Today we have a guest blog from Becca, a Community Reporter from the Glenkens in Scotland and one of the participants in our Cultural Bridge project, who has just got back from an exciting exchange trip to Cologne. Over to Becca to tell us more about the project and share some of her travel diaries…thank you Becca!

Cultural Bridge is a charity which supports arts and cultural organisations across the UK and Germany to develop partnerships that explore social arts practice. This year, People’s Voice Media has teamed up with Agora Köln in a project that explores motivations for civic participation in the remote, rural Scottish area called The Glenkens, and Sülz: a suburb of Cologne. 

Sülz is a district of Cologne with a population of around 36000, situated in the west of the city, and is a popular residential suburb with a wealth of green spaces. The Glenkens, comprising the settlements adjoining the Water of Ken and Loch Ken, is situated in Dumfries and Galloway. Its land area is about the same size as the West Midlands region, which has a population of over 6 million. By contrast, the Glenkens population is around 4000. The project focuses on two volunteer-run spaces formerly under the control of the local authority: Sternplatz, a community greenspace and meeting place in Cologne, and the Glenkens Community Centre, which is now owned by the Dalry Community Properties Trust after a community asset transfer from Dumfries and Galloway Council.  

Over the last few months, Glenkens-based volunteers have taken part in training sessions to become community reporters, interviewing other volunteers from the area using their newly learned techniques. And following an initial zoom meeting where the team met their German counterparts, the first section of the exchange trip took place in early October when Kath, Sarah and Becca (who has written this blog) flew from Edinburgh to Cologne for a three day visit.  

Trip Diary – Monday 5^th October

Arriving in Sülz in the early evening, we met up with Gabi from Agora Köln (as well as Maggie, her inseparable canine companion) for a quick look around the area before darkness settled. We visited Beethoven Park, and Gabi took us to see the Witches’ Circle – an instant link with the Glenkens, as we have our own legendary Witches Score on Waterside Hill! Although the legend is that the circle was scored onto the hill to keep the witches out… Gabi showed us some of the local sights, and outlined our itinerary for the next two days, which were going to be packed with meetings and opportunities to learn more about volunteering opportunities and motivations in Cologne.  

Trip Diary – Tuesday 6^th October

We breakfasted in the sun with Gabi and Maggie at “Wo ist Tom?”, an inclusive café founded by Lebenshilfe Köln to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities – similar to The Usual Place in Dumfries. Suitably fortified, we set out to learn more about some of the community projects in Sülz, guided by Gabi. 

First, we visited the Sülzer Triangel urban garden, one of the many projects of an amazing organisation called Schmitzundkunzt (more later….). In 2023, residents worked together to build the raised beds that they would then take responsibility for over the coming year (watch the video here!), with one section of the garden allocated to Theodor-Heuss-Realschule, a secondary school overlooking the site. Support from the local council and parks department was vital, as the triangle is situated in a landscape conservation area, and fruit and vegetable growing on site would have been very difficult without the support of the local authority in granting access to the city’s water supply for onsite irrigation.  

From here, Gabi led us through the streets of Sülz for a whistle-stop tour of other interesting projects. We saw some giant Sülz Sunflowers and visited the market. Next, we visited Büdchen Casablanca. A Büdchen is a small convenience store, also known as a Kiosk; primarily selling food and drink, some offer a far wider range of goods on sale or even host events. Büdchen Casablanca offers the traditional confectionery, newspaper, wines and spirits, but also a vintage market and upcycled crafts. People can enjoy food and drink at the Büdchen, and this small space also hosts cultural events including live music. 

Gabi pointed out Juzi – a state-funded youth space which hosts classes, after school clubs, school holiday childcare, and a place to access support from youth workers. The facility was founded in the 1908s as a community initiative, and has since expanded from a volunteer-run space for older teenagers to its current status as a ‘haus für alle’ – house for everyone – catering for children and young people of all ages. As the centre was in use, we weren’t able to go into the building, but popped into its pleasant, shady garden. 

Our next stop was another Büdchen offering refreshments and culture – Büdchen am Nikolausplatz, where we met Madalen, one of the regular volunteers at the Kiosk. Unlike Büdchen Casablanca, this is a volunteer-run space featuring a free book swap library, and the kiosk offers snacks, hot and cold drinks, as well as concerts and community sing-along events. We discussed the difficulties of balancing volunteering with work time but also the way that such community spaces are vital as a place to bring people of all ages together. 

