Citizen Involvement

Community centres are centres where work is carried out across organisational and professional frameworks with a view to utilising both professional and financial resources. A community centre is a cross-sectorial counselling and learning centre, where as an example the library shares a location with other municipal services possibly combined with volunteer organisations, various associations and individual resource persons. Collectively, these services can help citizens in areas where the majority is socially excluded, including ethnic minorities, to manage better in society. Furthermore, community centres can contribute to enabling citizens to play a proactive role in local citizen management and democratic citizenship.

Community Center Gellerup (CCG) is an example of such a community centre. In Gellerup, a library, in cooperation with other local institutions and in close correlation with local

citizens and volunteers, has taken the lead in the development of an active local knowledge- and resource-centre.

CCG can be seen as an ambitious example of user-driven innovation, a concept which was launched in connection with the government’s quality reform. The users are employees and volunteers as well as ordinary citizens.

Employees and users have set themselves the task of developing the quality of the existing public service and work with democratic citizen-involvement and the involvement of volunteer organisations in cross-sectorial as well as interdisciplinary working relationships in a wide range of areas, which are usually separate.

The present Danish government’s quality reform can pave the way for cross-sectorial

organisations that involve citizens and volunteers such as Community Center Gellerup and ensure that they are no longer seen as exotic exceptions but rather as organisational forms which set a new standard for holistic and citizeninvolving operations and innovation of public enterprises, which the political and administrative system eventually will have to learn to deal with as the norm rather than the exception.

Community Center Gellerup is interesting beyond Gellerup and Aarhus for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is interesting as an example of a multitasking and multifunctional community centre that breaks boundaries in activities of traditional libraries.

It is in itself innovative for a library to be combined with counselling tasks, health work, support for job applications and volunteer work in relation to homework help, training and reading aloud for children, all within the same building.

Secondly, Community Center Gellerup is interesting as a practical contribution to development of integration, active and democratic citizenship and empowerment strategies in relation to exposed and multicultural communities.

Aarhus Municipality

In 2004, Aarhus Municipality passed the Aarhus Model for citizen involvement. The Aarhus Model is not a question of more of everything but rather of relevant citizen involvement based on a qualified foundation.

In some cases, a comprehensive programme of citizen involvement through various activities is the right course of action, while other situations call for nothing more than relevant and adequate information.

The model is based on 8 core principles:

1. Citizen involvement must be based on the core values of Aarhus Municipality
2. Considering citizen involvement is mandatory at the beginning of any given task
3. As a minimum, citizens have a right to be heard
4. When a current plan is changed, reasons for changing the ‘agreement’ must be stated
5. Citizens must have real opportunities for participation
6. Private commitment in neighbourhoods and communities must be encouraged
7. Cooperation with councils, associations and organisations must be maintained and developed
8. Processes, methods and professional competences must be evaluated and developed continuously

Suggestions for various kinds of citizen involvement

• Use the Internet for debates (letters page) or for taking votes
• Send out press releases (media attention)
• User surveys
• Focus interviews
• Use ad hoc groups/task groups
• Set up reference groups
• Hold public meetings
• Hold workshops or kick-off meetings
• Formalised dialogue with citizens/users
• Informal dialogue with citizens – talks – that produce ideas
• Competitions

Considerations such as these always enter into the ways that Gellerup and Hasle libraries involve citizens.

Before starting to plan citizen involvement, it is important to clarify whether one’s own expectations match the needs and expectations of citizens and cooperation partners.

• Start by generating a definition of the task in cooperation with the community – e.g. through interviews with smaller groups. What are, in the eyes of citizens and employees, the most important problems and challenges related to the task and how are they solved?
• Make visible the resources such as employees, informal and formal networks and bridge builders to the surrounding world that can be mobilised to supply drive and energy to a strategy for change
  Network matrix: http://www.aakb.dk/sw113189.asp
• Improve the ability to produce creative solutions – e.g. in relation to controversial topics such as safety and crime
• Ensure that focus is moved away from problem-oriented towards resource-oriented and towards setting positive, tangible goals for the solution of a task
• Ensure general agreement on procedures, frames and rules in the process of solving a task

Methods

The libraries of Gellerup and Hasle use two primary methods for all work – be it serving patrons, involving citizens or developing staff competences. The methods are appreciative method (Appreciative Inquiry) and to give action competences (empowerment).

These methods are used not only by Gellerup Library (Community Center Gellerup (CCG)), but are shared by police, social services, primary and secondary schools and day-care institutions in the area. Community Center Gellerup therefore builds on these methods, as do other projects in the local community as well as the cooperation partners.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

• Acknowledge and enhance what is already working well.
• Focusing on solutions that already exist.
• Focusing on alternative realities, dreams and wishes.

In regard to empowerment we are therefore working on three levels:

1. Individual citizens and staff members: having the right to make one’s own decisions – to live life according to own wishes
2. Group: being able to interact in a group – to create and support social networks
3. (Local) society level: stating one’s opinion and pleading other peoples’ causes – to demand and expect influence and respect.

