HOLY TRINITYCOMMUNITY ANDPARTNERSHIPCENTREFaith basedoutreach through‘Listening Matters’approach toorganising

NEIGHBOURHOOD CHALLENGE

Neighbourhood Challenge was an

innovative learning programme

from NESTA and Big Lottery Fund.

It supported 17 different

organisations and partnerships to

test their approach to enabling

locally-led change. The programme

aimed to learn about what

approaches worked within each area,

but also to find out more about what

the role of funders of all kinds could

be in creating the right conditions

for locally led change.

Each local project began with a belief that their community had the creative potential, and ability to mobilise a range of untapped resources, skills and assets to make a positive difference on local issues. In many cases, this required different ways of working, using methods or techniques unfamiliar either to the organisation or to their community. The projects were supported to trial their locally tailored approach for one year, and were encouraged to learn, take risks, and reflect on their practice, adapting and changing their approach in response to challenges faced along the way.

This paper is one of a set of 17 produced by Icarus, the Neighbourhood Challenge Learning Partner. It describes what we learned from just one project. It draws on the perspectives of the local team and others involved in leading community action through semi-structured interviews and a review of the project’s blog-posts. We hope you find it a useful resource.

If you would like to read about the other

projects, or find out more about what we

learned across the whole programme we

have produced a range of other resources

including a full learning paper, a briefing

for funders seeking to work differently,

and a short animation providing an

overview :

www.nesta.org.uk/neighbourhood_challenge

For further information please contact the

programme lead alice.casey@nesta.org.uk

who edited this paper.

2Neighbourhood Challenge

Introducing the project

In Newark, Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre came together with the charitable trust RE:generate to support and enable people from the NG24 postcode to make the changes that they both needed and wanted in their community. The Partnership included the Parish of Holy Trinity RC Church, the Holy Trinity School and the Community Centre that is run as a community enterprise. The project chose to apply RE:generate’s ‘Root Solutions Listening Matters’ process which was the first time this had been tried in a faith community.

Situated in an area with a diverse population, Holy Trinity is committed to working on local issues such as community integration, education and training for marginalised, tightly knit groups and communities. Its work is with the church community as well as the broader population.

Starting with church members, local people were trained as listeners; they made 1:1 connections with individuals in the church community as well as and in the wider community. People with concerns and ideas were encouraged to bring together those that they knew (from within their trusted networks) to explore their feelings about the community and to discuss how to take action together. Support from the listening team and RE:generate animators then helped those ideas to grow and to flourish.

Some headline messages from the project

All the Neighbourhood Challenge projects offered rich opportunities for learning. We have picked out just a few specific insights from this project below:

• As a result of the conversations generated by the listening team trust, respect and relationships were built, encouraging people to take action in their community.

• People will commit to being involved in a number of ways; from becoming leaders or volunteers and taking part in community activities and groups, to using their vote in elections that affect their community.

• It was important to start with a 1:1 process that met people where they felt comfortable and established their feelings and personal views about local issues as well as their own potential role in addressing those issues.

• A faith based community can provide a good foundation for a community engagement process with the wider community, as long as there is an open and transparent vision for engaging others outside the faith network.

“It’s not necessarily about

skills development …

it’s about being brave

enough to stand up and

do something.” (Resident, church member, listener

and leader of a community project)

“..bold aspirations of animating, engaging and galvanising 1000 people to get involved with community building activities that would develop confidence, skills, leadership and potential to bring about changes and improvements …..” (RE:generate animator)

3Neighbourhood Challenge

About their approach

The Holy Trinity Neighbourhood Challenge project was all about making individual connections, listening to people’s concerns about the local area, encouraging them to bring people together themselves, and supporting the development of project ideas that emerged. You can read more about this approach below and how the project applied a process built on three main stages: 1) starting conversations and prompting new ideas; 2) growing ideas; and 3) turning ideas into action.

1. Starting conversations and prompting new ideas

The listening team went out into the community; listening took place at church events, on the doorstep, in the secondary school, in a village and at the local charity shop. People were often surprised to be asked “What do you love about Newark?” and at times this simple question was met with laughter or disbelief as people were not used to being asked to praise their local area. Quickly followed by questions like: “What is your vision / dream” “What project ideas do you have?” and “What concerns you?” the aim was to help individuals to see themselves as part of the solution to the problems identified in their community.

It helped that RE:generate was working in partnership with the church community with its established network of local people. This provided a great starting point for the work; with a willing group of volunteers to train as listeners time was saved in developing these relationships at the start of the process.

This approach worked and the listening team met over 1000 people from across the NG24 postcode reflecting many different interests and concerns, and generating a host of project ideas.

2. Growing ideas

Following the initial work with individuals, small groups of people with common interests came together. These conversations helped develop connections between individuals; they could explore project ideas that addressed the issues that mattered most to them. A total of over 20 neighbourhood groups and teams came together in this way to discuss their ideas.

The listening team made up of 16 volunteers and three paid animators provided support to individuals and groups to develop their projects. RE:generate animators role was to enable ideas to flourish while offering an objective and independent eye on progress. Their approach was tailored to reflect the needs of the individuals and groups they provided support to.

