It's been an interesting week in the Borough of Richmond Upon Thames, with regards to 'community engagement'. My role is to support, facilitate (or just plain 'make happen') local people getting involved in their area - this might range from setting up and running a pop-up youth club (not had that one yet, any offers?) through to just letting them know that there's an opportunity to have their say on whether to allow a local volunteer group to establish a small orchard in Hampton.
Many will have heard that quite a number of local residents have become very engaged around the Gloriana Boathouse proposals. To me, it's interesting how proposals which involve a building (be that school, housing or boathouse), or would visually change the landscape in some way, really motivate, incentivise and catalyse groups of people in to action.
What's less clear to me is why something else that has huge importance to people's lives, in terms of welfare or education, gets comparatively little attention. Concurrent with the Gloriana consultation there are consultations on the borough's Sexual Health Strategy, and developing Special School Provision. A consultation on setting up a Childminding Agency has just closed.
Sexual Health and conception are topics that are important to many people, for often quite diverse, even opposing reasons. Similarly, are people generally uninterested in the conversation about how we can ensure that home-based care for children is of a high quality?
It might be cynical to say, but if Richmond CCG were to propose building a new sexual health clinic on a park in the borough, I wouldn't be surprised if many more people would be putting their view forward on the matter.
I believe the challenge for the Community Engagement Team is to find ways to make these opportunities relevant to residents in the way that the construction of a boathouse on the bank of the Thames is. It is tangible, it is novel, and you can 'see' it (well, I guess you kind of have to imagine it), and it captures the imagination. Discussions about sex and sexual behaviour is not only uncomfortable for some, it may also be seen as a matter of personal choices (as opposed to a very public building development).
The Community Links Teams are thinking of ways to help people learn about and participate in these consultations, including using innovative on-line and off-line methods. For example, try our Pinterest board which we have just set up. We are also considering running a few 'drop-ins' for those who are less comfortable doing things on-line, to learn about how to use the consultation finder.
The challenge is not specific to Richmond, and we know that engagement in public matters is generally low across the country. I welcome suggestions for tackling the 'engagement' challenge we face.
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