Position Statement on Community Empowerment
Draft January 2008
Local People Leading – Position Statement on Community Empowerment LPL Website
Introduction
Local People Leading ( LPL ) is an alliance of community sector national and regional networks, local community groups and individuals that has come together to campaign for a strong and independent community sector in Scotland.
LPL acknowledges the Scottish Government’s commitment to publish a community empowerment strategy and has contributed to the consultation process led by Communities Scotland.
LPL has chosen to publish a statement on community empowerment because it believes that the community sector should establish its own position on this issue. This statement is intended as a contribution to this process and was produced with the voluntary contributions of a working group of individuals drawn from supporters and reflecting a range of community sector organisations and interests.
What is Community Empowerment ?
LPL defines community empowerment as :
The development of strong, active communities in which local people are able to do things for themselves, define the challenges they face and tackle them either independently, or if need be, in partnership with others.
First Principles:
Local people empower communities. Community empowerment is not something that can be given or provided by external authorities or agencies.
If the circumstances are right and the appropriate support and resources are made available, communities will take on an increased level leadership and responsibility.
Community empowerment is a process. It involves continual learning, working with others and building the community’s capacity to do more – there is not ‘an end point’ to the process.
Community empowerment is a relative concept. It can be expressed as a simple continuum. Where on that continuum a community chooses to locate
itself - the extent to which a community becomes empowered – will be determined by levels of capacity, local leadership etc. Communities will vary in their interest and desire to move along this continuum.
Community empowerment as a continuum
Powerless Community Collaborative Community Empowered
Communities Engagement Working Empowerment Communities
Powerless communities.
“Scottish local government, above all in housing, is preoccupied with control and a condition of silent, divorced dependence is what it prefers from its tenantry – an archipelago of undemocracies, run by power cliques who want as few people as possible to participate in running their own lives” - Stone Voices by Neil Asherson, 2003.
Community Engagement.
Scotland’s community planning process comes under the heading of community engagement. “The process of involving communities in the planning, development and management of sevices aimed at improving understanding and performance.” – Communities Scotland, 2003
Collaborative Working.
Joint working practices between community agencies with or without statutory authorities. Involves a degree of delegated powers and/or budgets from statutory authorities. May take the form of area agreements, partnership initiatives, service level agreements etc.
Community Empowerment
“Community empowerment is the giving of confidence, skills and power to communities to shape and influence what public bodies do for or with them” – Department of Communities and Local Government 2007. In this model power is ‘endowed’. A level of independence is encouraged but within the framework of policies laid down by the statutory authorities.
Empowered Communities
Community’s achievements are recognised as being locally driven –posesses strong local leadership – financially self sufficient in respect of core costs –hold assets under community ownership – is capable of dissenting from local council’s position – community possesses resilience resourcefulness in the face of adversity.
Why is it important to empower communities?
Political consensus. Scottish Government is committed to doing more to empower individuals and communities to have more control over their lives. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for “a reinvention of the way we govern – a new type of politics which embraces everyone in the nation”.
There is now a broad consensus among all political parties that community empowerment can play a major role in the renewal of active citizenship and the legitimacy of civic institutions. Most immediately this can be in relation to Scotland’s National Performance Framework.
Communities represent a huge untapped national resource. Enduring cycles of poverty and disadvantage, mean that many communities are excluded from being able to fully participate in, and make a contribution to, the economic, social, and cultural life of the Scottish nation. Municipalism and the steady centralisation of power by government over the past thirty years have resulted in the pool of creativity and energy that lies within our communities being largely ignored. LPL asserts that our communities are a important national asset that should be valued and nurtured. There is clear evidence that community empowerment and involving local people in the design and delivery of local services leads to improved services and better outcomes for everyone.
Improving our representative democracy. There is ample evidence that the health and vibrancy of our democratic system has deteriorated in recent years. Voter apathy and widespread scepticism towards our elected representatives points to the existence of a serious democratic deficit. (The Power Commission 2004) Community empowerment and participatory democracy need to be seen as complimentary to representative democracy, not as an alternative or a threat. Empowered communities, and the active citizens within them, are more likely to engage with wider civic life and will result in the civic institutions and decision-making becoming more relevant and accountable.
