Keeping people safe & well
|
NCLB Coordinators' Guide
Background and Purpose
It is a challenging task for the NCLB coordinators (community developers) to implement the NCLB strategy in new neighbourhoods in Ottawa or continue in the existing site in South East Ottawa. The NCLB Coordinator is a full-time “hands-on” person working in the NCLB neighbourhoods who becomes the link between the residents of the neighbourhoods, the service providers and partnering agencies, OPS staff, and the NCLB local Steering Committee. The Site-Coordinator must often make decisions that reflect the visions and goals of the site strategy and the community stakeholders as well as monitor the site’s progress on implementation of the NCLB strategy development process in various neighbourhoods.
We have learned from experience, observations by the staff working with the current coordinator, partners, and the South East Ottawa NCLB Steering Committee that a coordinator’s training guide would be a useful tool. The NCLB Coordinator Training Guide was developed in response to this identified need as part of the knowledge sharing project with HRSDC. It was designed to be uniform and consistent with the NCLB Implementation Manual which is also a part of the same knowledge sharing project. This guide will help all the community health and resource centres (CHRCs) in Ottawa as they begin working with the City of Ottawa on the Community Development framework (CDF). This guide contains information intended to establish basic roles and responsibilities for the NCLB Coordinator and provide the tools necessary to successfully carry out the day-to-day operations of a NCLB site.
The NCLB Strategy
The NCLB neighbourhood-level strategy development process is a community-based initiative that encompasses a comprehensive multi-agency approach to local-level planning, implementation and community revitalization. The NCLB is foremost a strategy, rather than a project, which aims to engage community and service providers at various levels in the community development process. The community and partnering agencies are involved in the community assessment and planning process. The identified and prioritized issues may vary from community to community ranging from the need to prevent crime to community economic development, to having a play structure for young children.
The strategy implementation process involves several steps and a multi-pronged approach to addressing local problems. CHRCs facilitate the process of social mobilization and community engagement. The City and partner agencies cooperate in helping the individual communities implement their respective neighbourhood-level development plans.
The process is regularly monitored and annually evaluated to mark the progress against set indicators and benchmarks. The neighbourhood level planning process brings together social, economic and educational opportunities for community members and allows funders and service providers to make issue- specific interventions and return the increase on investment through collaboration, cooperation and resources leveraging.
The core components of the NCLB process are: Social, Physical, Service and Economic. These four key factors cover all aspects that impact community life and health. When the NCLB approach is implemented in any neighbourhood, the situation is thoroughly assessed from a social, physical environment, service provision and economic status perspective. Different communities are at different levels, facing unique issues with diverse influencing factors. When the community enters into the strategic planning process, it identifies core areas for its Community Action Plan. (For details see the NCLB Strategy document).
Under social factors, for example, if a community identifies crime prevention as their top social priority, a community-oriented policing component helps to develop a trust relationship between the OPS and community members to facilitate more effective law enforcement by obtaining helpful information from the community. At the same time, the OPS conduct a CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) audit. The police also helps community members obtain information about establishing a neighbourhood watch, crime stoppers, ways to prevent gangs development and other areas of concerns.
©
2005-15 South - East Ottawa Community Health Centre
Centre de Sante Communautaire du Sud Est D'Ottawa
Contact: Abid Jan Tel./ Tél: (613) 737-5115 Ext. 2403 Fax/Télé: (613) 739-8199
NCLB matters because neighbourhoods matter