Category Archives for "Mutuality"

0 Website Review 2: Centre for Local Economic Strategies

So, here is another website review.  If you didn’t read the last one, check out these previous posts to catch up:

The image on the right is the site’s home page.  The reason it’s there is in case the site owners change the site!  I shall comment mainly on the home page for this reason!  If you click on the image to open it and click again for full size.

The Centre for Local Economic Studies (CLES) uses a web design company, who provide their own content management systems.  Their home page raises issues about the strategy of professional web designers.  My comments raise questions about how designers and clients made decisions whilst constructing this page.  It is important to distinguish between design and content.  Ultimately the designer has the content  their clients provide and what the client requests is not always the best solution.  The designer will discuss options but their wisdom does not always prevail.  As a reviewer I will raise some of the issues they may have discussed.

The site has a domain authority of 49 which is not bad and over 6000 back-links from 165 domains.  Many of these seem to be links to specific content and so it illustrates how good content is the best way to approach search engine optimisation.

Site Structure

Appearance

The home page is well-designed with one obvious big mistake!  (See under Purpose below.)  It has minimal distractions from pointless graphics.  The background is blue at the top and then abruptly turns grey about two-thirds of the way down my screen.  I’m not sure this is a good idea; the site feels a bit constrained.  It might be better with grey all the way down.  The left hand column below the header is a slider.  If you’re using the image you won’t see this, five images circulate and you can click on the tabs below to move to them.  I find I’m mostly clicking on the tabs to return to the last one as it cycles away before I can read its contents.

Sliders are very popular and in my experience almost always a bad idea.  To be effective a page should focus on one message.  Sliders by definition contain several messages.  It may be useful to know all this is going on but I don’t know from the slider how I’m expected to respond to the site.  Also, they’re usually at the top of the page and so push more helpful content below the fold.

Navigation

This site contains a massive amount of information.  I find it fairly difficult to navigate but perhaps that is because I’m not looking for anything in particular.  The primary navigation is fine, although they don’t need the “Home” link as the logo already fulfills that function.  As you go deeper into the site, the amount of content is overwhelming.  I should think use of the search box at the top right is essential.

The three boxes towards the bottom of the page duplicate the corresponding links in the primary navigation.  Beneath that the three smaller boxes lead to either the CLES log-in page or in one case to a page that does not appear to be in the primary navigation.

Pages usually have breadcrumbs, so it is not too difficult to work out where you are even if you are unclear how you got there.

Clutter

The main problem I have with the home page is masses of information and no clarity about what the site is about other than in the first frame on the slider.  This includes a link to the about page (if you can catch it before the slider cycles on) but that is about CLES and not a really a clear statement of what the site is for and what it offers the visitor.

Instead I’m confronted with loads of links hither, thither and yon, and little to tell me what to expect from the site.  A tour of the main resources would be helpful.  Experienced visitors will know where to go and so a home page friendlier to the first timer might be worth considering.

 Site Content

Market

The first frame of the slider (so not always visible) reads:

Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) is the UK’s leading independent charitable research and member organisation, with a focus on economic development, regeneration and place-making. We think and do – promoting action and implementing new progressive economic activities which create positive environmental, health and social outcomes.

After that you need to click on the link to read more.  I don’t get who the members are and I’m not clear from these few words whether there is anything here for me.  If I find my way to the “Join Us”, I get an idea of what CLES does but I have to infer from the site who it is for!  For example, if I am chair of a small community group, working in a partnership for regeneration, is this site for me?  I may be borderline, so how do I find out what is best for me or what sort of membership package would be best for me?  This information may be on the site but it is hard work finding it.

Purpose

I had to search on the “About us” page to find out what CLES stands for!  There really is nothing on the page that tells the visitor what the site is about.  Remember, you have 3 seconds at the outside to communicate your purpose or else your visitor will leave.  Maybe this site is for people who know about CLES but is it really an advantage to be so obscure?  How many people bounce away who might benefit from the site content but have no idea what it is?  As well as expanding the abbreviation , this site needs a tagline in the header that clearly states what the site offers its visitors.  This sort of willful obscurity is not clever, it makes the site irrelevant.

The overall purpose of the site appears to be consulting, training and research, going by the three boxes towards the bottom of the home page.  They could have more prominence and the home page could spell out the potential benefits of these three activities for visitors to the site.  I don’t doubt a motivated visitor could battle through the information on the site but there can’t be any harm in helping them work it out.  How many people who would benefit from the site, navigate away in frustration?

