LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 1/15 - September 2021: BRIEFING 14 September 20…
![September 2021: BRIEFING 14 September 2021 Briefing 14](pages/page-0001-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 2/15 - Introduction
![Introduction](pages/page-0002-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 3/15 - The definition contains a number of diff…
![The definition contains a number of different elements describing who undertakes community action, how it is organised, what it seeks to achieve, and how it goes about doing so. Each of the five dimensions mentioned within this definition are worthy of further attention:](pages/page-0003-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 4/15 - Voluntary: Many communities benefitted f…
![Voluntary: Many communities benefitted from an initial influx of new volunteers as people stepped forward to help out. Often, the level of volunteering has subsided over time particularly as furloughed workers have returned to their jobs. In some places there has been an increasing reliance on paid workers to stimulate and coordinate community action. While some communities have dense networks of community groups with numerous people involved, others have far sparser patterns of engagement and have tended to rely on external support and interventions. Further, our research suggests that community action can, disproportionately, rely on a handful of very active, committed individuals the so called `civic core (Mohan and Bulloch, 2012).](pages/page-0004-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 5/15 - How is community action sustained?
![How is community action sustained?](pages/page-0005-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 6/15 - but now what is becoming clear is that e…
![but now what is becoming clear is that everyone is struggling to get volunteers. It seems as if a bit of volunteer fatigue or nervousness of coming out and getting involved."](pages/page-0006-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 7/15 - "...the key social processes (e.g. socia…
!["...the key social processes (e.g. socialisation, institutionalisation) that helped create a collective/community identity based on pride and solidarity, which in turn was sustained and reinforced through continued engagement (volunteering) and resistance to perceived external `powers".](pages/page-0007-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 8/15 - "Ive spoken to community activists, hard…
!["Ive spoken to community activists, hardened, spoken to them and theyre in tears [...] if were losing the activists were not going to know whats going on ... youre going to have total burnout" (community worker).](pages/page-0008-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 9/15 - Opportunity
![Opportunity](pages/page-0009-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 10/15 - sustain community action, particularly i…
![sustain community action, particularly in the context of COVID-19 when communication and much activity had been forced online. This was both a capacity (did they have the technology) and a capability (did they have the technological knowhow) issue.](pages/page-0010-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 11/15 - (see Briefing 13 for a full discussion o…
![(see Briefing 13 for a full discussion on the role of community hubs). More broadly, this research has highlighted the importance of community-led infrastructure (McCabe et al 2021: see also Briefing 8) for supporting community responses to COVID-19, and for sustaining community action more generally. The importance of community leadership was also highlighted. This was talked about in terms of the presence of community leaders - key, active individuals and/or groups, who linked together others: "I feel like Im in the middle of a wheel... threading people together" as one community worker described the role they played. But also, the importance of distributed leadership; ensuring that others within the community are empowered to get involved and so both the burden and benefits of participation are spread across the community and the chances of sustaining community action are enhanced.](pages/page-0011-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 12/15 - Achievement
![Achievement](pages/page-0012-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 13/15 - References
![References](pages/page-0013-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 14/15 - Pattie, C., Seyd, P. and Whiteley, P. (2…
![Pattie, C., Seyd, P. and Whiteley, P. (2004) Citizenship in Britain: Values, participation, and democracy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Popple, K. (2015, second edition) Analysing Community Work: Its theory and practice. Maidenhead, Open University Press. Richardson, L. (2008) DIY community action: Neighbourhood problems and community selfhelp. Bristol, Policy Press. Somerville, P. (2011) Understanding Community: Politics, policy and practice. Bristol, Policy Press.](pages/page-0014-small.png)
LT-21-09-Rapid-Research-COVID-19-Briefing-14.pdf - page 15/15 - About this research
![About this research](pages/page-0015-small.png)