COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION INFORMATION
FOR COUNCILLORS, RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATIONS ETC

Some info on asking citizens their opinions, especially in planning for the future See below for examples

These methods can save a lot of council or government money by making sure that what is spent is effective. They also have been very effective in some places in regeneration projects, also in reviving pride in a town or area. The more democratic they are, usually the more effective: ie the less like "consult and ignore" the better! They have many different names - eg "Planning for Real", participatory planning, village appraisals etc. The methods used vary - different methods are used to suit the situation, from village residents, teenagers in a street, to citizens of an entire city. Two of the best examples, Porto Alegre in Brazil, and Chattanooga in the USA, are both cities of hundreds of thousands of people. Villages, towns and counties also use these methods of involving their residents in planning for the future. They are used by city or town councils, resident's associations or just people coming together. Methods vary, but here is one example of a common one:

The residents of an area are asked about how they see the present, and what they would like to see in the future. They are involved in working out what are the present problems, and in developing an action plan for the area (what needs doing, by who, when). They are asked how they think available resources (of money etc) should be used. They are then part of putting these plans into practice. There are regular assessments to see how things are going; if plans are on track. These "Planning for Real" methods often raise information and perspectives civil servants hadn't and wouldn't have thought of. People's wide knowledge and experience are useful. Usually the methods raise what new facts are needed, and spark new initiatives. It is important, though for everyone to be honest as to what is possible, and not to promise too much. It is also important that there is real follow-up afterwards, or people are disillusioned and won't get involved again. Good participation is long term.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE:

'The Neighbourhood Initiatives Foundation: www.nif.co.uk" :"Practical tools for community action This organisation is the most established in the UK in this field. They developed "Planning for Real" many years ago: this has been widely used across the UK and internationally, usually successfully. It is most often used for urban regeneration. They describe it as "an eye-catching," hands-on" method which people use to sort out what needs to be done to improve their neighbourhood". They sell a brief guide to "Planning for Real", also a book called "The Power in Our Hands" by the man who developed PFR, with many eye-opening stories of people working together.

'The Centre for Participation" at the New Economics Foundation: 'http://www.neweconomics.org "This centre develops and promotes various techniques. Some of their handbooks are available free on the internet: eg 'Participation Works! 21 techniques of community participation for the 21st century Everyone says participation works. But what does participation really mean, and what makes it really happen? This handbook contains 21 proven techniques from around the world, it shows how to choose between them, how to use them properly and where to go for more information.

'Vision 21: www.vision21.demon.co.uk "Vision' "21 is the' "Agenda 21 network for Gloucestershire. Hundreds of people are involved. It is probably the most successful Agenda 21 in the UK, mostly because grassroots participation is the key to their approach.' "Vision' "21 have produced an extremely good '"Toolkit for Community Involvement"" which is a good introduction to their approach and lists many tried and tested techniques which the Vision 21 network have found useful. It costs about £14. To order, send a note by fax on 01451 820274 or e-mail to flnevents@btinternet.com

"PLANNING For PEOPLE "

EXAMPLES PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL.

This city has recently been judged "The best governed city in the world" by the United Nations. There is a high level of citizen participation, right down to voting on the city budget. THE CHATTANOOGA VISION PROCESS Chattanooga is a city of some 150,000 people situated on the banks of the Tennessee River in southern US. In 1969, it was designated the most polluted city in the country. But heavy manufacturing industry declined rapidly in the 1970's, producing huge lay-offs. By the 1980s, social tension was high and civic pride at a low. As a result of these increasing threats to their city, and following a visit to Indianapolis to see community participation first hand, civic leaders launched Vision 2000 in 1984. A wide range of different groups were brought together in an open and diverse process. One participant, Countess Bernie Jenkins of Bessie Smith Hall, described what happened: "People had been angry and cynical because they thought someone else was making all the decisions... But when we all got together in same room, we realised that no one was making all the decisions.

No one was creating a vision for the city.

The process produced 40 jointly agreed goals for the year 2000. 'Vision 2000 was immensely successful. By 1993, it had been responsible for 223 projects and programmes; 1381 new jobs and 7300 temporary construction jobs; $793 million of investment; 800 homes renovated or financed for low-income families; and the manufacture of electric buses, which now ferry one million passengers.

In 1990, Chattanooga met all six of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, one of the few south-eastern cities to do so. By 1993, the police department credited a 20 per cent fall in crime rates to active neighbourhood associations. "Citizens were so pleased that they held a follow-up ReVision 2000 series of events during 1993 and 1994 to assess progress and set new goals. A process of neighbourhood, workplace, government and school meetings produced another 2559 ideas. These were presented back at an open Vision Fair, where people voted for what they would like to work upon, and task forces were formed for each concern. The family violence group, for example, soon set up a new shelter - all members had wanted it to happen, but had never been able to form the necessary critical mass. Other major initiatives include Chattanooga Neighbourhood Enterprise to eliminate substandard housing, Chattanooga Venture to provide shared shared facilities, and the Recycle Network. Some 2600 people participated in Revision 2000, a third of whom were under 25, and 85 per cent of whom had not taken part in the original exercise. Source for this story: Centre for Community Visions quoted in "The Living Land" by Jules Pretty: 1-85383-516-1 This also includes many examples of participation used to help countryside areas.