Section 5 – Community Involvement Plan
Barry Cluster Community Involvement Plan
“Community Involvement is an essential feature of the Communities First Programme.
Each Cluster has flexibility to develop the structures that suit the area. Each Cluster
also has a Community Involvement Plan which shows how local people and community
organisations will be central in planning and delivering work with other key partners
working with them supporting all aspects of the programme.”
Welsh Government, March 2014
Community Involvement Plan Purpose and Definitions
In conjunction with the detailed projects described in-depth in the Delivery Plan, the Barry
Cluster Community Involvement Plan (CIP) will directly address the Cluster programme’s antipoverty agenda and aim to increase levels of involvement with those most disadvantaged and
currently disengaged from mainstream services. This plan will demonstrate how we propose to
increase current levels of involvement, particularly amongst the most disadvantaged and with
our target groups.
The plan is linked to other relevant policies and strategies such as the Vale of Glamorgan’s
Consultation Policy and the Vale’s Community Strategy as we believe the CIP needs to fit into
the overarching strategy of the local authority as the LDB as well as the LSB to ensure
consistency and credibility.
The CIP also acknowledges the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s ‘Strategic Equality Plan and the
Welsh Government’s Communities First guidance on Equalities, Diversity and Human Rights.
The aim of the CIP is to ensure that Cluster residents are not only aware of the programme but
are involved both in the future development and delivery of the projects. This task cannot be
achieved by the Communities First team alone and we acknowledge that high levels of
community involvement can only be achieved in partnership with other stakeholders.
We will build on the consultation and engagement work already in place to ensure our present
and future partnership work delivers programmes with representation from the community,
statutory, voluntary and business sectors. As an example of this, our Partnership Board
reflects this objective.
We recognise the National Principles for Public Engagement in Wales and the National
Children and Young people’s Participation Standards for Wales as guiding values for the work
undertaken in the Cluster, and have used the following ‘Participation Cymru’ definitions
throughout this plan:
Consultation is a “formal process by which policy makers and service providers ask for
the views of interested groups and individuals”
Engagement is “an active and participative process by which people can influence and
shape policy and services that includes a wide range of different methods and
techniques”
Participation involves “people being actively involved with policy makers and service
planners from an early stage of policy and service planning and review”
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Community Involvement can therefore be found in “activities that increase people's
knowledge of the community and allow them to give back to the community, while
experiencing a sense of connection to it.”
Community Involvement in the Plan
This plan builds on the 2012 CIP which was created in conjunction with service-users,
residents and stakeholders and our existing community involvement work which has continued
to develop since then.
A draft version of the 2014 CIP has also been presented to our current Partnership Board.
One key issue we’ve learnt from the work we’ve undertaken directly with service-users is that
they told us they were often bewildered at the profusion of different advice and guidance that
was not always presented to them in a way they could understand i.e. in ‘plain English’. As a
result of listening to these concerns we responded by creating the ‘Info Hub’ project.
Once the CIP is approved it will also be made available on our website and circulated to key
partners and stakeholders for further comment and updating. We believe this process is a
continuous and should progressively feed into our work in shaping services to most effectively
meet the needs of our community.
Barry Cluster CIP and Community Involvement
Barry Cluster was formed from two previous Communities First Partnerships in Castleland and
Gibbonsdown & Court with a few more LSOA’s added to the programme (for a more detailed
history, see the ‘Story behind the baseline’ in the Delivery plan).
Most of the geographic area covered by the Cluster is represented on our Partnership Board
by residents or stakeholders who operate throughout the Cluster. The area in Barry covered by
the programme is a relatively small geographic area with good links between communities,
particularly in respect of transport and access to services. Also, there are a number of
accessible community buildings within the Cluster area and the team is based in a building
central to the Cluster area, sharing a building with a partner agency, the Vale CVS.
As well as the Partnership Board, we host a number of service-user focus groups for the
purpose of listening to their views on our service provision, giving them a voice in the
development and shaping of our services.
Amongst other issues, we ask them if we are providing the correct services for their needs in
the right locations. If we can, we then respond to the issues raised by adapting our services
accordingly. An example of this in action occurred when service-users told us they were
unable to access our job search support due to either a lack of essential skills or lack of
access to digital media, sometimes both. We then set up essential skills groups and digital
inclusion sessions with partners such as the Vale’s Community and Adult Education Team to
meet that need.
Target Audience
A great deal of work was undertaken to produce the ‘story behind the baseline’ and the
programme projects (for more detail, please see the individual Project Descriptions embedded
in our Delivery plan). To ensure we were targeting the right audience, we consulted widely with
partners and stakeholders already working in the areas covered by the three themes. We did
this in order to ensure we would not duplicate our work with others and to provide a ‘niche’
element to add value to the work already undertaken. This needs-assessment work has been
used to underpin our Cluster plan and projects in order to effectively focus our delivery
activities in the most efficient way for the target population.
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The Barry Communities First Cluster area, similar to all areas that suffer deprivation, suffers
from a broad network of inter-related issues such as mental illness, poverty, poor levels of
education and low socio-economic status; in fact all those issues identified by the Welsh
Government Indicators published in 2012.
We do not believe we are experts at working with every aspect of our Cluster community and
‘hard to reach’ groups and individuals, so we have developed excellent links with partner
agencies in order to work with them and take advantage of their knowledge and expertise in
working with those groups and individuals. Previous Communities First partnership teams did
not have as much contact with these groups and individuals, so we have also invested in retraining the staff team in order to accomplish this task.
For example, in respect of young people who are NEET, we’ve developed excellent
relationships with local agencies who provide support to NEETS in Barry and we work with
these organisations in a number of different ways, depending on which Careers Wales ‘Tier’
the young person occupies;
 With JCP we attend the Barry JCP at least once per week to take referrals, discuss
options with young people and advise the JCP advisers of plans and projects and
training and funding opportunities, not just within the Cluster programme but also those
available from partner agencies. We work very closely with Barry JCP as we believe
they are the best and most appropriate source of referrals for our Prosperity projects.
 Careers Wales also provide us with referrals (and vice-versa) and we also work on joint
training and funding opportunities.
 We receive and also make referrals to other ‘routes to employment’ agencies in Barry,
such as the Shaw Trust and the Vale’s Employment and Training team who run a Work
programme contract. Discussions with these agencies and their service-users take
place on a regular basis.
For further information on the ‘hard to reach’ groups and individuals we’ve identified and work
with, please see our Project Plans.
We will continue to work with service users, partners and stakeholders on an ongoing basis in
establishing local levels of ‘need’ by frequently ‘scoping and mapping’ need and regularly
reviewing our projects and activities. We also recognise we need to fully understand current
levels of community involvement and the needs of our communities, particularly in the new
Cluster areas. This exercise will also consider the local provision by partners and good
practice elsewhere. We will utilise questionnaires, community appraisals, and community
events to support this process (see Appendix A below for more detail).
An example of this form of consultation and action is evident in our partnership with the Vale of
Glamorgan Council and local community centre management committees to establish two
‘Community Hubs’ in local community centres in new areas of the Cluster.
The need for these Hubs was made evident in our original consultation and again more
recently when we looked at the geographical spread of our service delivery in the initial phase
of the Cluster.
At these venues, we’ll be providing advice and information to allow residents to improve their
levels of IT access and skills and apply for services online where previously there was none
available. This project will also work with the local CAB and the Vale’s Community and Adult
Education Team to provide advice and alternative learning opportunities. The Hubs will also
help us assess need and establish avenues for communication between the community and
