Community Engagement - City of Brimbank - Case Study Example

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CASE STUDY Student’s Name: Code + Course name Professor’s name University City, State Date Project Description It is evident that affordable housing in the City of Brimbank has yielded an increase in the immigrant population. The City has also witnessed an increase in population from 137,000 in 1991 to approximately 182,000 in 2011 (BMC 2016). Community libraries have played a pivotal role towards cultivating the notion of community engagement among residents of any area (Shrestha 2013). This yields the need for a hybrid library in the areas to serve the information and development requirements of the City of Brimbank. Being part of the Australian nation, the City also strives to attain economic growth and social stability. As a result, guaranteeing access to reference materials for all age groups of the population will have an immense contribution towards attaining the goals. With regard to the education sector, it is apparent that the long-term priority of the local government is to provide high quality education for all. The government has also devoted its efforts towards mobilising resources that are necessary for attaining the objective. The modernised community library suffices to be one of the proper resources that can enable the attainment of the objective (Zurinski et al. 2013). The community-centred library will recline on three main pillars: place, programme and partnerships as the basis of its operations (Killmier 2010). On the place pillar, the library will ensure that individuals living in the area still consider the library as a destination of choice. The effect will be the creation of a good public space that enhances the wellbeing, happiness and health of the individuals. On the aspect of programmes, the library will provide a myriad of programmes to the Brimbank community. The programmes will be relevant to individuals of all life stages and ages. Under partnerships, the library will create partnerships with other organisations in the community. The partnerships will be essential towards delivering its programmes to the community. Details of the Required Resources The facilities and services offered by the library will determine the required resources. The community centre library will offer library services, leisure activities, support groups, workshops, meetings and community development activities. Therefore, it will serve both new-literate and literate adults that seek self-instruction materials, families that need to supplement the education of their children, skilled professionals that need to advance their professionalism and the general education of adolescents. The community library and development centre will also serve young children and mothers by providing educational services and materials on the effective ways of dealing with the challenges of the vulnerable groups such as hindrances to credit access and the absence of manpower (MCPL 2016). The library will also avail the necessary facilities associated with the development of the elderly, adults and children (Hamilton-Pennell 2008). Apart from addressing the needs of the vulnerable groups of children and women, the community library and development centre will also offer educational services, facilities and materials to the minority groups. The library will require one full time librarian, newspapers, reading and literacy materials. There is also the need for a meeting centre and a video centre that will require videos, television, video players, generator, and a projector. The centre will also comprise of an information centre that will require the services of an additional staff. There is also the need for one teacher to meet the needs of literacy classes in the centre. Literacy classes will necessitate literacy materials. The centre will also offer “small” courses of craft skills; particularly for women and youths to empower them to become independent and self-sustaining in the future. The courses will require an additional teacher. The materials will depend on the specific course studied by the learner. The centre also requires one person for the support group section. The play centre will require materials such as picture books and toys besides demanding the services of an additional individual. The centre requires one more professional (counsellor) to offer counselling services in the counselling centre. Community development activities also require one member of the support staff. Finally, the sports centre requires the relevant sports equipment and one member of the support staff (UNESCO 1997). The Budget The table below shows the budget for the community library and development centre. Standard Costs for a CLDC $ 1 Building materials 12800 2 Fixtures, fittings and equipment 2400 3 Costs for providing literacy and reading materials 2400 4 Staff training 800 5 Overheads 2600 6 Other 1400 TOTAL 22400 Table 1: Standard costs for a CLDC The table below shows the total budget for the project. Year 2017 (12 months) $ 1 Pilot Community Library and Development Centre 1.1 1 CLDC Unit 22400 1.2 Additional staff training 2000 Subtotal 26000 2 Project Management Unit 2.1 Training 6000 2.2 Local staff salaries 8000 2.3 Expatriate staff 20400 2.4 Office setup 2000 2.5 Duty travel 2000 Subtotal 38400 3 Transport 3.1 Vehicle (second-hand) 40000 3.2 Fuel and Oil 4000 3.3 Repairs and Maintenance 2000 3.4 Driver Salary 12000 Subtotal 58000 4 Clearing house Implementation 2300 4 Additional Overheads 2800 TOTAL 127500 Table 2: The Total budget for the CLDC project It is important to note that the community will undertake the construction with assistance from professionals and interested organisations. The local authority will also avail the land required for construction. The clearing house is the central store or warehouse from which the CLDC will collect and select the literacy and reading materials. The clearing house will also act as the shipping centre for the literacy and reading materials. For convenience purposes and in accordance with the proper placement objective, the positioning of the CLDC will take into consideration several criteria such as the available schools in the suburban area, illiteracy levels, number of persons belonging to the target groups, total population and the available of other community development programmes and organisations. The Development and Implementation Timeline