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Community cohesion
One of CDF’s three strategic aims is to boost community cohesion. Community cohesion is all about people building relationships across perceived boundaries and encouraging integration on the basis of mutual respect and social justice. We want to improve the capacity and capability of communities to manage diversity and resolve conflicts.
Community development is a skilled and strategic way of working that helps people to work together to achieve change, so it can contribute to the growth and maintenance of community cohesion in many ways. Often this involves identifying what people have in common, and so what might help bind them together, for example problems with employment or housing, as well as acknowledging differences.
Community cohesion comprises three main components:
- A shared ability to manage diversity and resolve conflicts within and between communities
- An approach that recognises that divisions and differences within communities are not just about 'race' and 'religion', but include other aspects of people’s lives
- A concern to tackle the inequalities of opportunity and outcome that generate grievances and inter-communal tensions
This definition refers to community cohesion in England. We know that the experiences in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Europe are slightly different.
Community Development’s role in achieving cohesive communities
Discrimination, whether by race, faith, gender, class, disability, sexuality or age, excludes and disadvantages people. Evidence shows that these inequalities have persisted over generations and in some areas are getting worse. The resulting divisions and levels of deprivation make it hard for some communities to live and work together, especially when they are competing for scarce resources.
CDF’s role
CDF continues to raise the issues surrounding cohesion and diversity to help policy makers understand how community development values and methods can help them to:
- achieve stronger community participation in their strategies
- tackle discrimination and divisions within and between communities, and
- improve equality of opportunity and inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
With funding from government, we manage grant programmes that give funding to community groups, focused specifically on activities that bring different communities together to meet and learn from each other.
Contact:
Melanie Bowles, Head of Cohesive Communities
