Introduction

Local Matters in Action provides examples of how effective community engagement benefits both service providers and local residents, increasing opportunities for active citizenship and community leadership.

Cumbria has many hundreds of diverse communities, challenged by a variety of local issues including rural isolation and urban disadvantage.

We have many different ways of engaging with individuals and groups and many different techniques which we can deploy depending on the issue and situation. This website suggests just some of these options. 

We have brought together examples of good practice, from across Cumbria and have tried to combine the ‘local’ with the ‘strategic’, showing how partnership work and effective engagement of local people can make a difference to the delivery of services and an influence on decision-making. Through this process local people in local communities should benefit from recognisable improvements to their quality of life.

In Local Matters we produced a checklist for effective community engagement and some advice on good practice. The examples in this publication, form part of our learning process and are evidence of the good work which has recently been undertaken in Cumbria.

The Council recognises that community engagement is essentially underpinned by community development, which builds the capacity of residents. This allows them to become fully informed and empowered to work in partnership and address issues that affect them. The Council understands engagement as a two-way process, through which local communities can effectively express aspirations and concerns to those responsible for policies and services delivery. 

Residents bring concerns both positive and worrying. Neighbourhood forums are one potential starting point for a new project where ideas are discussed, community views canvassed and other interested parties found. Support is offered in officer time and grant aid to community projects