Background

Evolving from efforts by service providers and residents' early attempts to work together on the issues in the area, the Adamsdown Community Partnership Project was initially funded in part by the Welsh Assembly Government (under the Sustainable Communities Programme) and in part by contributions from the Cardiff Community Housing Association and the Scarman Trust.

The Project commenced on 21st May 2001 with 3 work strands:

1. Employment of a full-time Community Project Officer for three years to support the further development of the Adamsdown Community Forum
• participation and involvement of residents from all sections of the community
• partnership working between services providers at the local level
• resident involvement in identification of local needs and planning/implementation and evaluation of solutions

2. Develop community facilities (expand, improve and equip existing facility at Moira Terrace, Adamsdown)
• office for community groups
• tenant resource centre (for tenants’ groups throughout CCHA’s area)
• access to I.T. (including internet)
• support for out of school learning

3. Establish and support a local community forum

Original Aims

• Facilitate inclusive resident involvement and inter-agency partnerships in achieving sustainable solutions to social exclusion in Adamsdown.
• Develop a framework to maximise self-help and self-determination by the community to address isolation and dependency.
• Empower the community to work in partnership with service providing agencies to work towards cultural and economic changes and to overcome barriers to access to education, employment and healthy living.
• Develop effective Compacts between tenants and CCHA
• Improve the image and reputation of Adamsdown
• Maximise benefits from grants and other investments in the area.
Original Objectives
• Involve residents and, in establishing local needs, and draw up a local plan with wide consultation on priority setting
• To increase the number of service providers participating in the forum
• To fully involve local residents in changing the forum into a formally constituted, representative, action-focused community body.  This will involve engaging with residents, capacity building and incorporation of residents into the forum ensuring at least 50% membership
• Engage with “difficult to reach” and excluded sections of the community.
• Establish a funding strategy, and secure funding to meet locally agreed and prioritised needs
• Set up effective channels of communications between the forum and residents through their representatives, public meetings, the community newsletter
• Establish a community base that will act as a focus for the project and also draw in other groups active in the area such as credit union, law centre, residents groups, tenants groups, etc.
• Develop this base into a resource centre for community and tenants’ groups.
• Act as ‘signpost’ to, and encourage use of, existing services.

Funding

The project has sourced funds from a huge variety of sources but always been Partnership driven with much of the work being taken forward by volunteers especially in times when funds were near to non-existent.