Community Development Projects

At Inside Outside we carryout community development exercises, help with the raising of funds, develop, write and teach workshops and courses.

Community development is a process where identified parties are encouraged to participate within the project to change the situation and tackle the identified problems their community faces. Inside Outside uses a community asset based approach. Our work will develop and empower your local community through facilitating the active participation of people in addressing issues that affect them collectively. This may be in a variety of contexts: in locality, with specific groups (e.g. families, over 50’s, gardeners), with partnership groups, local authorities and local government agencies.

We will attend meetings, deliver presentations and create reports as necessary. We will also work with your group to identify funding opportunities and get your organisation or group ‘funding ready’ which will include looking at your governance structure. We will support your organisation through the funding process from application to evaluation.

Social media is also an important element of developing your community and we can help and support with this too.

1. Working on a Community Development project on The York Hill Est with social housing provider, livin. Having established a working group we are working together to secure funds to make improvements to the green spaces on the estate.

2. From March 2017 we saw the launch of a 1 year Talking Textiles Rug Making project at Trimdon Station Residents Association. The project has focused heavily on overcoming barriers to loneliness and isolation as well as building new, positive, relationships; creating volunteering opportunities and learning new skills. The group will be celebrating the Women’s Right to Vote and the Suffrage Movement by making a memory mat each.

3. Inside Outside is working with Cornforth in Bloom to clean and green the local environment and support residents to make positive changes in their locality. We are working in partnership with Stonham at the moment and are looking forward to developing a wildlife garden together. Inside Outside has agreed a license agreement with livin to take ownership of the land and the work we intent to carry out.

4. Inside Outside is working in partnership with In Bloom, the Pioneering Care Partnership, Newton Aycliffe and with livin to identify and apply for grants to carry out the works on a flagship project, Naturally Cornforth. Livin carried out the local consultation, plans were drawn up and submitted for planning permission, and we have now had several successful funding bids which means we can start work in the very near future.

5. In 2016/2017 we were employed to carry out a Community Development programme with Bishop Middleham Village Hall and residents of the village. This has resulted in creating an online presence by running their Facebook page, finding funds and a way to create a web page in partnership with the Parish Council. We carried out a number of consultations and had a busy couple of months implementing the changes local residents asked for. We then began delivering a series of taster sessions and workshops – these can be seen on the Bishop Middleham Village Hall Facebook page and web site.

6. Inside Outside has been delivering a weekly gardening session at Cornforth junior school, working with children aged between 6 and 11, teaching them all about the seasons, growing their 5 a day and of course the sunflower competition followed by harvesting for the Harvest Festival.

7. Inside Outside has just secured funding from Awards for All to run a young people’s Galloping Gardeners project at Misty Blue Equine Farm, Kirk Merrington. Vulnerable teenagers at risk of suicide or becoming NEET will be engaging in an alternative educational programme that will develop their confidence and self-awareness. We will be using the John Muir programme and will focus the activities on areas around bee keeping and the importance of growing bee friendly plants and protecting green spaces for wildlife.

8. Changing Lives at Chester le Street are working with vulnerable and homeless men and have approached Inside Outside to develop a course and a programme of activities including growing their own food, cooking and eating together, whilst hosting a series of seasonal workshops that will be open to the neighbours and wider public to build positive relationships.

• Community Groups
• Private Organisations
• Town, Parish and County Councils
• Housing Associations
• Charities
• Organisations that support vulnerable members of our communities with additional and special needs
• Village halls and community centres

We can help you take your idea right through to consultation and delivery. Please contact us using the details above to discuss your thoughts.

You can buy our services in or we can help you source grant funding from a wide variety of sources. We will get you grant ready and work with you to source appropriate funding for your project. We have successfully secured Adult Learning grants, Lottery funding, AAP funding, Parish Council funding, People’s Health Trust funding, RHS funding, LEADER and many more.

We are more than happy to work in collaboration with partner agencies for larger grants, for example, we are working with the PCP at Aycliffe, Cornforth in Bloom and livin to secure grants more than £200,000 for a natural play area and outside horticultural training ground.

We would love to hear about your project and discuss how we might successfully progress your ideas.