We had a flying visit to take our first look at Sternplatz. It was great to see it in person, having looked at photos and chatted with some of the Sternplatz volunteers on Zoom about the work that led to it becoming a treasured community space, and the challenges that had been encountered on the way. Then it was on for a coffee at Impact Café, linked to the Impact Coffee roastery, a Cologne-based startup which roasts Ethiopian coffee beans, and invests profits back into projects in Ethiopia promoting the reuse and recycling of plastic. 

Then – on to Klettenplätzchen, a small community space with ambitions to expand, reclaimed for the community from cars by occupying parking spaces. We met four of the volunteers involved in the project, which grew from an experimental space where planters were used to mark out two parking spaces for people to sit and socialise, to the current setup, where the bench and planters are on a raised decking area. Volunteers commented that some drivers have expressed annoyance at parking being given over to this people-focused area, but express no annoyance at the other parked cars, which sit there unused for the vast majority of the time. By contrast, the seating area is used throughout the day and evening as a meeting place and a place to sit in the sun, read a book or chat.  

The temporary structure has the permission of the local authority to remain in place, and the group hopes that it may be possible to expand into a further parking space in future. The fact that what feels like a spacious, green seating area can fit into just two parking spaces really demonstrates what a wasteful use of space cars are, particularly in a city like Cologne which has such brilliant public transport and (in many places) good cycle infrastructure. All of the volunteers that we chatted to had lived in the area for some time, but had not met until the Klettenplätzchen project started, demonstrating again the benefits that community-led spaces that are open to all can bring. 

Our next stop was SchmitzundKunzt’s headquarters on Luxemburgerstraße. This organisation, founded by Günter “Günni” Schmitt, supports and runs a huge range of projects to further sustainability, community and creativity in the local area and beyond. Hartwig welcomed us and introduced us to Günni before taking us on a tour round the building. First, we visited the ‘Dingsbums Tausch’ or ‘thingymajig exchange’ – a place where people can donate unwanted goods, or collect for free, which aims to reduce consumer waste, and support people who need something to reuse rather than buying new. It’s a light, attractive space full of useful and interesting things – and there is also the opportunity to reycyle items like corks, CDs etc., all of which go to raise funds for other organisations. Financial donations are invited at a ‘pay what you can afford’ level to ensure that the space works for those in financial hardship.  

Upstairs is the studio space, hosting a resident artist and a range of sessions including arts, crafts and DIY meetups and classes. Other projects include urban gardening (the Sülz Triangel that we visited earlier and others), plant exchanges (rescuing plants otherwise destined for disposal), bike hire (including cargo bikes and e-bikes) and cycle servicing, a repair café…. We had a really positive chat with Hartwig, Günni and many of the other volunteers active at Schmitzundkunzt after our tour, all of us keen to build further links between The Glenkens and Sülz that outlive this project. We were also coached in the correct way to toast in German (clinking the bottom of glasses and maintaining eye-contact throughout) – vital information for a true cultural exchange! 

Tuesday wrapped up with a lovely gathering in Sternplatz – a chance to meet the Sternplatz volunteers and representatives of other local groups in person and to experience how the space works as an informal gathering place for sharing food and drink and conversation. It was also great to chat with representatives of project funders Cultural Bridge. As well as conversations around local volunteering, we also chatted about social justice, standing together against the rise of racism and other discrimination in society fuelled by social media disinformation, and being stronger when we work together. 

Trip diary – Wednesday 7^th October

After breakfast, we met up with Gabi and Maggie to set off for Ehrenfeld, another neighbourhood of Cologne. Our walk took us past another community garden with raised beds and patches of ground with ‘Patenschaft’ markers. These markers can be seen on planted patches throughout the area, signifying that members of the community had applied and received approval from the local authority to take over their stewardship.  

Gabi planned a route to take us past the historic Neptune Baths before seeing some of the street art which the area is known for – including murals (some with 3d elements), graffiti, moveable art trains which can be relocated at the request of residents who want to host it on their street for a while, stencils, stickers…  All together makes for a lively and colourful neighbourhood.  

The Allerwelthaus was our next stop. This former school is now an intercultural meeting centre which works to combat racism and the politics of social exclusion, offering education, support, orientation and a meeting place to support and empower those who are marginalised and disadvantaged.  

Julia gave us a tour around the building, which was full of activity. German language classes were taking place at a range of levels, from complete beginner to advanced. There is a theatre space and an art studio, a dining hall, another classroom where yoga lessons were taking place at the time of our visit, as well as staff offices. In the outdoor space there is a covered seating area, permaculture beds, and regular opportunities for volunteer involvement. 

