Get Heard!

1
Get Heard!

• Enabling All Actors to Engage
• with the National Action Plan
• on Social Inclusion

2
What is the Get Heard project?

• Set up by a coalition of anti-poverty NGOs
  working in partnership with the Department for
  Work and Pensions
• Aims to raise awareness in the UK of the NAP, and
  promotes the Get Heard toolkit, which groups of
  people living in poverty can use to contribute to
  the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion
• People who have experienced exclusion from the
  political mainstream require accessible and
  supportive structures to enable them to
  participate meaningfully hence the toolkit.

3
Get Heard partners

• SPTF a coalition of anti-poverty agencies that
  support grassroots responses to poverty NIAPN,
  Poverty Alliance, APNC, EAPN (England), UKCAP
  Oxfam UKPP
• DWP the writers of the UK NAP
• Grassroots community groups people living in
  poverty and experiencing social exclusion

4
The brief history of involvement and the NAP

• 2001 and 2003 UK NAPs did not involve all actors
  did not hear grassroots voices.
• 2003 SPTF approached the DWP to set up the
  Participation Working group.
• 2004 Get Heard Toolkit published.
• 2005 Get Heard project launched.

5
The Toolkit was produced through partnership and
participation

• PWG included members of the Social Policy Task
  Force, the DWP and people living in poverty
• PWG developed the Get Heard Toolkit which
  describes the workshop and explains the process
  of holding a workshop.
• Toolkit is product of looking at what an
  effective process that involves the grassroots
  would look like

6
Why involve socially excluded people in the NAP?

• When those affected by policies are involved in
  designing policies, the end results are
• more effective
• more meaningful
• more socially cohesive
• The NAPs recognise this, with the obligation to
  involve all actors in dialogue in preparing the
  NAP in each country.

7
How does the Toolkit work?

• The Get Heard toolkit is about Empowerment
• Putting theory into practice
• Enables people living in poverty to give their
  views on government policy in an informed and
  structured way and be heard
• Enables community groups to discuss and answer
  three basic questions about government
  anti-poverty policies
• Whats working?
• Whats not working?
• How should things be done differently?

8
Supporting the OMC The Get Heard Toolkit in
Europe

• OMC aims to develop and spread good practice
• Get Heard provides another perspective on what
  works and what doesnt work in developing
  policies to combat social exclusion poverty
• Demonstrates good practice in participation by
  the poorest in policy development

There is not just a problem of homelessness and
poverty in each country in Europe there is a
problem of poverty in Europe, and we have to look
across Europe to solve it. homeless Get Heard
participant
9
What has Get Heard achieved so far?

• More than 120 workshops across the UK so far
• More than 120 people attending regional feedback
  events in Scotland England Wales Northern
  Ireland events still to come
• Clear evidence that people believe they have a
  right to be heard and that politicians should
  listen to them
• Genuine enthusiasm for debate amongst people who
  are often ignored by mainstream political debate
  and argument
• Beginning to get a clear idea of what people
  want to be treated with respect, to be empowered
  to use the system to get themselves out of
  poverty, to be helped to sustain themselves.

10
Challenges
Gains

1. Resourcing financial limitations
2. Hosting - NGO resources
3. Working through NGO partners
4. Understanding of participation involvement
5. Widespread ignorance of NAPs

2. Rich partnership of SPTF member organisations
3. Reaching wider audience through NGO partners
4. Increased understanding of participation
   involvement, and showcase of good participatory
   practice
5. Increased understanding of NAPs

11
Where next?

• Analysis and synthesis of workshop feedback
• Feedback events for grassroots participants
• Dialogue meeting between grassroots participants
  and national decisionmakers
• Outline of the NAP 2006
• Presentation of the Get Heard grassroots
  submission to the DWP

12
Building community capacity of socially excluded
participants

• Holding a Get Heard workshop can also help
  community groups to develop local advocacy and
  project work and support ongoing community
  development
• Participating in a Get Heard workshop can empower
  individuals through realising that they have
  expert knowledge to contribute - and a right to
  speak out