A group from Mayo and Northern Ireland visited Sterling Council and the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park to gather information on the Community Futures Programme of Community Development and to hear firsthand the views of the local communities themselves.
Community Futures projects have been carried out with over 40 communities throughout Scotland by the Small Town And Rural Development Group (STAR). It provides services to assist communities in preparing strategic plans for their own future (Community Futures); an essential local and community component of Community Planning.
STAR designed and implemented the Community Futures Stirling Programme of local community planning on behalf of Stirling Council, Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley and Scottish Natural Heritage. The Stirling Council Pilot Programme was very successful in helping four communities to identify their own vision and priorities for the future; Community Futures Stirling won the 2001/2 National Royal Town Planning Institute award for Planning for Social Inclusion.
The National Park Community Futures Programme was designed to assist all the communities in the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Area. The Park is a network of 24 communities that have been assisted to prepare community plans for their future.
The Programme was designed by Colin Roxburgh who also provided technical support throughout.
Mayo Visit Evaluation
The evaluation of the trip was very positive and the group saw its potential as a community development model for Mayo. Communities in Mayo are experiencing change at a fast pace and are struggling to create a local environment which takes into account the needs of all its people. Most rural communities are coping with a decrease or lack of volunteers, insufficient infrastructure and resources and an ever increasing need for social inclusion measures. Community Development in Mayo needs a new impetus and energy to get communities involved.
The Community Forum members brought the information back to the County Forum who in turn endorsed the Community Futures Pilot Programmes. Mayo County Community Forum will act as lead partner with other supporters and funders of the programme. The County Development Board will have a key role in supporting this process.
Community Futures Aims:
• to assist communities prepare ' local community plans' for their future;
• to enable community councils to document and represent the needs and aspirations of their communities;
• to provide evidence to support the development and funding of prioritized community projects;
• to enable agencies to identify strategic priorities, develop programmes in response to community needs and aspirations, and measure progress in supporting communities against a baseline of information collected through the Community Futures process
• to encourage active citizenship
• to strengthen local democracy.
Community Futures Action Plan
The plan is prepared following extensive consultation within the Community over a three to six month period.
• A series of interviews with different groups & individuals representing all aspects of the Community
• A Community view household survey, carried out with the help of the Community Futures Steering Group.
• A Community Profile detailing facts & figures about the Community
• A Community Futures workshop.
It is characterised by:
• a clear and rigorous strategic planning framework
• the way in which active participation by a broad cross-section of local people is encouraged
• being set within the context of a programme managed by a partnership between communities and agencies
• The way in which the local community planning process has been designed to provide a springboard for local organisational development and action.
The local community plans are simple, realistic and are a bottom-up approach to Community Development. Informed by a process of community consultation and involvement the plan summarises local community views on:
- The Community as it is now
- The Community’s vision for the future
- The issues that matter most to the community
- What needs to be done?
- Priorities action.
Participatory Planning Process
• Community Futures combines a number of inclusive ways of involving local people in thinking about their future and putting the Community Action Plan together:
• The Community Futures Steering Group
• Stakeholder meetings and interviews
• Community Views household survey
• Community Profiling
• Community Futures Workshops
Participating communities are encouraged to set up a local steering group which is representative of a cross section of all the community to manage the project locally.
• Local Communities have a “Community Agent” allocated to them. These Agents are trained in the Programme and guide and help the steering committee with the survey, questionnaire and workshops.
• Community Futures is best set within the context of a programme. It requires a partnership that provides a supportive environment for the preparation of the local community plans, and aims to link top down and bottom up planning.
Community Futures Mayo – Pilot Programme
It is hoped to do a pilot programme with four communities in Mayo. It is hoped the pilots will be countywide.
Communities will be invited to apply for the Pilot Programmes. The applications will be reviewed and selected by a steering committee.
It is hoped that the Pilots will run from Oct ’05 to May ’06.