Cluster partner providers across all three themes of Learning, Health and Prosperity.
We will acknowledge the varied needs of our communities when considering the different
levels of involvement required and will broadly reflect diverse and appropriate levels of
engagement, participation and impact (see Appendix A below). Also, we aim to make aspects
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of the CIP available in a variety of accessible formats; for example, our new website utilises
accessibility technology for those who cannot read or have poor eyesight/sight loss and is
therefore currently accessible to people with hearing and sight difficulties;
http://www.BarryCommunitiesFirst.org
Other ‘hard to reach’ groups include people with disabilities, those from minorities, members of
the LGBT community, disenfranchised older people and young people and all have separate
and substantial barriers which will need to be addressed before a meaningful level of
engagement can take place. However, the organisations who already work with these groups
have expertise in this area and we would not seek to duplicate that commitment, but to learn
from them and utilise their knowledge and existing networks of service users.
We have also set up our own mechanisms where we’ve identified a gap in provision e.g. our
own BETH (benefits, employment, training and housing) group for all those in the routes-toemployment sector in the Barry area.
Barriers and Opportunities
On the whole, we are fortunate to have excellent working relationships with partner agencies in
the Barry and Vale area, so we have not encountered many significant barriers to engagement
with them or their service-users.
Although many of these relationships were in place prior to the development of the Cluster, we
have successfully built on the support and contribution from partners and stakeholders when
we created the original Cluster Delivery plan. Since then, all team members have taken
advantage of those good working links to develop and provide appropriate and effective
services to our Cluster residents.
These relationships allow us to be flexible in meeting demands and overcoming barriers; for
example if we are unable to meet a particular need then we can request that one of our
partners or stakeholders step in and attempt to resolve that issue.
Also, we’ve been provided with ample opportunities for joint working on issues such as funding
bids, joint events for consultation and awareness-raising and shared training. We believe that
the barriers to further and more meaningful community involvement are relatively minor and
that they can be overcome, mainly by meaningful application of the principles mentioned at the
beginning of this document.
We’ve also made it clear to partners and stakeholders that we are open to any further
opportunities such as the ones identified above.
In respect of barriers and opportunities to working with Cluster residents and ‘hard to
reach’ individuals and groups, we believe an important means of overcoming this lies in
working closely with expert’ partners who are already working with that demographic group(s).
The extensive consultation we undertook in preparation for our original Cluster delivery plan
gave us an excellent insight into identifying these groups and individuals, whilst also
accounting for the original Welsh Government indicators which explicitly defined our target
audience. For example, we are now a partner on the Vale’s Community Cohesion group, a
voluntary sector-facilitated group that brings together interested parties from the diverse
community in Barry e.g. the BME community, the LGBT sector and the Police. We aim to
utilise these links to ‘reach out’ to Cluster residents who also fall into those groups and who
may not be engaging with mainstream service providers (as outlined in Sections F&G in
Appendix A below).
Strategic Links and Partners
As stated above, a key element of our work is based on consistently maximising partnership
and joint working opportunities, ensuring we make the best use of the resources and expertise
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that are available (key partners are listed below). All have a great deal of knowledge about the
people who traditionally do not engage with mainstream organisations and therefore those
service-users do not always receive the appropriate levels of service provision.
We have strong strategic and operational links at all levels with the relevant agencies e.g. the
Leader of the Vale Council sits on our Partnership Board with 5 other Cabinet members (there
are 7 on the Vale cabinet in total), so we have excellent links with the Vale as the Lead
Delivery Body and as a key member of the LSB.
Through various LSB working groups, we have strong links with other Welsh Governmentsponsored projects such as Flying Start and Families First.
An example of this partnership work in action can be evidenced by our school engagement
project, which involves both projects supporting us to hold awareness-raising events about the
Cluster programme and associated activities in local Primary Schools to take our message
directly to service-users in their local community. Other partners such as Cardiff and Vale
Credit Union also take part in these events, taking the opportunity to network with others,
advertise their services and recruit new service-users. We plan on holding similar events in all
8 Cluster schools during the course of 2014.
Similarly, our Job Fairs give service-users an opportunity to tell us what they think about the
‘routes to employment’ network in Barry and how the job seeking-support they receive can be
improved. This information is captured by interview, questionnaire and social media.
As stated above, we created the Delivery Plan in partnership with a number of local Agencies
and we’ll continue to work with these Agencies on joint projects as well as continue to utilise
their own resources, networks and expertise in order to strengthen community involvement in
the Cluster e.g. by working with the local Flying Start team’s ‘Men behaving Dadly’ project to
support them with job-seeking activities.
As outlined in each of the project descriptions attached to the Delivery Plan, the following
Agencies support the work of the Cluster team in the variety of projects we offer people living
in the Cluster area;
 The Vale of Glamorgan Council via;
 Development Services Directorate
 the Families First programme
 Flying Start
 Adult and Community Education
 Libraries
 the Youth Service
 Leisure and Tourism (which includes sports development and exercise referrals)
 the YOS
 Housing Dept
 the 8 local schools in the Cluster.
 Job Centre Plus
 Careers Wales
 Cardiff and Vale College
 The People Business Wales
 Local training providers such as Babcock and the Shaw Trust
 Public Health Wales
 Newydd Housing Association
 Vale CVS
 Vale Volunteer Bureau
 Cardiff and Vale CAB
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Community Involvement Mechanisms
All of the activities outlined in this CIP are linked to the Cluster Delivery Plan and we believe
that as we increase our levels of community involvement, in turn we’ll see improved levels of
participation and uptake of our delivery plan activities.
The principle of meaningful involvement and ‘active participation’ will run through all aspects
of the work of the Cluster team and we plan on continuing our engagement with service-users
to shape and evaluate our services and this process has already been embedded into all of
our projects.
Focus Groups -We also aim to work with service users in specific ‘focus groups’ to evaluate
the work we do with them and ensure the work of the Cluster programme is effective and
reaches out to those in most need;
 The focus groups will meet on a quarterly basis under the three themes.
 They will also address different issues e.g. we will work with a group of NEETS
as well as older job seekers as each will have different needs and issues to
address.
 The groups will be formed from the service-users we work with in groups in the
course of our work i.e. those groups and individuals we engage with as part of
our regular service provision.
 We will listen to their opinions on service provision to assist us in continuing to
‘shape’ our services. We will then use this information to influence decision
making in the wider environment with partners and also to use as evidence for
‘the story behind the baseline’ as well as future funding bids.
Partnership Board - We will build on the consultation and engagement work already in place
to ensure our present and future partnership work delivers programmes with representation
from the community, statutory, voluntary and business sectors.
As an example of this, our Partnership Board reflects one part of this objective by providing a
forum for stakeholders to review and comment on the work we undertake at least 6 times per
year. On a ‘macro’ level, as the Partnership Board comprises key members of the Lead
Delivery Body as well as the Local Service Board, this forum provides an important link
between the Cluster programme and the wider strategic overview of both organisations. On a
‘micro’ level, we have local residents on our Board, representatives from local Tenants and
Residents Associations and representatives from key partners such as the Vale CVS
(representing the third sector) and Cardiff and Vale CAB. All these Board members act as
‘critical friends’ and give us direct feedback about the effectiveness of our project work as it
affects service users and how it addresses the anti-poverty agenda.
The current Partnership Board comprises the following;
 5 Cluster residents
 6 local Members who are also Cabinet Members and represent the Cluster
Wards, inc. the Leader of the Council
 The People Business Wales
 Public Health Wales
 Gibbonsdown Children’s Centre
 The People Centre Food Co-op
 Cardiff & Vale CAB
 Cardiff & Vale Credit Union
 Newydd Housing Association
 Job Centre Plus
 Vale Director Learning & Skills
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





