Investing in Communities

The examples of projects detailed below bring to life the work of the GCP and demonstrate how the GCP is making a difference to the development of the Greater Cambridge area. The GCP’s added value to the projects may be by direct financial contribution, strategic leadership, ensuring a fit with the sub regional economic strategy (SRES), facilitating collaboration or general promotion.

This section relates to the third objective of the SRES:

Objective Delivery Coordination Group
3 GCP Investing in Communities sub-group

The delivery coordination group for each SRES goals is detailed above whilst the individual delivery partner responsible for the specific project is detailed in the examples below.

What is Investing in Communities?
Investing in Communities (IiC) is a long-term social inclusion programme. Its aim is to improve and coordinate public, private and community sector responses to tackling long-term inequality, exclusion and social deprivation. In turn this will bring benefit, opportunity and regeneration to disadvantaged communities. It was launched across the East of England in 2003 and relates to Goal 4 of the sub-regional economic strategy (SRES).
Download the sub-regional economic strategy

IiC is a regional strategic fund from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), with Cambridgeshire County Council as responsible body for the IiC Cambridgeshire programme. The GCP has been contracted as the managing delivering agent throughout Cambridgeshire. (The IiC programme covers Cambridgeshire county rather than the Greater Cambridge area.) The programme is fully aligned to the Cambridgeshire Local Area Agreement.

Back to top

The IiC vision for Cambridgeshire
“To ensure that the most deprived communities can achieve their full potential and therefore contribute to, and benefit from, sustainable growth across Cambridgeshire and beyond.”

To achieve this, IiC Cambridgeshire addresses the key issues that create economic and social deprivation which prevent people from achieving their full potential.

Back to top

How does the GCP add value?
The GCP adds value to projects in a variety of ways such as helping to secure funding, providing strategic leadership, facilitating collaboration, sharing good practice or general promotion. The case studies and project summaries illustrate some of the scope of the programme and demonstrate the difference that is being made in our local communities.

Back to top

What issues does IiC address in Cambridgeshire?
Cambridgeshire is a rapidly growing and economically successful county with a population growth of over 20% since 1981. It has excellent transport links, high levels of employment and earnings are above the regional average. Overall, levels of multiple deprivation are low and Cambridgeshire is the least deprived county within the East of England.

However, pockets of deprivation do exist, with some individuals facing barriers that prevent them from accessing opportunities and becoming economically independent. For example:

  • Pockets of deprivation can be found in:
    • North and East Cambridge (Arbury, Kings Hedges and Abbey)
    • Huntingdonshire (Huntingdon: Oxmoor and St Neots: Eynesbury/Ramsey)
    • East Cambridgeshire (Littleport)
    • Fenland (Wisbech and its surrounding areas)
    • Disadvantaged rural communities
  • In the Waterlees ward in Wisbech, more than one in five of all adults (22%) are without work
  • 98,000 people across the county – nearly a quarter of all adults – have no qualifications; this figures rises to 38% in Fenland district
  • 16,400 people receive Incapacity Benefit (8.8% of the region’s total) and this figure is growing
  • Travellers form the largest ethnic minority group (estimated at up to 5,500 people) and face severe skills issues
  • Pakistani, Black Caribbean and Bangladeshi groups are significantly more likely to be unemployed than other groups
  • Migrant workers and their families are recognised as a rapidly growing ‘community’ in Cambridgeshire with a range of challenging needs.

Download the IiC Programme Evidence Report

Back to top

How are we tackling deprivation and barriers?
EEDA approved £1.4m of IiC funding for Cambridgeshire for 2006-07, £2.6m for 2007-08 and £1.4m for 2008-09, £1.9m for 2009/10, and anticipate £725k for 2010-11.

This money will continue to help tackle the barriers identified by targeting funding towards the most deprived areas and groups by:

  • Providing opportunities for individuals to improve and enhance their skills; this will include assistance for young people going from school to further education, employment or training; and developing skills for economically inactive adults
  • Assisting the most disadvantaged to enhance their employability
  • Encouraging enterprise through work with disadvantaged groups and in the most deprived communities.

Specific activities include:

  • Integrating migrant workers into the community and workplace in Wisbech through the Rosmini Centre
  • Increasing the number of adults gaining qualifications and employment by developing learning communities; these have been developed in Wisbech, Ramsey, Littleport and Eyenesbury, and are being developed in Oxmoor, Cahtteris and Eaton Socon
  • Improving skill levels and employment or self-employment rates of women from the Bangladeshi community in Cambridge by making it easier to access support
  • Encouraging enterprise and sustainable self-employment by supporting enterprise counselling, coaching and advice to individuals in target communities, notably in Wisbech, Huntingdon (Oxmoor) and Cambridge (Abbey, Arbury and Kings Hedges) and in disadvantaged rural communities

All of these activities are being supported by a range of partners including the Learning and Skills Council, Jobcentre Plus, Cambridgeshire County and District Councils and Business Link East, together with a broad range of community and voluntary organisations.

A full list of projects backed by GCP support including details, status reports and contact details can be accessed from the menu on the right.
Download the latest
Summary IiC Progress reports from June 2009

Back to top

New programmes of activity starting 2009
Work has now started to investigate which interventions should be further developed and will be included in the 2009-11 Investing in Communitiese Delivery Plan.

To read more detail about the programme, download the:
IiC Business Plan 2007-11 for Cambridgeshire
IiC Business Plan 2007-11 Appendices
IiC Investment Template for Cambridgeshire 2009-10 Annual delivery plan for 2009-10
Project delivery summary.

Back to top

Who is involved in IiC in Cambridgeshire?
Cambridgeshire County Council is the responsible body for the programme and under the management of the GCP, programme direction and delivery is overseen by the IiC Strategic Board. This is a partnership involving representatives from Cambridgeshire County and District Councils, local networks, business support organisations and voluntary and community groups.

There is a separate Operating Group representing the delivery partners. This group provides opportunities for sharing good practice and monitoring delivery. Monitoring and evaluation is a critical part of the programme management and enables more coherent and comprehensive impact assessments to be undertaken and the benefits to be qualified.

It is important to stress that Cambridgeshire is, overall, a very rural county. Cambridgeshire Rural Forum continue to be engaged with the IiC Programme to ensure that it reflects rural interests.
Download the
Cambridgeshire Rural Strategy 2006-2010.

Cambridgeshire Rural Forum
The Cambridgeshire Rural Forum brings together local rural stakeholders to act as a voice for the county's rural communities, and to promote their well-being through its activities. The Forum is made up of representatives from a range of regional and county-level public, voluntary and community sector organisations with a stake in rural communities. To find out more about the Forum, please visit the Cambridgeshire ACRE website: www.cambsacre.org.uk

Back to top

Who do I contact for more information?
Ank Kromdijk, IiC Programme Manager, Cambridgeshire
Tel: 01223 718648
Mob: 07775 818340
Email: ank.kromdijk@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Back to top

Women in business London 2012 Olympics Tenders Sign up for our newsletters