Transcript A strategy for community engagement in the 2011 Census

Camden’s Strategy for Community
Engagement in the 2011 Census
BSPS Conference, Manchester
11 September 2008
Quick Introduction to Camden
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Location
>Central London borough
>Fringes on the City to the South
London University, Tottenham Ct Rd …
>Main London rail termini
Euston, King’s X, St Pancras + Eurostar
>Town Centres: Camden Town, Tottenham
Court Road, Finchley Road, Kilburn (½)
> Leafy suburbs: Hampstead, Highgate …
>And … the other bits …
Haringey
Barnet
Camden
Islington
Brent
Westminster
Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office ©. Unauthorised reproduction
infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence No. 100019726. Year: 2008
City
What is Camden like …
>Like no other place!
>Part ‘employment hub’ …
>Part ‘university town’ …
>Part ‘Inner City’ …
>Part ‘leafy suburbia’…
>Part ‘retail centre’
Outline
>Background
>Lessons from the Census Test
>Camden’s strategy
>Achieving Camden’s strategy
Background
Large scale undercount in 2001
> 1991 - 6%
>2001 - 23% people
- 24% households
>7th worst LA in England & Wales despite active involvement of the
Council
What happened in 2001
What went wrong?
>Visitors not counted (some were residents)
>Logistical problems
- post back - staff shortages - shortage of forms!
- late sorting - poor management information
>Publicity/public perception
>High proportion ‘hard to count’ groups:
- students,mobile/24hr population, gated estates
- language/cultural barriers
>and …
- people who didn’t want to be counted!
Lessons from the Census Test
Lessons from the Census Test
>Low response 35%, but better than expected!
>Follow-up crucial to improve overall response
>Camden staff ‘a bonus’
>Data collection – partially useful, e.g. admin
data (CEs/HMO/CT/ES), but not background info
>Language – less important than thought
>Illiteracy (inc. form) – underestimated?
>Engaging people – enumerator’s way-in
>General ignorance!
The Big Problem!
>Census message is lost to many.
How can we expect people to be engaged in the
Census when they know little or nothing about it?
>Need to reconnect - tell people:
 About the Census
 What to do
 Everyone should be counted
 All questions need to be completed
 Why it’s important to them … and us!
Camden’s Strategy
Camden’s Strategy
Two pronged ..
>About community engagement …
Motivating our residents (and visitors!) to
take part
And …
>Practical assistance to ONS
What we can do as an LA to help?
Community engagement
>Publicity = info + building trust
>Build on existing and establish
new community contacts
>Involving councillors
>Involving council staff
>Schools
>Migration
Publicity
>Camden residents
- Residents monthly newsletter ‘Your Camden’
- Visits to community groups – tailor needs
- Info at service access points – libraries, housing
offices, council tax and housing benefits …
- Camden website (countdown clock?)
>What to tell them? Its YOUR Census!!
Want ONS lead on this, but still waiting …
Go it alone if we have to …Message from Test ->
use for planning services most effective …
Build trust, relevant outputs, e.g. ‘other’ EG write in
250
200
Thousands
Camden Population 1801-2001
400
350
300
150
100
50
0
2001
1991
1981
1971
1961
1951
1939
1931
1921
1911
1901
1891
1881
1871
1861
1851
1841
1831
1821
1811
1801
Year
Publicity 2
Camden staff
- In-house magazines/e-zines (by Directorate)
- ‘MOTD’ email
- ‘Essentials’ intranet
- Management/staff seminars
Different message => stressing importance of
Census to Local Government: planning and finance
Build on existing and establish
new community contacts
>Camden has hundred’s of groups
>Use key Equalities contacts as a start
>Learn from outreach workers etc.
>Make contact, work out Census issues
>Tailor message to individual groups
>Encourage people with language skills,
community standing etc. to join Census
workforce
Involving Councillors (& MPs)
>Not always 1st port of call
>They are community leaders …
>Win over their support (some there now)
>Keep them informed
>Stress the importance of the Census in:
- describing their area/communities
- Local Government finance
- local service planning
- applying for funding bids
- boundary reviews?
Involving Council Staff
>Encourage involvement in Census?
- local knowledge
- public service ethic
- always a shortage of staff!
But …more difficult now – belt tightening
- can we again agree granting leave?
>Help points – can we assist public?
>Other?
Schools
>Opportunity through schools:
- Camden has Planning in schools could piggy-back on this
- Child’s interest could improve response
- Need to move quickly though
Migration
>Annual turnover of people in Camden
- 20,000 pa to/from UK LAs
- 5-10k pa to/from outside UK
- 13% of population annually!
>A lot of new people to tell messages to,
BUT
>If all LAs press the Census message
… we will be helping each other!
Practical Assistance to ONS
>Probably another talk, but includes:
- LLPG up to scratch/ensure ONS uses it
- Admin data HMO/CE/CT/ES/mobile
- Council space for meeting/storage
- Parking dispensations
- Public safety issues
- Allow council staff to take Census jobs
- Access to gated estates (council)
- Using Council newsletters/web
- Encouraging other LAs to follow suit
Achieving Camden’s Strategy
>Senior Management buy-in
Necessary to have any chance of success
>Camden CE ‘on side’, but requires senior
management team support to be effective – report
>Census Liaison Manager – ONS expects LA
to have CLM and ACLM in place. Need CLM.
>No outside resources ONS will not be
paying for it – needs costing.
>Better & Cheaper hard fight in current climate
Achieving Camden’s Strategy 2
>Be selfish! – want the best for Camden,
but would work better if all LAs on board
>Key is is building consensus – with
residents, with staff & working with ONS
Issues?
>ONS Publicity strategy none yet! But …
need to start NOW to beat general ignorance
Particularly
- informing new migrants
- informing visitors, & visiting (migrant) workers
And …
- stress confidentiality!
- stress no record linking!
- stress public duty!
Contact details
Neil Storer
Principal Planning Information Officer
Planning Policy & Information
Forward Planning Service
Culture and Environment
LB Camden
020 7974 5561
[email protected]