The blogging conference

Welcome to the NANM’s new interactive blog!

The blog will keep you and your colleagues up to date with the latest in news and good practice in the world of neighbourhood working. Unlike anything we’ve done before it will be a ‘live’ resource for you, our members to enter into a dialogue, sharing your thoughts and experiences on all things NM.

We will also be holding regular opinion polls to stimulate debate, get a better understanding of the issues that you are grappling with, and ensure the activities of the NANM reflects your needs. With the Spring Conference taking place at the end of this month (if you haven’t booked now is the time!) we want to know what should the key role for NM be in tackling worklessness… is it to influence service providers, like Job Centre Plus or to deliver training and employment services themselves? Cast your vote to the side.

And in other news CLG has opened the application process for the £10m Inspiring Communities initiative, which is about investing in ‘locally conceived, locally delivered projects’ that will get whole communities behind young people. Funding will be made available to 15 neighbourhoods of the NM kind, i.e. between 5,000 and 10,000 residents that show a partnership between the local authority, local secondary school(s) and local third sector organisations. They have also ‘strongly encouraged’ applicants to involve young people, parents and the wider community, local business local youth services, and other relevant service providers. Music to the ears of NMers! To find out how to apply, or view a list of the 64 eligible local authorities click here.

Following Community Empowerment White Paper ten councils are sharing £620,000 to pilot schemes that provide better local information for an estimated one million people, ranging from crime maps in Gloucestershire to a website for parents and carers of disabled children in Cambridgeshire. While this should see an improvement in access to services, residents will also benefit from more opportunities to influence local decision making as councils will have to be more transparent and accountable. Click here to get the full story.