Allerweltshaus is an inspiring organisation, full of activity and energy, clearly making a positive difference for so many people, responding to and led by the needs of its users.  Following our tour, we were invited to join the Allerweltshaus team for a delicious lunch, cooked by Mohammad, their talented volunteer chef. We chatted about the differences and similarities between the Glenkens and Cologne, volunteering and civic participation and our respective organisations. 

Having spent all our time in Cologne so far in the more residential neighbourhoods of Sülz and Ehrenfeld, we set out to visit some of the tourist hotspots – first, Gabi told us all about the carnival traditions in Cologne. Unfortunately this happens in February, so we weren’t around! However, the tradition is to shout ‘Kölle Alaaf’ which means (as I understand) ‘Cologne is better than anywhere else’ – which is why the word ‘alaaf’ stands on the harbourside beside the city crest wearing a jester’s hat. Behind this can be seen the Crane Houses which feature a design first conceived of by El Lissitzky in 1924, then updated and realised in the early 2000s.  

The Chocolate Museum was nearby, and alongside the giant variety of confectionery items in the gift shop we were amused to see a generous selection of Scottish produce, including highland cattle painted by an artist based in neighbouring Ayrshire! We then caught the ‘Bimmelbahn’ or Chocolate Train, which gave us the opportunity to see some of the sights in the Old Town before we got out at the very impressive Cathedral. Gabi and Maggie were extremely patient – and when we had finished our sightseeing, Gabi very kindly presented us with a gift to remember our trip – a glass each with the cathedral spires on, and some Eau de Cologne. 

Thanks to Gabi’s efficient planning and organisation, we packed a huge amount into our short time in Cologne, meeting lots of volunteers and learning about lots of organisations, gaining a better understanding of the similarities and differences between our communities, and finding new sources of inspiration through our conversations. We’re really looking forward to continuing to work together and especially to hosting our German visitors in the Glenkens in early spring 2027!

Ripple Effect Mapping is a hugely useful and flexible evaluation tool for those working in communities and change-making, dealing with trying to make change on social issues where benefits aren’t always immediate, obvious or tangible. As part of our recent work with Bristol City Council on the evaluation of their Community Resilience Fund, People’s Voice Media led four Ripple Effect Mapping sessions with people representing community organisations that had received grant funding for capital projects. In this blog, Lauren Wallace-Thompson, our Communications and Community Engagement Manager, gives our top 6 reasons that we love to employ this tool to support partners, communities and clients with evaluation and learning.

Does it seem a little OTT to have a favourite evaluation tool? I’ve been a researcher for over 15 years now, and to be honest, the word “methodologies” still kind of brings me out in a cold sweat. At People’s Voice Media, we spend a lot of time bigging up the importance of “qualitative” data (that is, data other than pure numbers – which could be words, feelings, pictures, videos). We collect lots of stories from individuals via our Community Reporting method, and use these to create datasets of people’s experiences in their own words. Sometimes however, we want to “zoom out” slightly, and look at the bigger picture. Where we are trying to create change in a community, a system, an organisation or on a social issue, we need a way to capture all the various ways in which an intervention has an impact.

Enter, stage right, waving a flipchart marker pen: Ripple Effect Mapping. It’s a people-powered, flexible tool for discovering what has changed. It has lots of great features, and you can find out a bit more about how the process works on our previous blog. It involves getting people together in a room with a giant sheet of paper and some marker pens, and really thinking through all the changes that have happened. In the case of the Bristol City Council work, the “intervention” was funding for capital improvements awarded to 56 community organisations or projects. But it could be anything – the results of a campaign, a change in policy, a training programme, a social action, a charitable act.

Here are 6 things that we love about using Ripple Effect Mapping for evaluation:

1. It’s collaborative

Ripple Effect Mapping is always most powerful when undertaken in groups to make the most of the “hive mind”, and to gather perspectives from different parts of an organisation. You can bring in views and ideas from senior management, volunteers, beneficiaries, trustees, project coordinators, local residents and more. Different people will have experienced the changes in different ways, and observed things others haven’t. It really makes the most of collective knowledge.

2. It gives over power to the people who understand best

Ripple Effect Mapping hands over the identification of impact to the people with the real expertise. Can an external evaluator judge exactly what changes have occurred? Can they notice subtle and unintended consequences (especially that go beyond those stated on the initial project brief, for example)? Well, maybe. But probably not as much as someone who has been embedded in the organisation, or lives in the community, and has witnessed the change first-hand.

3. It’s flexible

Sometimes evaluation markers can be set from the outset of a project – and they remain fixed. Which means that other things that change might be overlooked.

