C4 on ‘place based leadership’ at We Make Camden Summit
On February 4th, Co-Chair Daniel Pitt stood in for Co-Chair Paul Crozier on the Estates Mission themed panel at February’s We Make Camden Summit, speaking alongside Naomi Rubbra from Footwork Trust, Maimouna Mohamed from NW5 Project, Pete Gladwell from Legal & General, and was chaired by Cllr Sagal Abdi-Wali.
The each member of the panel had a chance to present about their work, before a Q&A. Here is the presentation that Daniel made, written by Paul.
Hello, I’m Paul Crozier. I lead a community organisation in the south of the borough, Holborn Community Association. I’m here today though with a different hat on, as co-Chair of C4.
That’s Camden Community Centres Consortium. We’re a member organisation including organisations from across Camden - there’s 20 member organisations with 38 spaces across the borough. Those aren’t just traditional community centres - there’s a farm, a community garden, arts centres. What unites them all is their spaces, and their use of those spaces in the places around them to connect with people across their areas.
That connection is what C4 means when we talk about place based leadership.
Community organisations are anchors in those places. We’re part of the neighbourhood working with local businesses, faith groups and schools. We’re at the heart of those neighbourhoods - because we work with people year in, year out, lunch clubs, advice sessions or learning. Different centres or spaces might do things differently but we all understand the people and social infrastructure around us.
C4 are launching our new strategy this year - ‘Putting Community Centres at the Centre’. We have trust. We have social capital and infrastructure. With these strengths, our centres, our organisations, should be centred across more sectors, strategies and ways of working. We want to change how our organisations are seen, recognised and valued. We want to formalize our role as strategic ‘anchor organisations’ collaborating across place, communities and estates. There’s four areas we want to highlight - where we think community organisations can bring value to work across place
Collaborating with the public sector - the local authority, nhs, schools and higher education - in neighbourhood-based action and delivery.
Engaging the private sector to deliver social value, strategy and community engagement.
C4 is able to act as a collective voice for organisations running community spaces to inform policy at a local and national level.
Harnessing the collective action of our network, sharing learning, changing practice and evidencing value of collaboration.
Collaboration is at the heart of meaningful change. While C4 members are already delivering impactful work, our collective potential is even greater. Bridging the gap between residents, businesses, and decision-makers at the neighbourhood level, C4 creates a unique platform for action.
Whether it’s improving health outcomes on estates, building structures that give a voice to the community, or fostering social cohesion, we invite you to partner with us.