Jargon Buster

A – Z of Jargon Busting

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Accountability

Process by which a policy decision is made open to the wider population, who are capable of assessing whether it is a decision made in the wider interest.

Accountable Body

The organisation or body legally responsible for the delivery and administration of a government funded scheme like Single Regeneration Budget or New Deal for Communities or projects receiving European funding. In many cases this is the local authority but can be other types of body as long as they can assure the Government Office (with whom they will sign a contract) that they are able to manage and deliver the project effectively.

Appraisal

1. The process of assessing a grant application before a decision is taken

2. The formal review of the performance of a member of staff

Area Based Initiatives (ABIs)

ABIs are publicly funded initiatives targeted on areas of social or economic disadvantaged, which aim to improve the quality of life of residents. These initiatives are regeneration programmes, which use a geographical area as their focus. An example of an ABI is SRB.

Area Based Regeneration

Government initiatives for reviving communities aimed at tackling all the problems in a neighbourhood rather than one or two aspects.

ARVAC

The Association of Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector, was founded in 1978. Members come from community and voluntary groups and from universities and research institutes. They provide information on community sector research. They hold conferences and workshops and produce a quarterly bulletin for members.

Autonomy

Individuals, groups or organisations, independently taking on responsibility for their own actions.

Baseline

A starting point. A baseline for a regeneration scheme might be 20% of housing stock in the area needing urgent repairs. Funding might then be allocated to reduce this to 10% over a period of time, creating an outcome for the scheme. Regeneration schemes may have large amounts of baseline data, which reflect their priorities for action. These baselines may be identified in consultation with the local community.

Benchmarking

A method used by public sector organisations, charities and private companies for gauging their performance by comparing it to the performance of other organisations.

Best Value

Regime that aims to continuously improve local government performance through a programme of reviews and inspections. Councils must examine their services according to four guiding principles. They must challenge:

How, why and by whom a service is provided
Compare its performance with that of other authorities
Consult service users
Use competition to get the best service available

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Capacity

All the resources available to an organisation, includes people, money, equipment expertise and information.

Capacity Building

A wide range of support, techniques and initiatives, which aim to build the capacity of individuals or organisations within communities to contribute effectively to regeneration projects.

Collective Action

People working together towards a common goal.

Community

Those people living and working in an area or neighbourhood who are affected by proposals to change that area. May also be used to define a community held together by common interests or purposes, but spread across a large geographical area.

The web of personal relationships, groups and networks that exist amongst those who share physical neighbourhoods, socio – economic conditions or common understandings and interests.

Community Capacity Building

Organising a partnership’s procedures and providing adequate training and administrative resources for community representatives, so that the local community can fully participate in the regeneration of its area. Supports individuals, groups and organisations to enable them to play a part in the regeneration of communities.

Community Chest

A £50 million initiative aimed at helping community groups get started in deprived area by funding small purchases such as computers, or the hire of meeting space. An additional £10 million is being provided by the Neighbourhood Renewal Units Skills and Knowledge Chests. Neighbourhood Renewal Community Chests are administered by voluntary sector ‘lead organisations’ and offer small grants of up to £5,000 to community groups for projects to help them renew their own neighbourhoods. (The Community Chest, Learning Chest is merging this year to become ‘The Single Programme’)

Community Cohesion

Ideas include it being about the relationships between and within communities. It is also suggested that a cohesive community might be one in which there is a common vision and a sense of belonging for everybody in it.

Community Development

Working with people in ways that help them to have greater influence over the decisions, which affect their lives, and to come together with others to devise solutions to common problems. By enabling people to share their skills and knowledge, community development aims to help people make connections between their own lives and wider policy issues through a cycle of action, reflection and learning. Building active and sustainable communities based on social justice and mutual respect.

Community Development Worker

A paid or unpaid worker who works in partnership with other in a co-operative venture; who supports the values and practice principals of community development work. An enabler and facilitator who informs, supports and advises people.

Community Empowerment

Helping local people to develop their skills to control / own services in their area and have an input into resource allocations.

Community Empowerment Fund

Help community and the voluntary sector groups get involved in decisions about the public services that are delivered in their area through Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). It aims to help community and voluntary groups to become empowered in order to participate in LSPs and neighbourhood renewal. Government Offices for the Regions are responsible for distributing CEF resources.

