Helping you develop your vision and create a plan to achieve it.
To develop a community project you need a clear vision and a detailed plan, an awareness of how to work with volunteers and community groups, and an understanding of how to implement safeguarding policies.
Latest Planning Resources
Vision.
Be clear on what you are doing. You don’t need a lengthy document with job descriptions and fancy terminology, but it should demonstrate your vision for the project.
Our Vision Development Tool can help you form the basis of your action plan using 7 key questions that covers everything a funder or decision maker will ask about your project.
Seven key questions.
1. Who are the people who will benefit from the project?
2. What are your aims?
3. Why do you want to do your project?
4. Where is your project going to take place?
5. When do you want to run your project?
6. With what resources will your project be carried out?
7. Work out how your project will actually be achieved.
Plan.
Once you know what you are doing you can think about how to achieve it. Developing a project plan will enable you to manage your activities and achieve your aims, providing key information for potential funders or partners.
The Six Core Elements to Project Planning
1. Vision.
What are you tyring to achieve?
2. Project needs.
What is happening in your local area that has led you to the project
3. Resources.
The people, equipment, partnerships, and funds that you currently have and need to obtain.
4. Delivery.
How you are going to use resources to achieve your vision.
5. Management.
Making sure your project is going to plan and allocating responsibility.
6. Monitoring.
Has your project achieved the vision and what can be improved
Working with Volunteers.
The backbone of many community projects is the dedication of selfless volunteers willing to put in hours to help improve their local community. When working with volunteers you should:
Clarify tasks
Be clear about what they are doing, why it matters, what they need to do it and who will oversee their work
Build good relationships
Focus on the volunteer rather than the task, acknowledging the good work they are doing and how valuable they are to the project.
Encourage development
Create opportunities for volunteers to gain new experiences and develop additional skills.
Tackle difficulties
Try to overcome misunderstandings and challenges and ensure volunteers understand the common goal
Agree principles
Have a clear policy about working with volunteers that covers recruitment, expenses and safeguarding.
Manage formalities
Understand any legal responsibilities to volunteers such as safeguarding, health and safety, risk assessments, and emergency contacts.
Bringing local people together.
By developing a project to bring local people together and encouraging friendships to develop, you can help to make your local area a better place to live for everyone. Some of the key principles to keep in mind are:
Work Relationally
Bringing people together is the first step, but the aim is to build lasting relationships.
Build on existing acquaintances
Start with who you know, existing relationships can give you a great foundation to reach out to others.
A willingness to share and learn
When interacting with others, be sure to hear about their values and aspirations, and openly share your own
Be accommodating of differences
Recognise that people think differently and everyone may not share your views
Look for shared values and experiences
The Golden Rule across different faiths is to treat others as you would like to be treated;
Create a safe and trusting environment
Ensure that everyone feels comfortable discussing their views and interacting with others.
Safeguarding.
If you are running a community project, you may be working with children and young people, or other vulnerable groups, such as women, the elderly, or disabled people. Safeguarding is important because it prevents them from being hurt or abused, or being put at risk of harm or abuse. It also gives you guidance on what to do if you are concerned about a vulnerable person being hurt or abused outside your project.
To comply with safeguarding legislation, you will need to establish, implement, and follow good safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring your staff and volunteers are aware of the policies and procedures, and receive the relevant training. Your local authority will also have a designated safeguarding officer, who can provide information, advice, and guidance on safeguarding.
SMART Guidance.
When applying for grant funding, funders will ask questions about how you will evaluate your project.
The questions might look something like this: How will you evaluate your project? How will you know what success looks like? What are your project targets? Or simply, Please detail your SMART targets.
Use this guidance to help plan your project and complete applications.
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