These methods build on lessons from Chicago.

The lessons from Chicago

The public libraries in Chicago have over the past decade turned an ominous development into a success story. The secret behind the success was the exploitation of the library’s potential as catalyst for social networks in the local community.

A study from the Asset Based Community Development Institute also pointed to the fact that libraries can contribute with a wealth of resources: a ‘gratis’ meeting place, the most recent information technology, knowledge, a feeling of ownership among local citizens as well as a relationship of trust between people. On the basis of this study, the following recommendations to libraries were formulated:

1. Be investigative (outreach work).
2. Find the local leaders. A coordinated effort to find leaders and ‘fiery souls’ in the local community makes all the difference.
3. Be visionary in relation to what the library can do.
4. Make visible and contribute to the local community’s unique strengths and conditions.
5. Support local institutions and business life.
6. Turn the library building into a local community centre.
7. Create a local-community-orientated culture among staff and volunteers.
8. Investments in libraries can kick start local community development.

User-focus

When establishing CCG, focus was centred on the development of user-focused activities. Courses in community comprehension and in the Danish language have been organised. There have been three theme days: a health day, IT-open learning, and a day on folk high schools and continuation schools. There have been one-off events such as ‘Break the fast’ (an evening on Ramadan), a day on ‘Khat and clans’ arranged by young Somalis, a clean-up day, ‘Clean Ghetto’, a concert against deliberate fires in the area, ‘Gellerup wake up’, debate evenings on Palestine, presentation of candidates for the Integration Council in Aarhus, sponsoring of jerseys for a football tournament, exhibition of library materials on the theme days ‘Faith meets faith’.

CCG has entered into permanent partnership with:

• The IT-guide association: http://www.it-guideforeningsn.dk/ . The IT Guide Association is a multi-ethnic, apolitical, non-religious and democratic association based in the western part of Aarhus. The association has a double objective: to form a community of people with an interest in IT and to share the members’ combined knowledge with citizens lacking IT-competences through free IT-courses. The IT Guide Association was founded in the spring of 2004. Today, the association has more than 15 members. The association offers IT-courses at Gellerup Library in many different languages, at different times of the day and during weekends. Tailored courses aimed at various associations (e.g. women’s associations) according to their wishes and needs are also offered. Duration of courses can be 32 hours, 24 hours or short introductions in e.g. Netbanking.
• Homework Help Association ‘Tusindfryd’ under the Danish Refugee Council, which consists of young people offering help with homework free-of-charge. You don’t have to book an appointment but can just turn up. Homework help is for all citizens, whether they attend a language school, are studying to pass the theoretical test for their driving license, attend primary or secondary school or are doing an upper secondary course.
• The Voluntary Centre, the purpose of which is to establish contact between voluntary social associations and people who wish to do voluntary work.
• Local Historical Archive, which collects pictures, association documents, maps, memoirs etc.

Community Centres and user driven innovation

CCG can be taken as an example of user driven service design (Parker and Heapy: 2005) and user-driven innovation , which were launched in connection with the government’s quality reform.

The CCG concept is therefore interesting in relation to the discussion on routes towards democratisation, better exploitation of resources, and quality development of the public sector in a close interplay with the civic community. One of the challenges is that public institution budgeting and administrative processes are not always geared to supporting such cross-sectorial and civic- community-inclusive innovations. There still remain some hurdles to surmount in order for a user-driven innovation to become part of a realistic, sustainable development trajectory.

Perhaps the quality reform will pave the way so that cross-sectorial organisations such as CCG no longer will be regarded as exceptions but rather be seen as organisational forms that set a new standard for holistic and user-inclusive management and innovation of public activities.

The volunteers

The cooperation with volunteers in CCG is divided into three categories:

1. organisations/NGOs – e.g. Fribørsen (Volunteer Exchange)
2. associations – e.g. IT Guide Association, Daisy
3. individual citizens – e.g. a citizen, who wants to arrange an event, exhibit photos or paintings or organise a discussion meeting – or a citizen volunteering to read aloud to children once a week.

Presently, approximately 80 volunteers are attached to CCG. 60 are working with homework help; there are 15 members of the IT Guide Association and about 5 volunteers reading aloud to children.

When involving volunteers it is essential to discuss and clarify with the staff group the extent of the involvement, and which tasks the volunteers will be working on. In CCG, volunteers are working on tasks that would otherwise not be carried out at CCG. The tasks in question are counselling regarding the creation of associations; holding basic IT-courses and Internet introductions and reading aloud for children between 8 and 11.

In connection with the establishment of CCG we have focused on developing citizen-driven activities. I.e. citizens in the community come to CCG to test whether their ideas are any good and ‘marketable’, and whether CCG wants to enter into a cooperation with the citizen or association to launch the activity.