Vale Director of Housing
Vale Director of Development Services
Families First FACT team
Flying Start
Vale Youth Service
Cardiff & Vale College
We recognise there is a large local authority element to the Partnership Board with
approximately 10 out of the 26 representatives’ part of the Vale Council, but there is also a
large contingent of other partners who are also key partners e.g. Cardiff and Vale CAB.
The tools that we will use to increase levels of involvement throughout the Cluster, working
with all our service-user groups and ‘hard to reach’ individuals are listed below in Appendix A.
Budget
By utilising the CIP budget effectively, we will also demonstrate ‘best value’ by working with
partners and other stakeholders to avoid duplication, maximise efficient use of resources and
take advantage of any partnership opportunities that can increase our engagement with the
Cluster communities.
The budget is attached in Appendix B.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Transparent monitoring and review mechanisms will be built into all aspects of the CIP,
from ‘soft outcome’ evaluations, through regular checks and balances with partners, the Board
and focus groups (see below in Appendix A, specifically the columns for ‘Monitoring &
Evaluation’ and ‘Timescales and Milestones’). We aim to utilise the RBA process to monitor
and evaluate our work in this area and use the Partnership Board to report back to as well as
providing ideas to improve our ‘medium as well as the message’.
We aim to use the involvement levels from our first year as a baseline and within the RBA
framework, utilise a variety of methods in order to monitor levels of community involvement,
such as;
 Registers of attendees with unique ‘participant’ numbers.
 Evaluation forms – ‘soft outcomes’ questionnaires.
 No. of referrals into and out of the projects (as well as between projects).
 Service-user focus groups (as identified above).
 Case studies.
 Outcomes.
The Lead Delivery Body and Staffing
The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the Lead Delivery Body for the Barry Communities First
Cluster and as such supports staff in a number of different ways. For example, the Cluster
budget pays for the Vale ‘management charge’, which includes support from
HR, line management time to support the Cluster manager and the strategic importance of the
Cluster within the Vale Council, ICT and associated technical support, payroll services,
internal statistical support, services such as Health & Safety advice and guidance, access to
the services of the Vale Consultation Officer etc. As evidenced by the number of Cabinet
members on the Partnership Board, the support and commitment of the Vale to the Cluster
programme cannot be faulted.
Community involvement is seen as the business of all Cluster team members and everyone in
the team works to maximise both the level of involvement and the quality of the engagement.
We will therefore continue to work with other Agencies such as the WCVA in order to take
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advantage of any appropriate training opportunities that will assist us in updating our
knowledge and practice in the area of community involvement and engagement. For example,
we are currently working with TPAS Cymru in order to strengthen our ability to engage with
service-users and harness their views in order to improve our levels of service delivery.
Previously we’ve worked with the 4 Cardiff Clusters and Dynamix Training in order to address
this issue on a wider regional basis, as well as looking at good practice elsewhere e.g. via the
WCVA’s OLGA initiative.
In Appendix A below, different levels of communication, engagement and participation are
identified and examples are given to indicate the potential for this Community Involvement
Plan to reach out to everyone who lives in the Cluster area in different ways, with different
results. Taken individually, each element would not connect with and include everyone, so it’s
important that each method/level will overlap and ‘mesh’ with other aspects of the CIP to
ensure we meet the diverse needs of everyone in the Cluster community regardless of their
abilities or status as ‘hard to reach’ individuals and groups.
Page 8 of 17
Appendix A
Type of
Purpose
communication
and engagement
and cost.
 Low Cost
 Medium Cost
 High Cost
Levels of involvement
A) Website and
social media,
monthly eNewsletters.
It can be used for surveys
and consultations in order to
alert the community to news
and issues in advance.
NB website paid
for as part of
general Vale
management
charge.
LC
Communication via IT with
all those members of the
community who have digital
access is very cost effective
and ‘instant’. It provides an
identity for the Cluster
programme and can be
utilised to access other
media and websites e.g. via
Twitter and Facebook.
These can also act as a
forum for interactive
engagement e.g.
community groups and
partners can place notices
on the site.
Impact
E-information will
be interactive and
instant for members
of the community
and beyond. It can
Similarly, service-users can
provide up-to-date
suggest and send in topics
feedback on
and articles for the newsletter. important issues,
Residents and volunteers can news and projects.
be encouraged to develop
and manage a website and
Residents and
sign up for regular Twitter,
volunteers can be
Facebook and email updates. supported to
increase their
Residents and volunteers can confidence, skills
be encouraged to pass on
and knowledge in
articles, re-Tweet information different areas of
Currently the Val as a whole and ‘like’ a Facebook topic.
communication and
is the 2nd most digitally
community
inclusive LA in Wales (70% Can be used for posting
engagement.
inclusion); however, we
information when there’s a
know from our own
need for a quick turnaround
research and evidence that, e.g. for imminent training
for our Cluster residents
courses on behalf of partner
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How will these be
monitored and
evaluated?






