This document summarizes the key findings and recommendations from a review of learning journeys on a Welsh government program that supports community action on climate change. It identifies several principles for effective support, including tailoring support to individual community needs, acknowledging challenges as well as opportunities, and respecting community ownership. The review recommends funding integrated policy outcomes, utilizing development officers as intermediaries, supporting capacity building for monitoring and learning, and incorporating continuous learning and refinement into all programs.

1. Presentation to:
Climate Change Commission for Wales
March 6th 2014
WELSH GOVERNMENT PATHFINDER PROGRAMME:
‘Community Action on Climate Change’
Review of Learning Journeys:
Key Findings and Recommendations
Alex Franklin

2. Supporting community action on climate change
• Wide variation in type of support needs
– Tailored support (group, project, community & place)
• Acknowledging the challenges, as well as the opportunities of
co-production
• Sensitivity towards barriers effecting take-up of support/ co-
production
• Respecting volunteering status
• Working with the rhythms of community action
• Building a social connection – acceptance of ‘slow practice’
– ‘Becoming’ as critical friend
• Avoiding erosion of Community ownership – combining of
‘slow’ and ‘fast’ practice

3. Supporting community action on climate change
• Ongoing review of support needs of a community group
– Assessing capacity for co-production
• Advice based on understanding of the ‘bigger picture’
– ‘From the outside looking in’
• Genuine interest in ‘feeding into something bigger’
– Credibility/ validation (external facing)
• Scaling up & ‘tying threads together’… but only where and when
possible
• Role of ‘key intermediaries’ in reducing the disconnection between
community groups and local government
– ‘Professional informality’
– ‘Passionate neutrality’

4. Supporting community action on climate change
• Community action for climate change: social, economic,
environmental
Generic principles of good practice, but also specifics:
– Allowing for the multiplicity of motivations for engaging in
climate change action
– Importance of environmental expertise... & enthusiasm ...
balanced with a sensitivity towards the operating context
(group, project, community & place)
– Sustaining, but also managing community enthusiasm &
motivation to act
– Supporting access to technical information, rules and
regulations

5. Evaluating community action on climate change
• Primary focus on ‘learning’
– Limitations of a Success v’s failure model
• Evaluation of (internal group) process as well as outcome
– Qualitative as well as quantitative outcomes
– Learning Histories
• Working with the rhythms of community action
• Facilitating progress along the ‘learning curve’ of community
action… but also of supporting community action
– Ongoing reflective evaluation

6. Q. Is there anything you would like to add?

7. Q. Is there anything you would like to add?
A. “Oh just I would say thank you to [the PO]
for all [their] efforts” (CG06).

8. Policy Recommendations
1. Groups often gather to achieve wider environmental and
sustainability outcomes for their communities; capitalise on this
by funding integrated policy outcomes.
2. Note of the impact on other funding streams when developing
new ones - continuity builds trust and can maximise effectiveness
3. Community groups have an appetite to influence policy and
become part of “something bigger”.
4. Design programmes that fit both policy, funding and electoral
cycles, but with timelines sensitive to community groups’
timescales, schedules and rhythms.
5. Provision of ‘independent’ development officers to act as trust
agents
6. Utilise and develop the resources of key development officers as
‘key intermediaries’ between community & government
7. Seamless support - ensure that other funding routes are available
to support the activities which group’s value
8. Develop a shared understanding of behaviour change

9. Policy Recommendations
9. Build capacity for appropriate Monitoring and Learning activities –
prioritise needs of community groups in understanding and
refining their own practice
10. Build stronger links with local government, including community
councils
11. Ensure continuity of development officer support
12. Move beyond notions of success or failure for understanding
groups’ contribution – value continuous learning as highly as
‘hard’ outcomes
13. Use flexible evaluation approaches, including story-based tools
that identify achieved goals but also support learning at
community group level
14. Incorporate a culture of continuous learning and refinement into
all commissioned programmes
15. Ongoing development of mechanisms for increased knowledge
exchange and shared learning for development officers as well as
for practitioners