Derby

Objectives

To develop a community based marketing strategy for learning in the four target wards being prioritised by the Learning City initiative. Four separate and defined phases were planned: initial survey; research and assessment; development of the strategy, and the first phase of implementation. The survey and assessment were to focus on one ward with the practicalities of subsequent work being considered only on the basis of the results of work in the first ward. Initial work by the consultant resulted in selection of the first target area.

The particular ward chosen exhibited considerable deprivation. Early work indicated a need for extensive groundwork before marketing learning was likely to be at all productive.

Outcomes

The work in the ward selected has resulted in the close involvement of the learning city initiative with the ward action group, which deals with social issues such as crime and disorder. This group is in the process of using European Social Fund money to recruit a community worker from within the community to be trained to work in the area. One of the items in this worker's remit will be dealing with learning issues as conditions allow.

During the project the consultant performed an audit of current participation in the learning from the area. Other work has been focused on involvement with the Ward Action Group including attendance at an "Away Day", co-ordinating activity in developing parenting skills training and working on the arrangements surrounding the recruitment of the worker.

Among the difficulties encountered by this project has been a lack of appreciation of the obstacles in the way of engaging in learning at a local level and the initial cynicism of both residents and community workers. It is felt that the project has made progress in overcoming this. Further difficulties resulted from the lack of both time and financial resources to drive the initiative forward.

The Guide was of little assistance to this project. The activities in the Guide related to operations that seemed irrelevant in dealing with the huge issues of social exclusion met within the target area and issues of partnership working in very excluded communities. The Guide was not flexible enough to be adapted to such circumstances and, if there were a toolkit that could help in this context, it would need to be highly adaptable to local circumstances.