The Newark Extreme Event was held over two days and provided another opportunity for local people to discuss their project ideas. This included The Achieve Your Dreams dance group, three boys aged 9-11 years old. They came along with a clear vision of what they would like to see happen – a rehearsal space to help them to realise their dreams.

“It’s a process of snowballing an idea from an individual, into a small group and then a larger network of people.” (RE:generate animator)

“By listening to people, building trust, respect and relationships and supporting action at a neighbourhood level, we have enabled local people to develop the skills, confidence and capacity to start to lead on the things that they want to do.” (RE:generate animator)

4Neighbourhood Challenge

This process of growing ideas involved investing in both individuals and in the connections between them. It provided an environment that was supportive and nurturing so that project ideas could evolve and flourish. It was an important part of helping people see that they can take their place in creating solutions to local problems, and this could take place alongside others who were also committing their time and energy to local action.

3. Turning ideas into action

The people who emerged as project leaders were encouraged to use the listening process directly with their friends, family and neighbours. This helped build more connections around common concerns; it helped to establish the need for their project and whether people were likely to sign up for it. This meant that when projects progressed they had a good starting point and a good understanding of how well supported they would be.

15 new project ideas emerged from the listening process. In one case the initial concern raised was about activities for young people, and adults thought a youth club was the answer. But when the listening was extended to young people themselves it was clear that this wasn’t what they wanted; instead the idea of weekly Family Fridays at the Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre emerged, suiting both what the young people and the adults wanted.

Problems with anti social behavior from disengaged young people in an outlying village resulted in some residents thinking about ways in which to engage them; a popular Drop In was set up at the village hall once their concerns and needs had been heard through a listening process. They come along twice a week and socialize together in a safe environment, staffed by volunteer adults from within the community.

Young unemployed men took part in a two hour football session each week, getting them into a positive, healthy and social new routine. A Parent and Toddler group got a new lease of life, and a ‘Listening Ear’ project emerged to provide support to people who had been bereaved.

What’s been challenging?

The Root Solutions Listening Matters approach has previously been run by Re:generate as a 3 – 5 year development programme aiming to gradually build trust over time and to work at a pace that people feel comfortable with. The group noted from the outset that it was going to be challenging to condense this time frame. People rapidly moved from being simply interested in the process / local issues into being project leaders and the time available for team building was limited. At times there were communication problems; links with external agencies and the local authority were developed but not as well established as hoped and proceeded through a series of ebbs and flows. Whilst the time pressures created a sense of momentum and some quick wins that helped move things forward quickly, it is possible that this may have affected the sustainability of projects.

“Different people are

coming together to do

one thing – the sum is

greater than the parts.”

(Resident, church member, listener

and leader of a community

project)

“There is greater success when compared to other traditional approaches of a project idea being held by an individual and then ‘sold’ to others...” (RE:generate animator)

5Neighbourhood Challenge

The social media platforms used in the project were not used as much as originally hoped for. The plan had been to create virtual networks that reflected those happening face to face. Despite a lot of effort it became clear that it was not a good way of creating conversations that lead to community activity; that it had not been identified through the listening process and did not sit easily with other aspects of the project; and was too general compared to the more successful single issue on-line campaigning.

What’s changed?

Local assets have been unlocked

• The project succeeded in reaching over 1000 people from across the NG24 postcode.

• Over 30 people have been trained in the Root Solutions Listening Matters process.

• 15 new community projects have been supported by the listening team and are now established.

• Over 85 people contributed some of their time to the project on a voluntary basis.

• Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre was used by more people and more groups, more of whom were from outside the church community.

• Muskham Village Hall opened its doors to the young people of the village for a twice weekly Drop In.

• A local charity shop started exploring its role in the wider community through training its volunteers in listening and developing the idea of a community cafe.

Abilities and ambitions have grown

• People who have not previously been involved in community activities came forward to lead, volunteer and participate in new activities.

• New skills were developed in all aspects of project planning.

• People reported that they grew in confidence as they received empowering and enabling support.

• There was greater capacity and ambition to organise collectively across NG24.

Creation of new networks, connections and collaborations

• Over 20 neighbourhood groups and teams engaged in conversations about local issues.

“After all, relationships

cannot be rushed –

they must be nurtured

carefully.” (RE:generate facilitator)

“The project has restored a sense of peace in the community and that’s really important.” (Resident, church member, listener and leader of a community project)

“The main change is how there is new life blood being brought into parish life and community life as a whole.” (Project team member)

6Neighbourhood Challenge

• Local people had the opportunity to meet new people as they participated in projects and activities.

• The reach of Holy Trinity church extended further into the geographical community, particularly with harder to reach people.

• Links with the local authority were developed.

• Already active community members came together with others on a single project idea, demonstrating the principle of ‘the sum is greater than the parts’.

• A listening team of over 30 people was created.

What next?

There is a significant legacy from this project for the people of Newark and NG24. There are some initial projects that meet local needs and that are led by local people. There is also an enthusiastic team of trained listeners who may carry on their work into the future, individually or together. The whole idea of listening as a valuable way of engaging communities has been accepted by the Holy Trinity parish team. The RE:generate model has been piloted in a faith setting and the Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre has gone still further along the way towards its aspiration of being a local community asset. A team from the national Community Organisers programme will also help continue this work into the future.