Report transcript in: BSWN - reflecting on the Community Resilience Fund

Please Report the Errrors?

There again.

Hello,

hi,

good evening.

How are you doing?

Good evening.

Yes,

alright,

excellent,

excellent.

Um,

I mean,

I'm monitoring returns,

that's why I'm like.

It's alright,

it's good.

It's it all fresh in my mind.

Excellent.

Um,

good afternoon.

So,

uh,

um,

what I was gonna do,

because we've done one of these recordings and,

uh,

we decided to do it again,

which is great,

um,

and I was gonna write fresh questions for you,

but I thought

you're instrumental in helping these organisations

that have applied for CRF funding.

You're

instrumental in helping them

manage,

fill out the forms and all the different aspects of

being successful and successfully implementing

the funding in the in the correct way.

So I,

I thought what I'll do is I'll ask you the questions

that I would have asked them

and then we can work around that.

Is that OK?

Sure,

that's fine,

yeah,

great.

So what I um my first question I ask them is good afternoon,

could you state the name and community interest company

uh that you're affiliated with and what you provide

to the community?

OK,

um,

I'm from Black Southwest Network.

We're not a community interest company.

We're a racial justice charity

based in Bristol and we work across the Southwest.

And in Bristol,

uh,

what we've done is work

in partnership with the council.

Um,

and agreed that we would supply

kind of

listening ear,

um,

support service,

uh,

critical friend,

that sort of role,

uh,

to actively help organisations that had.

applied for the Community resilience fund,

um,

to help them with navigate the process of

obtaining that funding and then implementing it,

which is quite a challenging task

for any organisation,

but particularly small

grassroots organisations with not a lot of

internal capacity.

OK,

excellent.

Um,

the second question I asked them is,

so you applied for the,

uh,

Community resilience fund,

you were successful on being allocated a portion of

funding.

Uh,

what have you spent the money on?

So,

um,

that's a question I asked those organisations.

Um,

just briefly,

what do you think the

needs and requirements are for,

um,

uh,

CICs?

Um,

why would they apply?

organisations that have applied for this type of funding

have,

there's two kinds of areas.

One is,

Um,

they may have accessibility

improvement needs on their site,

so making their buildings

more,

uh,

accessible for

disabled people,

elders,

and

people with reduced mobility.

And then they may have energy efficiency needs

and you know,

just in general,

the look and feel of their premises might need to improve,

having not been invested in for,

for many,

many years.

And so

this was a real chance to,

Um,

Improve their asset,

um,

an asset is something,

you know,

we're,

we're proud of,

we hold it in the community,

but if it's old and,

you know,

falling apart and leaking and,

you know,

that's not fun for anyone,

them or the people in the community need to hire it or use it.

this was a good chance to renovate,

um,

and upgrade premises.

Excellent.

Of course,

Julius,

this is the moment

when my dog wants to go out.

Right,

so hang on a second.

And then there's that moment when they go,

oh yeah,

that's why we're not going out cos it's raining.

And I'm like,

no,

you're going out.

Anyway,

yeah,

OK,

carry on.

Um,

so question number 3 I ask these,

uh,

CICs

what difference has the funding made

to the staff in your organisation

and the community at large.

So you've probably touched on it a little bit there.

Um,

accessibility,

um,

that will make it open to those who,

um,

uh,

have sent.

Um,

and have other disabilities,

um,

and it will be more attractive to the community.

Like you said,

we've got this asset,

let's look after it.

That's right,

and.

So in terms of what,

um,

what it does for those organisations is,

the,

you know,

the environment within which all the community

development work and community support takes place,

it rapidly

can,

you know,

be quite a transformative,

uh,

situation,

you know,

if you've got new doors or

freshly painted rooms or

Uh,

it's warmer,

it's cleaner,

um,

it's,

it feels newer.

It just sends a positive message back to the people that use it.

And also

fills the center's staff with pride

because this is,

this is the space that they're

now letting out and

showing people and

advising them on the size or

uh how many people can use it or whatever goes on in the booking arrangements

for a venue.

Um,

it's just a really positive lift.

Um,

for people.

I remember when I was running a centre myself

is we changed the fire doors on the premises and,

you know,

people feel very up suddenly and they want to come in and

even if it's a small

and,

you know,

essential improvement,

it's a sign,

it's a signal that things are changing

for the better.

