South West RDA: Flames - Community Engagement

Flames

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Community Engagement

Community Flame The involvement of the community underpins our entire approach to the London 2012 Games and sits across all of the key strategic flames. It is imperative that every opportunity is taken to develop sustainable communities and to involve community/voluntary groups and social enterprises. The involvement and enthusiasm of our communities will be critical to achieving real cultural and attitudinal change.

This flame will focus on increasing confidence, engagement, participation, and skills of individuals, which will enhance their personal development and benefit the communities and businesses.

The creation of the Olympic Park, venues, transport infrastructure, media management, and the hosting of some 40 test events and the Cultural Olympiad, can only be delivered by individuals with the right skills. We must make sure that our workforce is ready to meet the challenge. We want the London 2012 Games to be a real learning experience for all individuals, communities and organisations involved.

The London 2012 Games need significant numbers of volunteers - over 70,000, in a wide variety of roles. Flexibility, experience and nationally recognised qualifications will ensure that volunteers from the South West are well positioned to play an essential role in the greatest show on earth - both in Weymouth and Portland, and in London.

Community Engagement Regional Mission

To contribute to the development of sustainable communities using the catalyst of the London 2012 Games.

Regional Objectives

To ensure that local projects and programmes deliver Games-related activities to maximise involvement of individuals, community groups and voluntary organisations
To use the London 2012 Games as a catalyst for developing our workforce, including volunteers, through a number of initiatives and mechanisms such as the Volunteer Programme, Train to Gain, Skills Active and the Tourism Skills Network
To identify and build the skills required to deliver high quality play, sports and recreation within our communities, including addressing skills gaps, that will enable people to have transferable skills in, for example, coaching, sports therapy, health and nutrition
To ensure that structures and processes are in place to increase participation in volunteering, before, during and after the London 2012 Games
To ensure that the South West contribution to the London 2012 Games reflects the diversity and cultures of our region's people and communities
To maximise the contribution of the region in volunteering at both the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games
To develop specific programmes for Paralympic Games volunteers

Regional Plan

The Sustainable Communities Plan is focused on:

Selected Principal Urban Areas - Bristol, Plymouth, Swindon and Exeter - together with key Cornish towns in order to create a critical mass around existing economic infrastructure which leads to growth
A continued focus on the drivers of innovation; business, research and development, support to start-up businesses, skills and support to high tech businesses and equity finance

The Regional 2012 Skills Strategy is focused upon developing and delivering skills in a number of key areas, in particular tourism, languages, and skills associated with the delivery of the London 2012 Games. At present the LSC is working with different sectors to develop:

A range of Games-related courses, particularly in the media, language and sporting fields
Specific leadership and management programmes
A range of European Social Fund programmes targeting disadvantaged learners
The Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence

Volunteering activity will accelerate rapidly over the forthcoming months, focused on:

A communication campaign to help raise awareness of the volunteering opportunities available across the region
The creation of an advisory group to ensure a regionally coordinated approach to maximising the opportunities for, and impact of, volunteering across sectors and to ensure linkages with the national volunteering strategy
The delivery of a regional volunteering pilot programme
A series of regional volunteering events to establish the networks and mechanisms for recruiting, training and developing volunteers for the London 2012 Games

The Infrastructure Strategy South West (ISSW) for the region's voluntary, community, and social enterprise sectors contains strategic priorities, including developing a highly effective workforce, and recruiting and developing volunteers. It will provide the strategic link for engagement and participation.

Strategic Links

This work fits within the Sustainable Communities Plan, the Egan Review, and the Voluntary & Community Sector Infrastructure Strategy. It also forms a core component of the Regional Economic Strategy and the Regional Spatial Strategy.

The South West Skills Strategy sets out what needs to happen to develop a healthy labour market. The South West Regional Skills Partnership has been established with all major partners to ensure that the diverse skills needs across the South West are delivered appropriately.

The community engagement flame is fully interlinked with national and regional tourism skills strategies, LSC objectives, and the volunteering plans of the London 2012 Organising Committee.