Section 3: Council Activities

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Community Development

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Responsibility

Leighton Littlewood (Manager Community Development)

Description of service

Community Development carries out the following three core functions:

Community Development Advisory Service

Co-ordination of and participation within community networks, in order to build successful working partnerships and outcomes through improved communication channels and development of collaborative initiatives.
Provision of group and ‘one on one’ capacity building support to new and existing community groups.
Support and development of community initiatives, which strengthen communities and contribute to Community Outcomes.
Facilitation of opportunities for people to participate in community events, forums and capacity building activities.
Key contact for State Services and wider State Sector on local issues of social and community development.

Administering Community Funding

Administration of the Council’s community funding schemes, including the provision of advice and support to individuals and groups when applying to external agencies or for Council funding.
Pursuit of external funding opportunities in order to deliver targeted community development projects which contribute to Community Outcomes.

Housing for the Elderly

Provision of tenancy services for Council’s Housing for the Elderly Service.

Scale of service

This describes the size and scope of the activity.

Community Development Advisory Service

Community Development Advisers working across a strategic portfolio to:

Support over 50 community groups, including Council’s Youth Subcommittee.
Deliver a number of coordinated or supported events per annum.
Facilitate over 50 forum and network meetings.
Produce and distribute community resources including over 50 Percolator social service newsletters bi-monthly, over 500 social service directories and an annual funding booklet.
Administer externally raised funds of $115,000 (confirmed until 2011) for the implementation of community initiatives.

Administering Community Funding

Maintain Council owned assets and places used by the community and community groups, e.g. Heritage Protection Fund and Rural Halls.
Community Funding Programme to support community groups in the delivery of one-year projects that contribute to Community Outcomes.
Support community groups to access and set goals to deliver projects and social services.
Council concessions includes $1.9 million in ‘concessional leases’ [1] and $1.01 million in ‘rates remissions’.
Creative Communities grants, monies distributed on behalf of Creative New Zealand.

[1]This is included in this activity to demonstrate the level of subsidy the Council supplies to other organisations. This is not an amount funded from rates.

Housing for the Elderly

Administration of 145 low-cost housing units for the ‘Housing for the Elderly’ service, which includes six-weekly visits and quarterly tenant newsletters.

Rationale for activity

Under the Local Government Act 2002 one of the purposes of local government is to “…promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of communities, in the present and for the future”. All four well-beings are inter-connected and interact with each other in particular ways to build strong communities. Community Development focuses on the building of a strong community that gives people a sense of belonging and encourages them to take part in social, cultural, economic and political life.

The service primarily promotes social and cultural well-being, by providing ‘social-connectedness’ opportunities for individuals and groups to access information and support services; participate in community events and the development of networks and projects that encourage partnerships and improve quality of life.

Community and voluntary organisations are at the heart of strengthening communities as their services are the foundation for many individuals to participate and provide collective assistance to meet various community needs (from recreation to social service agencies). These organisations and groups make a significant contribution to the well-being of the community. Therefore, the provision of community development support to these groups is vital to ensure they are sustainable, capable and able to be responsive to the changing needs of the district.

Contribution to Community Outcomes

Community Development primarily contributes to the Together Community Outcome through the facilitation of community events and provision of support groups.

Together

A district that is caring, inclusive and works together and where people have a strong, distinctive sense of identity.

T1 All people feel valued and supported within a caring community and have a sense of equality and belonging.

T2 A cohesive, united community exists based on strong relationships between people from different cultures, communities and organizations. Multi-ethnic diversity is celebrated and different cultural values are respected.

T4 People from all sectors of the community are able and encouraged to contribute to their communities and opportunities to participate are enhanced.

T5 Cooperation, collaboration and coordination between agencies, organisations and Councils occurs to avoid duplication of resources, minimise ‘red tape’ and promote a consistent focus.

T7 There is a sense of community where local distinctiveness and diversity are valued and allowed to thrive.

Community Development also makes a contribution to Secure and Healthy, Skilled, Sustainable and Vibrant Community Outcomes.

Negative impacts on community well-being

There is a limited amount of resources that Community Development Advisers have available to work with individual groups. Community Development attempts to minimise this impact by working with groups that are most in need of assistance, as well as encouraging sustainable practice through group training and networks.

Facing the challenges – assumptions and risks

Assumptions

The proportion of the population aged over 65 years is forecast to increase from 15 per cent (2006) to 19 per cent by 2020. It has been assumed that this will result in increased demand from elderly people for community facilities and services to cater for their age-related needs.
Young people are most likely to be underrepresented in local democratic and community processes.
Community groups will continue to require support to build internal capacity to meet the changing needs of the community.
Changing work patterns and lifestyles will continue to affect people’s willingness or ability to get involved in community and voluntary groups.
Growing importance of ‘cultural identity and well-being’ including the arts and heritage.
Increased demand on Community Development’s Community Funding.