Number of web
hits (day, week,
month etc)
Number of likes
on Facebook.
Number of
followers on
Twitter.
Feedback on
website by users.
Number of email
addresses on our
e-circulation list
for Monthly eNewsletter.
Increase in
Cluster residents
utilising available
social media e.g.
via their
smartphone, local
library.
Timescales and
Milestones
NB most of this
work is already
underway so only
work in progress
has a specified date
for review.
 Website,
Facebook and
Twitter up and
running since
September 2013.
 Ongoing activity,
with website,
Twitter and
Facebook
updated on
virtually a daily
basis.
 Quarterly eNewsletters.
 Annual
comparison with
other Clusters for
quality and
content.
that figure is closer to 50%.
We therefore believe we
need to work with partners
e.g. Communities 2.0 to
boost that figure.
agencies.
NB We have numerous
examples of rapid responses
from Cluster residents
wishing to take part when this
has been implemented.
Website address is shown
on all Cluster marketing and
communication materials.
B) Newsletters
Alternatively to the above,
and specific issue newsletters can be
mail-shots.
delivered to each of the
8500 houses/16400 people
MC
in the Cluster area
regardless of the residents’
access to IT. They can also
be targeted to address
specific issues in specific
communities in diverse
ways e.g. communication in
Welsh.
These methods therefore
allow everyone in the
Cluster area with the ability
to read to access
information about our
projects.
This type of engagement
also ensures we engage
with residents living in ‘new’
parts of the Cluster area.
Residents and volunteers can
be encouraged to pass on
leaflets to friends and also to
deliver to their local area e.g.
to pass on a leaflet to another
resident if they live in a
sheltered accommodation
complex for older people.
This method can be shared
with partners e.g. partners
without sufficient funding can
work with us when reaching
their service-users who may
also be ‘hard to reach’.
Ensures everyone
in the Cluster
receives
information about
the Cluster
programme and
signposts them to
alternative projects
and news e.g.
advertises our
website.
Ensures we control
the message as
opposed to working
with local media
Residents can be encouraged who don’t always
to engage via prize draws and present our
raffles if they respond to our
information to the
request for information,
public as we would
further engagement.
like it.
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


