Creating Excellence

Bristol Urban Design Forum - call for Steering Group Chair and members

The Bristol Urban Design Forum (BUDF) is an independent group of design and environment professionals who undertake design review of specific development proposals and provide advice to Bristol City Council on urban design policy preparation.

The steering group now wishes to appoint 2 additional members and a new Chair.

Chief Executive CDX

The Community Development Exchange (CDX) seeks a Chief Executive

Full time: 37 hours per week

Salary: Circa £40,000 - £45,000 pa

Location: Sheffield (with UK wide travel)

Creating Excellence Spring Conference

"Getting Places Together: Local Engagement in Changing Times" conference takes place on 25 March in Taunton.

Association of Regional Observatories Coordinator

Association of Regional Observatories (ARO) is a membership organisation comprised of the nine English regional observatories working to the common objective of supporting evidence-based policy making.

Secondment or fixed term position initially one year, with possibility of extension
Full-time, 37 hours per week with flexible working
Employed and hosted on behalf of ARO by the South West Observatory, Taunton, Somerset
Salary range £30 - £35K per annum

Take Part online resource directory launched

Take Part helps people gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to become empowered, enabling them to make an active contribution to their communities and influence public policies and services.

The Take Part directory is an online resource providing information on Take Part learning.

Planting Places Awards 2010 - Now Open for Applications!

The Planting Places awards - recognising greenspaces that are making fantastic contributions to the sustainability of their communities - will be running for a 3rd year. The awards, coordinated by Sustainability South West, are now open to applications from any public greenspace in the South West of England.

Participatory Budgeting � South West Newsletter

Participatory Budgeting is a means of supporting local communities to make their own decisions on how a percentage of their local budget is spent. A number of Local Authorities in the South West are exploring this and pots of money from £15,000 to £300,000 have already been committed in the region in this way by both rural and urban authorities.

Barton Hill Settlement wins national award for Bridging Cultures

The Barton Hill Settlement's People's Hive, East Bristol, recently won a national award for its work in promoting intercultural dialogues and building community bridges.

South West Forum Wins �0.5million Research Bid

South West Forum, the regional voice for voluntary and community organisations, has won almost half a million pounds of Lottery funding for a major research project of national importance.

The Forum is today celebrating securing a grant of £470,000 from the Big Lottery Fund for a four year project which will measure the economic value of services provided by voluntary groups in the region.

HCA Academy Reports on Empowerment Skills

The HCA Academy's Report "Empowerment skills for all: Analysing gaps and constructing a learning framework" finds that there is a widespread need for a broader approach to empowerment skills in front-line place-making occupations.

The HCA Academy is the skills arm of the Homes and Communities Agency, the national housing and regeneration body.