A reminder that the next Hereford Civic Society talk will be an update on city centre development by Cynthia Palmer, Hereford City Centre Manager called 'GOINGS ON IN THE CITY' on Wed, 25 November, 19:30 – 21:30 at our usual venue No.1 Committee Room, Shire Hall, St Peter's Square, HEREFORD HR1 2HY.

News of the Civic Trust’s closure in April came as a shock to civic societies across the country. A lot of work has been going on to fill the gap with something better, as Tony Burton from the Civic Society Initiative explains.

“Nowhere should be without its civic society and no-one should be without the voice you can provide.”

This was the message from the Prince of Wales to the Civic Societies National Convention in October and it resonated with the delegates from civic societies from every part of the country. Every civic society is part of something bigger. Every local issue is a national issue. Every local voice can be part of a national voice. Working together the civic society movement is one of the country’s unsung treasures and with over 1,000 local organisations and 250,000 members it is a force to be reckoned with.

The loss of the Civic Trust has left civic societies without a champion in the corridors of power and without the individual guidance and advice that can help each society flourish. With generous support from other national organisations like the National Trust and contributions from over 135 civic societies, the Civic Society Initiative was set up in June to help find a way forward. We have been debating and discussing what might happen and how it might be funded in public meetings, online debates and a major survey. In three months we involved over 800 societies and had face to face discussions with nearly 400 people. The conclusions were presented in a special report – Own the future – to the October convention which was the first gathering of civic societies for over 30 years.

It is clear that the country needs effective and influential civic societies now more than ever before. The effects of insensitive development, weak land use and transport planning and a lack of regard for heritage and the identity and character of the villages, towns, cities and neighbourhoods of England is diminishing them and all our lives. People also want more of a say but find themselves left out in the cold. The number of people who think they can influence local decisions has fallen from 44% to 39% in the last eight years. That is why local places need powerful champions to defend them, to celebrate their history and to shape their future.

It is also clear that civic societies need each other. Together we’re stronger is truism but no less true for that. The forces that shape your local area depend as much on national priorities, policy and funding as they do on local decisions. Working together we can reach places in the corridors of power that local action will never reach.

Civic societies are also looking for support and advice on how best to make a difference locally and to strengthen themselves with new volunteers and sources of funding. This includes support for clustering together more locally than the remote Government regions in some areas. There are already moves to have three clusters in the South East and cluster civic societies in Merseyside and around Wiltshire, Bath, Bristol and Gloucestershire. We know others are looking to work together more at a county level or around the potential of new “city-regions”.

As a result, there is an overwhelming call for a small new national body to lobby and campaign where it matters, raise the profile of the movement and provide civic societies with support and advice. It is also clear that people want this new body to be independent and to be focused on meeting the needs of civic societies. The Civic Trust closed because it became remote and dependent on Government funding which was switched elsewhere. The same cannot happen again. Each civic society will be asked to pay something like £2 or £3 per member to join and will have to decide where to raise these funds. We accept that this will be a challenge for a lot of societies. There are a number who have low membership rates. We recognise this and that there may be a need for a transition period. On the other hand some societies have already put up their membership fees in anticipation of the changes being introduced. Others recognise that they may not be valuing themselves and what they do by charging such low fees. We are interested in hearing your ideas about how we can fund the new body. What we do know is that we can’t expect to find support from elsewhere if we are to be independent. It will have strings attached and is in short supply.

The good news is that every member of civic societies which join will receive the offer of a free day access pass to any National Trust property. This is worth up to £14 and if you are already a member then you can use it to take a friend or relative who isn’t, so everyone can enjoy a good day out.

In a small way we hope the Civic Society Initiative has begun to give a taste of the benefits which could come – providing a website, two information bulletins, raising the media profile, securing the support of celebrities, building partnerships with nationally important organisations like English Heritage and the National Trust, helping civic societies get together, securing funding, launching the Street Pride campaign against street clutter, and lobbying on key issues such as the review of planning policy on the historic environment.

The wheels to set up the new national body are in motion. We hope to launch in April. By joining in your local voice will be stronger and you will be helping make every part of England a better place to live.

For further information and to keep in touch then send your email address to admin@civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk and visit the website at www.civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk where you can also download a copy of Own the future.

HCS has learnt that on Monday the Butter Market Traders Association's steering group was advised that the market refurbishment is to be the subject of a two-stage RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) run competition. Further details as we get them.

Don't forget tonight's HCS AGM at Shire Hall.

The Measurement of Sustainable Procurement
A new report commissioned by emda and written by Adam Wilkinson and Associates concentrates on assessing and developing the practical measurement of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, so that these measures can be used within the procurement process. Adam gave the Hereford Civic Society an excellent and informative presentation in June entitled "SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT IN OUR LOCAL ECONOMY”.

Including such measures is achieved by means of a critical review of existing methodologies that provides a considered base from which to recommend examples of smart indicators to measure key elements of sustainability. These have then been piloted with a subset of emda's tier one suppliers.

Review highlights

Measurement and rigorous methodology are not a substitute for clearly stated policy intentions and prioritisation. A methodology for measuring impact can be applied, but to make it meaningful it needs to be used in the context of achieving the desired objective. This underpins the need for a strategic approach to procurement and is also the reason for the growth in thinking about outcome based approaches.

Any measures or methodologies that are used in procurement practice need to be objective and should therefore be blind to the aspirations of public policy in their application. The suggested solution is that by using a smart Key Performance Indicators (KPI) approach one can utilise the results of different methodologies across a number of different indicators that encompass the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social, and environmental). This leads to the rejection of monetised proxies such as some of those used by SROI, and new perspectives on environmental measurement. Both are seen as critical if a realistic and practical approach to using smart indicators in public procurement is to be successful.

Recommendations highlights

• Develop a standardised approach to measuring strategic outcomes across public sector procuring organisations, bringing clarity to markets by better specifying what they wish to buy and supporting suppliers to respond to consistently applied measures.
• Clearly link the organisation's impact measurement process to its strategic sustainability objectives by establishing a meaningful set of measures that support their delivery.
• Develop an impact measurement tool that would enable the organisation to monitor all KPIs in contracts and then have the ability to accumulate these to feedback the results against the corporate objectives. Full report can be downloaded from www.impactmeasurement.net/emda

Adam Wilkinson advises Councils and other organisations in the public and private sectors on how to achieve procurement systems that maximise the local economy while preserving the environment. In his talk he explained the basic concept and methods, whereby Councils can monitor the contribution their expenditure - usually a major factor in their area - has on the regeneration and sustainability of their communities. For more information about his work or contact details go to www.adamwilkinson.com.