This report gives insights into the experiences of regeneration practitioners working in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. The New Deal for Communities Programme is designed to narrow gaps between the 39 most deprived localities and the rest of the country.
Successful NDC teams are characterised by staff continuity and the tendency for many of the staff to live locally. There is an important role for innovative secondment models enabling those with appropriate skills working in other delivery agencies to be seconded into NDC partnerships.
Key stakeholders consistently point to the importance of leadership and vision in driving through the complex processes involved in achieving major change across six outcomes in deprived neighbourhoods. There is a strong sense that the ‘chief executive’ can play an absolutely essential role in helping to create positive change.
Partnership working is one of the main features of the Programme. NDC partnerships have been able to influence the scale and scope of regeneration by facilitating other organisations to invest in the area. Having a dedicated regeneration resource has helped NDC partnerships work with agencies which would not normally be seen as central to area regeneration.
Some agencies have consistently proved more supportive of the NDC Programme than others. The police have been identified as key players in this respect. However, not all observers see the police as the most crucial of partners, partly because in some localities levels of crime are not especially high. National targets and priorities can constrain the involvement of some agencies such as Primary Care Trusts and schools.
The report is available from CLG http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/whatworksinneighbourhood?view=Standard