Community Foundation proposal for the Community Economic Development (CED) programme for the East Handsworth area was selected as one of the 50 other areas selected in England. This was a new DCLG initiative designed to encourage local communities to look at how service providers, local organisations and businesses can work together to put together an economic development plan which will assist in shaping and strengthening the local economy for the benefit of local communities.

The idea behind out programme was to develop a bespoke plan which will identify practical opportunities to develop the local community and boost engagement, so the community are actively shaping the economic future of the local area. We held a number of workshops and carried out community consultations looking into the local context, identifying its assets, exploring how local spend can stay in the local area, and using Theory of change models to test and identify priorities, before exploring the viability of some ideas. The economic development plan was put together by a group of local organisations led by Community Foundation. This is a two-year plan which will be overseen by the CED Steering Group and reviewed periodically to ensure the plan is appropriate to the circumstance and need for the area.

Community Economic Development (CED) describes a process of economic development within a specific geographic area, to make the economy in that area work well for the community. The process is led by people living, working, and running businesses in that area. As an approach, it tackles environmental, social, and economic issues as interconnected, - seeing the economy as a means to achieve well-being and environmental justice in an environmentally responsible way. It recognises the importance of connections between the local, regional, and national layers of the community. It builds on the knowledge, experience, and resources in that community, to identify and maximise the local opportunities available.

Community Economic Development Programme Annual report 2015-16

The Community Foundation proposal for the Community Economic Development (CED) programme for the East Handsworth Area was selected as one of the 50 to run pilot in England. This was a new DCLG initiative designed to encourage local communities to look at how service providers, local organisations and businesses can work together to put together an economic development plan which will assist in shaping and strengthening the local economy for the benefit of local communities.

The idea behind this programme was to develop a bespoke plan which will identify practical opportunities to develop the local economy and boost engagement, so the communities are actively shaping the economic future of the local area.

A Steering Group co-ordinated by The Community Foundation was set up with local key partners who have a good working knowledge and insight into the needs and aspirations of the community. The partners included the Nishkam Centre, Helping hands Community Group, Midland Heart Housing Association, South & City College, Birmingham City Council, Lozells, Methodist Community Centre, Soho Road Business Improvement District.

A number of meetings, community discussions, and consultations, and workshops were held between September and January 2015 to develop the CED plan. We went through a process to identify the key issues, gaps in services and provisions, priority setting and project planning. The workshops were facilitated by an external consultant from Localise West Midlands, who worked with us to agree upon some of the core economic needs, challenges, and opportunities for the area.

In order to achieve these outcomes, the priority objectives are to develop or extend local facilities for personal access to finance, financial education, micro-enterprise loans and grants. The plan was approved and signed off by DCLG March 2016.

As part of the campaign to improve financial education, The Community Foundation teamed up with the Pay Ahead Stay Ahead and organised two workshops in February and March to support social housing tenants to manage and get the most from their money, stay out of debt and start saving. Participants took part in fun interactive workshops where they learnt about informative online guides and directories. A similar course was run by The Money Shop on 25thMay and attendees were shown useful tools on how to manage their money. We hope to organise more of these workshops in the future.

Workshops

Community Foundation in partnership with The Money Charity ran a free workshop on money management on Wednesday 25 May 2016.

The workshop will allow participants to:

• Plan your finances to enable you to stay on top of your money now and to help you to achieve your goals for the future.

• Structure saving to make bigger things happen and to prevent financial blips turning into a personal recession.

• Take action to deal with repaying credit

• Choose financial products wisely and use them to enhance your financial well-being.

• Keep on top of what’s happening with your pay, your cash and your bank account