Feedback from
residents and
partners.
Referrals will
confirm where
participants
found out about
our projects i.e.
did they refer
themselves
because they
received a
leaflet?
Soft outcomes
questionnaire to
determine the
value of
delivering a
‘paper copy’
leaflet as
opposed to eNewsletter.



At least 1
general
Newsletter to be
distributed per
year.
At last 2 specific
issues
mailshots per
year.
Impact to be
reviewed
annually via
survey/question
naire with
Partnership
Board oversight
and input.
C) Local media,
newspapers and
TV.
Also,
opportunities to
share good
practice via
Cazbah.
MC
D) Community
events – in
specific
communities and
Cluster-wide.
HC
Highlights issues and
Cluster news and allows for
good publicity to the wider
community outside of the
Cluster areas. Allows for a
more diverse form of
communication e.g. for
older people who prefer
newspapers and those who
do not have digital access.
Can be used on a regular
basis e.g. annually at a
Jobs Fair. Can be held in
one LSOA, across the
Cluster or the wider
community, working with
partners or for one-off
events with a specific
purpose e.g. Christmas
school events and Summer
Fayre.
Unlike in previous
partnerships, event are all
now tied into tackling the
anti-poverty agenda to
ensure appropriate and
effective use of CIP budget.
Residents and volunteers can
be involved in writing reports
and stories.
They can also access
appropriate training e.g. in
creating media and acting as
ambassadors for their
communities to develop their
skills and confidence further.
Provides an
opportunity to share
and highlight good
news items and
publicity in the
Cluster as well as
the wider
community.



