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Current WorkThis is an informal summary of some current (as of May 2008) and recent work which I am involved in. If you'd like to know more about any of this feel free to email me. I am now chairing London 21, a network of around 1500 groups in London working on local sustainability and also co-chair ANPED, the NGO network which works in East and West Europe, and is based in Amsterdam - check the website for more info. London 21 runs the London Green Map which has details of over 1000 projects in London available on-line and also runs London Sustainability Weeks. Training and facilitationThis year's big focus has been on training, with over 20 days of 1 and 2 days courses delivered in the first four months. This has included climate change training (see our Training page), Local Food work, community champions workshops for Every Action Counts, and work for the NESTA "Big Green Challenge". I'm very happy to talk about other possibilities. I've also been doing a lot of facilitation for some very diverse organisations, mostly for work on action planning and project development. Again, if you think I can help you do get in touch. Lastly, I am now offering a full day's training course on "Effective Facilitation". The first of these went very well with some very positive feedback - check the Talk Action website for details of the next courses. I can also deliver this course for any specific audience, tuned to the needs of that group. Climate ChangeThis is also keeping me very busy - see the Climate Change page for more details. CEA are happy to provide advice on programmes to develop local engagement. The Big Green Challenge work is showing just how much innovatory work is being done around the UK. Mapping local sustainabilityWork with London 21 on the use of internet-based mapping as a way of interpreting, supporting and promoting local and community action on sustainability has developed a lot recently. London 21 has used a number of approaches to handling this information and is now set to develop new services. These include community mapping and mapping of different issues and processes. Get in touch if you'd like to know more. Every Action CountsI've spent a fair bit of the last three years working with the Community Sector Coalition on this Defra-funded programme to "embed sustainable development in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS)". My recent involvement has included work training "community champions" who will promote sustainable development at the local level. You can find out more about this at www.everyactioncounts.org.uk Community Impact AssessmentI am working on a project with Bassac that is looking to develop a process to support community organisations in assessing the overall impacts of their work. It moves one step beyond evaluating the outcomes of work or of individual projects and seeks to develop an overall methodology to look at what changes result from all that work. A pamphlet which I produced is now available on this, “Changing places, changing lives” - a guide for community organisations on assessing their own impacts. This is available free from Bassac (tel: +44 (0)845 241 0375) as a hard copy or download it direct here We have used this with a number of organisations to trial it and
assess their impacts. If you want to know more contact Bassac
as above. Environmental Justice in LondonYou'll find more about EJ work elsewhere on this site, but the work with London 21 is now under way. We are looking to work with six neighbourhoods in deprived areas to map out the inequalities and help them develop an action plan. Check the EJ pages for more details and a briefing. Sustainable production and consumptionMost of my work in this area is done with ANPED. Check their website out to see what is being developed. In spring 2006 I co-wrote a paper for the UK government which is now available: 'The impact of Procurement Policy and Practice on Social Sustainability: Towards an operational framework' A report by Chris Church & Jan McHarry, CEA May 2006. The CarpathiansANPED is also involved in work to support the Carpathian Convention, the international agreement to protect these stunningly beautiful mountains at the green heart of Europe. We have been working on cultural heritage projects in the region. As well as the political work, there is some celebration as well: my colleagues in the Ukrainian NGO Green Dossier organise the annual Sheshory festival in the tiny village of that name (about 4000 people made it in 2006). We are now looking at a programme on rural development ands climate change. Contact me or check the ANPED website for more details I'm always happy to hear about interesting new ideas! |
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