COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COUNCIL PLAN 2017-2022 REFRESHED 2018   Strategic Priority FIVE – Community Engagement Policy Framework What How When Additions to policy framework Core Values Community Engagement Spectrum Community Engagement Handbook Social media Handbook/WIKI 2018 2018 2018 2018 Information Communication & Feedback What How When Increase the community’s access to information and improve transparency and accountability Use a variety of communication channels to distribute information about the different roles of the Town, District and County Councils Good news press releases describing what the Town Council is doing Develop Community and Events pages on Council website Create quarterly newsletters and post on Council website Create “Have we made a Difference” bi-monthly news summaries and include on Community pages of the Council website Use leaflets & posters to provide information offline and online 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards Engagement, Participation, Interaction and Empowerment What How When Increase opportunities for engagement with hard to reach individuals and groups Produce a Youth Engagement Strategy Develop effective relationships with local schools, colleges, sports clubs, youth groups and youth councils Develop a Youth Advisory Role and encourage more youth involvement in the work of the Town Council Organise face to face opportunities for young people to express their views and identify priorities, e.g. an annual event, an Open Day/Youth Forum for young people to express their views and priorities Develop partnerships with other agencies 2018 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards Increasing Pride in Penrith Engage with and encourage local people to use different offline techniques to document local history and culture Develop a ‘Community Memories’ Section on the Community pages of the Council website to capture Penrith’s rich history using digital approaches and mixed media e.g. audio recordings, written stories, photos and videos Increasing Pride in Penrith (continued) Develop a local photos page on the Community Section of the Council website and invite members of the public to submit their own recent photos along with descriptions/stories about each image 2018 onwards Recognise the local community as experts on local life, needs and priorities Develop opportunities for Citizen Journalism Encourage use of innovative methods to engage the community, collect information about local needs and identify the strengths and weaknesses related to how the Council currently involves them Encourage local people to use peer and personal networks to help them identify important assets in the community, for example, skills, knowledge, ability, resources, experience or enthusiasm already existing in the community Identify local organisations and community groups, note their goals and create a community assets map, illustrating where community groups are based and where community projects are taking place to help in addressing community needs and projects 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards 2018 onwards Increase reciprocity, and community capacity Based on knowledge of community assets, identify ‘Community Connectors,’ who can help open doors to engagement with other individuals and groups including those with mental health issues, disabled individuals, carers, homeless people, immigrants, refugees etc 2018 onwards Involve communities directly in ‘conversations’ with elected members Organise ‘engagement spaces’ online via radio and face-to-face in local venues, for example, Councillor Surgeries, for local people to gain information about what the Council is doing, discuss ideas, local issues and priorities 2018 onwards