And so

that's what people want to feel.

When they're using our community premises.

Yeah,

and,

and the people that

are gonna hire that space,

they

then

feel if you're having a if you're having a function

and it's all

dilapidated,

rotting and everything,

you feel a sense of shame because that's the

place that you chose.

So,

um,

yeah,

I definitely,

um,

echo that.

Um,

the next or fourth question I ask,

uh,

the CICs is how did you find the application process

and filling out the forms?

one of the last people I interviewed

was Denise.

Let me tell you,

Sonia,

when she spoke about you.

There were

near tears in her eyes.

She was so I'm telling you,

I've,

I've never seen anything like it,

she was so thankful to you.

And her words

and I can send you the video,

her words were,

she would have given up

if not for you.

yeah,

you've made um

an unbelievable

um.

Your work is unbelievable,

you've made such a difference because that

organisation,

Cafe Conscious would not be

running,

but she did say that she found the application form really hard.

Um,

most people have said it was easy because they're,

they're applying all the time.

So,

yeah,

how,

how was that working with,

um,

uh Cafe Conscious Denise and,

and some other organisations?

Yeah,

you know,

that,

you know,

most people when they get involved in community development work and,

you know,

it might involve having an asset or not,

or,

you know,

they're doing it for the people oriented stuff.

They're focused on

helping children,

young people,

disabled people,

elders,

people who are unemployed,

people who've got addictions,

you know,

all these sorts of,

that is their primary focus.

And so,

When it comes to engaging with the bureaucratic process,

um,

The

rhyme and reason of why do you want to improve this community space and

uh how much is it going to cost and what are

the results that you're going to be able to achieve and

what are the outcomes and quantify all of that,

please,

and get us the budget,

get us quotes.

It's,

it's demanding

when you're a small organisation.

If you've got a large team,

it doesn't seem like a big deal,

but

um.

It might even seem ordinary and needed

if you've got

a sizeable organisation,

um,

where

when you're small and going through.

Um,

spending a lot of your time supporting people is

listening to their stories.

You might be burnt out,

you might have

loads of other pressing needs

on you.

And so making the time for the admin

and the finance is challenging,

but it's absolutely necessary

that people do it

correctly,

accurately,

and,

um,

that they're coming to that whole process knowledgeably to some

extent about what they want to achieve out of this.

Um,

and so in that sense,

you've got a kind of vision

into the future,

uh,

in a process that you might not have undertaken before.

You might not be an experienced builder,

um,

you might not know about the depth of insulation or,

you know,

the width of.

The glass that you're going to put in your windows or the type

of roof tiles that you're going to have or whatever it is,

you might not have the technical knowledge,

but

what you need is you need to be able to find

those skills in the community

or from professionals

and and obtain.

Uh,

the information you need for

that process.

And,

um,

and so I think the council did a good job of separating out

who do we in principle want to support.

And so an expression of interest was asked for.

And then,

um,

The technical

aspects were,

OK,

timetable it,

get us the quotations and so on,

and so,

um,

In a way,

they,

they went with their principles

and said,

let's get the right people in the room.

Let's get the right

organisations signed off.

Yes,

you're gonna get this grant.

And then everything is subject to

having the,

the completed form,

having the right quotations in place,

having a comparison between,

you know,

builders that you're going to use

so that you can make a fair

decision based on

Um,

The work that's going to get done to a quality standard and so

The

people are not used to navigating all of that,

and so,

uh,

it can get really stressful.

Um,

so another good decision was having an advisor,

um,

it could have,

you know,

it was me

for some of these organisations you've spoken to,

uh,

but it could have been somebody else.

Another good decision.

Was having some experts on board,

like Wessel.

To talk to about

disability access,

to Bristol Green Energy Network around energy efficiency.

So there's lots of advice around,

Uh,

to help small organisations to make

appropriate choices

for their particular venue or

facility or space.

And in in Cafe Conscious's case,

um,

Uh,

Denise has a lot of different kind of,

uh,

clients that visit her that want to be there,

um,

that find it a safe place to be,

that she actually creates that

safe environment.

