What is Community Involvement?

Herefordshire Council has a strong tradition of engaging and consulting with local people and recognises and acknowledges the benefits that good quality community involvement offers to local communities, communities of interest and to Herefordshire Council and our partners.

The Council has, through its commitment to delivering quality services and supporting the delivery of the Community Strategy, been involved in a variety of good practice initiatives over recent years intended to drive up the levels and quality of community involvement in decision-making, both within the Council and externally.

These include development of Herefordshire Voice, a Citizens Panel of a representative sample of 1000 Herefordshire Residents and the successful 100% postal ballot for the 2003 local elections, resulting in high voter turnout.

The Council wishes to extend consultation beyond statutory requirements and needs to build on progress to date to find new and innovative ways of engaging local people and actively involving them in planning and decision making.

The terms we are currently using are:

Community Involvement which describes the full range of research, consultation and participation of communities and individuals in the decision making process.

Consultation - providing effective ways for citizens, service users and stakeholders to understand and influence decisions and policies that affect them. Examples of successful consultations include the future on the waste policy, the increase in support for stroke patients and the listening exercise to shape the North Herefordshire Children's Centre. You can view these consultations and more by following the link on the left.

Engagement - informing and communicating with people, building awareness of strategic issues and creating opportunities for dialogue and involvement in decisions and solutions.

Last Updated: 09 September 08,
Review Date: 20 September 2005