to pass it on to his colleagues, in order to get some reflection as to what they can do to move forward with us.
They won’t change the set clusters, but if things do not work out, then it will need to be reviewed.
Any way getting back on track:
We went through the summary booklet of Communities in Control and agreed and disagreed with some aspects of it.
This was a good exercise in its self as technically – we read it.
Anne Snellgrove came and listened for a while but had to go due to other commitments.
It was a long day, but interesting and it has got me thinking!
I think it’s going to get very interesting when it all comes into play in April 2009.

Communities are alive and there are lots of things going on in them, so time will tell if they are empowered or not!
What I will say is this: this is a Government initiative, and when it comes into force, which it will, then it will be interesting if the councils adhere to the key points as set out in the white-paper.

Well I have my summary booklet and an online copy of the document to refer back to if things tend to go tits up.

Chav $:-\$

admin note: Post split and re-titled to form new thread

Dougal.

Chav · « **Reply #1 on:** February 16, 2009, 10:42:43 PM »

Anyone else on TS who may have attended the SFCO like to comment on how they saw it ?

Chav

Geoff Reid · « **Reply #2 on:** February 16, 2009, 10:51:17 PM »

Thanks for the write up, v.informative.

I couldn't make it because Tia, (our youngest Dobermann), is recovering from another operation and couldn't be left.

I do have some thoughts to add and questions to ask though....when I get a couple of hours free.

Margie · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2009, 09:32:47 PM »

I didn't go myself but have spoken to somebody who did (from Parks area) who made a similar comment about the 'unnaturalness' of the clusters, with particular reference to the one including Parks, and who wondered how and why the areas were carved up in the way they were.

Her comment about the process so far is that it seems very top-down, rather than the other way round, and she is concerned that that alone may render it less than useful.

Chav · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2009, 11:18:04 PM »

Quote from: Margie on February 18, 2009, 09:32:47 PM

I didn't go myself but have spoken to somebody who did (from Parks area) who made a similar comment about the 'unnaturalness' of the clusters, with particular reference to the one including Parks, and who wondered how and why the areas were carved up in the way they were.

Her comment about the process so far is that it seems very top-down, rather than the other way round, and she is concerned that that alone may render it less than useful.

Very true Margie.

What I don't get and it baffles me, is the fact that if the council wants to engage with the communities, then why did they not get reps from the many community forums around Swindon, and work with them with regards to developing the cluster areas together.

There are some communities who do not yet have anything like forums or community groups as such, for varied reasons.So therefore, surely would it not have been a good starting point for the council to identify these areas and work with the local people in setting these things up first, and then working with the forums of community groups around Swindon in developing the cluster areas that are in keeping with natural clusters.

The trouble is SBC make the big mistake of running before they walk.
It isnt rocket science !
They could have also Identified those with and without forums and promoted a bit of networking, get communities who have forums/groups up and running to work with and mentor those who do not.
How can a community be in control if it doesnt know that it is a community !

I may not be making sense to some people, but I know what I am on about.

I am willing to give things a go and see how they progress, it will be interesting to say the least.

However, its give and take on both sides of the coin, and it should be based on working together - SBC then gain a better understanding of how 'real people' in real communities work, and what their needs are, then we gain a better insight into SBC and how it works as a council.

If you work together as team then things run smoothly. If you dont, then things go tits up and get lost.
Lose people, lose the community. Volunteers are very thin on the ground and we want to keep the ones we have got and gain more.

So I think its a case of Quid Pro Quo !

Chav ;)

Chav · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2009, 11:42:48 PM »

This Is what I would like to see back in our community:

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People from all over used to come here with their children/grandchildren ............... and as a whole family.

Chav

Chav · « **Reply #6 on:** February 19, 2009, 11:20:18 AM »

Quote from: Chav on February 18, 2009, 11:18:04 PM

Quote from: Margie on February 18, 2009, 09:32:47 PM
I didn't go myself but have spoken to somebody who did (from Parks area) who made a similar comment about the 'unnaturalness' of the clusters, with particular reference to the one including Parks, and who wondered how and why the areas were carved up in the way they were.

Her comment about the process so far is that it seems very top-down, rather than the other way round, and she is concerned that that alone may render it less than useful.

Very true Margie.

