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SUPPORT: The Locality conference aims to help groups improve their influence on policy

DO YOU want to make a difference on some of the key issues that affect your local community?

Many groups across the UK are concerned about things such as the availability of housing, policing, youth violence and a lack of employment opportunities.

However, when they want to take action, maybe through creating a new project to address these problems, they are often hampered by the view that the difference they can make is limited.

A lack of knowledge about how to present funding bids or deal with local authority  bureaucracy means that hundreds of good community initiatives never get off the ground.

Now an event later this month aims to change that.

Locality, the UK’s leading network of development trusts, settlements, community enterprises and social action centres is inviting community-led organisations to attend a conference called  Influencing in Challenging Times in Birmingham on February 22.

At the event, attendees will learn about things they can do to make their local community projects stronger and enjoy greater  influence. Among the topics to be explored are how strong is the influence your organisation exerts with bodies such as the  local council.

Locality also provides workshops throughout the year to help groups  improve their  levels of influence and a workbook which includes practical tips on becoming more effective communicators, influencers and negotiators.

Ruth Townsley, Development Manager for  Locality said: “These workshops recognise that in times of austerity it’s even more difficult for community organisations to their have voices heard.”

She said that when she spoke to some Locality members, they felt that “they were losing the ability to campaign and engage at a community level, skills that not so long ago would be their bread and butter.”
Locality was created out of the merger of the Development Trust Association and the British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres in April 2011.

The umbrella body empowers individuals and grassroots organisations to become decision-makers in how their communities are run. Locality believes there is a role for them to influence policy at local and national level  by being radical champions of social justice and putting the needs of diverse communities on the political agenda.

It works with local organisations by helping them campaign on important local issues.

* To book your place at the event in Birmingham on February 22, please visit  www.locality. org.uk

CORRECTION: Last week’s edition contained the wong e mail address for Parents Against Racism In Schools. The right e mail address is blpie@hotmail.com