Take Part Hertfordshire
Take Part Final Evaluation report
This report is a full evaluation of the activities that took place over the two year Take Part Programme. The programme can and has made a huge difference to the lives of the people involved who are now better equiped to Take Part in their local communities.
An Influence audit was completed in Stevenage and Hertsmere to ensure that comprehensive and accessible information for communities on opportunities to influence is available in the community.
The audit was used to develop an accessible information portal tailored for each project area with a comprehensive local guide to opportunities for active citizenship. Comprehensive information material was developed for each project area – one specific to Cowley Hill and the other for Stevenage. It acts as a signpost for people to find out how to get involved in their local community, get involved in decision making and become more active citizens.
Separate ‘How to’ guides have been published in Stevenage and include:
- How to become a Councillor
- How to become a Charity Trustee
- How to become a Magistrate
- How to help run your local school
There is also an Active Citizens booklet, which summarises how to get more involved in decision-making which is available in English, Bengali, Gujarati and Polish.
The guides were launched at the Take Part Closing event on the 26th February to which all Take Part participants and their families were invited. Further copies will be distributed at information points across the town.
Hertfordshire’s two year Take Part programme started in 2009 to develop and deliver a range of programmes which would facilitate citizenship learning to help adults gain personal skills, qualities and knowledge to become empowered as members of their communities. Hertfordshire’s Take Part programme delivers Empowerment Academies in two areas:
Hertsmere - focusing on the Cowley Hill ward in Borehamwood
Stevenage - focusing on black and minority ethnic groups in the borough
The Empowerment Academies aim to:
- Highlight the opportunities available to influence decisions.
- Enable shadowing of front-line service workers to understand how agencies work together and how they must rationalise and prioritise resources.
- Provide training and capacity building to help access opportunities.
The Take Part programme is all about empowering individuals who may currently feel they do not have a voice within the community but want to be heard and want to get involved in decisions within their community. Through the programme Take Part participants develop a number of skills which will enable them to become a much more active citizen, including:
- Confidence
- Facilitation skills
- Public speaking skills
- Community leadership skills
An introduction to Take Part Hertfordshire