Call to Action

You can join CLES on the “Join Us” page but this does not appear to be the main call to action.  Every page apart from the home page has a couple of notices pinned to the upper left of the page, inviting visitors to “Join NewStart” (a magazine) and to subscribe to a “Newsletter”.  Both links seem to go off the site and are not explained anywhere.  These could be on the home page with a clear explanation of the various membership and subscription options.  Someone might pay for a subscription to NewStart without realising it is included in the membership fee for CLES.

Neglect

The most recent what’s new is 15 January (I’m writing this on 5 March) so it is very new.  The blog posts on the right are better, most recent 4 March.  Although this could be better it is clearly an active site.

Verdict:  A professional site that has some issues about usability.  I would come here to find specific information but would not browse and don’t see any reason to sign up for anything, even if I were a target visitor.

Do you agree?  Leave your comments about this site here.  Do you find these reviews helpful?  Do they help you look critically at your own site?

0 How Community Groups Work

Last Monday I explored what community groups do.  Today, how do they work?  First, some terminology.  It is easy to be self-deceiving.

What is the difference between neighbourhood and community?  Neighbourhood is a geographical area and the people who live there are residents, not “the community”.  “The community” is a fiction; nobody represents “the community” because it does not exist.

One example of how this can impact an organisation is the idea every resident belongs to your community group because they live in the neighbourhood.  This implies the group represents the views of people who don’t take part and may not even know it exists!

Residents must have a right not to be a member and to refuse to be co-opted to the community group’s plans.  With a constitution this can be easily covered by defining a member.  Groups can charge for membership but it is often someone who signs up to a mailing list.  These days this should be an email list.  If people sign up at meetings it is essential they understand their email address will be added to an email list, if they declare it.

Using an Email List

An email list is a good way to penetrate a neighbourhood.  People on the list can forward a link to the group’s website, so recruiting more members.  A big list can remind people of forum meetings and may be more effective than leaflets through the door, so long as you design an effective sequence of emails.

Link your list to a Facebook page and you have a simple online forum that can support the group’s meetings.  Quarterly meetings supported by online media plus specialist groups meeting between them can work well.  Remember though the strength of community groups is meetings where issues can be debated and consensus sought.  You can’t do this properly online, although I’d be delighted to hear of examples where an online forum has worked.  (A free lunch is particularly helpful but can’t be delivered online.)

These are foundations for good practice and if you want to meet one or more of the three objectives in my last post, you must get these basics right.

Do you have examples of local groups using online media?

2 What Community Groups Do

Last Monday, I wrote about churches within the community sector, which is a part of the third sector.  Today I write about the role of community groups in the third sector.

Community groups can be even more diverse than churches.  When residents find common cause, they seek recognition by other agencies as a group.  Recognition is essential to the success of community groups and so they often form alliances with statutory or voluntary sector agencies.

The reason for statutory and voluntary sector alliances is usually outputs because funding bodies often set working with the community as a condition.  I’m sure this can work but funding can skew objectives and community groups need to be alert to the dangers of mission creep, where someone else’s funding body overwhelms their objectives; this possibility increases when a community group applies for its own funding.

A Community Development Model

You can find in my sequence about community development a community development model, with three objectives.  Whatever the concerns a community group has, they find their activities fall under these headings.

1. Representation – as a group develops, it needs to show it represents the views of most residents and not a small group of activists.  There’s nothing wrong with being a small group of activists, it can be very effective; just don’t claim to be something you are not.  Do you wish to campaign or to be a forum to express local views?  Citizens’ Organising is one approach that combines both.  Sadly it has not taken root in the UK.
2. Planning –  If you seek to influence service delivery in your neighbourhood, you need a community plan.  Statutory and professional voluntary organisations will welcome you onto their committees but don’t care if you don’t have your own plan.  I’ve never seen the point of sitting on a committee where everyone else has a plan but you don’t.  You are simply endorsing their plans; you need a mandate.
3. Delivery – some groups take on service delivery.  It’s usually best to separate delivery from representation.  If you don’t, it means the representative group may be competing for funds with its members.  Also, as the delivery arm becomes more like a voluntary sector organisation; accountability is sometimes easier if it’s arm’s length from the representative group.

I like to see independent campaigning organisations working locally. The need for funding inevitably leads to control of the agenda by funding bodies.  This leads to an ethos of control where communities cannot make a real difference to local policy.

What is your experience?  Can you share stories of campaigns where community groups have brought about real change?

