SE-Village

Download as a PDF

• Some headline messages from the project
• About their approach
• What's been challenging?
• What's changed?
• What's next?

SE-Village was hosted by Peckham Settlement, a community anchor orgnisation, with a long history of working within the local community. It drew on the expertise, skill and connections of partner organisation, Restore - a local church and community development charity.

For Peckham Settlement, SE-Village offered a way of changing the way local people saw their role within the community. It was about enabling people to become agents of change and not just consumers or recipients of local services.   The project offered anyone with an idea for a business or enterprise, social club or group a means of turning their idea into a reality.  But this project wasn't just about enabling individuals to realise their ambitions - it was about fostering a 'village' spirit within a diverse, urban environment and creating a sense of belonging and collective endeavour amongst everyone involved.  

Some headline messages from the project

All the Neighbourhood Challenge projects offered rich opportunities for learning.  We have picked out just a few specific insights from this project below:

• They found that Peckham is rich with people that have skills and interests that they would like to share with other people.  
• Supportive one to one relationships were essential to create the space for people to explore and evolve their ideas.   These relationships require a significant time investment and needed to be flexible to accommodate individual circumstances.
• The shift away from a provider/consumer dynamic towards a more empowering model of delivery was challenging for everyone.  It required a pattern of delivery that was shaped around relationships rather than a linear project plan.
• An alternative currency offered a mechanism to resource and reward people for the time and skills they invested in their community, whilst also contributing to new connections and collaborations.

About their approach

SE-Village combined one to one coaching, workshops and mentoring support with access to low cost meeting space to (1) prompt, (2) grow and (3) test ideas of local people within a positive and supportive environment.  The techniques that they used, and their successes and challenges are set out below.

1. Starting conversations:  prompting new ideas

"There is no such thing as poverty of aspiration - its just about asking the right questions." (SE-Village project team)

"This is not a 'shirt and tie approach' to business development - it is inviting, friendly and informal and this allows simple ideas to come forward." (Peckham resident and leader of a new SE-Village initiative)

SE-Village went out into the community and invited people to talk about their ideas for a local club or group.  The team attended local festivals and events and asked people: "What are you good at?", "What would you like to do?", "What would you call your club?" A mobile and elaborately decorated SE-Village sofa provided a comfortable and welcoming space for conversations to start.  From here, the team gathered people's contact details so that they could invite them to talk more about how to turn their ideas into a reality.

This approach worked. The SE-Village team was overwhelmed by the number of people that had skills and interests that they wanted to put to good use.  Amongst the ideas put forward were Jamaican cookery, balloon decorating, maths coaching, dance teaching and sewing and knitting clubs.  Although most ideas were undeveloped and untested, the response revealed the broad range of talent and ambition within the community. 

2. Growing ideas

"Some people just need to feel that other people care about their ideas. This can give them a reason to keep going."  (SE-Village project team)

After the initial 'ideas-prompting' phase, SE-Village created spaces for conversations about people's ideas to continue. One to one coaching enabled individuals to address personal and practical challenges as they have progressed down the road of designing and promoting their club or organising their first activities.  The support provided by the SE-Village team was tailored to individual needs and their role as trusted and caring allies was highly valued. 

Ideas Labs worked well, offering a forum to meet peers and test out initial ideas within a supportive environment. Skills based workshops were valuable for some people but did not have the across-the-board impact that was initially envisaged.  This prompted the SE-Village team to explore other ways of introducing people to new skills and expertise, for example by signposting to specialist training providers.   

Experienced community leaders and business people within the community were recruited as mentors. Although the process of matching people took some time, mentoring relationships introduced people to new networks and resources that can benefit their emerging club, group or enterprise in unexpected ways. 

Each of these methods reflect an investment in relationships that create the space to support, nurture, challenge and develop local people as they explore and evolve their project ideas.  Throughout the whole process, SE-Village discovered how important it is that these relationships are 'wrapped around' each individual, so that they can progress at a pace and time that suits their particular circumstances.  