She is the hero of this story

because

of the work that she does to enable

people to,

people in terrible situations,

you know,

things that we can't imagine what they've been through,

feel.

Like,

yeah,

I've got a safe haven in the community,

so,

um,

well done,

Denise.

Well done for navigating all the challenges and,

um,

well,

it's partnership working really it is,

you know,

we have to have a,

uh,

a trusted space between us,

you know,

as an advisor

with the organisation,

um.

And,

um,

people work very,

very hard in Bristol,

I find in the community.

They are available 24/7,

um.

And they,

they,

um,

often do not say no,

whoever turns up wanting to.

In this case,

have a bite to eat,

or have a cup of tea or

have a listening ear or

you know,

whatever people need.

Um,

Denise is often there for them.

Yeah,

she mentioned all those people that,

um,

or different groups that you mentioned,

disabilities,

addiction,

so she wants,

um,

a great safe

space for,

for all of them,

so yeah,

it's brilliant.

Um,

the next question I ask is

what made you apply specifically for the,

uh,

resilience,

um,

community resilience fund

grant.

Um,

and,

most people said it was,

uh,

the simplicity

of,

of the grant.

Um,

uh,

I don't know if you,

you have,

um,

an overall view of

why people would

apply for that specific grant.

Yeah,

I mean,

the,

the access to capital funding

is not,

it's not always available.

Um,

you know,

people can get revenue funding

to spend on staff or,

um,

running their

organisations or,

you know,

all the little running costs that

you,

you know,

might incur.

But having access to capital funding is quite rare still.

So that was a big reason I think.

Um,

because capital funding is what you need to spend on upgrading

premises.

Yeah.

Uh,

the

The other reason is that

the premises that they are in

may not have been invested in for a long time,

um,

may not have,

you know,

may have leaks in the roof,

may have

gutters that haven't been,

um,

in place or cleaned out for a long time.

And so all these upgrades,

heating systems,

energy efficiency,

um,

access for disabled people,

a lot of

Um,

activities.

Maybe a lot of the activities that go

on could be more inclusive if those improvements

had been made.

And so

this was a great opportunity to

make

our facilities

more welcoming,

more inviting for everybody.

Yeah.

Um.

And so,

uh,

that was a,

you know,

a key point,

and then.

The

Third thing is,

is,

you know,

complying with legislation,

being up to date,

uh,

with

all the requirements for premises to be used by

members of the public.

So,

you know,

all in all,

it was a good

opportunity for people to

Uh,

go for

Knowing that,

you know,

the first form is not going to.

Um,

It is not gonna.

Totally floor you,

you know,

it's,

it's an expression of interest.

And then the next stage,

it might be more detailed,

if they like what you're offering or,

you know,

I suppose it's,

do they like the idea that if these premises improved,

that the doors would then be more open to certain groups

who may have felt excluded before.

Or less welcome or less able to engage.

And so if,

if that work could be done,

then

that should be the priority driver,

not how

well the form was written or

how brilliantly costed it was.

You know,

it was,

um,

it was a good

in principle,

ethical,

value-based

choice.

And then help is,

is at hand

for,

you know,

nerds like me who've done forms,

more forms.

Um.

And so

we can support the organisation

to carry on focusing on what they do best

and making their premises.

More fit for purpose,

for their

goal,

for their ambition.

Yeah,

um.

And then the fourth thing,

just thought of something else.

Yeah.

the 4th thing is.

Grants are in short supply in general.

It's a lot more competitive now

as a charity or a

CIC

to obtain funding.

how can the organisation

save money,

And

generate an income.

Without losing its values and ethics and foundation.

So keep its purpose in place,

but

recreate its premises

to enhance its ability to be

financially more sustainable.

Mm.

As well as environmentally more sustainable.

Yeah.

You know,

so,

and,

and ultimately its mission becomes more sustainable

if it's able to carry on doing

what it needs to do.

What it needs to do,

yeah.

Yeah,

without worrying,

oh well,

we haven't got a grant.

Mm,

mm.

Um,

because we've,

we've earned that,

and,

you know,

so hiring out a space

creating a space from which you could provide a service.

That a contract,

you might get a contract to deliver that,

uh charging people.

Who can afford

what you're charging because

they support what you're doing,

um.

So that way,

you know,

it just takes some of the pain away

of fundraising.