0 Website Review 1: Building Effective Community Ventures

You may need to check a few previous posts to catch up with what this is about:

The image on the right is the home page of the site I’m reviewing.  The reason it’s there is if the site owners find my comments they might change the site!  I shall mainly comment on the home page for this reason!  If you click on the image it will open up and click again to get to full size.

The Association of Bridge Building Churches owns the Building Effective Community Ventures  website.  I was marginally involved with this group a few years ago but have no ongoing involvement with it.  My interest is in the site as a learning opportunity and I hope my comments will be found to be constructive.

The site has a domain authority of 11, which is not brilliant.  It has a few backlinks and is recognised by Google.  This site resources owners of a manual and so it is perhaps not essential it is easy to find.  However, if they wish to sell the manual through the site, they may need to do more work to raise its profile.

Site Structure

Appearance

The site uses a free CSS template and a link can be found at the bottom of the page.  It is a basic site and this has a lot to recommend it.  The background is a single tone of blue and the central column is black text on a white background.  This enhances readability and reduces distractions.  The header has an attractive image although the text is perhaps not so easy to read.  There is a mysterious box on the left with the word “Contacts” in it.

Navigation

The navigation is easy to follow although I do find it irritating when the top item (capitalised) in the drop down menu is the same as the item in the main menu.  The visitor has to check that both target the same page.  The last item in the “Interest Areas” menu is incomplete and so it is not clear what it is.  If you click on it, you arrive on a page without a heading.  The page is not very helpful and I found more useful information on this theme elsewhere on the site.  This leads me to think the navigation perhaps needs to be checked by someone familiar with the site.  The header does not include a link to the home page.

Clutter

The site is not at all cluttered.  Each page seems to have one topic.  In this sense the site works very well.  Overall the content needs to be reviewed, as I think the site might benefit from losing a few pages.

Site Content

Market

The market seems to be people who purchase the manual, who can access to more material.  The second paragraph on the home page lists the people expected to take an interest.

Purpose

Similar to many (most?) church-related sites, the first heading reads “Welcome”.  It is a h2 heading and I’m not sure what has happened to the h1 heading.  The word “welcome” should be banned.  Why?

The first paragraph does not really include a benefit for the visitor.  If they are setting up a project they need to be told how this site will help them!

Overall the copy on the first page could focus on how the site will help the visitor.  The copy focuses on what the website offers, with links to pages.  It would be better to say “If you want to know x, then try page y.”

Call to Action

The biggest weakness of this site is that it is not very clear what it wants the visitor to do.  Is its main purpose to add value for owners of the manual, or to persuade visitors to purchase the manual?  I would have a clear means, perhaps in a sidebar, to register or sign up for the extras.

Then I would sell the manual from the home page.  As it stands if you click on the link below the heading “The Workbook” you go to a sales page which then links to an external site called Fast Print Publishing, which you have to search to find the manual.  I couldn’t remember the name of the manual and so I think many visitors would give up at this point.

I don’t have the space to analyse the sales pitch for the manual except to say it could be better.

Neglect

Finally, whilst there is nothing on the site to suggest it is not up-to-date, equally there is nothing on it to suggest it is!  Is this a current project or was it abandoned several years ago?  There is a 2014 date in the footer, which suggests it is still current.  However the comments page and blog (do they mean biogs?) are not dated.  If you’re not signed up, you can’t access the Forum and so it is hard to tell if it is active.

Verdict:  The site has some strengths but would benefit from a clearer purpose and some evidence of activity.  Like many sites in this sector, most of the issues are to do with content and not the site’s structure.

Do you agree?  Leave your comments about this site here.

2 Churches in the Third Sector

Last Monday I broke down third sector organisations into three sub-sectors.  Today is the first of a series of posts where I consider some organisation types in more detail.

My interest is in the contribution churches make to the local economy, as a part of the community sub-sector.  Many churches contribute to their neighbourhood, similar to the role played by community groups.  They are usually exclusive because they restrict decision-making to their members.  (I use the word “members” loosely, not all churches have membership as understood by community groups.  I could write a post on this topic alone but for now let it rest.)  Churches can be responsive to local needs. Many tthat have been around for a very long time, know their neighbourhood better than other organisations.

Church members are often active in local groups and so churches have an impact beyond the projects they start themselves.

