We aim to make the Community-led Planning process as accessible and as engaging as possible for every community.
To enable you to gain an overview of the process and to familiarise yourself with the focus of the different stages you can download the CLP Toolkit (produced by Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) either as a whole document or by separate chapters
COMMUNITY-LED PLANNING TOOLKIT
The 9 module CLP process
New challenges and changing contexts demand innovative methods of working with communities to help them achieve their goals and- in the process – build skills, capacity and resilience. This process followed step by step can take 18 months to 2 years but is not for everyone.
Community Led Planning ‘Lite’
This accelerated planning process puts more emphasis on carrying out a survey or questionnaire and streamlines community involvement. Plan timescales are 4-6 months. Bespoke solutions can be tailored directly to the specific needs of a community, depending on what you want to achieve.
Guidelines for using the CLP Toolkit
We recommend taking elements and resources from the nine modules as you need them. The modular structure ensures that a community can choose their starting point and modules to suit. Community Led Planning Lite might be worth considering for a condensed process.
Module 1. Getting started
This module is about getting the process up and running, engaging people and information gathering.
- Getting started: introduction
- Typical Open Day Handout
- Love it Hate it Survey
- Feedback and Skill Forms
Module 2. Establishing your steering group
- Establishing the steering group
- Options for forming CLP groups (this is additional to the TOOLKIT)
- Model constitution for steering groups
- Terms of Reference for Working Groups
Module 3. Taking stock and planning the way ahead
- Taking Stock and planning ahead
- Project Plan example
Module 4. Understanding your community
- Understanding your community
- Questionnaire design (TOOLKIT addition)
- Guidelines for questionnaire distribution and collection (TOOLKIT addition)
- Questionnaire topics to consider for CLPs (TOOLKIT addition)
- Data Protection for Community Groups (TOOLKIT addition)
5. Prioritising and planning action
6. Drafting your plan
- Drafting your plan
- Model Action Plan
- Action Plan template ( TOOLKIT addition)
7. Finalising your plan
8. Implementing your plan
9. Monitoring and reviewing your plan