Purpose of the Group

The Group will operate during the ‘Getting People Involved Round 2’ phase of the Big Local process with the intention of handing over responsibilities for programme management to the Big Local DY10 Partnership once established at the end of this phase.

• The overarching aim of this group is to develop the Big Local DY10 project so that the local community have a leading role in directing the £1Million investment, over the next 10 years, towards the things that are most important to them.

Specifically the role of the Big Local DY10 Steering Group will be to:

• Act as a steering group and deliver the Big Local ‘Getting People Involved Round 2’ programme, monitoring the progress, budget and the community impact.
• Act as the first point of contact for any residents, groups or organisations that would like to get involved or have any questions or comments about the Big Local DY10 project.
• Promote the ‘Big Local’ project. This will involve developing and producing community newsletters and maintaining a website where people can contribute their views into the project.
• Proactively engage with individuals from the local community to ensure the membership of the group works towards becoming reflective of the local community.
• Oversee production of a ‘Profile’ of the local area, including the issues identified by local people and the priorities they want Big Local DY10 to tackle.
• Based on local views start to develop the 10-year Vision for the Big Local DY10 project.
• Develop proposals on how the Big Local DY10 Partnership will work.

Membership of the Group

• Membership of the group will be open to individuals who live, work or volunteer within the Big Local area and who agree with the purpose of the group.
• Whilst local organisations and Councillors have an important supporting role in the development of the Big Local DY10 project they are not eligible to be part of the Big Local DY10 Steering Group. The group will work with them, when needed, to help move the project forward. However it is anticipated they will be part of a wider representative partnership once established.
• People who attend do so as individuals and not as representatives of communities, people groups, community groups or organisations.
• Representatives from stakeholder organisations and other community leaders will be invited to attend meetings when appropriate.

Group Values:

• We will work in a fair, honest and transparent way.
• We will foster a ‘friendly and welcoming’ atmosphere in all that we do.
• We will support anyone, who fits the membership criteria, to become actively
• involved. We will constantly review how we are working so that barriers are removed.
• We accept there will be different views within the group. If conflict arises it will be dealt with fairly and in a transparent way.
• We will strive to ensure that we communicate in an accessible way with our community.
• We will support, engage and work with any other groups in the area that have similar or overlapping objectives.
• We uphold the idea of ‘sticky money’ as we want the Big Local investment to have the greatest impact locally. Therefore we will aim to source providers, services & goods from within the Big Local area. Where this is not possible we will extend our search outwards to the Ward, Town, District, County & the Region. The principal of ‘sticky money’ will be balanced against obtaining value for money and the desire to engage with businesses and organisations that have similar values to the group.

Governance

• The group will appoint an independent chair. This person will:
  • Help focus the group on its main purpose
  • Guide the group to reach decisions
  • Ensure that all business is conducted in line with the group values
• The group will set up sub groups to work on a task and finish basis when needed.
• The group will be quorum with a minimum of 7 resident members. This number excludes the independent chair and officers.

Decision Making

• The group will work towards a consensus. If this is not possible then a decision will be taken based upon a majority of those present.
• The independent chair will not be eligible to vote.
• If a decision is required between meetings then an email will be sent, by the Chair, to see if a decision can be reached. If this is not possible or appropriate then an ad-hoc meeting will be called.

Meetings

• The group will meet on a regular basis, as agreed by the group.
• The group will also call ad hoc meetings as required.
• A record of agreed actions will be recorded at each meeting and circulated to the Big Local DY10 Steering Group and published on the website.

Communications

• To ensure that a consistent message is communicated all official communications by the project including representations on behalf of the group, press releases, interviews and other forms of formal communication will, where possible, be agreed by the group. Where deadlines make this difficult all communications will be agreed by the Chair in advance.
• Individual members of the group are not able to speak on behalf of the group or represent the group without the prior authorisation of the group.