What I don't get and it baffles me, is the fact that if the council wants to engage with the communities, then why did they not get reps from the many community forums around Swindon, and work with them with regards to developing the cluster areas together.

There are some communities who do not yet have anything like forums or community groups as such, for varied reasons.So therefore, surely would it not have been a good starting point for the council to identify these areas and work with the local people in setting these things up first, and then working with the forums of community groups around Swindon in developing the cluster areas that are in keeping with natural clusters.

The trouble is SBC make the big mistake of running before they walk.
It isnt rocket science !
They could have also Identified those with and without forums and promoted a bit of networking, get communities who have forums/groups up and running to work with and mentor those who do not.
How can a community be in control if it doesnt know that it is a community !

I may not be making sense to some people, but I know what I am on about.

I am willing to give things a go and see how they progress, it will be interesting to say the least.

However, its give and take on both sides of the coin, and it should be based on working together - SBC then gain a better understanding of how 'real people' in real communities work, and what their needs are, then we gain a better insight into SBC and how it works as a council.

If you work together as team then things run smoothly. If you dont, then things go tits up and get lost.
Lose people, lose the community. Volunteers are very thin on the ground and we want to keep the ones we have got and gain more.

So I think its a case of Quid Pro Quo !

Chav ;)

What do others think ?

Do you think differently , or have you any other views/ideas - please share them as I would love to know.
I am interested as to what other people from the various part of Swindon think, as well as those people who live in Rural areas.

There was a gentleman at the SFCO conference who was from a Rural area. His community belonged to a 'parish council'.
He said that 'parish councils' had been going for over 1000 years and they work !
I do not know much about how parish councils work etc, but it would be interesting to see what they do differently that works so well.

Can anyone answer this question ?

Chav ;)

karen leakey · « **Reply #7 on:** February 19, 2009, 11:59:42 AM »

Hi Chav,

I attended this conference too and it was great to meet you

I found the conference very interesting. I first came by the CP2 idea about 20 months ago through a Central Councillor talking about the concept of CP2 at a community meeting - and it worried me greatly. The fact that it is top down and not bottom up is a REAL concern.

I fail to understand why Members at the Council in Swindon do NOT engage with people - they would achieve so much. Engagement and consultation - it's too easy

Personally I think they are scared to, I work with the NRTG Neighbourhood Renewal Task Group and the 6 people representing communities in Swindon on that Forum are fabulous. Their knowledge and understanding is mind blowing - if only the Council would work with and understand where these people are coming from Swindon would be a better place. But they wont - because they do not want to listen and would not take on board the ideas etc. The members of the NRTG have been really great in passing their knowledge and work onto me and I have found this really useful in working in the community where I live - it's a shame the Borough cant do the same.

I will post a more sensible and detailed account later (if anyone wishes)

I am working at the moment!!

karen leakey · « **Reply #8 on:** February 19, 2009, 12:05:09 PM »

Chav,

I lived in Penhill from 2 - 18 years old and spent many happy times at the Penhill Paddling Pool.

We used to have a big bring and buy sale and used the money we made throughout the summer, taking the children from our street to the paddling pool and buy ice-creams etc for the younger children (of course we thought we were soooo grown up)

.

We used to go there every day in the long, forever hot summer's. We went there on our own, never had any trouble - never saw any either. We used to encourage the children the stand on the 'barrel' thing and see who fell off first!! very naughty. I would be happy to support your campaign - its really worth while.

Krippers · « **Reply #9 on:** February 19, 2009, 01:31:26 PM »

Quote from: Chav on February 18, 2009, 11:42:48 PM

This Is what I would like to see back in our community:

Great vision, really fantastic idea.

Buster · « **Reply #10 on:** February 19, 2009, 01:37:09 PM »

Can anyone shed any light on this federation thingy? From the posts above I see that this is some sort of gathering of community groups, all of which, I assume, will be driven by their own agendas, special interests and priorities. What's not clear to me is how many members this federation has, who the members are, how you become a member and who drives this federation. I can only assume that this is a federation of special interest groups and therefore my view is that their views and suggestions need to be measured to ensure that it balances their views with those of all of the community, including those community minded people who don't happen to be a part of this federation because, either their group wasn't invited/aware of it, or they're not a member of a group.

I agree with comments that the top down approach by councillors, or their ~~pen pushers~~ advisors, may be like trying to crowbar square pegs into round holes, but I can't really see how a federation, whose membership is unknown to me can claim to be any more representative of the community and the best placed to define clusters than elected councilllors.