Yeah.

The Southmead

Development Trust,

um,

he mentioned exactly what you said,

it's very rare to get capital funding.

er Docklands as well,

they mentioned that,

very rare to get capital funding.

um,

so yeah,

they were really,

really pleased that this had had come along.

Um,

the,

uh,

it's getting dark here.

Uh,

the,

the

I can still see you,

don't worry.

uh,

is,

um.

What has

impacted the delivery

of your project,

so from filling out the forms,

from receiving the funding

to delivering

the

um upgrades,

have you had any setbacks?

And near enough,

everyone

had had uh setbacks.

Um,

what do you think overall

people found,

um,

challenging?

It's always difficult to find a good builder,

doesn't matter of what you're doing.

And so

finding appropriate suppliers

who who've got the skill set that you need

and are available at the time that you need them,

and you know,

meet the quality marks or standards that you're

asking for

at the price that you can afford.

It's like a cry,

you know,

climbing through the eye of a needle.

And so

organisations are up against it because they

may or may not have that experience of doing this,

may or may not have the contacts.

And so they might be embarking on quite a new activity for some of them.

And,

um,

But,

you know,

in general,

uh,

organisations did tap into their networks to find new suppliers,

new contractors,

uh,

or accredited

suppliers and contractors

who had a good reputation.

Sometimes it was sharing

contacts,

you know,

between centres.

That was really helpful.

So finding the right people to do the work,

having enough money.

When

the price of things has gone up.

That was in the construction,

yeah,

everyone put their construction industry,

yeah,

and then the figures have doubled.

One,

Eastern Christian Community centre,

when he put it in,

it was 600,000.

By the time they wanted to do the work,

it was 1.2 million.

Wow,

I'd,

I think I'd have a nervous breakdown at that stage.

Yeah.

But um

the,

and so what that does for some organisations,

you know,

that scenario

where the price has gone up

is they have to

do additional fundraising in the year

to complete that project.

Complete that building work or

installation of a lift or,

Improvement.

So that is challenging because then you,

you've only got a short period of time

to achieve that.

The.

Um,

other challenges are

the

Sometimes,

you know,

the contractor that promised you

something may or may not be able to deliver.

And so

it falls short of the vision that you had

for your organisation's look,

feel,

design,

uh,

utilisation,

and so if a lot hinges on it,

then,

It can really undermine your future plans.

Did didn't didn't,

yeah,

she just wanted new flooring.

Guy came along and said,

nah,

the floor's not even even.

So that's another task.

The Bangladeshi community,

he said,

oh,

I want some adjustments made to the roof.

They knocked

part of it down,

rocked,

another problem.

So yeah,

you've hit the nail on the head.

That's right,

and then I suppose what you're highlighting there is,

you know,

if,

if things have been let go for a while,

because the resources,

because of the resources have not been there,

um.

And,

um,

you know,

remedial measures,

um,

may or may not have been in place and so

things,

things get worse if you leave them.

And so,

um,

some organisations found,

I'm,

I'm going in to do one thing,

but actually I've got to do several others

and that of course is a draw on the budget.

So then you've got a shortfall for

other aspects of your budget,

um.

But I have to say compared to

Um,

what I was expecting,

things have gone relatively smoothly.

Yeah,

ironically,

you know,

um,

so you've got small organisations

who may not have the knowledge or the capacity.

But because you've provided advisors,

uh,

to help them navigate the bureaucracy,

the putting together of quotes,

the obtaining the quotes,

uh,

and also

shaping what those quotes are gonna are gonna be about the spec.

So because of all that,

I think these are all the sort of ways that,

It's been a better process.

I totally agree with you,

yeah.

Yeah,

and you mentioned about um

having competent and good builders

and

what I see is these builders are good because they've said

rather than budget it,

they said your floor's not

level,

you need to,

we need to do that first.

Um,

you've got rocked,

we need to deal with that first.

So that's,

yeah,

honest.

Um,

obviously it's more work for them,

but,

um,

it,

they're being honest,

yeah.

That's right.

And also it's um

it's a credit to them to recognise,

you know,

these organisations are charities.

They are community orientated,

they might be CICs,

they might be

um CIOs.

Um,

And so they don't come into the money that often

to spend on this stuff.