Residents and volunteers can
be involved in designing and
managing the event to enable
build up of skills etc.
We can utilise a ‘soft
outcomes’ approach to gather
views of the
community/attendees.
Important for face-to-face
interaction with Cluster
residents as well as to recruit
new participants into the
programme.
Special interest forums can
also act as a bridge between
groups e.g. combining with
Tenants and Residents
Page 11 of 17
Apart from
highlighting wider
issues which may
cover all aspects of
the Cluster plan,
events also offer an
opportunity for jointworking. e.g. best
use of a community
resource, such as
more varied use of
a local
school/library.
Joint events with
partners often
foster goodwill for
future working
relationships.





Database
currently kept of
all press
releases.
Quality assured
with Vale central
communications
team to ensure
consistency.
Record
circulation figures
for the Cluster
area.

Numbers of
people in
attendance.
Geographic and
demographic
distribution
recorded.
Views of
participants
recorded
Records of
referrals made to
different projects.
Maintain a
database of
participants
attracted to take
part in projects
 Monthly
community
events in different
venues.
 Annual Jobs Fair.
 Annual
community
‘check-up’ and
consultation.
 Events always
held with partners
invited as
appropriate e.g.
school events to
include Flying
Start and
Families First as
main partners;


At least one
press release to
go out per
month in local
press with Barry
& District News
and Barry Gem.
At least one
case study to
be provided to
Cazbah per
year.
Press strategy
to be reviewed
annually.
Questionnaires now used at
every opportunity to gather
information about email
addresses (to send out
information) as well as
record views about the
event and any other issues
concerning the public
relevant to the Cluster
programme.
Associations/groups and
helps in ‘shaping services’.
Special interest
forums can
empower residents
to tackle specific
issues with partner
providers e.g.
working with
residents to assist
the Housing Dept to
shape services and
tackle housing
issues.
Special interest forums to
engage with the community
on a specific issue e.g.
regeneration activities in the
Cluster via ‘active
participation’.
E) Partnership
Board meetings
and sub-groups.
MC
Provides an excellent
opportunity to engage with
stakeholders and partners
to shape and plan activities
as well as to monitor and
evaluate effectiveness of
the work of the Cluster
programme.
Sub-groups of the Board
are convened to consider
specific issues and then
report back to the Board
When held in
conjunction with
partners, excellent
opportunity for
networking and
sharing information
and joint working.
Residents and volunteers can
support the Cluster as a
Board representative acting
as an advocate for their
community/special interest
group.
They can nominate
themselves and others
though there is an obvious
limit to the size of the Board.
Due to the number of Cabinet
Members and senior
representatives from local key
Page 12 of 17
The Partnership
Board and subgroups can provide
a high level forum
for discussion,
strategy and
feedback e.g. with
partners about
strategic direction
of the Cluster
programme as well
as offering
opportunities for


as a result of
different forms of
communication
and engagement
to ascertain most
effective
methods of
attracting
referrals into
Cluster
programme.
Jobs Fair to
include JCP and
Careers Wales as
main partners.
 Regular follow-up
system
implemented to
check referrals
and outcomes
e.g. person
gaining
employment after
attending a Jobs
Fair.
Partnership
Board meets
regularly i.e.
every 2 months,
with all
participants able
to contribute to
the Agenda.
Board to offer
feedback and
comment on
performance of
Cluster