During the last two years this has resulted in a wide range of activities and events. Three courses on social education and three Danish courses have been held. Three seminars have been carried out: a health day, IT-open learning, and a seminar on folk high schools and continuation schools. Separate events such as ‘Break the fast’ (an evening event on Ramadan); a day about ‘Khat and clans’ held by young Somalis; a garbage collection day ‘Clean Ghetto’; a concert, ‘Gellerup wake up’, against arsonists’ attacks in the area; discussion meetings about Palestine; presentation of candidates for the Integration Council in Aarhus; sponsoring of jerseys for a football tournament; a get-together for young men and women in the role model group ‘Youth for youth’; exhibition of library materials at the seminars ‘Faith meets faith’ – just to mention a few and to demonstrate the variety of subjects. CCG is involved in the events in various ways: financing or subsidising the event, staff assisting in preparing PR (posters and folders) or making available staff members and rooms to carry out the event. The activities have so far been carried out beyond CCG’s normal frames for events.

Cooperation partners and volunteers

Besides involving current cooperation partners, it is a question of searching the library’s local community for potential new partners – a search both for partners in the area and partners with an interest in the area.

Thinking outside the box and attracting partners that are not obvious cooperation partners can be very useful.

It is vital to open up to the community to create a demand for ownership of library initiatives among the users. Later on, this can result in activities involving these users as volunteers.

There are a number of issues that you should be aware of when involving volunteers in project work:

• Involving volunteers is not cost neutral. Time must be spent on regular contact between the workplace and the volunteers. Office facilities should also be provided for citizen-driven activities. Furthermore, after a period of volunteer work, the workplace can choose to offer recommendations for use in future job applications to volunteers. Thus, the workplace acknowledges that volunteers are a positive resource for the institution – and thereby strengthens the volunteers’ sense of ownership.
• Cooperation agreements should be drawn up allowing volunteers the use of the physical facilities outside normal opening hours.
• Financial resources should be set aside for citizen-driven activities and activities for volunteers.
• Qualifying courses and evening events with opportunity for debates should be held continuously for cooperation partners and volunteers.

Staff time is spent on meetings, preparation and planning of activities and on follow-up on the activity.

Process and method development

An important issue in the development of methods is the continuous adjustment, development and evaluation; another issue is establishing structures:

• Ensure continuous development through interviews, courses and staff development. This includes ensuring options to meet various needs that users as well as staff members have during the process.
• Develop forms and questionnaires in advance for user surveys based on qualitative interviews with staff members and users.
• Develop standards for registration and systematic documentation before the project is launched. As part of the evaluation, a simple scorecard can be prepared in which staff members can take stock of the development of the cooperation on various activities on a scale from one to six. Scorecards are a simple tool to showing employees’ experiences and assessments of the current status of different initiatives. They can be used as the foundation for dialogue and prioritisation of which activities are ‘critical’ to ensure success in the future work (Fetterman 2001: 24-30)
• During the process of change it is important to make room for social relations for employees as well as for users.
• Throughout the process, it is recommended to keep up to date on best practice in the development of Storytelling nationally and internationally.
• Branding of the project and external recognition must have a high priority. Drafting a communication plan is therefore recommended.

From project to permanent service

When changing from project to permanent service it is important to make an evaluation of the project. What is important to continue into permanent service?

• Continued relevant supplementary training is important. It must support the development of a professionalism for which – in this case – the key words are storytelling and a creative use of IT, knowledge of local community, citizen involvement and interdisciplinary work.
• Ensuring a strong and creative framework for the contact between citizens and cooperation partners including practical frames for continued collection of experiences.
• Development of simple tools for evaluation and user satisfaction surveys, which can be used internally in the organisation and which meet decision-makers’ demands for documentation on return of investment.

Citizen Involvement and Untold Stories

In relation to involving citizens in the Untold Stories project, we will take this paper as our point of reference and draw up a plan corresponding with the target groups. We are planning to take our large and extended networks as our starting point.

The network involves a number of groupings – some of the groupings are described below:

• Elderly people: Time for the Family including a Vietnamese and an Iranian group of senior citizens, project by FOF (public information) involving senior citizens, Local centres for the elderly in Hasle and Gellerup
• Mentally disabled: YMCA’s project ’Livsværkstederne’, residents counselling
• Women: the women’s association ‘Women’s House’, Hava (a women’s project), Health House, a former writing group for women under Gellerup Library
• Young people: Web 2.0 – concerts, ‘Girlhood’
• Ethnic groups: Somali Family Folk High School, Intercultural Women’s Association

It is our intention to visit and seek out the various groups in their own environment – that is, we visit them and present the core idea and the history behind Untold Stories. The presentation will include the prototypes of digital stories, which we have produced ourselves. We will possibly work with a ‘café-method’, where the participants write their spontaneous ideas on table cloths that can later enter into discussions, where the participants are sparring with each other to choose and develop ideas, discuss which IT-tools will best serve to disseminate their stories: disposable cameras, digital cameras, Nokia93, drawings – other ideas.

In several of the phases, we will cooperate with boards of associations, project managers and employees to include their approach and point of view to obtain the best result possible. We will also cooperate with the IT-Guide Association in order to offer various IT-courses in order to cover the different dissemination methods.