Improving attainment? Interventions in education by the New Deal for Communities Programme

"The New Deal for Communities (NDC) Programme was announced in 1998 and designed to reduce gaps between some of the most deprived areas in England and the rest of the country... This report presents the findings of one element of the second phase of the evaluation of the NDC Programme: research in four case study NDC partnerships focusing on interventions and outcomes under the theme of education." - introduction

Can participatory emissions budgeting help local authorities to tackle climate change?

A lack of concerted action on the part of local authorities and their citizens to respond to climate change is argued to arise partly from a poor relationship between the two. Meanwhile, local authorities could have a significant impact on community-wide levels of greenhouse gas emissions because of their influence over many other actors, but have had limited success with orthodox voluntary behaviour change methods and hold back from stricter behaviour change interventions. Citizen participation may offer an effective means of improving understanding between citizens and government concerning climate change and, because it is inherently a dialogue, avoids many of the pitfalls of more orthodox attempts to effect behaviour change. Participatory budgeting is a form of citizen participation which seems well suited to the task in being quantitative, drawing a diverse audience and, when successfully run, engendering confidence amongst authority stakeholders. A variant of it, participatory emissions budgeting, would introduce the issue of climate change in a way that required citizens to trade off greenhouse gas emissions with wider policy goals. It may help citizens to appreciate the nature of the challenge and the role of local government in responding; this may in turn provide authority stakeholders with increased confidence in the scope to implement pro-environmental agendas without meeting significant resistance

The Groundwork movement: its role in neighbourhood renewal

The Groundwork movement began with the establishment of the first local Trust in 1981. Now there are almost 50 Trusts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. All undertake community-based, comprehensive regeneration work, often in the most deprived communities. A study of Groundwork's role in neighbourhood renewal has shown how intensive, patient and above all long-term activity, rooted in the needs and aspirations of local communities, can help rebuild confidence, trust and lay the foundations for renewal. The study found that: - Groundwork has successfully intervened to stimulate a wide range of projects in the most difficult neighbourhoods, where other agencies are reluctant to go. - Its local involvement has frequently exerted significant influence over the practices of mainstream agencies. - Groundwork invariably works with and through local communities, and in all cases local community organisations had been strengthened by Groundwork's presence. - However, the study also detected a lack of administrative rigour in some cases, and a reluctance to undertake detailed monitoring. - Some local Trusts were reluctant to 'market' the organisation, and thus are not disseminating their experience sufficiently widely. - Extensive capacity building is a precondition if residents in long-neglected communities are to exert real influence over regeneration programmes. - For Groundwork, as for other neighbourhood renewal agencies, keeping pace with the development of the neighbourhood renewal agenda - which is already leading to staff shortages in some crucial areas - requires substantial investment in staff development (and retention), to ensure an adequate supply of skills is available. - The researchers conclude that the extent of deprivation on many estates means that significant change cannot be achieved except in the very long term and while housing policy concentrates the most vulnerable in particular neighbourhoods high levels of continuing support will be necessary

Christ and Saints Edition

ASLItsoReligionSpring IntramuralsMisprint of the date (1997-03-21) on the title page.Went with cover data (1997-04-04

Year in Review

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