Hi All,

Does anyone have any good examples of communities using social media to engage people  in community planning activities? Lots have Facebook, Twitter etc. but I am looking for good practice -  effective, demonstrable benefits.

PLANED wishes to appoint a consultant to undertake a review of relevant engagement techniques If you are interested in  this work email me & I will forward the brief.  jessicam@planed.org.uk

There is a short timescale deadline for quotes 11/5/12

Feasta - the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability http://www.feasta.org , based in Ireland, has adopted the position that many of the world’s problems are caused by dysfunctional systems and sees its purpose as designing better ones.

Part of our work is looking at the role that local currencies may or may not play in rebuilding local economies. The Feasta Currency Group is a CoP for currency advocates and activists based primarily…

Colleagies and contacts have recommended some more toolkits etc on involving young people.  They are:

• https://czone.eastsussex.gov.uk/supportingchildren/youth/youthparticipation/toolkits/Documents/Czone%20Essentials%20Participation.pdf…

Amazing Harris Trip and start of something really exciting!

Between the 11^th and 14^th of April the sun shone, the North Harris Trust were fantastic hosts and the young people did themselves proud. They worked hard, played hard (kayaking, surfing, mountain biking etc) and socialised even harder (and to late at night in the hotel).  This was the second times the young people (ages 14 -18) from North Harris, Twechar, Strathdearn, North Argyll, Kirriemuir…

Was so impressed with the young people I met on Harris and their enthusiasm to take control (set up a Steering Group) to organise the next trip.  Callum Galpin from Comrie offered to set up the facebook page and help keep things moving.  I've contacted Callum to get things moving re the Steering Group.

Equally, I've contacted all the adult support workers who were on Harris to get their views on the trip and the next steps.

Lets keep our eyes on the blog posts and see what…

My colleague Ross Rabette has penned a few words on the reason for LocalSwitch and our shared mission..

The LocalSwitch Story

The problem

Second highest youth unemployment rate in Europe

Over the last six years, Ireland has seen huge changes in it's economy, which has massively impacted the economic prospects of it’s population. Over 1 in 3…

SO after three months of planning we've formed a development board, got a charity number and have worked out a six stage process that any village, town or suburb can use to get 'SWITCHED'. 

'Switch' over to locally owned energy, food and transport infrastructure;

'Switch' off energy and food imports and

'Switch' on to resilient, Co2 reductive, job creating businesses.

________

Local Switch Associations have already formed in Borrisokane, North Tipp. Foynes,…

I wanted to bring everyone’s attention to a case study that I have recently written about how the rural village of Wray, in northern Lancashire, came together to get broadband access for the community. Internet access has become crucial to how our societies function – it forms an integral part of how we do business, interact, and gather information. Those without internet access are put at a disadvantage. Here’s a great fact I saw yesterday that highlights how important the internet has…

Details of current vacancies

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AEH024/partnership-and-support-manager-higher-education/
http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/employer/204070/unltd/

Last week, Nick Wilding and I were invited to a meeting of the North of Scotland Public Health Network, to share our work on assets and community resilience. The event was aimed at helping professionals get to grips with how assets approaches might be implemented in the public health sphere, particularly in rural contexts, following Chief Medical Officer Harry Burns' challenge to think and act differently. The organisers had worked hard to take an assets approach to the design of the day,…

i have recently published as a free download: What makes us healthy? The asset approach in practice: evidence, action, evaluation (Foot 2012)…

Diversity and acceptance in rural communities was the topic of the day when more than 90 delegates from the voluntary, private and public sectors met to discuss how Herefordshire can become a more inclusive county.

The conference, organised by The Rural Media Company as…

'What Makes Us Healthy? The asset approach in practice: evidence, action evaluation' (Foot 2012) is now available as a free download on Jane Foot's website - www.janefoot.co.uk/page3/index.html

The follow up to 'A Glass Half Full' (Foot & Hopkins 2010), the publication "will inspire and support those who want to look again at what they are doing to improve health and wellbeing…

I am looking to start an 'Information Bank' on involving young people in projects.  

Everyone I have spoken to recommend this site and the resources on it - Participation Works - check it out.

Let me know if you have any documents to add.  My starters for 10 are are attached.…

My colleague Chris tells me that the organisation for the young people's trip to Harris 11-14th April is shaping up nicely.  Full programme will be coming soon.  I hear we are fast approaching the 20 people target for the trip.

Lots of fantastic outdoor activities, beach barbeque, ceilidh....and helping to shape a major national youth conference being run in June under the 'Young, Gifted and Rural Programme' being run by SCVO's Rural Network.

Like most folk who are going I am…

Interested in taking part?

Did anyone catch the Guardian's live online Q&A this afternoon, on funding community action? The participants and expert panel covered some interesting ground... the challenges and opportunities of service and asset transfer predictably among the hot topics. You can still view the discussion here -…

• What topics do you want Fiery Spirits Community of Practice to focus on?
• Have any of the resources CoP members produced last year been useful?
• What web features should we improve or develop?
• Should Fiery Spirits merge with other network(s) or go it alone in the future?

A members' survey opens today.... please take five…

Hi everyone



I’m writing to let you know about the launch of a new topic group – Mapping Community Assets. This builds on the work done by members of this CoP, my colleagues at IACD, Carnegie and others, leading to the publication of ‘Appreciating Assets’. The report seems to have struck chords as well as raising questions... and quite a few people have told us they’d welcome more insights into how asset mapping happens in practice.



I'm delighted to be the new Carnegie…