Board
membership
regularly
advertised via
website and
with partners.
Board meets 6
times per year.
At least one
sub-group to be
created to look
at specific issue
per year.
e.g. a sub-group met to
consider the Tackling
Poverty Small Grants Fund
applications in an objective
and helpful manner.
organisations such as the
Vale CVS, the Board is seen
as an influential body with
important links to other
strategies and processes e.g.
the LSB.
resident and
stakeholder
engagement and
discussion.
The creation and ongoing
support of these serviceuser focus groups is vital to
the success of the Cluster
programme and is at the
heart of the CIP.
Service-users will be
encouraged to voice their
opinions and also consider
further supporting us by
volunteering and/or joining
our Partnership Board.
Cluster delivery staff will
work directly with serviceusers in a very focussed
way by asking them their
Once these focus groups are
established, service-users will
be encouraged to take the
lead in developing these
This proposal fits
into our overall
Cluster Delivery
plan in that
empowerment of
service-users and
supporting them to
become their own
advocates ties into
our ‘routes to
employment’

The Board has Terms of
Reference and a
Memorandum of
Understanding with the Vale
Council which has been
approved by the Cabinet
and the Welsh Government
and is therefore fully
integrated with the work of
the Vale Council as the
LDB, as well as related
mechanisms such as the
LSB. Regular Agenda items
include the work and
progress of the Cluster
team.
See full composition above.
F) Service-user
focus groups.
LC
Page 13 of 17


programme and
effectiveness of
Board annually.
Annually review
Board’s make-up
to reflect CIP and
demographic
expectations e.g.
gender and
disability.

It’s proposed to
review the
effectiveness of
the Board at
some point this
year.
Service-user
focus groups to
meet once per
quarter across
the three
different themes,
sometimes for
each project as
appropriate.
Soft outcomes
questionnaires

Service-user
focus groups to
meet once per
quarter across
the three
different
themes,
sometimes for
each project as
appropriate, 4
within each
opinion on the effectiveness
of our projects and how we
can improve them. Also, the
focus groups will give the
programme more credibility
and give us more insight
into the diverse needs of
our Cluster population.
groups further.
We aim to support and
develop service-users so they
are then able to take their
ideas and messages to the
Board and further, to
decision-makers in other
disciplines e.g. Social
Services.
projects. For
example, we
support serviceusers who are not
job-ready by
providing them with
confidence-building
support work, which
is accredited.


G) Activities to
work with specific
hard-to-reach
groups e.g.
young people
who are NEET,
when individuals
or groups need
This initiative will allow the
CIP and the Cluster plan to
provide support for ‘hard to
reach’ individuals and
groups in need of extra
support e.g. to be able to
contribute as a volunteer or
to have their voice heard.
All in need of support would
therefore get appropriate
access to services to ensure
their voices are heard and
that they are fully able to
contribute to the process, in
respect of accessing, shaping
and monitoring services.
Page 14 of 17
Ensures Cluster
activities reach out
to a more diverse
range of individuals
and groups in the
communities and
encouraging those
groups and
and consultation
at the heart of
each session to
establish
effectiveness of
projects (e.g. are
we using the
right venue?) and
how can we
improve?
Utilise partners
(WVCA via
OLGA initiative)
and other
Clusters to
establish good
practice, from
within the Vale
as well as with
other Clusters in
Wales.
Record activities
and issues raised
for future ‘story
behind the
baseline’ needs.
On the whole, very
similar to the service
–user focus groups
above but with more
diverse methods of
engagement and
participation that
might also need to



