Community Futures is a programme of community action planning and community engagement designed by the Small Town and Rural Development Group (STAR) in 1998.
STAR is an independent community development consultancy where we are working with consultant Colin Roxburgh.
Community Futures programmes support communities within a local authority/ planning authority area to prepare Community Action Plans. There is a detailed Community Futures participatory process designed by STAR which each community follows. The process is informed by a set of tools, templates and good practice guides also designed by STAR.
STAR assists with:
• The design of Community Futures Programmes
• Training and Mentoring for local staff and/or Community Agents that will deliver Community Futures on the ground
• Monitoring the implementation of Community Futures to ensure quality of products and process
• Hands on technical support with key aspects of the programme
Community Futures has been designed to support:
• Effective participatory planning and community engagement
• Active citizenship and local democracy
• Proactive rather than reactive communities
• Communities ability to be partners in their own development
• Communities ability to identify priorities and make them happen
• Quality and thoughtful community input into strategic plans and service delivery
• Increased quality and strength of the rural/community voice – supporting representative and participatory democracy.
The detailed methodology is:
Prepare a Community Profile to determine the demographics within Innerleithen
Conduct Household surveys to obtain everyone's view
Conduct Community Interest Group interviews e.g. businesses, youth, elderly, music, sport
Produce Community Actions Plans
Obtain agreement from the community at a Community Event
Seek funding for the identified projects
Provide the new facilities
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Brian McCrow, Chair, Future Innerleithen