And so they need

the work to be done to a good standard.

And so,

um,

and I,

I respect,

you know,

anyone who gets up and,

and does the slog,

gets up on a roof

in the cold,

in the wet,

um.

And gets the job done

to a good standard.

So it is.

We have discovered that there are lots of good contractors in the Bristol area

um as a result of this project and

It would be good to see how we can

retain some of that skill set.

Um,

and there seems to be a commitment

to charities where some organisations have secured

donations,

um,

you know,

services

that that would be more costly.

But they've been discounted

by.

You know,

um,

contractors with a,

a corporate social responsibility outlook.

And

And so,

you know,

stronger relationships between local businesses

and these community hubs

has been

It's been really

Uh,

a positive,

an unexpected positive out of it all.

Yeah,

yeah.

Um,

The,

I have to hold it up to the line.

Uh,

the 7th question,

uh,

I ask is.

Have your future plans changed,

um,

uh,

for the future,

um,

so yeah,

most of them said yeah,

they'll be able to rent out the space,

um,

people with certain disabilities will now be able to access those services.

Wessel,

I've I heard that for the first time,

they were uh um involved

just like you,

um,

that they're consultative,

aren't they,

and they can advise.

Uh,

how to spend money efficiently and properly to accommodate cer certain groups,

um.

So yeah,

that that's just a question that I,

I put to them,

yeah.

Yeah,

I think in terms of,

in terms of the future,

organisations.

Will

be able to deliver new services

that are better equipped,

more accessible,

uh,

warmer,

for some organisation,

you know,

warmth of their,

estate

or building stock was poor.

those energy ratings will have improved.

Um,

Uh,

friendlier,

warmer,

welcoming,

sense of belonging,

all those things are now possible and

in some cases,

maybe having multiple activities going at the same time,

um,

because,

you know,

sound better soundproofing.

Um,

like I said,

warmer,

you know,

some rooms may have been redundant because it wasn't,

it was too cold.

So,

so all these things are really good for

the social impact,

but also the economic impact,

the environmental impact,

and the cultural impact,

you know,

that,

oh,

I do want to have my event there or my birthday party there or

whatever.

Uh,

and so that makes people feel.

Yes,

we all

We are welcome.

We are attended to.

We have needs,

and some of those have been met.

Yeah.

Yeah,

that's,

that's very true.

Um,

the next question I asked,

which you've touched on a little bit,

um,

if money was

no object,

like if they'd won the lottery,

what would your

priorities

for your CIC

and you touched on it there.

The Bangladeshi

um community guy,

they they've gone from.

Just having very

mundane

kind of people coming in and out to him saying I wanna have weddings here now,

so that's such a turnaround um.

Uh,

yeah,

so I don't,

I don't know if you've

encountered,

um,

the,

the CRCs that you've helped,

whether you can see a change in them,

change in direction,

um.

And a a brighter

look

for

for the future.

Yeah,

definitely,

you know,

there's the playground,

they've got a wider space for

uh children,

young people to play,

which those children absolutely love.

The

electrics.

You know,

are,

are better off now,

um,

they will

have floodlights available outside in the end

when this programme is fully completed.

And so

all these things,

they do add up and to make it a nicer lasting environment.

Um,

so if money was no object is,

That is an interesting one.

Because there is the scope in some instances for further development work

and.

I think,

I think that,

you know,

doing feasibility studies

is,

is a good use of money

because

it can help you plan

with communities

what to do,

how to do,

avoiding duplication,

helping people network with each other,

saying oh this is what we've got planned,

this is our spec,

what's yours?

Um,

so I think that is a kind of way of doing

more homework around what are the improvements that we want to see

around here,

and there could be a public conversation

about that.

Uh,

the,

the demand for space,

workspace

is significant amongst community groups.

The population

is changing.

There are

a lot of different needs to be met,

like you were saying earlier about send.

Uh,

there's a lot of unmet needs for that community

and,

um.

The

Efforts to

upgrade

community premises.

It sits alongside,

you know,

housing stock in the area.

And

if you have more people living in a denser area,

they're going to have community needs.

And so is there potential

for having

a centre.

That houses a number of groups,

uh,

from different communities who

want to do community development work with their

communities,

but they could share a meeting room,

you know,

and book it at different times.