Community engagement is not enough. Particularly when communities need to break through entrenched patterns of poverty, poor health, and economic disadvantage, providing opportunities for community engagement (involving local people in the decisions which affect them) is insufficient in itself. Community engagement is a necessary prerequisite – a first step towards community empowerment – but in itself will never be enough to galvanize local energy and enterprise. For local people to feel a sense of ownership – “ this is my community and I’m proud of it” – it will require government, both local and central, to get serious in their willingness to devolve leadership and power to communities.
Factors that will influence community empowerment
If community empowerment in Scotland is to become widespread and effective at a local level, LPL asserts that the following conditions need to be in place:
Distinct Identity. The community sector needs to be acknowledged as having a distinct identity within the wider Third Sector. The community sector is defined as the web of local groups, networks, and traditions that exist amongst those who share defined neighbourhoods.
Independent Voice. The community sector has distinct needs. In order to thrive, it needs to acquire its own independent voice and identity at a national level. Local People Leading has made some progress in this respect but it recognises the limitations of this to date
Government Strategy. In acknowledging the distinctiveness of the community sector, the Scottish Government needs to reflect this in a bespoke development strategy (as per Social Enterprise Strategy), appropriate budgets and responsibilities apportioned across Third Sector, Housing and Regeneration Teams.
Double Devolution. It is widely accepted that Community Planning Partnerships have not succeeded in meeting the aspiration to engage local communities effectively in the process. (Audit Scotland Report 2006) However, LPL recognizes that CPPs will have a crucial role in shaping the quality and extent of community empowerment. LPL contends that this should be reflected in an enhanced Concordat between the Scottish Government and Local Government which places a requirement on councils to continue the process of devolution of power and responsibility beyond local councils and into communities.
Community Development. Over the past twenty years, the community development function has been largely mainstreamed within local authorities and is now used to promote ‘engagement’ between local councils and local communities. Council-employed development workers understandably favour council policies rather than promote community independence. Communities need the option of employing their own workers.
Community Empowerment Action Plan
LPL contends that in addition to the preconditions for community empowerment which are listed above, there are two main areas of challenge that need to be addressed and LPL has identified a number of actions which would be required in relation to both:
1. Renewing and refreshing the quality of our representative democracy. We need to build a new relationship between government, communities and the citizen which is based on trust and mutual support. Community planning partnerships will be an important mechanism for building this relationship at a local level.
LPL recommends action in relation to :
Community Planning Partnerships. Create new mechanisms that ensure community representation is meaningful and effective within community planning partnerships
Democratisation. Establish new systems for locally elected representatives to participate in health boards, schools, urban regeneration companies
Devolution of services. Many local services and community assets could be managed effectively at a local level by piloting the concept of community kitties/delegated budgets
Petitioning. Consideration is given to extending the use petitions by communities to local councils
Calls For Action. A ‘community call for action’ scheme is piloted in conjunction with a ‘councillor call for action’
Community Councils. A programme of enhanced powers for community councils is launched
Note : LPL recognises this section is incomplete and invites proposals from supporters for inclusion in the action plan
Community Empowerment Action Plan (cont)
2. Building the capacity of the community sector
We need to ensure that local people in their communities are equipped with the resources and skills necessary to allow them to take effective action and assume leadership roles in the future development their communities.
LPL recommends action in relation to:
Community Anchor Organisations. Recognition is given to the concept ‘community anchor organisation’ and a means of promoting their widespread development is identified
Training. That this strategy includes a national training programme for community activists and community based development workers aimed at refocusing community development practice back to the community empowerment agenda
Community Assets. Creating new measures to increase and extend community ownership of assets. In particular, to facilitate greater levels of transfer of public assets with reference to the experience of the Quirk review
Land Reform. Extend the scope of Land Reform Act and review effectiveness of the legislation’s operation and address a range of issues in relation to the management and recording of all Common Good assets.
Wider role. Enhancing the wider role of community controlled housing associations with new emphasis on embedding financial sustainability through community enterprise.
Note : LPL recognises this section is incomplete and invites proposals from supporters for inclusion in the action plan