3. Testing ideas

"Without SE-Village I wouldn't have got this far and I'm really grateful I've been given this stepping stone." (Peckham resident and leader of a new SE-Village initiative)

"It's been great to start something off and realise you can do it. It's really positive and really builds your confidence." (Pekham resident and leader of a new SE-Village initiative)

Intent on challenging the power dynamic that can be typical of some grant funded community initiatives, SE-Village decided to 'take money off the table'.  Rather than providing 'seed funding' or 'start-up finance' to enable people to pilot their project ideas, SE-Village piloted the introduction of an alternative currency.  All new clubs and groups were given a stipend of ten hour bank credits (Peckham Pounds) per week for three months to enable them to get started at little or no personal financial expense.  After this period, club leaders paid for the room hire in Peckham Pounds, which they could earn from other voluntary activities such as doing administration work for SE-Village or helping out at community events.  Similarly, people attending classes or groups had the option of paying Peckham Pounds to take part.  This element of the project brought dual benefits: not only did it allow club leaders to launch their activities at low financial risk, it also fostered new relationships and connections between people. 

Community Crowd Funding was also trialed at an SE-Village celebration event. Members of the community had the opportunity to invest Peckham Pounds in their favourite SE-Village initiative. This investment was then matched in £ stirling by a local sponsor, Restore. The event was a big success, creating a refreshingly different power dynamic because local people were giving their support to local projects.  It also generated a buzz within the community and considerable media interest and acted as a confidence-boost for the club leaders. 

What's been challenging?

There were challenges associated with the flexible, relationship-centred model of support that SE-Village promoted. It reflected a different way of working which required adjustments on different levels.  Firstly, one to one relationships needed to be affirming and responsive, yet it was also necessary to avoid creating a dynamic of dependency.  Because of this, it was very important to foster an empowering culture, which continually reinforced the notion that it was the SE-Village club/group leaders, and not the paid staff team, that were 'holding the reigns' for each project idea.   

For the SE-Village team, there were challenges associated with accommodating flexible, relationship-centred working arrangements within an organisational structure and a linear project plan. This required the team to think differently about their roles, and to review their practice regularly. Equally they had to map and understand each individual journey that people were making rather than creating a 'one size fits all' solution.

This was a very resource intensive process.  Confidence levels among group leaders at the start were generally low and there were varying levels of awareness of the core skills that each project idea would require. Consequently the time invested in one to one support was greater than anticipated and, given that this support had to fit in and around the busy lives of the individuals involved, the pace of progress was slower than expected.

What's changed?

Local assets have been unlocked

• SE-Village succeeded in engaging new people in positive activities within their community.  In the last month of its pilot year, for example, SE-Village benefitted from 382 hours of volunteer time donated by over 30 different people.
• New clubs and groups have formed: 86 club leaders were registered on the data base by the end of the pilot year and 17 of these provide regular activities. 
• Previously underused spaces within Peckham Settlement now provide a 'community living room' for club activities.
• Business and coaching skills within the community have been utilised through the recruitment of ten local volunteer mentors.
• Local enterprises gave their skills for free (such as photography and film making) or donated food and prizes.

Abilities and ambitions have grown

• The process of taking an idea from inception to implementation was very empowering.  Project leaders grew in self-confidence and now have more ambitions to do things within their community.
• New skills were acquired from project planning and marketing, through to product pitching and networking.

Creation of new networks, connections and collaborations

• A collective identity for SE-Village is now emerging and project leaders have made supportive connections with each other.  This has created the conditions for new initiatives and new collaborations to develop.
• SE-Village is now integrated into other local networks, such as the newly established post-riot Peckham Network and interest in this asset focused approach is growing within the community.
• The successful pilot of the Peckham Pound created new incentives and mechanisms for people to connect with each other and exchange skills and time.

What next?

"It has given people confidence to have a go and its done this with a real sense of celebration - its got energy and life...I think it's great fun and I hope it continues" (Volunteer mentor).

"I see myself as an ambassador for SE Village.  I can just see it growing and growing" (Peckham resident and leader of a new SE-Village initiative).

"We can't afford to stop now. We don't want to lose the momentum" (SE Village project team).

There is much enthusiasm to move into a new phase of delivery and develop the SE-Village model.  Peckham Settlement is in the process of applying for a grant from Big Lottery Fund to support this process over the next five years. Amongst the ideas put forward for the next phase are the establishment of VillageNet (an online forum and website), the full integration of the Peckham Pound into the SE-Village model, and the expansion of the mentoring scheme.  Ultimately the aim is to create a vibrant and cohesive SE-Village community, which is led by local people for the benefit of local people.

Read the SE-Village blog

Return to top of page