Building a strong community 

Community cohesion strategy 

• Background 

  The borough adopted its first community cohesion strategy, 'One Community' in 2004. This expired in March 2007, and this new strategy has been built on the foundations of partnership working and shared values that One Community established.

  This new strategy has been developed through engagement with representatives of the Barking and Dagenham Partnership, borough residents and elected Members.

  Incidents at both local and national levels have significantly raised the profile of community cohesion and have provided the borough with a vital opportunity to formulate a strategy that supports the most current thinking around cohesive communities as well as linking with recently formulated borough strategies.

   

• How the strategy was developed 

  In December 2006 the council, on behalf of the Barking and Dagenham Partnership, appointed The Campaign Company to ensure members of the wider community had an opportunity to have their say and constructively inform the development of the community cohesion strategy.

  The Campaign Company focused on getting the views and opinions of residents, key voluntary and community sector organisations and local businesses.

  The Campaign Company's work revealed:

  • Key to making a strong community and a good place to live is the sense of togetherness
  • The 4 themes of: togetherness, respect, fairness and safety are broadly accepted by the population as being the key elements for a good and cohesive community
  • There was greater optimism from black and minority ethnic residents and groups, and they have a more positive perception of the area and public services
  • The need to achieve full engagement with local people who do not feel engaged with the wider community, and feel sceptical that things will improve
  • There is a common perception that access to services and resources is not fair
  • Improving the local environment is the most important thing that could be done to improve the borough. This is followed by improving safety
  • Some people were not clear about how the regeneration-led changes within the borough (for example Thames Gateway and Olympics) and the potential economic and social opportunities will benefit them and their families
  • White groups responded better to direct and interactive consultation techniques (for example someone at their door, in their club) rather than reactive ones (for example postal survey, invite to a meeting)
  • Once people were engaged they were prepared to enter into detailed and sustained dialogue

  This work has confirmed the main concerns of local people:

  • To live in a safe place
  • To have fair access to services
  • For all sections of the community to respect each other
  • For the Barking and Dagenham Partnership to create and support opportunities for communities to come together
  • For there to be improvements in the local environment
  • For there to be increased opportunities for young people

  These priorities have been translated into actions in this strategy's action plan. We will use the following techniques in delivering those actions:

  • Engagement and involvement of the community in developing services
  • Myth busting

  Our stakeholder groups responded positively to our efforts to build capacity, undertake engagement and develop this strategy.

  We have received generous support from other local authorities in and outside London, as well as the Improvement and Development Agency, Government Office for London and Communities and Local Government.

   

• Leadership and commitment: our vision 

  The vision we share with local people is to build communities and transform lives.

  Underpinning this is the need to build a cohesive community where:

  • The diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated
  • Co-operation between different communities is encouraged
  • Good community relations and understanding exist between local people

  This Community Cohesion Strategy is a key part of the Barking and Dagenham Partnership's contribution to achieving this vision by 2020.

   

• Our mission and aims 

  Our mission for delivering community cohesion is:

  Together we choose to build and support:

  • A strong community who will get fair access to services
  • A place where people respect one another and enjoy safe and peaceful lives
  • Opportunities to meet together and look forward to the future

  The aims of this strategy, to which the Barking and Dagenham Partnership is committed, are:

  (a) Fair access to services
  We will ensure fair service delivery

  (b) Feeling safe within our neighbourhoods
  We will work closely within the Barking and Dagenham Partnership in order to reduce the fear of crime. We will empower our communities to respond effectively to actions that threaten our right to live in peace with each other.

  (c) Creating opportunities to build respect together
  We will enable our communities to get to know the borough and each other better. Through cultural events and social activities we will support and encourage a cohesive community proud of its diversity.

  (d) Strengthening ties within our communities
  We will build and nurture a sense of togetherness. We will be honest with our community about the challenges we face and ensure that perceptions are based on facts. We will challenge myths that seek to undermine the spirit of togetherness.

   

• The way we will work 

  The Barking and Dagenham Partnership recognises the council's unique position in terms of leadership, informed by national legislation, policies and protocols.

  However, the clear understanding within the Barking and Dagenham Partnership is that all stakeholders have equal and shared responsibility for actively leading in the delivery of this strategy.

  We know that we can do anything we want, however with limited resources we can not do everything. In listening to our community we will use the information given to us to achieve the aims of this strategy.

  We will work with our residents in partnership to strengthen our ties, to reduce misunderstandings and to explode myths, and we will do this because our community has asked us to and because we want to.

  We will shape the borough into a place where everyone can look forward to a future where Fairness, Respect, Safety and Togetherness are shared values and a shared experience.

  The Barking and Dagenham Partnership has wide representation from statutory, voluntary and community sectors and is organised into sub groups which reflect key areas of work in the Local Area Agreement.

  The work and development of the Partnership is overseen by the Public Service Board. The implementation of this strategy will be monitored, and the achievement of its objectives will be ensured by the Inclusion sub-group.

  There are clear links between the delivery of excellent services and community cohesion: we aim to achieve cohesion through customer-focused services. This means that we will:

  • Involve residents in developing our decisions and our priorities, and in planning and delivering services locally
  • Improve the way we consult and engage with residents over our service delivery
  • Be open and honest about our services
  • Listen to what residents have to say and respond

  There is a strong link between good customer relations and happy staff: for this reason the Barking and Dagenham Partnership commits to including community cohesion within staff development programmes.

  The Council, in collaboration with Barking and Dagenham Partnership members, has designed a bespoke community cohesion training and development programme using expert advisers (Cohesion Matters).

  This programme has been developed in order that a common and shared language can be developed and used in the various organisations and community groups.

  The delivery of the strategy will be guided by the following principles:

  (a) Leadership and commitment

  • Continuous leadership by the Barking and Dagenham Partnership
  • Leaders make a public commitment to achieve the strategy's vision and aims
  • Widening representation of the community on the Barking and Dagenham Partnership through a range of interactive and proactive engagement methods
  • A bottom-up approach
  • Supporting Barking and Dagenham Partnership members in their community leadership, engagement and cohesion roles

  (b) Delivering on our vision and values

  • Continuing wide-ranging consultation and engagement
  • Keeping the vision and aims manageable and deliverable
  • Ensuring the Barking and Dagenham Partnership understands, is involved in and delivers on the community cohesion agenda

  (c) Planning and delivering the action plan

  • Following best practice in project and risk management
  • Developing a shared, in-depth analysis of the area
  • Conducting an annual review of the action plan activities and targets to ensure they continue to be appropriate, relevant and challenging
  • Identifying the resources to deliver

   

• What will the strategy deliver for local people? 

  (a) The Barking and Dagenham Partnership will:

  • Lead with confidence on community cohesion matters within the borough
  • Ensure the delivery of the outcomes contained within the community cohesion strategy
  • Contribute locally, regionally and nationally on the community cohesion agenda
  • Enable the community to respond effectively to threats to community cohesion values
  • Strengthen the bonds across partner organisations to deliver on community cohesion activities
  • Respond pro-actively to challenge myths and change public perceptions

  (b) Local residents will:

  • Be more involved in the development and provision of services
  • Feel that services are accessed fairly
  • Feel safer living and travelling around the borough
  • Increasingly get on well with and respect people from other communities
  • Have empathy for those who are disadvantaged or vulnerable regardless of background

  (c) Our staff will:

  • Understand what community cohesion means and apply the principles through their work
  • Be able to talk confidently about community cohesion and make suggestions to improve and support it
  • Understand the borough's vision for community cohesion and their contribution to it