Community Organisers
What is it?
The Community Organisers programme is an opportunity for local people to improve their local community. Community Organisers will listen to local people and encourage dialogue, and support them to take action around local issues.
The work of the Community Organisers will be community-led – priorities will be set by local people, not the organiser. The training Community Organisers receive will give them the skills they need to begin this process.
In addition to training, 500 senior Community Organisers will receive a bursary of £20,000 for the first year only. This will give them the resources and time to develop relationships with their local community, community organisations, philanthropists or statutory bodies to sustain their role. They will be supported by 4,500 voluntary, part time Community Organisers.
How can I get involved?
The government has appointed Locality to deliver the Community Organisers programme. On the website you can register your interest in becoming a Community Organiser.
Locality has chosen 11 “kickstarters” – well respected and established community organisations – to recruit and host the first tranche of Community Organisers. The 11 community organisations and areas are:
- Barton Hill Settlement, Bristol
- Birmingham Settlement, Birmingham
- Cambridge House, South London
- Community Links, East London
- Goodwin Development Trust, Hull
- Keystone Development Trust, Eastern Counties [Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire]
- Kirkgate Arts, Cumbria
- Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
- Marsh Farm Outreach, Luton
- Penwith Community Development Trust, Cornwall
- St Peters Partnerships, Tameside.
More areas will be announced in due course.
Where can I find out more?
- See Locality’s website for updates on progress and to register your interest in becoming a Community Organiser.
- Follow the latest on the project on Jess Steele’s blog, who is Direct of Innovation at Locality.
- Follow news about Community Organisers on Twitter from @corganisers and using the hashtags #corg and #communityorganisers.