I assume that the conference delivered a set of planned next steps/proposals which will be published and I hope that these may address my questions, until then, I would challenge the legitimacy of this federation that has seemingly appointed itself as representatives of the community.

As much as I admire the work of many community groups, this doesn't extend to allowing any of them to claim to be acting in my name or to represent my views.

Chav · « **Reply #11 on:** February 19, 2009, 02:10:46 PM »

Hi Buster

Do you have a community forum where you live ?
Maybe it would be worth while to check this out first.

This is how I became involved in my community as basically I am a nosey cow and I like to know
what is going on where I live , so I took the initiatve to find out! - I am also very community minded, and I have always been a people person.

The SFCO confernce was led by Martha Parry.

The Swindon Federation of Community Organisations, as I know of it via a leaflet I have was established in 1983.
I found out about on the friday before the meeting took place and was asked if I would like to attend.
(which I did obviously)

There is a phone number on the back of my leaflet which is 01793 520592, if you would like to find more out about for yourself/ ask questions and so forth.

There are a number of groups in Swindon, but you would have to find out about your particular groups through where you live.
We are lucky and have a local community News Letter called 'Penhill News' that goes through every letter box in Penhill -every month which informs the residents as to what is going on in the area.
Whether they choose to read it or not is up to them.

There is also a community section on the SBC website : http://www.swindon.gov.uk/community.htm

Also if you ask your local Cllrs they may be able to answer your questions ;)

I can only speak for what goes on in my community as I live there.

Oh and Buster, you are right in that more may need to be done to let people know about these groups etc. ;)

I hope you have found this useful, but I cannot answer all your questions as I am still finding out for myself

Oops ! almost forgot!

Quote

As much as I admire the work of many community groups, this doesn't extend to allowing any of them to claim to be acting in my name or to represent my views.

Nobody is claiming to be acting in your name or to be representing your views ! (thats up to you to do!)
I am mearly representing my views when I attend these meetings, as to what I would like to see happen in the community of which I live.
Not everyone's Idea of what they want to see in a community is the same, hence why we have groups and forums etc, to talk about issues.

Quote

I assume that the conference delivered a set of planned next steps/proposals which will be published and I hope that these may address my questions, until then, I would challenge the legitimacy of this federation that has seemingly appointed itself as representatives of the community.

On arrival to the confernce we signed in and gave our contact details email etc.
We will be sent info through re: next steps more meetings etc.
I am sure if you ring 01793 520592 and asked to be informed of when the next one is, and give your contact details, then I am sure someone will get back to you. ;)

Chav

Chav · « **Reply #12 on:** February 19, 2009, 02:27:53 PM »

Quote from: karen leakey on February 19, 2009, 11:59:42 AM

Hi Chav,

I attended this conference too and it was great to meet you

I found the conference very interesting. I first came by the CP2 idea about 20 months ago through a Central Councillor talking about the concept of CP2 at a community meeting - and it worried me greatly. The fact that it is top down and not bottom up is a REAL concern.

I fail to understand why Members at the Council in Swindon do NOT engage with people - they would achieve so much. Engagement and consultation - it's too easy Personally I think they are scared to, I work with the NRTG Neighbourhood Renewal Task Group and the 6 people representing communities in Swindon on that Forum are fabulous. Their knowledge and understanding is mind blowing - if only the Council would work with and understand where these people are coming from Swindon would be a better place. But they wont - because they do not want to listen and would not take on board the ideas etc. The members of the NRTG have been really great in passing their knowledge and work onto me and I have found this really useful in working in the community where I live - it's a shame the Borough cant do the same.

I will post a more sensible and detailed account later (if anyone wishes) I am working at the moment!!

Hi Karen
It was great to meet you too

I also came across the CP2 a long while back and scoured the internet for info as well as it being brought up at our local forum meetings.
I thought the SFCO conference was interesting and I learned from it.

And..... It was fantastic meeting you and others from other areas of Swindon.
Its great putting faces to names.

You are very well respected in your community and it was a pleasure to meet you.
I am also looking forward to participating in the community radio 105.5 project with our communities:
Broadgreen & Penhill - I think it will be worth while and interesting.

