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This handbook is a companion volume to What works in assessing community participation? (The Policy Press, 2004) which documents the results of the road testing of two earlier frameworks for assessing community participation - Benchmarking community involvement in regeneration (Yorkshire Forward, 2000) and Auditing community participation: An assessment handbook (The Policy Press, 2000).
Making community participation meaningful outlines key considerations that are necessary to ensure that community participation is effective; provides detailed sets of questions to enable stakeholders to assess the extent to which the indicators of success are being met; highlights a variety of resources which can be used by community groups to generate information and insight into the key issues and offers the real prospect of a commonly accepted assessment framework which has the authority to be adopted across sectors.
SECTION ONE: Introduction: What is the purpose of such a detailed framework? What is community participation?; Why is community participation essential?; Key principles which have underpinned our work; What these frameworks can be used for; Key lessons from the road testing of the original frameworks; The structure of the framework; SECTION TWO: A new framework: Health warning; Applying the framework; Additional advice;
SECTION THREE: Reflective questions for addressing key considerations: 1 What different communities exist within your locality?; 2 Who or what has determined the rules in your partnership or for your initiative?; 3 What is the balance of power within the partnership/initiative?; 4 In what ways, and to what extent, are communities involved?; 5 What level of investment is there in community participation?; 6 Is there strong leadership to support community participation?; 7 Do decision-making structures allow for local diversity?; 8 Are you able to work in a joined-up way?; 9 Are service structures compatible with community participation?; 10 Is your group able to run in an effective and inclusive way?; 11 How does your group or organisation ensure that its representatives on committees and boards are accountable?; 12 How effective is your information and communication?; 13 Do you have an effective approach to community and organisational learning?; 14 Has participation made any difference? SECTION FOUR: Tools and exercises: A: Speedos; B Steps and barriers; C: Stakeholder cards; D: Objectives exercise; E: Drawings and pictures; F: Spider's web maps; G: Level of participation scale; H: Meetings checklist; I: The 'hats' form; J: The decision trail; K: Recording meetings.