Typology of Churches

If you are not involved with churches it may not be obvious they are a range of organisations. They manage their affairs in a variety of ways.  These various ecclesiologies can make a real differences.  The main ones are

I write to manage expectations, the work of an exclusive church may be valuable; providing food banks, street pastors and similar work effectively from a substantial committed membership.  Others involved in similar work may be more collaborative.  Which is most effective?  It’s impossible to generalise.

How do churches contribute to the local economy?

It is valuable having people in the local economy who actively question the motivations of the powerful and support those who  struggle to make a living.  But the assumption volunteering and grants are somehow morally superior to trade is an issue many churches need to discuss, if only because their scepticism alienates small business people seeking an honest living.

But maybe churches will eventually challenge these assumptions and open up new possibilities.  Can you think of faith projects that have challenged assumptions about the local economy?

5 How to Review a Website

Last Friday I asked why review websites?  Today I shall show you how to review websites.  It depends what you are looking for.  My question is does the site do its job?  This implies it is possible to work out what its job is supposed to be!

If the site is not doing its job, it is useless, however brilliant its graphics may be.  Spectacular graphics and splendid design can mask a failure to deliver the site’s purpose.

There are two things to look for.

So, here are the things I shall be looking for, starting with functional problems.

4 Anatomy of the Third Sector

Last Monday I wrote about finding terms that describe the third sector.  It’s tempting to describe the sector by what it is not; it is not private or public.   This is not very satisfactory but this is the way we categorise public life in this country.

People define the Third Sector by comparison with the Public (or Statutory) sector, funded through taxes (mainly) and governed through elected political leaders who employ officers to do the work, and the private sector, funded through trade (mainly) and governed through ownership.  There are complications but this will do for now.

So, the Third Sector represents various alternatives that fall between the other two sectors.  I suggest three sub-sectors.  What they have in common is they welcome voluntary work.  So, if taxes define the public sector and trade defines the private, perhaps volunteering defines the third sector.

Professional Voluntary Sector

Large organisations, often with a national profile.   They usually have a steady income stream (from donations) and employ paid staff.  Organisations like this include:

1. Trusts who make donations but don’t employ staff.
2. Large organisations who provide expertise through their staff.  Many ask volunteers to deliver services, supervised by paid staff.
3. Churches and other religious bodies, can resemble large voluntary sector organisations in their national or regional offices.
4. Various loose federations of local groups, providing training and support.

Community Sector

Informal organisations who champion a particular neighbourhood or issue.

1. Community groups, neighbourhood groups and forums.  These usually start out as a group of residents who meet around some local issue.  If they raise funds, usually grants from the statutory or professional voluntary sector, they employ staff.  This is usually small-scale and temporary.  Sustainability is a major issue for these groups.
2. Action or interest groups form around issues and often have a city-wide and not a neighbourhood perspective.  They might form around an issue or a group of people disadvantaged because of who they are.  Funding can be difficult when they are seen as political.  They can be effective raising awareness and gaining political support.

Not-for-profit sector

These fall between the third and private sectors.  They earn income through trade although many are grant aided.

1. Community organisations that trade.  Sometimes they are micro-trading, ie subsidised by grants or loans.  Sometimes their main income is from at least one large contract.
2. Mutuals, sometimes called co-operatives, can be an alternative business model for trading organisations.  They include organisations that provide financial services, eg credit unions or (not so much in the UK) micro-credit.  Retail co-ops are often counted as third sector because their members share ownership.
3. Alternative currencies, eg Local Economic Trading Systems (LETS).  There are examples online as well as real life schemes.  The real life schemes operate locally.  Online schemes have a global reach and some can be converted to established currencies.  I know very little about online schemes and so cannot recommend them.

If we’re to understand our neighbourhoods and their economics, we need to understand the organisations that operate in them.  In future posts I shall share more details about each type of organisation.

I’m sure I’ve missed some types of organisation.  Be the first to point out my errors.  What have I missed?

5 Why Review Websites?

I’m planning to review some of the community development websites I posted about 2 weeks ago and last week.  Before I do that I shall explain why it’s helpful to review websites and next Friday I’ll post about how to do it.

There is always a possibility in reviewing a site in public, the site owners will feel their site is being ridiculed.  This may be difficult to avoid.  The truth is many sites can be easily improved without any technical knowledge.  If a review helps a website become more functional, then it is worth doing.  If a little humour acts as a spur to change, that is all to the good!

So, why review websites?  Let’s start with the benefits for the owners of the website.

