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Get Heard!

Get Heard!. Enabling All Actors to Engage with the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion. What is the Get Heard project?. Set up by a coalition of anti-poverty NGOs working in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions

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Get Heard!

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  1. Get Heard! Enabling All Actors to Engage with the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion

  2. What is the Get Heard project? • Set up by a coalition of anti-poverty NGOs working in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions • Aims to raise awareness in the UK of the NAP, and promotes the Get Heard toolkit, which groups of people living in poverty can use to contribute to the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion • People who have experienced exclusion from the political mainstream require accessible and supportive structures to enable them to participate meaningfully – hence the toolkit.

  3. SPTF: a coalition of anti-poverty agencies that support grassroots responses to poverty: NIAPN, Poverty Alliance, APNC, EAPN (England), UKCAP & Oxfam UKPP DWP: the writers of the UK NAP Grassroots & community groups – people living in poverty and experiencing social exclusion Get Heard partners

  4. The brief history of involvement and the NAP • 2001 and 2003: UK NAPs did not involve all actors – did not hear grassroots voices. • 2003: SPTF approached the DWP to set up the Participation Working group. • 2004: Get Heard Toolkit published. • 2005: Get Heard project launched.

  5. PWG included members of the Social Policy Task Force, the DWP and people living in poverty PWG developed the Get Heard Toolkit which describes the workshop and explains the process of holding a workshop. Toolkit is product of looking at what an effective process that involves the grassroots would look like The Toolkit was produced through partnership and participation

  6. Why involve socially excluded people in the NAP? When those affected by policies are involved in designing policies, the end results are: • more effective • more meaningful • more socially cohesive The NAPs recognise this, with the obligation to involve all actors in dialogue in preparing the NAP in each country.

  7. How does the Toolkit work? • The Get Heard toolkit is about Empowerment • Putting theory into practice • Enables people living in poverty to give their views on government policy in an informed and structured way – and be heard Enables community groups to discuss and answer three basic questions about government anti-poverty policies: • What’s working? • What’s not working? • How should things be done differently?

  8. Supporting the OMC: The Get Heard Toolkit in Europe • OMC aims to develop and spread good practice • Get Heard provides another perspective on what works and what doesn’t work in developing policies to combat social exclusion & poverty • Demonstrates good practice in participation by the poorest in policy development “There is not just a problem of homelessness and poverty in each country in Europe – there is a problem of poverty in Europe, and we have to look across Europe to solve it.” – homeless Get Heard participant

  9. What has Get Heard achieved so far? • More than 120 workshops across the UK so far • More than 120 people attending regional feedback events in Scotland & England – Wales & Northern Ireland events still to come • Clear evidence that people believe they have a right to be heard – and that politicians should listen to them • Genuine enthusiasm for debate amongst people who are often ignored by mainstream political debate and argument • Beginning to get a clear idea of what people want: to be treated with respect, to be empowered to use the system to get themselves out of poverty, to be helped to sustain themselves.

  10. Challenges Gains • Resourcing – financial limitations • Hosting - NGO resources • Working through NGO partners • Understanding of participation & involvement • Widespread ignorance of NAPs • Rich partnership of SPTF member organisations • Reaching wider audience through NGO partners • Increased understanding of participation & involvement, and showcase of good participatory practice • Increased understanding of NAPs

  11. Where next? • Analysis and synthesis of workshop feedback • Feedback events for grassroots participants • Dialogue meeting between grassroots participants and national decisionmakers • Outline of the NAP 2006 • Presentation of the Get Heard grassroots submission to the DWP

  12. Building community capacity of socially excluded participants • Holding a Get Heard workshop can also help community groups to develop local advocacy and project work – and support ongoing community development • Participating in a Get Heard workshop can empower individuals through realising that they have expert knowledge to contribute - and a right to speak out

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