How We Will Deliver Community Planning in Aberdeenshire
- Vision and Principles
- Community Planning Themes
- Community Planning Partnership
- Partnership Structure Diagram
- Good Practice Example
The partnership’s vision is:
Working together for the best quality of life for everyone in Aberdeenshire
Our Principles
The partnership has developed six guiding principles, which we will use to test everything that we do. If something that we are planning as a partnership does not fit with these principles then we should not be doing it. The principles are:
- Inclusion – we will ensure that our actions improve all Aberdeenshire citizens’ ability to access our services and will take account of all factors that create a barrier to this. We will encourage equal opportunities and will observe any national requirements on these.
- Accountability - we will make ourselves answerable to the communities and people of Aberdeenshire and keep them informed of, and seek their views on, what we are doing.
- Partnership - we will work together with our partners and the people of Aberdeenshire to achieve our vision and will encourage communities to recognise their important role in sharing in community planning work.
- Evidence-based - we will ensure that our actions are based on clear evidence and information and are derived from what the community wants.
- Sustainability - we will work to ensure that our actions are sustainable and meet the needs of the current generation of Aberdeenshire’s people without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Efficiency - we will aim to be as efficient as possible with resources and use them to provide as effective services as possible.
Commitment to Equalities
Community Planning involves working with all communities in Aberdeenshire. The Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership is aware that certain groups or individuals may be more disadvantaged or vulnerable for reasons such as age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religious or political beliefs or sexual orientation. We will strive to improve the quality of life for all people of Aberdeenshire and will not discriminate for any of the above reasons.
Community Planning Themes
Consultation has highlighted people’s wish for us to continue making the existing 4 themes our priority:
- Community Wellbeing - working together to enhance the quality of everyday life by improving health and social care, housing and community safety
- Jobs and the Economy - working together to improve the economy of Aberdeenshire and the employment prospects of its people
- Lifelong Learning - working and learning together to develop opportunities and build stronger communities
- Sustainable Environment - working together to achieve sustainability by reducing resource use, protecting our environment, combating climate change and conserving and enhancing biodiversity
In addition the partnership has agreed to support its work by creating a fifth theme:
- Developing our Partnership – working together to make our partnership as efficient and effective as possible
These themes are described in greater detail later in the plan.
Safe Drive Stay Alive – Good Practice Example
Safe Drive Stay Alive is an ambitious project organised by Aberdeenshire Community Safety Partnership which aims to put across a very hard hitting message to young people as they approach driving age. It is an excellent example of partnership working, whereby various professional disciplines come together, sharing enthusiasm, commitment and resources to achieve a common goal, which in this instance is to reduce the number of road collisions involving young drivers. The multi-media show features live performances from members of our local emergency services together with a number of private individuals whose lives have forever been affected by road collisions. The show includes a re-enactment of a vehicle collision involving young people, highlighting to the audience how vulnerable drivers and their passengers can be and reinforces the message that being involved in a road traffic collision can also have a devastating impact on their families and even the wider community. The first of these events was held in November 2005 at Thainstone Mart, Inverurie when 3500 fifth year pupils from across Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City attended. The feedback received from the audience has been very encouraging and the Community Safety Partnership aim to repeat these shows annually over the next few years.
Community Planning Partnership
Our partnership has several groups within its structure. These groups will all play an important part in ensuring that we are continuing to progress community planning in Aberdeenshire. These groups are the Community Planning Board, the Community Planning Executive, 5 theme forums and local community planning groups.
Community Planning Board – provides the strategic direction for the partnership. Senior managers from the public sector partners, four elected councillors and community representatives sit on this group.
Community Planning Executive – this group has a focus on implementation and coordination of community planning in Aberdeenshire and monitors and evaluates its progress. It reports to and takes its instructions from the community planning board. Managers from all public sector partners, council area managers, theme forum leaders and community representatives sit on this group.
Five Theme Forums – these forums progress, and are informed about, the issues that are relevant to each theme. They report regularly to the Executive and through it to the Board. Any relevant stakeholders in Aberdeenshire have the opportunity to attend these forums. Each is led by a representative from one of the community planning partners.
Local Community Planning Groups – these groups are based on the council’s six administrative areas. They are initially to be led by council Area Managers. They are the crucial level in the partnership structure in allowing information from Aberdeenshire communities to reach high-level management in public agencies in the area. They also directly lead local community planning.
How It Works
Please find a diagram of the structure of our Community Planning Partnership below:
