A Partnership Approach to Cohesion Wigan Borough Partnership first made a public Statement of Commitment to Community Cohesion in 2002.
Following this it;
- formed a Cohesion Commission to take an in-depth analysis of the state of cohesion in Wigan
- adopted the commission’s report “Embracing Change” as the basis of its cohesion strategy
- agreed six outcomes that would demonstrate a cohesive Wigan with these principles adopted by all partners
- recently formed a cohesion, equality and engagement delivery group as part of its Building Stronger Communities Partnership and agreed annual cohesion priorities
Telling our Cohesion Story
This summary tells the story of the work since April 2008. ‘Embracing Change’ described how persistent and unacceptable inequality goes to the heart of integration and cohesion in Wigan; that a cohesive community is an inclusive one and that the partnership had an opportunity to re-energise its approach to social inclusion. This is the approach the partnership has taken forward. The work described here shows how we have approached cohesion as an outcome, our goal, and not as a discrete strategy or series of actions labelled as cohesion. We have;
- Developed cohesion as a by product of the way we do business
- Carried out work to foster participation, a sense of community
- Targeted work with specific groups or communities to address barriers to inclusion
- Worked to resolve ‘rubbing points’ that cause tension and breed resentment
We are doing a lot, and we feel the things we’re doing are successful, but we clearly need to more. This summary doesn’t try to capture all of our work in the past two years but does illustrate the approach we are taking. It also helps us to think about what we can learn from what we’ve been doing and about the gaps that need to be filled.
The summary touches on some of the work carried out by 3rd sector organisations in the borough. The contribution of voluntary and community groups to cohesion is central and very significant – a successful partnership approach needs to understand and acknowledge this.
Measuring Effectiveness
The work we have carried out can be measured against different benchmarks;
- A range of national indicators including NI2 and NI7, which are described as cohesion measures. However, these broad brush measures alone do not provide a robust analysis of performance and there is an opportunity to develop a local ‘basket’ of indicators to complement these
The six outcomes agreed by the partnership in 2008;
- People in communities know their rights and responsibilities and act in responsible ways that respect the rights of others
- People from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities, access to services and treatment
- People have a strong sense of trust in institutions locally to act fairly and have a stake in the vision for their community
- People in communities recognise the contribution of those who have newly arrived (migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers)
- People have deep attachments to a particular place, with a focus on what they have in common
- People are connected and have positive relationships with people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and other settings within neighbourhoods.
The summary is ordered against these six outcomes. The partnership is clearly carrying out significant work against each of its declared aims but we are often unable to make a direct connection between our actions and positive change in communities. Addressing this might involve developing local indicators that would measure cohesion impact consistently across all partnership work but could also involve reviewing the outcomes themselves. What do these outcomes mean to the partnership in terms of principle and practice? - the four priority actions agreed by the partnership for 2009/10;
- working with local communities to explore what ‘belonging’ in Wigan borough should mean
- mapping our community in terms of disadvantaged groups
- a media campaign, setting a tone locally of valuing and celebrating diversity
- implementing the WARM (Welcoming Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrants) strategy
Please see below the Cohesion report for 2010
