Guidance was published designed to help local authorities encourage community cohesion. It said that steps should be taken to counter segregated housing, schooling and leisure activities that have led to different communities in the same areas leading separate and 'parallel' lives.
Source: Guidance on Community Cohesion, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000), Home Office, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Commission for Racial Equality and Interfaith Network
Links: Guidance (pdf) | Press release
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123, paragraph 8.1
Date: 2002-Dec
Researchers evaluated a programme aimed at improving both financial literacy and basic skills among socially excluded adults.
Source: Sue McMeeking, Robert Smith, Anne Lines, Louise Dartnall and Sandie Schagen, Evaluation of the Community Development Programme in Financial Literacy and Basic Skills: Summary Report, National Foundation for Educational Research (01753 747281)
Links: Summary report (Word file)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123, paragraph 1.3
Date: 2002-Dec
The government launched a new funding programme to develop community cohesion across England and Wales. Up to 15 local authority areas will participate. The 'Community Cohesion Pathfinder Programme', aimed at promoting better integration of different racial and ethnic groups, will have an initial budget of 6 million.
Source: Community Cohesion Pathfinder Programme: Prospectus for Local Authorities and Partners, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Prospectus (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123, paragraph 8.1
Date: 2002-Dec
A study examined the role of unpaid community workers. It concluded that current definitions of community work tend to place paid workers in the dominant role, imparting knowledge and expertise, rather than the equal partnership that should and does exist.
Source: Maire Gaffney, Study of Unpaid Community Workers, Standing Conference for Community Development (0114 270 1718) and Community Development Foundation
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Dec
The emerging findings were published of a research project to review guidance and literature on community involvement and pull out implications for the implementation of urban policy.
Source: Community Involvement: The Roots of Renaissance?, Urban Research Summary 5, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (fax: 020 7944 4527)
Links: Report
Date: 2002-Nov
A study examined governance mechanisms in various neighbourhoods to identify how local involvement can be applied to mixed tenure areas. It found that, even in areas where community governance is working quite successfully, alienation and a feeling of distance from the sources of power and influence will not be changed quickly.
Source: Martin Knox with David Alcock, Anna Roderick and John Iles, Approaches to Community Governance: Models for mixed tenure communities, Policy Press for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: JRF Findings N102
Date: 2002-Nov
A study examined how measures might be applied to judge whether communities are flourishing. It proposed a set of 16 factors which together might indicate the state of community life in a particular area.
Source: Gabriel Chanan, Measures of Community, Community Development Foundation (020 7226 5375) and Active Community Unit/Home Office
Links: Report (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/2, Digest 122, paragraph 4.6
Date: 2002-Oct