Ripple Effect Mapping starts with a blank sheet of paper, which means there’s no parameters on what can be recorded and tracked.

For this reason, we always say that it’s good for tracking:

• both postive and negative outcomes
• expected and unexpected consequences
• intentional and unintended results
• direct impacts, and others that are more tangential
• changes that have already occurred, and things that are now in progress for the future

4. It’s genuinely joyful

Of all the different sessions I deliver when facilitating with People’s Voice Media, it’s Ripple Effect Mapping sessions that I look forward to the most. For lots of organisations or community groups, it’s the first time they’ve ever stepped back and put down all their achievements and successes down on paper, and they are often both surprised and proud (rightly so!) at the impact of their work. We do always make sure as facilitators that the group spends some time considering any downsides, challenges or misfires that have occurred, but overwhelmingly these sessions are full of positivity and celebration.

5. It tells a story

A key part of our Ripple Effect Mapping sessions is where we ask participants to talk us through their maps. This really gives people the chance to process all that they’ve discovered into a narrative that shows a journey of change, improvement and learning. This in itself can be a really powerful moment for a community or organisation, where they recognise their own capacity to create change. And you know how fond of a story we are here at People’s Voice Media!

6. It can be longitudinal

Or perhaps we should make that, it should be longitudinal. With many projects, interventions or changes, it can take a long time to see the full picture of the real world impacts that are created. The old “Rome wasn’t built in a day” cliche holds especially true when you’re dealing with complex social issues or within rigid systems where change can be slow.

Ripple Effect Mapping is really useful for tracking change over time, and supporting continuous learning and improvement. We often recommend that groups repeat the Ripple Effect Mapping process at intervals both during and after a project (say every six or 12 months), or after key milestones are achieved. A snapshot immediately after a project finishes might not give enough time for the impact “ripples” to have worked through and spread out, so try doing a Ripple Effect Map again 6 months down the line, and compare the two to get a fuller picture of those longer-term impacts and changes.

“This approach to evaluation was an exciting venture for us. It has allowed us to be creative and highlight the real life impacts of our work – we often get stuck behind figures, so it’s been fantastic to bring the fund’s impacts to life. We’re already, as a team, using the REM tool in other areas of work, so this project has given us all some professional skills!” – Bristol City Council Community Development Team

And one thing we don’t love so much…

It’s messy. Oh, it’s messy. Getting the sprawling thoughts of a group of people down on paper in a limited amount of time can mean that some of those maps look like a toddler has been let loose with the felt tips. That’s okay, though – it’s all part of the process and we’re here to help hold you in the chaos. That’s why it is really helpful to have someone external to come in and facilitate the process, adding in some structure and ensuring there is time for interpretation and explanation, and then working to extract and analyse the data from the maps into useful learning and action.

If you would like People’s Voice Media to design and facilitate a Ripple Effect Mapping process to support your organisation with its learning and evaluation, please get in touch. Just email enquiries@peoplesvoicemedia.co.uk or leave us a comment below!

As some of our Community Reporter Network members will know, we host regular Community Reporter Catch-Ups where we share practice, news about our projects, and hear about what people across our network are up to. December’s meet-up was extra special as we were joined by a group of Community Researchers from the University of Reading, who have been working on a project about food, community and equality. They showed us the new handbook they’ve written together, which is a guide to becoming a Community Researcher. In this blog, Community Researcher Vandy Butcher shares her experiences of working as a Community Researcher and on putting together the guidebook.

How to become a Community Researcher – this book is a guideline we’ve created to help you decide if this is what you want to do, in a fun way! As I was put in the deep end and did not know what I was getting into, I hope it can be useful for you.

This book is about people who care about the community.

People in the community want change in all sorts of ways. Being a community researcher, what we do is to help get evidence and to share advice and to support the community. It’s not just about food, but what we found out will open up ideas on how to manage food better, maybe to make changes in your life.

We also looked at the policy in the food industry, how things are prepared, processed, the labelling on products, and getting offers which sometimes are overlooked when you do shopping.

I found working as a community researcher is very enjoyable, it has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I’ve made friends near and far with other community researcher visiting their towns, their workplace and sharing knowledge that helped to make this book.

I hope you enjoy reading it as I have enjoyed making it.

by Vandy Butcher.

Thank you Vandy for writing this blog to share your work with us, and thank you to all the Community Researchers who met with our Community Reporters back in December. We see lots of similarities between the roles and look forward to future opportunities to collaborate and share our learning and experiences.