Community Empowerment Network (CEN)

Gathering of the full range of community and voluntary sector groups in one of the 88 most deprived areas (borough or district), which also has Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

Community Learning Chest (CLC)

CLCs offer small grants of £50 - £5,000 to help residents play an active role in Neighbourhood Renewal through learning.

Community Network

The vehicle for linking the community and voluntary sectors with Local Strategic Partnerships. This should bring together a range of organisations from large ‘professional’ voluntary agencies to the smallest community or residents group.

They are responsible for getting information about LSPs out to all sections of the community and for providing ways in which people most affected by poor service delivery can get realistically involved in discussing and planning how the services should be changed. See also Community Empowerment Fund.

For more information go to http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk

Community Planning

The process where a local authority and partner organisations come together to plan, provide and promote the well being of their communities.

Community Strategies

The plans which local authorities are now required to prepare for improving the economic, environmental and social well being of local areas and by which the councils are expected to co-ordinate the actions of the public, private voluntary and community organisations that operate locally.

Compact

An agreement made by voluntary sector representatives and the government in 1998 covering the relationship between the two. Under the compact the government is committed to giving three months notice of funding decisions and three months consultation, better feedback and statements on how proposed legislation will impact on the voluntary sector. The scheme has led to local compacts, and compacts on specific issues.

Core Funding

The money required for operational, management and day to day costs of a voluntary organisation, including administration, property costs and staff salaries.

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Delivery Plan

Plan produced by the regeneration partnership setting out: what the regeneration scheme intends to achieve; the cost; the partnership arrangements; descriptions of existing and planned local conditions, quantifies results and funding.

Empowerment

Enabling people to take responsibility for themselves and helping them to make decisions about their own lives.

G.O.N.E. (Government Office North East)

Government Office for the North East was created in 1994 and is one of nine regional offices that together with the Regional Co-ordination Unit, form part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The Government Office represents the interests of the following departments:

Ground Rules

A list of conditions mutually agreed to govern the conduct of a particular event or organisation.

Health Action Zones

Partnerships between the NHS, local authorities, the voluntary sector and local communities which represent a new approach to public health, linking health, regeneration, employment, education, housing and anti poverty initiatives to respond to the needs of vulnerable groups and deprived communities.

Learning and Skills Council

The Government agency now responsible for adult training in England.

Local Strategic Partnership (LSP)

Partnership of stakeholders who will develop ways to involve local people in shaping the future of their neighbourhood in how services are provided. Initiative to ensure co-operation between public agencies, voluntary groups and businesses in the regeneration of deprived neighbourhoods. They bring together the different parts of the public sector with the private businesses, community and voluntary sectors in order to work together more effectively.

Mainstream

Used to describe funding from the main or core budgets of local authorities and other agencies. Funds such as SRB and Neighbourhood Renewal Funds supplement mainstream funds.

Match Funding

A regeneration funder usually does not pay 100% of the project cost. Projects are usually expected to find other sources of funding to make up the difference. Those other sources are collectively known as match funding.

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National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service (NACVS)

Umbrella body of more than 280 local councils for voluntary service (CVS). NACVS provides training, services and a national voice.

National Occupational Standards

The levels of performance, which people working in a particular occupation are expected to demonstrate.

NCVO

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England. It has a growing membership of over 2,500 voluntary organisations, ranging from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer bureau and development agencies working at local level.

NCVO's role is to represent the voluntary sector and serve its diverse membership through a collective voice. In this role, NCVO acts as a highly effective lobbying organisation to represent the views of its members and the wider voluntary sector to government, the Charity Commission, the EU and other bodies.

Neighbourhood Renewal

The physical, economic and social recovery of a neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF)

Provides public services and communities in the 88 poorest local authority districts with extra funds to tackle deprivation.

Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy (NRS)

The Governments plan for regenerating deprived parts of the country. Published in 2001 with the aim of ensuring that within 10-20 years no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live.

Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU)

Government office based in the Office of the Department Prime Minister and charged with implementing the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy.

O.V.T.V. ( One Voice Tees Valley)

Help with setting up and running voluntary organisations, development and fundraising. Newsletters, information mailings, library, funding database. Training in partnership with district forums. Support and advice to community and voluntary groups.

Participation

Working with other people / groups and agencies towards a common goal, sharing power and responsibility.

Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a mechanism of local government, which brings local communities closer to the decision making process around the budget. The aim of the PB is to understand the dynamics of PB in the UK context, as PB as previously been exclusively used in Brazil on regeneration issues.

