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Feedback from CDF regarding Independent Expert Panel
Wednesday 25th August 2010, 22:08
Mark Walton, Head of Strong Communities at the Community Development Foundation (CDF) has responded to issues and concerns raised by CDX members which were posted in this blog section on 18 July. Apologies for my delay in posting this to these pages. Over the next few days I will write an update on the panel contributions and further CDX member comments on the first panel paper. In the meantime here are challenges to CDF and Mark's responses.
CDX members said: The panel and evidence should include people from outside the CD practitioner circle itself, and critical voices.
Mark’s response: It has been an aim of CDF’s from the start that the panel should include members from outside the CD practitioner circle who will question and challenge our assumptions and provide a fresh perspective to the ongoing debate about the role of CD and how it should develop in the future. I hope you will agree that the panel has an interesting mixture of experienced CD practitioners and individuals from outside CD who can provide some insights into the issues we are debating and the wider issues facing communities.
We are currently discussing with the [Panel] Chair an idea to draw in a wider range of voices who we might expect to be more critical in a seminar or workshop to be scheduled between the two panel meetings in September / October. John is very keen to engage with those we might not otherwise engage in these discussions. We will consult with the panel as we develop this idea with John.
CDX members said: There is a need for the panel to tease out key questions for wider debate - so that we can engage CDX members in the discussions and effectively challenge the notion that an expert panel decides CD’s future.
Mark’s response: The panel is not intended to ‘decide CD’s future’ – that is not something that I think any one body or organisation could or should seek to do. The panel – and the wider public debate we hope to stimulate – are intended to sit alongside and compliment work that we are doing, independently and with our partners in the sector, to raise the profile of CD, ensure it remains relevant and well supported and that it is considered central to social policy and the development of strong, fair, independent communities.
As well as formal routes, such as the panel and the seminar proposed above, we are also welcoming less formal inputs either via panel members, such as those stimulated by the CDX blog, or those coming through avenues such as the Facebook and epolitix pages.
CDX members asked about CDF’s role in the process and felt there was a lack of clarity about what CDF will do with the panel findings.
Mark’s response: CDF have initiated the panel alongside a range of other work we are doing to promote CD and support CD workers. This includes the CD workers survey that we undertook last year, work we are doing with local authorities to demonstrate the business case for CD, and the work we are supporting or working with others to deliver on qualifications, training and effective evaluation for CD.
Given the changing economic, political, social and environmental context in which we find ourselves we felt that the panel would be a useful addition to the work we, CDX, FCDL and others are currently engaged in to promote and support CD, now and in the future.
Given the financial and political context it was not possible or desirable to set up a fully independent long term inquiry process. However we did want to set up a panel process that was ‘independent’ in that it would not contain or be delivered by staff from CDF and would draw in voices outside the CD practitioner circle. Conscious of the time constraints on the panel members we felt that rather than send out long reading lists we would provide discussion papers. These are intended to be a digest of current discussions and issues in the sector to promote debate – not a statement of CDF’s views. We are open to other inputs and have requested theses and welcomed those solicited by panel members.
The discussions will be independently Chaired and facilitated with minimal involvement from CDF.
A CDF staff member will attend the panel meetings as an observer and will collate the panel discussions into a report which the panel will be able to comment upon and approve before publication. We are keen that this is as open a process as possible and are currently in discussions with the facilitator as to whether will be possible to post this as a wiki in order for panel members to directly co-edit the document to a point where all are happy that it reflects the panel discussions.
The panel is part of, not the end of, an ongoing process. We will report the panel’s deliberations in a short document intended to stimulate discussion and debate both within CDF and externally – not to attempt to define or decide the future of community development. We would be delighted if CDX and others use the panel papers, the process and the report as a basis for discussion and debate.
Mark is be happy to engage in further discussions with CDX staff or CDX members as the panel process develops but for now hopes that these responses go some way to meeting the challenges posed by CDX members.
Lorna Prescott, CDX Chair