Uh,

they could have a training room,

they could have a hall.

They could

share a car park,

uh,

they could have sports facilities that they book at different times to each other.

And that way

you get a lot more inter

intercultural

relationship building.

And,

and so in the context of everything that's

going on at the moment where some communities

don't feel connected into commun,

you know,

to their local.

Seen,

you know,

they might be

trying to deal with problems on their own at home,

and it's not enough,

they need to

have access to services and so

those services could be on site,

being delivered via those groups,

um,

And then,

you know,

it,

it could be a real hub.

So if money was no object,

I would say more,

more space for community activities

and organising,

community organising.

People need offices,

rooms,

meeting spaces,

cafes,

sports facilities,

um,

There might be young people that want um

To create their own businesses.

And they've got the digital know-how to do that.

And

there might be a sort of guided space for them,

enterprise and incubation.

Yeah.

The,

yeah,

so the sky's the limit.

I've got a list as long as your arm of of things that are needed.

The.

The important thing is,

it's gotta be affordable,

it's gotta be sustainable,

it's gotta be well designed.

Yeah.

And it's gotta be

flexible for the future,

it's multi-purpose.

As needs change,

spaces can adapt.

Hm.

And,

and those are the hallmarks of a viable,

long-lasting community asset.

Mm.

Where some of those needs are

for the future are anticipated.

Yeah.

That's a,

that's a really good and you know,

assets

assets don't sit in isolation to,

to the people that use them,

and,

um,

and so.

Some of the other sort of challenges

that that occur.

You know,

about solving problems,

you know,

that the public purse might not be

that full at the moment.

Um,

and so

how can we encourage communities to organise themselves and provide

support to each other in a peer support sort of way.

And,

and solve problems,

you know,

people talking to each other

and finding ways to create work,

opportunities for young people.

It,

it,

um,

there's so many older people I know who can't use their mobile phones,

don't know how to use a computer.

There's so many young people that

are very comfortable with all that,

but they haven't got a shared space

to bring that to life.

And so the second priority

after having an asset

for me,

um,

what I see the world is moving to a more digital

environment.

It's not the only thing that's going on.

But how can we do it so that

we,

we can help people get,

get on track with that,

um,

not so that they don't ever have to leave the house or,

you know,

be,

or be socially isolated or anything,

but

just build it in so that it's less intimidating

and more accessible.

Money no object,

that was a dangerous phrase of yours.

I know

you started this,

so you can't say that to a community worker and then get a short response,

unfortunately.

That's fine,

that's fine,

good answer.

Um,

my 10th and um.

What's the word?

My 10th and

3 last question,

it's

the proper word for that.

Uh,

was the ultimate

penultimate,

that's the word,

thank you.

Uh,

was there anything different,

uh,

or unique,

um,

about,

uh,

the resilience fund,

um.

Was it different

than any other funds that you've applied for?

So I was

getting,

um,

yeah,

trying to assess whether

it it was,

it was

easier,

um,

was it more helpful,

it,

it in it in its whole working and most people.

If not 100%,

said yeah.

Um,

like you said,

there were different groups,

uh,

yourself,

um,

Wessel,

um,

and then the support from

the CRF,

um,

guys like Robin and Laura and Lauren,

uh,

they just found it.

And one of the things,

I went to Eastern Community,

Christian Community Centre,

and he said

the,

the money that they got,

it wasn't enough to do what they wanted.

So they said,

well,

can we do this?

And they said yeah.

Um,

the flexibility of it.

The,

the guy at,

um,

Southmead Development Trust,

he found that.

He said,

oh well,

we wanted to change this space,

but

the money's not gonna

be enough,

so can we do this?

And they said,

yeah.

So I think most people found it,

um,

you,

cos you said,

you said

with all the problems,

it's been quite a success.

Yeah,

so,

yeah.

Um,

I don't know if there's anything you'd like to add to that,

um.

Yeah,

I was saying earlier about the,

the value of the,

the fund is

that.

Once the organisations have been chosen

of who is going to be successful

is.

What they then set about doing had to fit within a given budget,

and that was challenging because

prices had gone up.

And so

it was good to then find that the

council officers were willing to understand that context

and

were quite realistic about what to expect.

