Voluntary sector commissions research on the social infrastructure needs of new communities

Voluntary and Community Action South Bedfordshire has today issued an Invitation to Tender inviting consultants with relevant experience to research the voluntary and community sector's contribution to the successful development of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth Area. The research will look at how the social infrastructure needs of new and growing communities can be met, the key strategies for developing this work and the resource implications of doing so.

The Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy refers to the need to create sustainable communities by ensuring that … social [and other] infrastructure needs are met in step with growth.  This research will start to consider how this can be done.

John Gelder, Director of Voluntary and Community Action South Bedfordshire, said “with 169,800 new homes being built in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth Area by 2021 we estimate there will be a need to create and develop a total of 2,340 new voluntary organisations and community groups within the incoming population and that there will be over 175,000 new volunteers within the growth area by 2021”.

“For businesses to be encouraged to locate and grow in the area, employers will need to be confident that workers will choose to move and/or stay in the sub region.  People will choose to live and stay in communities if, as well as being serviced by education, health and other services, they provide a thriving, sociable, enjoyable and supportive social environment”.

“We need to find out what the pattern of growth will be and consider the organisations and activities that enable people to create, run and sustain the voluntary and community groups, volunteering opportunities and social networks required for new and growing communities.”

The deadline for the receipt of tenders is the 27 February 2006.

Ends.

Notes to Editors

1. The need to create sustainable communities by ensuring that … social [and other] infrastructure needs are met in step with growth is contained in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy [page 11], published by the Government Offices for the South East, East Midlands and the East of England, March 2005.

2. Social infrastructure is defined as the organisations and activities that enable people to create, run and sustain the voluntary and community groups, volunteering opportunities and social networks required for existing and new communities.  It focuses on creating communities of people, complementing work to create communities of place.

3. Social infrastructure includes:

• the voluntary organisations and community groups that operate in new (and existing) communities by providing services and activities
• the communities of interest, place and culture that exist in and across localities
• the volunteers and volunteering opportunities that exist within local volunteer-involving organisations
• the networks of people and organisations that provide contacts, links and association with one another
• opportunities for active citizenship and community involvement
• social interaction between people, neighbours and communities
• capacity building activity to support new community groups
• the recruitment, development and support of community leaders
• opportunities for social inclusion, lifelong learning and community development.

4. The Commissioning Agency for this research is the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub Regional Growth Area (MKSM) Social Infrastructure Group (SIG), which comprises the Councils of Voluntary Service for all the areas making up the designated Growth Area; these being:

• Buckinghamshire Community Action
• Council of Voluntary Service Northampton & County
• Mid Bedfordshire Council for Voluntary Service
• Milton Keynes Council of Voluntary Organisations
• North Bedfordshire Council for Voluntary Service
• Vale Volunteers - Aylesbury & District
• Voluntary Action Luton
• Voluntary and Community Action South Bedfordshire

5. Funding for the research has come from the Government Office for the East of England, with additional contributions from the Government Offices for the South East and the East Midlands (yet to be confirmed).  The research has been funded through ChangeUp - the national VCS Infrastructure and Capacity Building Strategy, which was published by the Home Office in June 2004.  Its overall aim is to improve and modernise the infrastructure provision within the voluntary and community sector.