Transition Town Lewes – Facilitation and Support for the Groups

Introduction

Transition Town Lewes is a positive, local response to the challenges of climate change and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Our core purpose is to mobilise an effective and positive community response to these challenges.

TTL is developing fast. Facilitation and support will ensure the groups which make up TTL:

  • Help build resilience in the local community.
  • Contribute to the creation and growth of successful and high-profile local projects.
  • Support the work of a large committed group of local citizens

We have agreed a temporary contract to provide this facilitation and support.

Background

TTL was started in 2007 by a small group of people who put on awareness-raising events. This attracted a large number of volunteers who formed into a network of groups. These groups are now creating and running a number of high profile, practical and positive projects, and developing a vision and plan for the future. TTL involves a large number of local volunteers (well over 100) working for change in an empowered way.

TTL is not a protest group; we are not against anything. Instead we are working in a practical way towards a positive vision of a much-improved local and global community.

TTL is part of a large and expanding national network ("the Transition movement"), is one of the leading communities in that network, and is setting the pace and defining new practice.

The need for facilitation and support

The facilitation and support helps the Groups to achieve the following:

  • Raise funds: Ensuring sufficient funds are secured to enable TTL activities to continue into the future.
  • Promote events and activities: Ensuring the groups grow the active involvement in TTL and the broader awareness of and enthusiasm for TTL in Lewes.
  • Become more effective and strategic: Creating an environment where the TTL groups flourish.
  • Collaborate and communicate: Share knowledge and speed up learning, and report regularly and clearly about progress on results.

This work involves working closely with others, but also making strategic and tactical decisions about how best to achieve the required results. Examples of the likely approach include:

Funding: working with Groups to identify appropriate sources of funding; liaising with funders; preparing funding cases with Groups; securing funds.

Promotion: assisting the Groups in learning and improving their communication skills; facilitating the Groups' progress in running well promoted and successful events; working with Groups to develop and implement the TTL communications strategy.

Facilitation: liaising amongst the Groups and helping ensure they understand and use best practice; helping Groups and the network adjust direction; helping them take a step back to understand what holds TTL back and moves it forwards; working with the Groups to develop strategy.

Collaboration and Communication: Ensuring there is an excellent flow of information and knowledge in and around the network; ensuring there is a flow of appropriate information on progress to and from the Groups; ensuring there are high levels of collaboration in the network.

Type of contract

We have agreed a temporary contract to provide this facilitation and support. Johnny Denis is providing this facilitation and support on a short-term consultancy contract basis.

The quality of the service

Essential qualities we looked for when agreeing the contract include:

  • Facilitating: helping others move forward in practical ways with their ideas and initiatives, and helping them collaborate and learn.
  • Practical and results-focussed - getting things done.
  • A focus on collaboration - understanding the value of groups working together.
  • Flexibility - able to adjust in a fast changing environment.
  • Taking on and managing responsibility.
  • Learning and adjusting based on feedback from others.
  • A positive solution-focussed approach to problems.
  • An energy and passion for the issues that TTL is involved in.
  • Understanding the value of tactical as well as strategic moves.

Essential skills we sought included:

  • Able to develop and implement effective strategy to meet the objectives.
  • Able to plan and make best use of the time available to achieve specific objectives, and balance many competing demands.
  • Excellent communication and coaching skills.
  • High-levels of personal and interpersonal awareness, and of self-responsibility.

We also thought experience of the following to be of great value:

  • Fund-raising.
  • Marketing and communications strategy, planning and running public events, publicity and PR.
  • Working with groups and developing networks.
  • Using the Internet to facilitate communication amongst groups of people.

Knowledge of and background with climate change, peak oil and related issues is of course also helpful.

Other criteria we looked for:

  • The service should be provided by a person or people who are resident in Lewes or the surrounding area, or prepared to relocate here. We encourage proposals from a wide sector of society, regardless of age, race, disability, gender, religion or class.

Criteria for Success

This work is supported by a small group of volunteers (the PFSG), who give feedback, support and advice.

Success will be measured by this group and by the entire TTL community. Key measures include:

  • Attracting more funds to TTL.
  • Increasing the size of the active membership of TTL, and enhancing the TTL brand and reputation.
  • Raising the effectiveness of the TTL Groups, and the overall resilience of the TTL network.

Timetable

The timetable for agreeing a contract was as follows:

Role announced: 16th September 2008
Deadline for proposals: 5pm Wednesday 1st October
Meeting interested parties: confirmed by email
Starting date: October 2008

Get involved: contact one of the Group contacts on the Groups page