I look forward to bumping into you again soon

Chav · « **Reply #13 on:** February 19, 2009, 02:33:54 PM »

Quote from: Krippers on February 19, 2009, 01:31:26 PM

Quote from: Chav on February 18, 2009, 11:42:48 PM
This Is what I would like to see back in our community:

Great vision, really fantastic idea.

Thank you Krippers

Chav

P.S If this happens, you will have to pack your trunks and towel and some sarnies and a flask and spend a nice hot summers day with us....(If we get a nice hot summers day that is ! ) lol

kohima · « **Reply #14 on:** February 19, 2009, 03:30:35 PM »

the paddling pool area with the cafe etc on the palying fields was a good idea, like so many others the morons who roam this land, thought it was only good for fire wood and burnt it down, would another rebuild end up the same way?. and who is going to pay for it to be rebuilt?.....

Chav · « **Reply #15 on:** February 19, 2009, 04:50:41 PM »

Quote from: kohima on February 19, 2009, 03:30:35 PM

the paddling pool area with the cafe etc on the palying fields was a good idea, like so many others the morons who roam this land, thought it was only good for fire wood and burnt it down, would another rebuild end up the same way?. and who is going to pay for it to be rebuilt?.....

I hear what you are saying Kohima, and I remember when It burnt down............ such a shame !
This was many years ago now, and I think that the time has come to bring it back- I know some people might say why bother for the reasons you mentioned above, but we will never know if we do not try.

If you follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=51985943213
It will show you just how much interest there is in getting a water play/splash park back !

I would rather see money spent on something like this for kids and there families, not just on Penhill, but from the wider community/surrounding areas etc, than a canal going through the middle of town.

Also the state the country is in at the moment (credit crunch) , I am sure people would benefit from somewhere like this for the kids to go during the summer hols etc.
It will be a good cheap fun day out and get familys, friends and neighbours out together again! like it used to.

There has been a lot of ground work that has already been done, but due to lack of volunteers the groups dwindle, hence the impact this has on getting funding for such projects.

I am hoping the interest it has generated through facebook will help in getting this thing up and running again,
Another thing is, is that if all goes well, we will be able to promote many of the other good things that happen in Penhill, and get the community interested again and hopefully get more of the community involved in the various groups etc.

Its all about getting out there, and engaging people and being honest with them, and getting them interested.

Chav

Muggins · « **Reply #16 on:** February 19, 2009, 07:00:30 PM »

Right! The Swindon Federation of Community Organisations is as Chav said, a well established group. It is well known amongst those who do (and did) manage their local community centres. It gave support - peer support if you like and signposted to help, training etc.

A few years ago, it changed it's constitution (it is a registered charity) to encompass the wider community groups. The committee is elected annually at it's AGM, just like any other charity. Membership is according to the constitution just like any other charity. Community Groups can join directly or through the National Federation now called 'Community Matters'. There is now space for 'individual' members. Groups joining are expected to elect their own reps to sit in on the meetings, but the AGM elects the management group - the drivers of the organisation if you like. If someone doesn't like that they can turn up at an AGM or other meetings and ask questions, just like any other charity.

To be and stay a charity it has to follow charity law and it must try it's best to follow procedures in it's constitution. Obviously at the AGM it must tell it's membership what it has achieved throughout the year, what it did with the money and who helped them do it. Without all of that it won't get any funding from anywhere.

It's funny that Buster calls them 'special interest groups' well they are special inasmuch as they do their best to represent their individual communties. That community groups are being called 'special interest groups' is a new one! Well, only used once before??? It is not a secret society and if you move in the 'Third Sector' that's Voluntary and Community sector, you will know of it. Most towns have one too.

Back to the communties they represent - I suppose you could ask who should represent a community? Mostly the people that represent their community at community group level have been elected, firstly to by their local community at it's AGM, then by that group to be their representative. They report back to that community group and as Chav says, it's then up to that group to report back further. If local people attend the AGM they get the chance to vote on 1. who sits on their group and 2. who is their rep.

In my area, having been elected to the committee, we have carried out many surveys on what the community want, community priorities etc., etc., then wrote it up into a plan. Something a Counillor would not have the time to do, even if they wanted to. Then consulted again to make sure we had it right. Then set about getting the things the community want, usually in the order that funding becomes available. A question worth asking is, do communties want representation or not? No they want to rely totally on councillors? Do we really elect them to do what they want or what we want, they after all are spending our money, or selling off our land and assets to pay for what they want. From where woudl you expect them to get their brief? Councillors often come to community meetings to gain some ideas and even support. If someone doesn't want me representing them, they can come along to a meeting and put in a vote of no confidence - or better still, stand against me. Martha was elected Chair of the Federation at it's recent AGM.

