Community Development

Community engagement

Our projects are creative activities, public events and local projects which engage communities with the environment, arts, culture, local heritage and topical issues. 

We help communities to have a voice, develop a clear purpose, make an impact and achieve change. 

We aim to:

• increase capacity of communities to manage change for the benefit of their members
• reduce the incidence and impact of deprivation and disadvantage
• inform communities and amplify their voice

We work with communities of place and of common interest, affiliation or identity to ensure that consideration is made of the diversity that exists. We build links with those external organisations that can help communities develop in a sustainable way and with those that need to know how to most effectively deliver services to a community. 

We gather evidence and data to ensure that providers of services can make informed decisions that reflect and understanding of a community's needs.

Major projects have included:

• Home Grown: Community Owned (HogCo)- practical advice and training for community growing groups
• Women Do Business - support and training for women entrepreneurs
• Climage Change Toolkit - helping communities develop action plans to deal with climate change
• Natural Environment Toolkit - advice for anyone wanting to get more involved in Devon's natural and historic environment
• Migrant Workers Project - supporting migrants in building positive relationships with local communities
• Community Plans / Parish Plans – researching the aspirations and concerns of your community and agreeing a range of actions for the benefit of everyone locally.

For more information or to discuss community projects please call Martin Rich on 01392 248919 ext*141 or email martin@devoncommunities.org.uk