This week saw the release of a new report, ‘The Path to Net Zero: Three steps for effective community engagement’. Developed by Connected Places Catapult and 3Ci, Cities Commission for Climate Investment, the report aims to support local authorities in effectively engaging communities to drive impactful net zero initiatives.
The guide was developed through dialogue with local authorities, community engagement specialists, academics, and investors. It consolidates all those experiences into a concise three step guide championing engagement beyond consultation while advocating for the highest levels of collaboration and co-production. One of the contributors was our Director of Capacity Building and Standards, Carly-Walker Dawson.
Carly took part in a high-level roundtable discussion and a 1-2-1 interview to discuss insights from our Local Climate Engagement programme, an innovative project that uses a combination of training, mentoring, peer learning, resources and hands-on support to assist local authorities in engaging their local communities on climate change.
The three step guide provides a framework to co-plan, co-design, and co-deliver projects with the public, ‘ensuring they are not only technically and economically viable but also socially supported.’
It includes real-world case studies and practical steps, and while it has been used to help teams at the City of Doncaster Council and Sheffield City Council, it is still to be tested further. 3Ci are looking for partners to test it further.
Get in touch with them here and go to their website to download the guide.
What is the Local Climate Engagement programme?
The Local Climate Engagement programme (LCE) was created in response to recognising that in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and to get to Net Zero in a way that is effective and fair, decision makers will need to engage the public.
We know that local authorities are leading the way in this endeavour, showing bold leadership by setting Net Zero targets that are years ahead of national legislation. In addition, the public believe that local authorities are vital in our climate response: Ipsos Mori polling commissioned by UK100 found that 40% of people believe that their local council is best placed to tackle climate change in their local area, compared to 30% for the Government and 19% for the individual.
With this in mind, the programme has worked with 21 local authorities to plan, commission and deliver high quality public engagement in their climate decision-making. Projects included pop up stalls at events, engagement workshops and community research conducted by members of the public.
What’s happening next for the LCE programme?
We are creating a resource hub which will be available to all local authorities in the UK. The resources will focus on good practice in climate engagement; taking learnings and questions from our work with the 21 local authorities and creating an online space for useful resources and case studies. We will be working with local authority staff and councillors to shape what this looks like, to ensure it becomes a useful and well used resource.
Working with UK100 we will also be creating learning and influencing opportunities with local politicians, on subjects such as tackling climate misinformation.
Did you know you can commission our Local Climate Engagement intensive training, our mentoring offer, or hands-on engagement support for your own local authority?
If you are interested to find out more about this programme, please contact Maddie, Engagement Lead, about what we can support you with or for any further questions.
Get in touch with her here.
This programme is funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK branch) and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.