financial year.
Review process
and findings
annually.
Use information
to feed into
future Delivery
Plans.
Report issues
back to
Partnership
Board on a
regular basis.
Ditto.
 More focus
needed on this
issue over the
course of the
next year with
identification of
unmet need and
extra support in
order to access
the above forms
of involvement.
MC
It also offers an excellent
and more easily understood
progression into our
projects for people with
these extra support needs
and their carers.
This proposal would always
need to be undertaken in
conjunction with expert
partners who know the
service-user, are qualified
and have special skills e.g.
in working with people with
special needs or mental
health issues.
H) Face-to-face
and ‘open
access’ to staff at
local offices and
regular,
publicised drop-in
sessions.
LC
This method of involvement
ensures that the Cluster plan
provides a forum where
issues can be addressed
using different forms of
communication e.g. children
highlighting an issue via the
medium of art and
performance.
individuals to
engage and
develop.
include their carer
and /or support
worker.
We would also
include the views of
the expert partner
workers and
agencies in any
assessment of the
effectiveness of this
form of engagement.
Probably the most favoured
form of communication and
engagement for residents and
volunteers.
Ensures residents
and volunteers are
valued and treated
equitably.

Good opportunity to involve
and include volunteers in this
form of CIP-related activity as
Ongoing activity takes place the activity can be specific
on a daily basis within the
and something the volunteer
Cluster programme and
is well versed in, allowing
easily understood initiative
them the time and confidence
for staff, volunteers and
to work with service-users
service-users e.g. we run a and potential future
weekly bike-club supported volunteers, even if its as
almost wholly by volunteers. simple as a volunteer working
As a result of this level of
with a service-user to
Possibly the best
way to channel
news and views
interactively in both
directions.

Staff to ensure CIP
considered at each and
very project activity.
Direct and responsive to
most needs and very
flexible and adaptable.
Page 15 of 17
solutions to
addressing this
challenge, with
a strategy to be
produced by
Sept 2014.

Regular face-toface interaction
generally agreed to
be most favoured
form of service
delivery, particularly
Soft outcomes
questionnaires
and consultation
around the
quality agenda.
Utilise evidence
and information
derived from
service-user
focus groups.
Staff supervision,
team meetings
and training to
offer feedback
about quality and
consistency of
day-today

Ensure project
activities meet
the needs of
service-users
throughout the
Cluster whilst
also taking
account of the
diverse needs
of service –
users e.g.
providing
venues in the
Cluster area
that are also
accessible for
people with
engagement and
complete a questionnaire.
ownership, volunteers are
interested and enthusiastic
about what other activities
and projects they can work
on to assist us in further
developing our Cluster plan.
For example, one bike club
volunteer/participant is now
interested in starting a
geocaching club alongside
our Come Outside project.
the 1:1 sessions.
activities and
project delivery.



I) Telephone, text
and email.
LC
Instant and accessible form
of communication which
can meet a number of
diverse needs e.g. in
working with younger
people who are more used
to text as a form of
conversation.
Allows residents and
volunteers to contact Cluster
staff in a very simple, cheap,
interactive and responsive
way and vice-versa.
Very inclusive form of
communication.
Regular and open
access to Cluster
staff is good for
project workers as
well as residents for
the purpose of
ongoing activities
and
communication.


Phone number and generic
email address is shown on
all Cluster marketing and
communication materials.

Page 16 of 17
Cluster staff to
agree serviceusers preferred
method of
communication
at referral stage
or during first
contact.
Soft outcomes
questionnaire to
determine
service-users
preferred method
of
communication
overall.
Report issues



disabilities.
Report issues
back to
Partnership
Board on a
regular basis for
further
discussion and
comment.
Review process
and findings
annually.
Use information
to feed into
future Delivery
Plans.
Used daily.
Generic email
checked every
day.
Work within
appropriate vale
response times
for answering
phone, replying
to letters and
emails etc.
back to
Partnership
Board on a
regular basis.
Appendix B - Barry Communities First CIP budget
CIP Budget Proposal 2014-15
Learning
£
-
£
-
£
500.00
Refreshments
£
675.00
Venue Hire
£
1,000.00
Prosperity
£
10,000.00
£
£
1,550.00
£
900.00
£
3,300.00
2,175.00
£
15,750.00
Resident training
Marketing
Community
Involvement
Resident Travel
Plan
TOTAL
£
Health
£
3,440.00
£
£
£
1,000.00
£
700.00
CF general
£
500.00
£
5,089.00
£
150.00
£
800.00
£
396.00
£
5,140.00
£
6,935.00
TOTAL
£ 13,940.00
£
5,089.00
£
2,200.00
£
3,375.00
£
5,396.00
£
30,000
Appendix C - Visual CIP (to go on website and to be used in presentations to stakeholders by all staff)
Page 17 of 17