Community Development Team
We are a small team based within Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust.
We have two broad areas of responsibility:
- We make sure that our organisation takes the needs and interests of local communities into consideration when making long-term plans.
- We aim to build up positive working relationships between our organisation and local community groups so that we can work together to improve leisure and cultural services across the borough.
Here are some of the more specific areas of support we offer.
For Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust:
- We support teams within the organisation to involve local people in their work by offering help on how to run successful consultation projects and advising teams on how to work with their customers to plan for the long term.
- We can run market research projects on behalf of services.
- We assist the Trust’s Head of Development with some key projects.
- We support the Service Development & Business Improvement Group by taking on many of the practical actions. For example, so far we have supported work on tender preparations, market assessment projects, business expansion ideas and efficiency appraisals.
- We make sure that any corporate policies and procedures complement those of our key partner agencies in terms of community involvement. This helps to avoid duplication and can instead lead to successful partnership working and efficiencies.
- We connect to the LSP (Local Strategic Partnership) and frequently report on the work going on within WLCT to help raise the positive performance profile. This connection also means we are well placed to receive intelligence back from the LSP and to help keep staff in our organisation informed of important developments.
- We represent Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust at borough-wide policy and strategy groups linked to improving life for local communities and link relevant staff into appropriate meetings or action points.
For others:
- We provide administrative support to the Cultural Partnership meetings and events, and lead on many of the key actions from those meetings.
- We deliver packages of training for those from community and voluntary groups. Organisations including Wigan Council, Ashton, Leigh and Wigan Primary care Trust, Groundwork, Wigan and Leigh Council for Voluntary Services, regularly recommend us to work with groups.
- We can work with community groups and voluntary organisations to help them develop. For example we offer advice and support with setting up management committees, writing business plans, developing good practice policies, securing funding, and helping their volunteers to gain relevant skills and qualifications where needed.
- We lead on the annual ‘Third Sector Support Survey’. This survey measures how successful Wigan Borough is at meeting some of the LAA (Local Area Agreement) priorities, in particular:
- Priority 6: Increase people’s and community’s perception of control over their own lives and where they live
- National Indicator 7: Environment for a thriving third sector
We then look at the results of the survey and lead on suggested improvements for Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust so that we can continue to develop our services to meet the needs of local people.
Contact Information
Zenno Vattev, Funding and Development Officer (Cultural Sector)
T: 01942 828261; E: z.vattev@wlct.org
John Hill, Business and Service Development Support Officer
T: 01942 828258; E: j.hill@wlct.org
All contacts are welcomed and requests for advice, guidance and support will be responded to as quickly, helpfully and thoroughly as practically possible.