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England & Wales

Using Neighbourhood Agreements to build strong and active communities at a time of austerity

Building strong and active communities has never been more important as local government budgets come under severe pressure. Modelled around ‘Neighbourhood Agreements’, this seminar offers delegates a tried and tested strategy for delivering accountable public services at community level and a way of  fostering greater local volunteering and civic responsibility. The seminar will draw on national best practice (and the pit falls to avoid!).

The seminar will look at:

  • the key elements that make a neighbourhood agreement both community owned and sustainable
  • tools that effectively engage local people in the overseeing and scrutiny of public services
  • how neighbourhood agreements can be used to minimise the impact of service cuts and budget reductions
  • how these tools can help councils with their preparation for community budgets in 2013
  • ways of measuring and monitoring success.
Who should attend?
  • Councillors who want to build on their work as community leaders and engage more with communities
  • Officers involved in supporting members or with responsibility for managing neighbourhood or area arrangements or engaging with the community.
  • Local authority partners
Speakers:
  • Maxine Moar has been a key figure in building local and national community cohesion polices for over 10 years. Her work in developing the highly successful Neighbourhood Agreements as part of the New Deal for Communities programme has given her a proven track record in policies which reduce crime, improve the quality of neighbourhoods and enhance community cohesion. She has worked with successive Ministers and Home Secretaries as well as with the Department for Communities and Local Government and countless local community initiatives the length and breadth of Britain.
  • Dr Tom Flanagan, Corporate Director Environment, Planning and Economy, Cornwall Council said: “I regard Maxine as one of the foremost practitioners in her field of community engagement. She has exemplary qualities in community leadership and development and has demonstrated a real passion and commitment in helping to empower local communities.”