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• Firm Foundations: The Government's Framework for Community Capacity Building

Communities and neighbourhoods

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Summary

Firm Foundations published at the Together We Can conference on the 08 December 2004 is the governments framework for community capacity building. It follows the Building Civil Renewal review and consultation and describes the steps being taken by government to enable more communities to help themselves and engage more effectively with public bodies.

158 voluntary and community organisations took part in the consultation, which was welcomed as 'timely' and 'provoking much needed discussion'. There was overwhelming support for the definition of community capacity building suggested by the report, and for the six key values and eight key principles proposed in the consultation paper.

The themes emerging from the consultation were:

• the importance of long term resourcing for community organisations: this would show commitment to the civil renewal agenda and lead to sustainability The need for easier access to funding
• better and more consistent training of community workers
• more recognition of the good work already being undertaken at community level and the will to build on this
• more awareness and acceptance that 'one size does not fit all'
• The need to encourage a 'bottom' up approach
• the importance of support for citizens and communities at neighbourhood or community level, and endorsement of the key components set out in the consultation paper

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• Firm Foundations: The Government's Framework for Community Capacity Building
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