A learning site is a living expression of ABCD in Action. Nurture Development has supported the growth of 15 Learning Sites in more than 60 neighbourhoods across the UK and 30 sites across Australia, with interest growing in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
Nurture Development offer support, guidance, training and mentoring in three key areas; field work and training, strategic support and project development. The emphasis is on genuine and deep community building, partnership development and sustainable change. Typically, our Learning Site offer spans two consecutive years and approximately 24 days of input. In many instances, it develops into a longer-term relationship.
Nurture Development has supported the establishment of 15 Learning Sites covering more than 60 neighbourhoods across the UK, 30 sites across Australia and interest growing in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
What does a Learning Site look like?
People came together regularly to share and reflect on stories of their community efforts. These stories can inspire others to get involved, to help everyone be clearer about what it is that matters in building a welcoming and inclusive community, and to get a sense of how community building efforts have helped make a positive difference to local lives.
Host – an organisation rooted in the neighbourhood that understands the local context and has enough structure to recruit and support a Community Animator e.g. Neighbourhood Association or Faith Organisation.
Community Animator – employed by the host association/organisation to support local community and economic building; accountable to the local community whom they serve.
Community – The process is welcomed by the community and there are 8-15 residents committed to forming an initiating group and willing to host conversations with other residents.
What will this offer enable you to do?
An initiating group of residents will have connected and mobilised hundreds of local residents to share their gifts, skills and passions.
Local residents will have worked out together what a strong and vibrant community means to them, and are organising to bring about their clear vision of the future. They are clear about what they will do as citizens with no help from outside, what they will lead on with some help, and what they expect outside agencies to do for them.
Practitioners will have deepened their individual and collective practice to support citizen-led action.
A strong sense of stewardship will emerge amongst leaders to create the conditions that support the growth of community driven change and to address the dilemmas that surface.