So, let’s not be precious about our sites.  Changes can be made very quickly.  We all struggle to keep our sites topical and engaging and we need to learn from each others experience.  My hope is we all welcome comments, public or private because that way everything we do shall improve.

What is the most helpful feedback you’ve received about your site?

If you would like me to review your site (in private or public) please complete the form on my website.  Follow the link and croll to the foot of the page.

1 What is the Third Sector?

This Monday I’m starting a new sequence about the Third Sector.  Recently I’ve written about a specific example of partnership working and I shall return to partnership later.

What is the third sector and is ‘third sector’ the best name for it?  You can refer to an earlier post about the scope of third sector organisations.

The Labour government’s Cabinet Office had an Office of the Third Sector between 1997 and 2010.  The current coalition government used the term Civil Society or Big Society, and has an Office for Civil Society.  Third Sector and Civil Society seem to cover much the same territory.

Terms Used to Describe the Third Sector

1. Political parties use ‘Third Sector’ and ‘Civil Society’ for organisations and activities that are not public or private sector.  These two terms are useful if you want to refer to the sector but they carry political baggage.
2. ‘Voluntary Sector’ covers similar organisations and activities.  The term has been around since the late 1970s.  Whilst most people have a rough idea what it means, it can be confusing because it covers local groups run by unpaid people and large organisations who employ staff (sometimes called the professional voluntary sector).  Organisations with established income streams, often from donations, have little in common with small community organisations.
3. ‘Community Sector’ – applies to a narrower range of organisations than ‘voluntary sector’.  It covers organisations working locally, usually with no or very few staff.  They usually don’t have their own income streams and so are dependent on grants.  Some city-wide or national organisations, representing local groups, belong to this sector.  It might  also include organisations with a national profile that work locally, eg churches.
4. ‘Not-for-profits’ describes the third sector or parts of it.  Perhaps any third sector organisation is not-for-profit but the term only makes sense where an organisation is trading.  Some use the term ‘not-for-personal-profit’ because social enterprises and mutuals do trade and generate a profit.  Sometimes people use “surplus” to show an organisation trades but not for personal profit.  Surplus cash is not always spent for community or charitable purposes and so many of these organisations could just as easily be described as private sector.  Sometimes it is difficult to see how small traders, adding value to a neighbourhood, are making less of a socio-economic contribution to their neighbourhood than social enterprises.  So, not-for-profit describes those organisations that generate surplus to be used locally and collectively but perhaps does not adequately convey a full picture of the local economy.

Do you have other names for the sector I have not identified?  Which terms do you use and how do you use them?

1 More Community Development Websites

Last Friday I posted about 10 Community Development Websites, Blogs and Forums.  Mark Woodhead in a comment to that post, has suggested six more sites.  I list them below with a brief description.  I’m planning to review some of these sites in later posts and so I have not commented on them here.

Forums and Blogs

ABCD Europe

This is similar to the Asset Based Community Development Institute, a site I covered in the previous email.  This is primarily a forum, similar to the Forum on the ABDCI website.  It may be more relevant for UK development workers.

Nurture Development Blog

See below for brief description of their website.  This is their standalone WordPress blog. It is certainly live; they post once every 1 – 2 weeks.

Websites

United Kingdom

Federation for Community Development Learning

I believe this was formerly the Federation of Community Work Training Groups, which I mention for the benefit of ancient community development workers.  They say:

“FCDL is the UK wide membership networking organisation that supports community development through advancing and promoting good quality Community Development learning and practice at local, regional and national levels. FCDL works to provide a network to support the development, evaluation and dissemination of good quality Community Development learning, training and qualification opportunities.”

Locality

Locality is a merger between BASSAC (British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres), an organisation that goes way back, and the Development Trusts Association.  They say they are “the leading nationwide network of development trusts, community enterprises, settlements and social action centres.”  Mark’s concern about their understanding of assets is possibly because they discuss buildings as assets, when they can just as easily be liabilities.  Asset Based Community Development uses assets to refer to the potential in local residents to effect change.

International

Nurture Development

This is another site that specialises in asset based community development.  They have a call to action to the effect that in communities the professionals need to step back and there should be a community builder in every neighbourhood.  In my day a community builder used bricks and mortar, presumably by builder they mean development worker.

Reflect Action

“Reflect is an innovative approach to adult learning and social change, which fuses the theories of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire with participatory methodologies.”  Perhaps I should add participatory methodologies to this list.  I’ll give it some thought and come back with more soon.

Please suggest community development sites I’ve missed and participatory methodology sites.  Thanks!