• Local people responded positively to the Take Part programme.
• Partnerships were crucial to delivering Take Part Exeter’s achievements.
• Take Part Exeter improved participants’ feeling that they can influence local decisions.
• The Pathfinder was able to reach a wide range of hard-to-reach communities by engaging with existing groups and networks through outreach.
• The success in reaching disadvantaged groups and communities was based on Exeter CVS’s established networks and relationships, and its ongoing support for groups before, during and after the Pathfinder.
• Take Part learning needs to embrace a range of flexible programmes tailored to the target groups and audiences.
• Take Part Exeter increased levels of civil and civic participation - including in democratic processes.
• Confidence building is a stepping stone to further involvement and to ‘speaking up’ to decision-makers, and involves a better understanding of decision-making structures and processes.
• Participants on Take Part Exeter experienced many additional and unintended outcomes.
• People need support to enable them to Take Part.
• People need accessible information to enable them to Take Part
• High quality design and a marketing strategy are effective in drawing in a wide range of people from all walks of life.
• Take Part Exeter piloted a range of viable mechanisms for statutory agencies to engage with local people and communities.
• Take Part ‘active learning for active citizenship’ has a vital contribution to make to support the ‘Big Society’ and Localism.

Local people responded positively to the Take Part programme. The Exeter Pathfinder’s main achievement was probably its resounding success: once this new project became established and known in the city, it managed to engage a wide range of people, overcoming apathy or cynicism. Take Part Exeter clearly ‘hit a nerve’ with local people in Exeter. It was clear proof that many people are keen to become involved or to extend their involvement to new roles, and to engage with public services and elected representatives.

Partnerships were crucial to delivering Take Part Exeter’s achievements

All of the Take Part Exeter activities were delivered in partnership: not only with statutory and public agencies and departments, but equally crucially with voluntary and community groups. This allowed this Pathfinder to reach and engage a large number– in fact, more than half – of learners who were from disadvantaged or underrepresented groups or communities. Undoubtedly, Exeter CVS’ reputation in the local Voluntary and Community Sector, its large network of member organisations and individuals, was instrumental in this achievement.

Take Part Exeter improved participants’ feeling that they can influence local decisions. The level of ‘feeling able to influence public decisions’ was twice as high in Take Part participants compared with the Place Survey, and increased for 60% of participants as a result of their experience of Take Part. This is a significant contribution and shows that those involved in some way or other tend to have a more positive perception of ability to influence public decisions than randomly picked members of the population.

The Pathfinder was able to reach a wide range of hard-to-reach communities by engaging with existing groups and networks through outreach

The success in reaching disadvantaged groups and communities was based on Exeter CVS’s established networks and relationships, and its ongoing support for groups before, during and after the Pathfinder.

Take Part learning needs to embrace a range of flexible programmes tailored to the target groups and audiences. Take Part Exeter applied the principles of the Take Part approach which emphasises the importance of tailoring learning to ‘where people are at’, and to value their knowledge and experiences. This involved confidence building and other personal development for some, focusing on the collective needs of community groups, for others, or pitching training and information sessions to the general public on specific themes.

Take Part Exeter increased levels of civil and civic participation - including in democratic processes. The majority of participants were already involved in some way or other, or wanted to find out about the opportunities. This pre-disposition for active citizenship was the sole ‘common denominator’ of the majority of learners, and explains the finding that people were seeking to expand their involvement. This included moving from civil participation (in a community context) to civic participation, including voting for the first time or expressing an interest in civic roles. Moving from community involvement to seeking to influence decisions was another documented trend.

Confidence building is a stepping stone to further involvement and to ‘speaking up’ to decision-makers, and involves a better understanding of decision-making structures and processes. Whether it was budding or existing Community Leaders or members of the general public who attended civic role tasters or ‘How Your City Works’, for many people a better understanding of ‘how things work’ in the city was key to giving them the confidence to move on to more demanding roles, or to engage in public decision-making processes.

Participants on Take Part Exeter experienced many additional and unintended outcomes, such as social integration, feeling valued as ‘active citizens’, improved family relations, better educational support for children, and increased skills and employment.

People need support to enable them to Take Part. Feedback and evaluation activities captured participants’ appreciation of the learning, information and support available to them, and how central it is for many to satisfy their curiosity and feed their active citizenship motivation. We had much feedback which asked for Take Part to be continued and extended to other areas outside of Exeter. This applies to all groups, and even where information is available online or on paper, such as for how to become a Magistrate, people preferred attending sessions where they could find out more and get a real taste for what this role involved through an interactive two-hour session.

People need accessible information to enable them to Take Part

In addition to delivering learning programmes, Take Part Exeter provided accessible information on involvement opportunities in the form of How-to Guides and an online directory, the ‘Local Involvement Map’. This facilitation of knowledge supplemented the learning and helped citizens and groups access the knowledge they needed to enable them to engage and influence decision-making. Far from duplicating information already produced by Public or Local Authorities, the Take Part information and publicity was very successful in attracting people for the first time.

High quality design and a marketing strategy are effective in drawing in a wide range of people from all walks of life. Take Part Exeter was able to engage with many new people and organisations, through outreach and effective publicity. The success in this area involved substantial resources and expert know-how, not least in the area of design, as well as a panoply of materials and approaches used to get the Pathfinder into the public eye (posters) and ear (through radio shows).

Take Part Exeter piloted a range of viable mechanisms for statutory agencies to engage with local people and communities. Take Part Exeter worked closely with statutory agencies and facilitated joint activities which involved existing resources and people. Whether this was through inviting guest speakers, visits to public agencies, question and answer panels or delivering sessions collaboratively, Take Part Exeter demonstrated a variety of ways whereby bridges were built between public agencies - officers and elected representatives - and citizens and communities. Many of these could carry on in the future, as long as the agencies remain committed to community engagement and empowerment.

Take Part ‘active learning for active citizenship’ has a vital contribution to make to support the ‘Big Society’ and Localism. Even though people do not always agree with government rhetoric, and like to make independent choices on how to be an active citizen (including a critical citizen) the success of the Pathfinder in Exeter has demonstrated that people want to Take Part and to engage with Public Services.