The stories describe Stockbridge Village as a friendly community that many residents feel a lifelong connection to. There is a wealth of community activity going on in the area, and development is underway to offer updated and purpose-built community spaces. Residents do, however, mourn the loss of the neighbourhood gazette, as they feel it is harder for people to find out what is going on in the area without this in circulation.

Stockbridge Village’s residents feel a strong connection to their area and community, and love to get involved in supporting their neighbours. Community activities are thriving in the area, supported by dedicated individuals giving up their time and expertise to work together for the benefit of others. Stories mention the community spaces that are important to bringing people together, and their hopes for the new ones being developed, which will help the area “blossom”. However, residents are worried that, without the circulation of the Stockbridge Village gazette, there is a lack of connection between the various bits of activity that are happening, and between residents who are currently less involved and “connected” to community activities.

Want to explore more? Then listen to some story extracts that have informed this insight briefing
by clicking on the links below:
• Life in Stockbridge Village Story Extract 1
• Life in Stockbridge Village Story Extract 2

You can view all of the stories gathered during the Community Conversations project here.

PVM have been working alongside Camden Disability Action training participants in Community Reporting. Collecting lived experiences of employment and the workplace with people who have Disabilities and/or long-term health conditions. 

This source of lived experience is the starting point of a co-production process with Camden council and to kick this off PVM and Camden Disability Action facilitated an online ‘Conversation of Change’ workshop.

During this workshop a short film was shown of the stories that were gathered during the Community Reporting process. These powerful stories of lived experience became the starting point for Camden residents and service providers to get together and plant the seeds of change in their local area. 

The workshop allowed everyone to reflect on the stories they had heard, relating them to their own life experiences and this was the focus of discussion in small groups.

Helping everyone to ‘shoot for the moon’ the workshop opened up the idea of the ‘dreamer state’. Posing the question ‘If you could have a dream service what would it look like?’ This approach inspired people to think a little bit out of the box. By the end of the workshop people had come up with initial ideas that of services that had imagination and gave hope.  

Camden Disability Action, the local Disabled resident’s and the council will now be collaborating and co-creating a local service together ensuring that the services are led by people who are Disabled or have long term health conditions and using these initial ideas as the foundation.

Kath Peters – PVM Project Manager

Last November I started to work with a group of community champions on a digital inclusion project called ‘Creative Connections’ at the CatStrand Arts Centre in New Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway. The CatStrand Arts Centre is based in a semi-remote rural area in Southwest Scotland, and it is an essential resource where local people can get together to participate in arts, crafts and well-being activities.

The project was initiated because of the impact of lockdown on the CatStrand in reaching out and staying in touch with its local audience. During this difficult time the CatStrand streamed arts events throughout lockdown and although this was a successful way to reach an audience many of their local audience were not accessing their content.

The community champions were trained as Community Reporters and explored ways to use Community Reporting in a creative way. The aim of the project is to encourage residents to embrace the use of digital technology and to discover how it can be used in a creative and interesting way.

Despite the project being held up due to lockdown the community champions have developed technical and creative skills as well as embracing the ethos of Community Reporting and have been using the methodology in their work.

Kath Peters – PVM project manager 

Co-Engage (an Erasmus+ project) was a cross sectoral project addressing the intersection of the key competence of Lifelong Learning through its methodology and partnership. By exploring the diversity of approaches of co-creation such as entrepreneurship-building, active citizenship, environmental quality, social inclusion, digital literacy, local policies, formal and non-formal education etc.

One of our key deliverables for the project was an e-book of co-creation best practices from across Europe but, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided as a consortium to produce two e-books, with one focussing on co-creation practices that emerged from lockdowns across the continent.

The e-book’s are now available to download using the below links.

Citizens as Co-Designer: Practices on how to engage citizens in community building

COVID Responses: Citizens as actors in a global crisis

At the end of August the Co-Engage project will come to an end and last week saw out its final meeting, hosted by our Polish partners in Warsaw. It was a somewhat sad end to the project for PVM as we were unable to travel for one last in-person meet-up and, instead, had to settle for dialling in on Zoom.

As we move towards the final reporting stage, we also look forward to the publication of the project’s e-book, which we will link to on this blog as soon as it’s available.