Purpose

To allocate Pride in Place grant funding to eligible local voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations to undertake community engagement and outreach activity in Matson, Robinswood and White City, supporting meaningful resident participation in the development and delivery of the Pride in Place programme. Grants are subject to the terms of the relevant grant agreements, and awarded following an application process, and by agreement of the PiP Board.

Decision

To allocate Pride in Place grant funding to eligible local voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations to undertake community engagement and outreach activity in Matson, Robinswood and White City, supporting meaningful resident participation in the development and delivery of the Pride in Place programme.  Grants are subject to the terms of the relevant grant agreements, and awarded following an application process, and by agreement of the PiP Board.

Reasons for the decision

The Council has been awarded grant funding by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government under the Pride in Place Programme for delivery in Matson and Robinswood. A Neighbourhood Board has been established to develop a Pride in Place Plan.

Allocating funding to local and trusted organisations will enable engagement to be delivered through organisations that have established relationships, knowledge and connections within the community. This approach will help keep capacity and investment rooted locally and strengthen opportunities for residents to participate in the programme.

This is consistent with the existing Pride in Place approach, under which local organisations have been supported to provide communications, coordination and resident participation capacity for the Neighbourhood Board.

Alternative options considered

Alternative options considered:

1. Do not allocate funding for community engagement.
This would reduce the dedicated capacity available to engage residents and could limit opportunities for local people to contribute to the development and delivery of the Pride in Place programme.

2. Deliver all engagement directly through Council staff.
This was not preferred because local organisations have established neighbourhood knowledge and trusted community relationships. Using locally rooted organisations also supports the programme's intention to strengthen community capacity.

3. Use a single organisation to undertake all engagement activity.
This was not preferred as working through a range of appropriate local organisations can enable engagement activity to draw upon different established community connections and reach residents through locally trusted relationships.