The project will commence in January, 2017 with the identification of the CLDC site using the available Geographical Information System (GIS) information. In the first month, the leaders of the project will also engage with the community to ascertain that there is a joint development of the community library and development centre (CLDC) (Cavaye 2006). In February, the project implementation committee will identify the relevant professional areas and select proper staffs to occupy the identified positions. Training staffs will be the next activity that will run for a 6-months period from March to August. While training members of the support staff, the committee will also sign the relevant documents and commence the construction of the CLDC. Following the completion of the CLDC development exercise, the committee will also ensure the implementation of the activities and facilities as well as the provision of the literacy and reading materials. The committee will also hire the services of a consultant to address the needs of the clearing house. Finally, the committee will define the evaluation criteria, prepare the evaluation report and evaluate possibilities of expanding the programme. The Gantt chart below shows the timelines of the project activities. Activities Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 1 Select project management unit staff based on their job specification 2 Train staff and build capacity in the relevant areas 3 Identify the CLDC site based on the GIS assessment 4 Engage with the community to yield a participatory development structure 5 Sign the relevant contracts and construct the CLDC 6 Implement the facilities and activities of the CLDC 7 Provide literacy and reading materials and other equipment 8 Sponsor a consultant to assist with the activities of the clearing house 9 Define the evaluation criteria and prepare the evaluation report 10 Evaluate the feasibility of implementing additional programme extensions Figure 3: The Gantt chart for the CLDC Project The Marketing Plan The strategic marketing plan for the CLDC in the City of Brimbank targets to increase the awareness of the use of the library and its services to all the suburban areas of the city (SAPL 2011). In order to convey the message to the target audience, the CLDC committee intends to use public relations as an inexpensive and effective way of marketing the library. In the quest to succeed in using public relations, the committee targets to ensure that the CLDC has a positive relation and reputation with the media and press. The result will be a proper press coverage covering the programmes, special events, promotions and community-oriented activities of the library (Pivarnik 2004). Marketing the CLDC will also use media relations (Pivarnik 2004). To use the strategy, the committee will develop proper templates for press releases, establish photograph requirements, identify the target media such as newspapers, magazines and radio and establish other publicity avenues. Marketing the CLDC in the City of Brimbank will also use special events and promotions with regard to the branding of the library. The events include host workshops, reading groups, children stories, pertinent retiree information among others. The committee will also use newsletters and direct communications to inform locals about the existence of the library and the available services and facilities. Developing a “Welcome” information packet for each members of the target audience is the other marketing strategy that the committee will use under customer service and community relations (Pivarnik 2004). Following the advent of the digital age, the committee will also market the CLDC via the Web by creating its website and detailing its services as well as providing online library and education services. Programme Evaluation Methodology The network development and management task group will be responsible for conducting regular evaluations on the project. The monitoring and evaluation exercise for the CLDC will make use of several indicators. One of the indicators is the ratio between the total population of the city and the number of locals that are using the facilities and services of the CLDC. The evaluation will also consider the most popular services and facilities that have a significant contribution to the attainment of the objectives of the city as well as the library and development centre. The evaluation will also include the reasons behind the popularity of the services and facilities (UNESCO 1997). Similarly, the evaluation will also consider the programmes, services and facilities that are least popular and the reasons behind their reduced popularity. The evaluation methodology will also encompass the least popular services and facilities that are significant to the objectives of the City of Brimbank and the CLDC. This will also entail identifying the possible ways of developing the promotional techniques for the services and facilities. The other items under the evaluation programme include the provided literacy and reading materials, the requested materials, most-utilised and underutilised materials, and an evaluation of the participation and commitment of the community. Most importantly, the evaluation exercise will also revise the budget and consider possibilities of introducing similar CDLCs in other areas of the city. Reference List Brimbank City Council 2016, “City of Brimbank: Population and household forecasts 2011 to 2041.” Cavaye, J 2006, “Understanding community development,” Cavaye Community Development. Hamilton-Pennell, C 2008, “Public libraries and community economic development: partnering for success.” Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Vol. 10. Killmier, C 2010, Programs, Partnerships and Placemaking: A Community Development Framework for the Community-Centred Library,” Scholarship Report. MCPL 2016, “Montgomery County Public Libraries,” Marketing Plan FY13-FY16. Pivarnik, C 2004, “Marketing Plan for the Port Townsend Public Library,” CP Communications. SAPL 2011, “Marketing Plan,” The Ivy Group, Ltd. Shrestha, S 2013, “The changing role of community libraries: Emerging centres for sustainable development.” UNESCO 1997, “Community Library and Development Centres,” Project Proposal, Education Resource Centre. Zurinski, S, Osborne, V, Anthoine-Ney, M & McKenney, J 2013, “Libraries in the community: Changing opportunities,” Maine Policy Review, Vol. 22, no. 1, pp.71-79. Read More