
Research and Development Projects
In the last couple of years, after long background work, much of
BDOR's commitment to encouraging better participation in environmental
change has come of age. BDOR's ideas and principles are now being
embedded in policy and guidance at central government and local
government levels.
The
first example was the national guidance on Consultation
in Air Quality Management. The second was
the inclusion of our approach to transport planning in guidance
as a model of good practice (based on work in Warwickshire.
Most
importantly. BDOR's early research work for government on participation
in planning and our chapter in the ODPM publication ‘Making
Plans' (main authors Baker Associates) were fundamental
drivers towards the major planning reforms and a better and stronger
system for enabling community involvement.
Linked
to this work on broader planning issues is our recent work on Community
Plans (Parish Plans and Market Town Initiatives) undertaken
across the South West. The resulting report - 'An Exciting Future
for Community Plans' (from swan@devonrcc.org.uk) - is already creating
great interest all round the country and we are moving on to implementing
many of its conclusions.
BDOR
were instrumental is framing up and then supporting the three year
national Community Renewables Initiative, led by
the Countryside Agency. Also linked to renewable energy, BDOR have
been part of a team (led by the Centre for Sustainable Energy) to
move onto a national canvas the 'Protocols for Community
Engagement in Wind Projects' that we helped to advance
across the South West. This includes adapting the approach across
England and into Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
On
a very different tack, Jeff Bishop is now part of a widely experienced
team brought together to evaluate, over the next five years, the
National Lottery ‘fair share' initiative. Fair
share aims to get better quality support to those disadvantaged
communities that have not so far received their ‘fair share' of
Lottery funding – something the evaluation will test, but
in a very interactive and innovative manner.
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