Risks

This section identifies potential risk to Community Development operations and service delivery, these include the impact of:

Increased demand for Community Development services may not be able to be met by existing staff resources.
Decline in volunteer support (capacity) within the community.
Increased dependence on Council for funding to support ‘social service’ and community groups.

Managing risks

In order to mitigate these risks the Community Development Team will focus its finite resources where they will be of the most benefit in achieving service objectives. The service will:

Work collaboratively with other agencies to ensure that its scarce resources are targeted to the areas of highest need.
Work closely with New Plymouth Volunteer Services to help community groups to develop strategies for attracting and utilising volunteer resources more effectively and run events that recognise the contribution of volunteers and raise the profile of volunteerism in the community.
Actively participate in networks to monitor changes including key agencies such as Ethnic Affairs, Human Rights Commission etc, highlighting the importance of cultural values through the diversity action programme.
Encourage community groups to adopt a multifaceted funding strategy. Provision of information resources, including funding expo and funding booklets, form part of this approach.

Levels of service and performance measures

The following levels of service and performance measures outline the objectives we will set and how we will measure our progress.

Service objective	Related Community Outcome(s)	Performance measures	Performance targets
Service objective	Related Community Outcome(s)	Performance measures	2010/11	2011/12
To strengthen community networks (and social capital) through forums, formal and informal network meetings and information sharing activities to achieve community goals.	Together 1, 2, 4, 5 & 7 Vibrant 1 & 3 Secure and Healthy 2 Skilled 3 Sustainable 4	Number of facilitated forum and network meetings organised and delivered.	50+	50+
	Together 4 & 5 Vibrant 1 Secure and Healthy 2	Number of participants involved in the community directories.	600	600
	Together 4 & 5 Vibrant 1 Secure and Healthy 2	Percentage of community groups who are aware of the community directories (in-house survey).	80%	80%
To encourage participation and a sense of belonging by offering a range of events, activities and forum that promote community understanding, the celebration of success and cultural diversity.	Together 1, 2, 4, 5 & 7 Vibrant 1 & 2	A minimum of 12 community events held each year that relate to at least five key portfolio areas.	12 community events	12 community events
	Together 1, 2, 4, 5 & 7 Vibrant 1 & 2	At least two award ceremonies celebrating the community’s achievements each year.	2 award ceremonies	2 award ceremonies
To value the community and voluntary sector through the provision of support services, community funding and the development of initiatives that strengthen communities and improves quality of life.	Together 4 & 5 Vibrant 2 & 3 Sustainable 4	Percentage of participants satisfied with the funding expo (funding expo survey).	75%	75%
	Together 4 Vibrant 2	Percentage of Council community grant recipients satisfied with the service received (in-house survey).	90%	90%
	Together 4 & 5 Vibrant 2 & 3	Percentage of community networks satisfied with the service offered by the Community Development Team (in-house survey).	90%	90%
	Together 4 & 5 Vibrant 2 & 3	Percentage of residents satisfied with the assistance the Council gives to the community by way of grants to organisations and general support to community groups (NRB Survey).	Exceeds peer group average (including ‘don’t know’ responses)	Exceeds peer group average (including ‘don’t know’ responses)
Provide support to key groups within the community that are most at risk of social exclusion.	Secure and Healthy 4	Percentage of occupancy of Housing for the Elderly units.	90%	90%
	Together 1 Secure and Healthy 2	Percentage of tenants satisfied with the client services provided by the Community Development Team.	90%	90%
	Together 1, 2 & 4 Secure and Healthy 7	Percentage of the Youth Subcommittee satisfied with the support on decisions made and the activities that affect them as measured by the Youth Subcommittee survey.	90%	90%

FINANCIAL PLAN	LTCCP 2011/12 ($000)	Budget 2011/12 ($000)
OPERATIONS
Activity expenditure
Community development	771	685
Community funding*	4,918	4,859
Housing for the Elderly	1,070	958
Total activity expenditure	6,759	6,502

Activity revenue
Community funding	(46)	(46)
Housing for the Elderly	(1,246)	(1,078)
Total activity revenue	(1,292)	(1,124)

Net cost of operations	5,467	5,378

Appropriations and reserves
Depreciation unfunded/deferred	0	(141)
Transfer from reserves	(45)	(45)
Total appropriations and reserves	(45)	(186)

RATES REQUIREMENT FOR OPERATIONS	5,422	5,192

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Total renewals	77	77
Total capital expenditure	77	77

Total capital funding	0	0

Net cost of capital activities	77	77

Appropriations and reserves
Transfer from depreciation reserves	(77)	(77)
Total appropriations and reserves	(77)	(77)

FUNDING REQUIREMENT FOR CAPITAL	0	0

RATES AND FUNDING REQUIREMENT
Rates requirement for operations	5,422	5,192
Funding requirement for capital	0	0
TOTAL RATES AND FUNDING REQUIREMENT	5,422	5,192

* Community funding expenditure includes Council concessions. This demonstrates the level of subsidy the Council provides to other organisations and is not an amount funded from rates.

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