Community360 is committed to a continued programme of insight and intelligence gathering about our local sector. We achieve this by support and conducting research.
Further information and links to view the reports can be found on this page.
North East Essex Communities Responding to Crisis
In August 2020, C360 commissioned the University of Essex to collect the testimonies of community organisers. Interviewees generously gave their time between October 2020 and February 2021 when contributors, their families as well as their staff, volunteers and service users were under great pressure. This report is a milestone not an end-point.
North East Essex Communities Responding to Crisis Report
North East Essex Communities Responding to Crisis Podcast Series
A series of podcasts focusing on the impact COVID-19 had on Colchester’s charitable and voluntary sector, highlighting the findings from the project ‘North East Essex Communities Responding to Crisis’, a University of Essex study which was commissioned by Community360 and funded by the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance.
The study, which collected 45 local testimonies through two phases, revealed the impact COVID-19 had on this sector through a series of oral history testimonies. It is part of an ongoing commitment from C360 to record and explore the role of voluntary and community sector assets in Colchester. The research revealed the “absolute and immediate human impact” the pandemic had on staff and volunteers delivering services in the community, and on those who use them.
Now, these stories and the findings and impact they had – and are continuing to have – have been brought to life for all to hear in a series of podcasts, allowing for further reflection.
North East Essex Communities Responding to Crisis Podcast Series
Marmot Community Sector Leadership Report
In response to the findings of research, including North East Essex Communities Responding to Crisis and Build Back Fairer, we believe that now is the time the encourage further partnership working in the voluntary and community sector. We would like to bring together several anchor organisations that are playing a role in representing the sector at a place level, building on the success of One Colchester collaborative. We would like groups to join C360 to:
• Strengthen our Leadership Culture
• Create a collaborative Call to Action
• Drive Clarity and Commitment from your local infrastructure agencies
Please read the full briefing paper and contact us if you would like to register your interest.
Marmot Community Sector Leadership Forum
Communities Can… Build Back Fairer Conference
Following our successful Communities Can…Build Back Fairer Tackling Inequalities conference on the 11th of October 2021, we are pleased to provide you with the link to the recording of the event. The recording contains subtitles. If you wish to turn the subtitles off, click on the settings icon (along the bottom bar), select ‘subtitles’, then click ‘off’.
The recording can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/dVDrqO5aYVE
Shortly, we will be releasing the We Are Not Going Back report together with details of next steps on Phase 2 of the Tackling Inequalities agenda so please watch this space. We will also soon be launching the Marmot Community Sector Leadership Forum – further details to follow.
Community Asset Mapping Refresh Report
Following on from the first Community Assets Mapping reports, one for Colchester and one for Tendring, which were published in January 2019, this most recent report was commissioned to look at community activities, strengths, and challenges. The report was produced by in C360, CVS Tendring and Healthwatch Essex. It covers all north east Essex and draws upon local data from voluntary and community groups, case studies and consultation, to contextualise our place within the context of reports, including the Index of Multiple Deprivation update in 2019 and the Marmot Review 10 years on (which looked at progress made on prevention and tackling health inequalities).
The report also explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our communities, the way they work, their resilience and sustainability.
Community Asset Mapping Refresh Report
We Are Not Going Back Report 2022
We are delighted to publish and share with you our We’re Not Going Back Report. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to this from our local citizens, and local voluntary community organisations. We have listened and recorded the many challenges our communities have faced, together with their success stories and what has worked well for them.
From this information we now have an opportunity to push for an equitable, productive, and more prosperous future that improves everyone’s quality of life. Our collective experiences have shown how much can be achieved when we work together and target our skills and resources.
We have learnt more about what we value and why we will not go back to ‘normal,’ when for many ‘normal’ is an unsustainable, prejudiced, or imbalanced set of conditions.
This report also comes on the back of the The North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance community conference held last year with Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the Institute of Health Equity.
Titled Communities Can…Build Back Fairer, the conference aim was to raise awareness of how living through Covid has highlighted a host of inequalities in health outcomes.
We Are Not Going Back Report FINAL
Mid Essex Mapping
Mid-Essex is home to many types of community assets, ranging from local social groups to district-wide health and wellbeing support. There are many community venues across the districts that can be used in a variety of ways to support the community. The community is supported by vibrant groups of volunteers who develop and lead activities which improve residents’ quality of life. In the development of this report, we have identified more than 2,741assets across Braintree District, Maldon District and Chelmsford and we will count many more as we continue to learn from local communities. We need to ensure that there is infrastructure support, funding mechanisms and policy level support for many assets so that they can continue to function and support both people affected by the wider determinants of health as well as their staff and volunteers. The report observes that community assets are often looked upon as a first port of call for people in the community and without them they would not know where to turn.
Please find here
Links can be found below for phase 1 of the regional assets maps:
Braintree: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1W1UWYAlGqohnRIUKaMu7th10hWfCX51-&usp=sharing
Maldon District: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19QxiCQ05H4ejoqxJ_KdEDJkvg85ySj26&usp=sharing
Chelmsford: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1rR4YaXEqYh6xDeOT0PeTErwejv8SfOYk&usp=sharing
Social Return on Investment Evaluation – Summative Report
The Social Return on Investment (SROI) report sets out the social impact and social value of the Essex Timebank Network.
The report demonstrates that the Timebank Network has a positive impact on the lives of the people involved and this in turn benefits society.
Specifically, the report shows that for every £1 invested in timebanking in Essex, there is a social return of £19.18.
