Urban Forum's LSP Project aims to monitor community and voluntary sector involvement in Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) at all levels. For a fuller explanation of how they work see below.

What's New

ACTION NOT JUST TORQUAY
Urban Forum LSP Conference 2005
4th & 5th July
Palace Hotel, Torquay
Urban Forum's Annual Conference focusing on Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) is heading for the English Riviera. In light of the recent introduction of Local Area Agreements (LAAs) and the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund (SSCF), the focus will be on effective working with local government. Programme and booking form now available.

NEW LSP GUIDE

If you want to tell us about things in your area or find out more about the project or about LSPs themselves please get in contact. The importance of sharing information cannot be overstated.

What are Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs)?
The government feels that if poverty and/or other local issues are to be addressed effectively in any area, teamwork is essential, and so local representatives from all of the "stake-holder sectors" have been brought together.
These stakeholder sectors are local businesses (the private sector), the police, National Health Service, education, employment (the public sector), the Local Authority (the statutory sector) and not-for-profit, non-statutory organisations (the voluntary and community sector).
This creates a partnership of people who are supposed to represent the community. Together they decide how the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund should be spent.
The representatives do this by deciding which local problems are in most need of money and attention. They then decide what to do about these problems.
These decisions make up the "strategy" for the area, hence, Local Strategic Partnership. Most of them cover borough or district areas.

Why are LSPs so important?
Government intends for the strategy produced by the local strategic partnership to act as a reference point for future decisions and strategies created by other local bodies. Therefore, this strategy is important because it will influence major decisions now and in the future, such as which ‘areas within areas’ receive greater support, and how improving areas should be done.

‘The 88’ Neighbourhood Renewal areas
There are many poor areas in England. The Government has worked out which of these are the 88 poorest, and set aside £900 million over the three years from 2001-4 to regenerate these areas. This money is called the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. The LSPs in those 88 areas decide how to spend that money.
For many voluntary and community sector organisations, the time and resources needed to enter into discussions about Local Strategy or Local Strategic Partnerships is not included in their current funding. The Government has therefore provided the Community Empowerment Fund.
This money is to provide resources to bring voluntary and community sector organisations together so that they can talk and listen to each other so that the sector has a coherent and informed voice when it arrives at the Local Strategic Partnership.
The Community Empowerment Fund is not intended to be a fund that voluntary and community sector organisations apply to in order to fund normal activities. It is intended to be a pot of money that can be spent by those in the sectors to help organise themselves. It can fund the establishment of new networks or support existing ones. It can also fund research and mapping exercises. It is intended to fund activities that will help bring as many of the big and small voluntary and community sector organisations together and keep them informed and involved in the discussions and decisions that will affect the Local Strategy.
The Community Empowerment Fund will exist definitely for the next two years and hopefully for longer.

Funding for the community and voluntary sectors
An accountable body holds the Community Empowerment Fund. Frequently, this is a local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS).
Community Chest - this is a fund to improve the quality of life within a community through an easily accessible small fund. The money is intended to help bring about greater involvement of local people in decision making for the area. Grants of £50 - £5000 are available for equipment, activities, and events. The same accountable body that administers the Community Empowerment Fund often administers the Community Chest.

Produced by Urban Forum and Regional Action West Midlands
© Regional Action West Midlands and Urban Forum 2002

Where are the 88 most deprived areas selected to be the first to have LSPs?
Click here for a list.

Urban Forum
background material
At the Starting Blocks: Community Involvement in Local Strategic Partnerships
is a research document produced jointly by Urban Forum and Community Development Foundation. A Summary has been published and is available here in pdf format.

Urban Forum has produced a Snapshot of community involvement in Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). Download the snapshot in Word format.

Urban Forum has produced a short summary of the funds and accreditation process involved in Neighbourhoood Renewal in the 88 most deprived areas. Available in word.

Community Empowerment Fund guidance. Find it here.

LSP Handy Guide
Get the revised LSP Guide here.This easy-to-use handy guide to getting involved in Local Strategic partnerships has been produced by Urban Forum and Community Development Foundation. You can order printed copies of The LSP Guide by emailing us.

Older resources
Urban Forum update on LSP guidance available in Word format here.

Urban Forum is one of the partner organisations involved in the Local Government Association's (LGA) new guide called Effective Local Strategic Partnerships. You can download a pdf version here.