East Suffolk Council
Enabling Communities Delivery Plan
The East Suffolk Enabling Communities Model
We think there are 12 steps for communities to follow. We have called this our Enabling Communities model. For each of the steps, there are organisations, people or things that can help.
We want to help communities to access the right support (if and when they need it) from the right organisation at the right time.
| Step 1: What's strong? | Map existing community assets (people, groups, buildings, money and things). |
| Step 2: What's wrong | Understand current (now) and future (later) needs. |
| Step 3: What's the gap? | Identify the gap between your assets (what's strong), needs (what's wrong) and aspirations (hopes for the future). |
| Step 4: What's most important? | Agree what you want to achieve (outcomes) and in what order (priorities). |
| Step 5: What's the best solution? | Agree how to tackle your priorities (and achieve your outcomes). |
| Step 6: What help do we need? | Identify sources of advice, information and support. |
| Step 7: What's getting in our way? | Identify and remove (or manage) any barriers or blockers. |
| Step 8: Who can lead? | Identify community champions to lead your project. Give them the tools they need. |
| Step 9: Who can give time? | Find (formal or informal) volunteers and ensure you understand their skills and interests. |
| Step 10: What resources do we need? | Secure new resources or use existing resources differently. |
| Step 11: Do IT! | Work together to make your project happen. |
| Step 12: What difference have we made? | Measure and understand your impact. Celebrate your success! |
Step 1: What's strong?
Mapping existing community assets
Ensure that you understand what is strong in your community. This includes the ‘assets’ you already have, including people, groups, networks, buildings, money and other resources.
What tools might help?
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We will help communities to use the right tools (see list above) to list and understand their community assets. We will consider further asset transfers between public sector organisations and community groups. We will support communities to make best use of existing community buildings and land.
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Step2: What's wrong?
Understand current and future needs
Use facts and figures, as well as stories, to understand current needs and think about future needs. Do additional research/engagement/consultation with local people if needed.
What tools might help?
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We will help communities to understand what information is already available about their community. We will support communities to think about what additional research they need to do to fully understand needs. We will use all relevant information about communities to make evidence based decisions about services.
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Step 3: What's the gap?
Identify the gap between assets and needs
Once you understand your assets (what you already have in the community) and your current and future needs, they can identify the gap between what you have and what you need and want.
| What tools might help? |
We will help communities to understand the gap between what they have and what they need/want. We will support communities to use the right tools to identify the gap. We will help communities to understand and engage all groups/voices within the community including the hard to reach/hear.
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Step 4: What's most important?
Negotiate and agree priorities and outcomes
Discuss, debate and agree which of the issues identified through the gap analysis is most important. This might involve negotiation about what matters most and what should be tackled first. These priorities can then be worded as outcomes – the way we want something to turn out.
What tools might help?
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We will help communities to use ‘ranking’ tools to priorities their issues and decide what matters most. We will help communities to turn issues into outcomes – what they want the future to look like. We will support communities to have honest, on-going conversations with service providers about their ambitions.
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Step 5: What's the best solution
Agree how to tackle your priorities
Identify and assess the best way(s) of achieving your outcomes and choose the best solution for your community. Think about how you will know that you have achieved your goals.
| What tools might help? |
We will help communities to identify and agree the best actions to achieve their goals (outcomes). We will support communities to think about how they will measure the impact/success of their project and know that they have made a difference.
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Step 6: What help do we need?
Sources of advice, information and support
Communities think about what additional help - advice, information and practical support - they need to deliver their solution(s) and who would be best to provide this help.
| What tools might help? |
We will help communities to think about what help they need to implement their solutions. We will help communities to identify who is best to provide this advice, information and/or practical support.
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Step 7: What's getting in our way
Identify and remove or manage barriers and blockers
Understand what and/or who might get in the way of doing what you want to do. Sometimes it won’t be possible to remove these, so think about how to manage them instead.
What tools might help?
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We will help communities to identify what might get in the way of doing what they want to do. We will help communities to identify who might get in the way of doing what they want to do. We will help communities to manage these ‘barriers’ and blockers’, including through mediation.
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Step 8: Who can lead?
Identify community leaders and champions and give them the tools they need
Who are the leaders within the community and who acts as a ‘champion’ for the place, a group or a specific issue? Who are the ‘fiery spirits’ who agitate and get things done? Who are the community ‘role models’?
| What tools might help? |
We will ensure that communities know who their councillors (county, district and town/parish) are. We will help communities to identify their leaders, champions, role models and ‘fiery spirits’. We will help identify the gap between the skills available and the skills needed for the project (and any training needs).
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Step 9: Who can give time?
Find volunteers (if needed) and identify their skills and interests
If additional ‘people power’ is needed, identify what needs doing and what skills are required to do it. You can then recruit volunteers into specific roles based on their skills and interests.
| What tools might help? Work with Community Action Suffolk and use the Volunteer Suffolk website to provide the widest possible range of volunteering opportunities:
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We will help communities to understand exactly what they want volunteers to do. We will support communities to think about what skills will be needed for volunteers to do these tasks. We will help communities to recruit the volunteers they need to make their project happen.
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Step 10: What resources do we need?
Secure new resources or use existing resources differently
Identify what resources (both money and things) are needed to make things happen. Assess whether these already exist within the community and/or whether more resources (money and things) need to be found.
What tools might help?
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We will help communities to identify what money and other resources they need. We will ensure that communities understand the gap between what resources they have and what they need. We will support communities to identify funding opportunities and develop great applications and signpost to funding opportunities.
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Step 11: Do IT!
Work together to make your project happen
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Step 12: What difference have we made?
Measure and understand your impact and celebrate your success and share with others
Check what has been delivered against your aspirations and planned outcomes – ideally on an ongoing basis throughout the project. Celebrate your efforts and successes and share best practice (what went well) with funders, partners and other community groups. Capture what went less well so that you can learn from it in future projects.
What tools might help?
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We will encourage communities to review progress regularly and help them to understand their impact. We will help communities to celebrate and communicate their hard work and achievements. We will support communities to share examples of how things worked (and didn’t work) with other communities.
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