There has just been a change of office for the Federation so the phone numbers might not be working yet. The old web page is still up, but that will have to come down temporarily soon as it's out of date.

It's not so 'specialist' (that is a very funny term to use) a group as you might think. Other words for Federation is Alliance, Coalition, i.e. it's individual groups coming to together to seek support from one another.

Chav · « **Reply #17 on:** February 19, 2009, 07:17:55 PM »

Well said Muggins

Could I also clarify the SFCO day on Saturday;
(I do have blond moments from time to time & fail to explain myself properly lol)

The day was hosted by Swindon Federation of Community Organisations and facilitated by Marilyn Beale and Martha Parry.
(who both have years of experience and knowledge)

Also the presentation at the start, was on the Real People Real Power Paper - the connecting people bit came later for discussion as we worked through the booklet on it.

Chav

Buster · « **Reply #18 on:** February 19, 2009, 07:44:17 PM »

Hi Chav, thanks for your explanation

Quote from: Muggins on February 19, 2009, 07:00:30 PM

It's funny that Buster calls them 'special interest groups' well they are special inasmuch as they do their best to represent their individual communties. That community groups are being called 'special interest groups' is a new one! Well, only used once before??? It is not a secret society and if you move in the 'Third Sector' that's Voluntary and Community sector, you will know of it. Most towns have one too.

It's not that funny if you don't leap to the assumption that calling something a community group means that it automatically represents all members of said community. In my experience many community groups are started by good people, but usually in response to specific issues, these then tend to morph into something else over time and are usually driven by the opinions of their established members.

I don't always agree with everything that the community groups in my area stand for, sometimes I am just indifferent to the issues. This isn't an issue, as long as they don't claim to represent me, after all, I don't recall ever being invited to vote and I can safely say that I have never received a voting card from them. Consequently a group existing and having a collective opinion on something doesn't place an obligation on every man and woman within that community to recognise the group or to go and voice their dissenting opinions to these groups.

I don't mean to sound negative about individual community groups, I do admire them for the dedication and energy.

Quote from: Muggins on February 19, 2009, 07:00:30 PM

It's not so 'specialist' (that is a very funny term to use) a group as you might think.

I didn't suggest that this amalgamation of groups was specialist, how can it be when it brings together so many different groups with their own issues and agendas? When I used the term specialist groups, I was referring to the issue that got people fired up to start each individual community groups in the first place, this isn't necessarily what the group becomes, or stands for, over time.

I see that you haven't said which Swindon community groups are members of this federation, perhaps you would care to enlighten us?

kecl · « **Reply #19 on:** February 19, 2009, 11:25:51 PM »

Not sure where you live Buster, but as you have community groups in your area I would have thought that constitutionally they would have to offer you the chance of standing for an officers position and voting on it.

I know, having been secretary of the Broad Street Area Community Council for the last 3 years, that we put out nomination forms for Officer positions, and they are attached to our bi-yearly Broadly Speaking newsletter. The newsletter is delivered to all homes within our constitutional area and voting takes place at our AGM, to which all residents in the area are welcome to attend and vote at, there’s not much else we can do to be more democratic, not within the budget we have anyway.

Residents are also welcome to attend our monthly meetings and for people that cannot attend the meetings, we can and do send out/email meeting minutes to those that request them and we also have a blog page that they are posted on.

It’s not always easy to engage with everyone, but we try bloody hard. People don’t have to attend our monthly meetings to have an input, at most meetings we deal with business from residents that are not present. The platform is there, people are aware of it and one would hope that they wouldn’t need constantly petting to become involved in one way or another.

The most annoying thing is when people, that don't bother to engage with or put any effort into their community, are quick to criticise those that are trying to make the area better. I never understand why they don’t attend the very community meetings at which they could have their say, or even put themselves forward to be on the committee.

Just a thought Buster, you mention having community groups in your area, but if you don't have a residents association, why don't you consider starting one up? Eastcott have recently started one and so have some of the residents in the Ferndale Rd area. Respect and good luck to them I say.