Social Return on Investment Evaluation – Summative Report
Community Asset Mapping Die Well Report
The Die Well domain is the third in a series of reports published as companions to the Community Assets Map commissioned by the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance, which highlights the strength of the community through the numerous assets found across our six neighbourhoods. This individual report considers key drivers and influences on people determined to be at or near end of life. There are a range of report findings, some of which include: the need to improve communication information and language around end of life; awareness and death literacy to remove stigma around dying and encouraging people to plan ahead.
North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance are delighted to be part of this amazing project and to show how community assets are part and parcel of the communities that exist in in Colchester and Tendring.
Assets, as defined by the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) model, can be individuals, associations, institutions, place-based, and connections. By understanding the assets, local commissioners are better placed to support community organisations, build partnerships and consider funding options.
The Alliance is committed to the ABCD approach, ensuring work is done with, not to local citizens. Consequently, understanding the strength and resilience of these assets, as well as acknowledging those areas requiring support or help with sustainability, is fundamental to achieve the Alliance objective – to work together to help everyone live well locally.
Community Asset Mapping Die Well Report
Community Asset Mapping Stay Well Report
This Stay Well domain is the fourth in a series of reports published as companions to the North East Essex Community Assets Map. The reports, commissioned by the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance, aim to highlight the strength of the community through the numerous assets found across our six neighbourhoods in Tendring and Colchester.
The North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance is committed to working within an ABCD approach ensuring work is done with, and not to, local people. Assets, as defined by the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) model, can be individuals, associations, institutions, places and spaces and connections. By understanding the Assets, local commissioners are better placed to support community organisations, build partnerships and consider funding options and community and voluntary sector organisations are better placed to grow their support to local people.
Consequently, understanding the strength and resilience of these Assets, as well as acknowledging those areas requiring support or help with sustainability, is fundamental to achieve the shared objective – to work together to help everyone live well locally.
This report follows the ‘Right Care, Right Time, Right Place’ principles and considers key drivers and influences on people who are living with long-term conditions or awaiting hospital treatment.
Work to underpin this report found a range of issues which are highlighted within. The need to improve communication, information, and language to support people to be able to take better care of themselves including more support to help people to adjust to living in a more digital world. The need to involve and support carers and other peer led groups and more generally a need to increase awareness of community assets and how to access them.
Community Asset Mapping Stay Well Report
Community Asset Mapping Age Well Report
As we age we are more likely to be faced with age-related conditions, increased isolation and challenges with physical and mental wellbeing. The Age Well report is the fifth in a series of reports published as companions to the North East Essex Community Assets Map. This new report, commissioned by the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance, aims to highlight the strength of the community through the numerous assets found across our six neighbourhoods in Tendring and Colchester.
Community Asset Mapping Age Well Report
Community Asset Mapping Be Well Report
The ‘Be Well’ report is the sixth in a series of reports published as companions to the North East Essex Community Assets Map. This latest report, commissioned by the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance, aims to highlight the strength of the community through the numerous assets found across six neighbourhoods in Tendring and Colchester.
‘Be Well’ has been put together by Healthwatch Essex, Community360 (C360) and Community Voluntary Services Tendring (CVST), who have worked closely with residents, local groups and representatives from the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance. The aim was to identify several actions that could be taken to build on the strengths already present in our communities.
The report provides case studies and spotlights examples of good practice. It has a particular focus on quality of housing standards; the impact of physical activity on health and wellbeing; and access to sustainable, affordable and healthy food. Collectively, with the invaluable ‘Citizen’s Voice’ gained from one-to-one discussions and interviews with people living in Old Heath and The Hythe in Colchester; Pier Ward in Tendring, there are a number of enablers and barriers identified that affect accessibility to opportunities.
Being Well in North East Essex is supported by a breadth of voluntary and community organisations committed to enabling people to maintain their quality of life to engage in purposeful activity and connect into local networks. Examples drawn together in the report offer an opportunity to reflect on what is working well, and what could be improved upon to reach those facing challenges to accessing available programmes. It highlights the varied nature of provision and the importance of this work to people in specific communities, where a thriving community spirit needs to be underpinned with a partnership approach.
A key finding from the report has highlighted that a thriving community spirit has emerged as a huge positive benefit to Being Well but still needs to be underpinned with a partnership approach.
Community Asset Mapping Be Well Report
Community Asset Mapping Start Well Report
The Community Assets Mapping refresh of North-East Essex was published in Spring 2021. One of the recommendations of the report was to explore key topics in greater detail. The Steering Group, which oversees this work and comprises membership from across the North East Essex Health & Wellbeing Alliance, prioritised Children, Young People and Families as the first area for analysis by supporting commissioners and local organisations to build on the strengths of what already exists, and fill identified gaps in services. The scope was agreed in consultation with the Children and Young People’s Partnership Board, the Start Well Domain Workstream and the Community Assets Steering Group.
Community Asset Mapping Start Well Report
Community Asset Mapping Feel Well Report
The Feel Well Deep Dive is the second in a series of reports to be published as companions to the Community Assets Mapping refresh of North-East Essex, originally published in Spring 2021.
The report has been produced by Healthwatch Essex, CVS Tendring and Community360, working in partnership, and collaborating with a Steering Group which has included the Feel Well domain lead, representatives from district and county councils, Essex Fire and Rescue, the Local Delivery Pilot, North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group and ESNEFT.
The aim was to gain a deeper understanding of what facilitates and what presents barriers to access to services and how to address them, the key challenges facing people with mental ill health (especially those aged between 18 and 55 years of age), local cultural factors and limitations, and transitioning from children to adult services.
