About Ep2
Ep2 develops the attitude, skills and understanding of those working in disadvantaged areas in unlocking the potential of their communities. A top down approach to communities is limited in its impact. Ep2 encourages participants on its programme to work alongside people, believe in their potential and help them to release it for the benefit of the community and themselves.
The programme is distinct in three ways:
- An attitude to working with communities - Ep2 is founded on the belief that every community, however disadvantaged contains the seeds of its own transformation. The programme focuses on equipping those that work within disadvantaged communities with the skills they need to unlock local resources
- Innovative learning content - Ep2 is made up of a series of fresh approaches to working with communities that have been developed by a range of partners including the New Economics Foundation. These approaches have been assembled into powerful training courses and workshops delivered by local trainers and facilitators with extensive experience of local economic and social regeneration.
- Flexible and local delivery - the Ep2 programme is available locally, Ep2 works with residents, local authorities, other agencies and partnerships to agree the best way to deliver the programme.
The programme also builds links at a local level - supporting communities, enterprises and the public sector to work together to design and implement solutions to the issues they face. It seeks to engage public sector policy makers in thinking about their role in supporting community activity to bolster local economies. It nurtures creative entrepreneurialism at a local level, to help people access the support they need to turn ideas into action.
Key benefits for participants on the programme are the acquisition of new skills and knowledge including the use of coaching in regeneration and leadership in communities, an increased understanding of the way in which local communities work and membership of an online regional network of practitioners committed to engaging and empowering the communities and individuals they work with
Those attending the programme will learn how to become more responsive and solution orientated in their work and focus on how to remove obstacles, overcome barriers and support people in a more tangible way. It is a common experience for participants to feel more confident in their everyday work and better equipped to deal with difficult situations.
All elements of the Ep2 skills programme are highly participative and make extensive use of case studies and existing good practice.
The programme is funded by the East Midlands Development Agency and delivered by Regeneration East Midlands. At its heart is the use of coaching as a means of enabling residents and their allies in regeneration agencies to discover and apply a passion for change.
The Skills Programme
There are three core elements to the Ep2 programme, An Introduction to Ep2, Coaching for Regeneration and the Ep2 Tools
1. Making Regeneration Work - An Introduction to Ep2
This is a one day event that that includes the following
- An introduction and background to the Ep2 programme
- How Ep2 supports current national, regional and local government policy
- The content and benefits of the Ep2 ‘Coaching for Regeneration’ programme
- An explanation of the various community engagement and empowerment tools available through Ep2
- Some examples of Ep2 good practice
Also included is a choice of practical workshops for regeneration practitioners based on the Ep2 tools and the coaching programme.
2. People - Coaching for Regeneration
Ultimately, the transformation of communities comes down to the skills and the actions of the people who live and work there. The Ep2 Coaching forRregeneration programme explores a coaching approach and the techniques of coaching, focusing on how to identify and develop the skills and resources of local people, both individually and in groups. The coaching programme is a two plus one day event.
3. Places - The Ep2 Tools
Each community has its own economy, its own assets and its own culture. These combine to provide a sense of place. The Ep2 Tools Workshops provide a means of describing how a community functions and operates as an economic system. In addition the workshops show how these often hidden systems and processes can be harnessed to assist communities in becoming more enterprising. These workshops can vary in length from two hours to a full day.
As well as the core programme Ep2 also delivers coaching workshops and workshops based on the Ep2 tools to a variety of community groups and voluntary and statutory sector organisations to suit their needs. For further information please contact the programme manager.
Details of all forthcoming Ep2 skills events and other related events can be found under ‘Programme Calendar’.