Autumn leadership conference focuses on community empowerment

Senior managers from across North Ayrshire Council gathered at Saltcoats Town Hall on Wednesday, 30 September, for our latest Connected Leadership Conference.

The conference is a regular event which allows colleagues to share best practice as we continue to strive to deliver the best possible service for our communities.

Chief Executive Craig Hatton kicked off proceedings by talking about the recent announcement by the Scottish Government regarding potential local government reform and how this may affect us in the years to come. You can view Craig's message here.

Discussion then moved on to the main theme of the conference – Communities & Local Democracy – and how we can all contribute to delivering on the Council priority.

David Hammond, Executive Director (Communities & Housing), outlined a key element of this work – supporting our communities to take advantage of the opportunities offered through the Community Empowerment Act.

This means giving local people the confidence, skills, and real decision-making power to shape local services, manage community assets, and drive positive change in their neighbourhoods.

This topic was then discussed further in a talk show format by Rhonda Leith, Head of Service (Connected Communities), alongside colleagues from a range of services, Lesley Forsyth, Jacqui Greenlees, Claire Fitzsimmons, Donna Morrison and Andrea Elliot.

The discussion then moved on to locality networks and why they matter, with participants undertaking a ‘locality lab’ group exercise to work through real examples of community-based proposals. The conference concluded with a showcase a number of inspiring examples of community empowerment in action, through our Libraries, Eglinton Country Park & North Ayrshire Ranger Service, Community Facilities, Regeneration, Heritage and Culture teams.

David Hammond said: “This has been incredibly worthwhile conference, reminding us what we can do across the Council to ensure our communities can participate in local democracy.

“Each of us has an opportunity to play a direct role in delivering on the priorities of our localities and empower communities towards achieving those goals.”