I really liked the

culture that the council brought to this project

because

they were,

uh,

listening,

they were trying to understand what was the,

you know,

reality for the organisation.

They would try and set reasonable deadlines for them to meet,

um,

you know,

providing quotes and things like that.

So all the mechanics of the project

were

very human and

Understanding,

and so that was a good

framework within which to operate.

The,

the fact that there is support available for the organisations is a unique feature.

The,

the access to experts like,

Around disability,

access,

and energy efficiency,

also

a unique feature,

so that organisations make the right choices

and put in good quality.

Um,

Good quality

decision making into their choices of contractors.

And I've had quite a few meetings with the,

the staff and organisations where they say it's not always about,

uh,

the lowest price.

It's about the best quality

for a given budget and trying to

get a balance so that

you're not here again in a year's time doing the same work.

Yeah,

yeah,

very true.

Um,

so I think that

it's a way of working,

it's a way of building trust between communities.

And the council and this project

did quite a lot of

the legwork to strengthen that.

Yeah.

Um,

because there's this willingness to,

to listen and understand.

Yeah,

yeah.

I liked what you said before,

it's not bad,

but because some people are really good at filling out forms and it's perfect.

Other people not so,

but they need the money

and

it's like CRF kind of

saw through that and then took it as a whole.

So,

um,

yeah,

um,

yeah,

it's really,

really good

cohesion working.

Yeah,

um,

the,

the last question,

uh,

I ask is,

lastly,

how do you feel about the Community resilience fund?

Um,

and would you apply again if

the

opportunity arose?

Um,

that was 100% yes.

Yeah,

I'm not surprised.

That's good.

I think that um.

It's a,

it's a brilliant fund,

and it's been really well administered

great benefit.

For,

for all the organisations I've worked with,

yeah,

there isn't a single one that would say.

Um,

Anything different.

I'm not surprised

that you've had such a resounding positive response.

And I would say to the,

to Bristol City Council,

let's do it again.

Um,

there,

there's other organisations who

want to.

Uh,

run community spaces.

And the second part of the work that I've done on this programme has been to engage

those organisations

who,

Didn't apply to the CRF

because of their size or their,

they haven't got a building to

seek money for at the moment,

but they've got

the aspiration,

they've got the energy,

they've got the desire and they are in touch with

those parts of the community

that don't go out much,

that don't use up sporting facilities that,

you know,

there's more,

There's more energy and vibrancy and capacity

that is to be tapped

and organised,

um,

and so

people are really

hungry for space.

And so there is,

there is more to be done.

Yeah.

Um,

but this was a really good experience.

So thank you.

Oh thank you,

Sonia.

Um,

some of the comments,

um,

so there was Denise from Cafe Conscious,

and there was also,

um.

Um,

Mohammed

from the Bangladeshi community,

and yeah,

he was so,

so thankful to you,

so thank you so much.

Um,

what I ask all CICs is,

is there anything else you'd like to add,

so I'd put that to you.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I think I've said everything,

haven't I?

um.

It was a really good experience.

It's really

positive as well that

um the council

has put some emphasis on supporting black and racially minoritized

organisations.

Historically,

Those those communities may or may not have had that much access to assets

and that the.

And so this,

this has been a good way to support those organisations who've got them

to make more of those assets,

support their growth,

development,

income generation.

All good.

Yeah,

excellent.

And thank you so much for your time,

I hope your dog gets to

go out and just to um.

Alert people to why we're doing this on WhatsApp.

You don't live,

you live in France,

don't you?

So,

um,

uh,

so au revoir to you,

Sona.

A revoir messy.

That was very fluent of you.

Where are you anyway?

Where are you doing this interview?

It's good.

I'm in,

uh,

Saint Paul's Learning centre.

Oh right,

and they got renovation work going on then?

No,

I'm just in the,

I'm just in the back.

Oh right,

OK.

And they,

and they've got like a courtyard.

I was thinking,

oh this guy's really going for the,

let me show you what's happening.

Yeah,

I just thought I'd do it because it's nice and quiet,

there's no buzz or anything.

OK.

Brilliant,

thanks very much.

Thank you.

You take care.

Alright,

bye,

bye.

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Posted By

Author

LaurenWT

Post date

04/11/2025