West Midlands Race Equality Infrastructure Development Framework, June 2006

1. Infrastructure development framework

Rights and Equality West Midlands (REWM) and the West Midlands Race Equality Forum (WMREF) will develop their collective and individual members’ capacity by adopting an infrastructure development framework, based on Rights and Equality West Midlands existing categories of operation as reflected in its work programme.

2.  Strategic development and positioning

 REWM and WMREF will develop strategy and position themselves in respect of:

• other voluntary and community sector infrastructure

• national and local government, and other public authorities

• Advantage West Midlands and the private sector

• Equality and Human Rights Commission

• West Midlands Regional Assembly

            REWM and WMREF will develop comprehensive and effective strategies for:

• promoting human right, integration and community cohesion in the context of continuing population movement, economic migration, and provision for refugees

• marginalising extremism and eradicating racism

• managing and resolving ethnic community conflict

• differentiating and dealing with rural and urban racism within the region

• tackling structures and cultures of prejudice and discrimination in public and private organisations

            REWM and WMREF will explore the way the voluntary and community sector:

• can take forward the principles of multi-strand equality and human rights promotion at local level

• recognises and accommodates the need for specialism in the promotion of certain aspects of race equality work

• can create new local organisations engaged in effective community practice of either a multi-strand or single-strand equality type

 

3.   Business planning and resource acquisition

            REWM and WMREF will work to improve race equality organisations’:

• business confidence, acumen and planning skills, and business plans

• ability to access funding from sources such as grants, contracts, service-level agreements, sales and loans

• understanding of public authority procurement and contracting requirements and preparedness to tender, win and deliver contracts, individually or collectively

• resource acquisition, and level and sustainability of income to deliver outcomes

• quality of funding applications for from the Equality and Human Rights Commission grant aid

• ability to produce multiple standardised local funding applications

• financial management in the context of year-on-year funding fluctuations

4.   Service improvement

            The West Midlands Race Equality Forum will work to improve:

• the knowledge of, skills in, and contribution to, capacity building of Rights and Equality West Midlands

• the quality and relevance of services offered by its individual members

• the contribution of members to race and other policy development at regional, sub-regional, and local level

• the availability of discrimination advice and Employment Tribunal and County Court representation

• the quality of the race equality and other equalities’ input into community development and regeneration projects.

• public awareness of the importance of good race relations and the defence of justice and human rights

            The WMREF will work to establish:

• accessible local race and other equality organisations providing comprehensive coverage in all districts of the region

• a safety-net for individual crisis management and recovery in situations where race equality organisations find themselves at risk

5.  Staff development and training

            REWM and WMREF will make available staff development and training programmes:

• imparting management skills (project, strategic, financial, human resource, change, diversity, and external environment) useful in managing voluntary sector race equality organisations.

• updating members, staff and volunteers, on changes to the law and social policy relating to race and other equality promotion

• providing an overview of and induction into the knowledge and skills involved in race equality work

• introducing the principles of British urban ethnic group conflict analysis, management, and resolution

REWM and WMREF will disseminate knowledge through distance learning  website maintenance, publications, seminars, speaking engagements, conferences and other means, on:

• multi-strand equality working

• integration and community cohesion

  • the dangers posed by the electoral success of the racist far right and the need to marginalise extremism

• migration and urban sociological perspectives

• urban and rural racism

• the role of mixed-race people

• cultural diversity

6.  Applied research and development

REWM and WMREF will undertake applied research and development, either on their own, or in  partnership with higher education institutions with extended research facilities, in fields, such as

• local needs analysis

• cohesion and integration

• conflict analysis and resolution

• activities of racist and other extremists threatening good race relations

• urban social systems contributing to ‘parallel living’

• mixed-race people’s social contribution and needs, and comparative levels of discrimination against them

            REWM and WMREF will establish closer links with:

• the Regional Observatory and other sources of relevant data

• higher education institutions researching race and ethnic relations

• the Institute of Community Cohesion

• the Equality and Human Rights Commission researchers

7.   Information technology

            REWM and WMREF will seek to explore the means of acquiring more resources for information technology to promote race equality and raise awareness of issues relating to race and community cohesion.

            REWM will seek to maintain, update and enhance the REWM website, exploring the possibilities of making it more interactive and animated.

            REWM will develop communication technology to enable it rapidly to gather information on community needs and cohesion issues.

            REWM will explore all possible means of improving its communication and consultation with partner organisations mentioned in 4.7.

            REWM will continue to make available on its website the Rights and Equality Digests and other publications.

8.  Connectivity and partnerships

REWM will continue to provide secretarial support to the following forums and networks operating at national or regional level:

• The Federation of Race Equality Councils

• West Midlands Local Authority Equality Network

• West Midlands Local Strategic Partnership Support Group

• Midlands Network for Monitoring Extremism

           REWM will support and represent the interests of WMREF in other forums and networks that have relevance to the promotion of race equality.

REWM and the WMREF will maintain or endeavour to establish and maintain links with West Midlands regional or sub-regional organisations in the public, private and voluntary sector, such as:

• Department for Communities and Local Government

• Equality and Human Rights Commission

• Advantage West Midlands

• Government Office for the West Midlands

• West Midlands Regional Assembly

• Local Government Association

• Universities

• Learning and Skills Council

• West Midlands local authorities

• Criminal justice agencies

• Police Complaints Authority

• Primary Care and Hospital Trusts

• Connexions

• Fire Services

• Social housing (ALMOs, housing associations, etc.)

REWM will continue to build, and implement decisions taken by, the West Midlands Race Equality Forum comprising:

• Birmingham Race Action Partnership

• Birmingham Partnership Against Racial Harassment

• Birmingham Racial Attacks Monitoring Unit

• Dudley Centre for Equality and Diversity

• East Staffordshire Racial Equality Council

• Herefordshire Race Equality Partnership

• North Staffordshire Racial Equality Council

• Race Equality Partnership Wolverhampton

• Race Equality Sandwell

• Race Equality West Midlands

• Telford Race, Equality and Diversity Partnership

• Warwickshire Race Equality Partnership

• West Midlands Discrimination Advisory Service

• Worcestershire Racial Equality Council

REWM will maintain close and fraternal links with all its race equality partner organisations, black and minority ethnic groups and consortia, and various steering and tasks groups, relevant to the promotion of race equality.

            REWM will continue to maintain its interest in promoting support groups for people of mixed race.

            REWM will retain or improve partnership arrangements with:

• Birmingham office of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

• Birmingham City University Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Culture

• University of Wolverhampton School of Legal Studies

• Coventry University Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation

• West Midlands Discrimination Advisory Service

• Institute for Community Cohesion

• Regional Action West Midlands

• Others listed on its website

9.   Performance

In order to maintain and improve the performance of race equality organisations in promoting race equality and cohesion, REWM and WMREF will undertake to:

• record outcomes

• review progress

• develop and standardise sectoral norms and measure/indicators of performance

• assess impact

• conduct evaluations

• feed back on the quality of services

• make recommendations for service improvement

10.    Marketing and external relations

             REWM and WMREF will:

• act as advocates for independent voluntary-sector local race and other equality services

• make those services and their values widely known to potential service users, referral agencies, and funding bodies

• focus on the users of race and other equality services

•  improve organisations’ marketing and publicity materials

• raise public awareness of multicultural successes and the benefits of diversity

• refute racist propaganda appearing in the media and elsewhere

• nominate official spokespersons to speak authoritatively on news relating to race equality work

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