Partnerships

Different organisations and individuals working together as equals with common aims and objectives. Structures that exist to deliver programmes. They bring together a number of formal organisations, for example, statutory organisations, private companies and voluntary organisations.

Primary Care Trust (PCT)

Evolved from Primary Care Groups, PCT are free standing statutory bodies that provide primary and community services and commission secondary (hospital) care on behalf of their local population.

Project Appraisal

The assessment of particular projects to make sure that they provide value for money and that they will tackle the problem to be addressed. An appraisal is the basis on which a decision is made on whether a regeneration project should be funded.

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Redcar & Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency (R.C.V.D.A.)

RCVDA exists to support voluntary and community organisations in the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland.

Regeneration

The upgrading of an area through social, physical and economic improvements.

Regional Development Agencies

The Government has set up development agencies to promote economic growth and regeneration.

Regional Voluntary Sector Networks (RVSNs)

RVSNs provide advice and support at a regional level to the voluntary and community sector. General and Black Minority Ethnic (BME) networks exist in each region.

Regions White Paper

Government proposals to decentralise power in English regions. Published in May 2002. Includes directly elected Regional Assemblies in parts of the country that vote for it in a referendum.

Silo

Term used to describe a government (local, regional or national) department that does not work effectively with other parts of the organisation and outside service providers. Thought to reduce organisational effectiveness and is the enemy of “joined-up” government.

Single Regeneration Budget (SRB)

Local Partnerships of community, voluntary and business groups received money for schemes that aimed to improve employment prospects, address social exclusion and crime, and support economic growth.

Social Economy

Refers to the activity in financial as well as human terms, of the voluntary, charity, campaign and social sector in the UK.

Social Enterprise

Ideas or initiatives that use a commercial approach to help a local community. A business that trades primarily to achieve social aims, while making a profit. Social aims might include job creation, training and provision of local services.

Social Exclusion

Persons, families and groups of persons whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude tem from the minimum acceptable way of life in the member states in which they live. People or areas that suffer from a combination of factors that includes unemployment, high crime, low incomes and poor housing. The Governments approach to regeneration is based on tackling the problems posed by social exclusion as a whole, rather than simply focusing on its individual elements.

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Social Inclusion

Policies, projects, initiatives that draw people into the mainstream of a society and all the opportunities that go with it.

Social Regeneration

Process of tackling the social problems that lead to deprivation, such as crime and drugs. The process is different from physical regeneration, which tackles run – down buildings and communal areas, and economic regeneration, which is aimed at creating jobs and wealth.

Statutory Authority

An organisation that is required by law to provide public services and receives central or local government funding, for example, health authorities and local authorities.

Statutory Services

Refers to services provided by the local authority as a matter of course. Examples of statutory services include social services.

Supervision

Provision of support, reassurance and feedback that allows time to think about the work being done. The freedom to make mistakes and to have open discussions and to ensure accountability to the organisation.

Sure Start

The programme aims to improve children’s life opportunities by working with parents and parents to be in deprived areas and providing better access to family support, advice on nurturing, health services and early learning.

Sustainability

Refers to moves by organisations to move beyond short term funding for their activities, to more dependable funding so that work is adequately supported.

Sustainable Community

One in which there exists, from a mixture of internal and external resources, a self-renewing basis of economic viability, quality of services and social capital sufficient to support a good quality of life for all inhabitants, improve conditions and opportunities where they are inadequate, face new problems creatively as they arise, and pass on to future inhabitants the tangible and intangible assets to achieve the same or higher standards.

Third Sector

Collective name for charity, voluntary, non-government and campaigning organisations.

Two-tier Local Government

A system under which county and district councils work together to deliver the full range of local government services. Generally, the smaller district councils tackle issues such as housing and tourism, while their larger county council delivers in areas such as education and social services.

T.V.R.C.C ( Tees Valley Rural Community Council)

Tees Valley Rural Community Council is able to offer a wide range of free advice and support to voluntary and community groups in East Cleveland. TVRCC staff can visit your group at a time and venue to suit you or you can make an appointment to visit their office in Saltburn.

Urban Regeneration

Comprehensive vision and action, which leads to the resolution of urban problems and, which seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental conditions of an area that has been subject to change.

Voluntary Sector

Groups whose activities are carried out on a not for profit basis and are not public or private organisations / sectors.

White Paper

Statement of policy issued by the Government. White papers often form the basis of new legislation, and are usually preceded by a consultative green paper.

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