The London Regeneration Network, set up in 1996, is funded by the Pan-London Community Regeneration Consortium led by the Islington based London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC) and the British Association of Settlement and Social Action Centres (BASSAC).
A) AIMS
The LRN aims to
* to raise the profile of London's voluntary sector and promote the active participation of London's community and voluntary sector in the planning, design, management and implementation of regeneration initiatives.
* develop a voice for the voluntary and community sector on regeneration issues
* provide a forum for voluntary and community sector debate and discussion on CED policy and practice
B) ACTIVITIES
At its offices within LVSC, LRN has recently appointed a Development Officer whose work is to link together London based groups involved in regeneration to share information and experience of CED. The network has a diverse 250 strong membership drawn from 28 of the 33 London boroughs. It publishes a quarterly newsletter which provides information about the experience of successful voluntary sector SRB bids; and keeps the network informed about aspects of CED. LRN organises regular conferences, events and training seminars to raise the profile and effectiveness of voluntary and community sector partners in local economic development (eg the "Snakes and Ladders" Conference to share London community and voluntary experiences of involvement in regeneration partnerships; "Youth in the City" Conference to share good practice; the "Women in Urban Regeneration" Seminar which provided opportunities to share information and skills; and the "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" Seminar on sustainable regeneration initiatives.
LRN regularly meets with key policy makers including GOL regeneration officers to lobby for community-led regeneration interests. It produces briefing papers highlighting workshop discussion, debates and makes recommendations to key agencies within and outside the CED field. LRN also has links with London's local Agenda 21 initiative.
C) SUMMARY
As a networking forum, LRN enables the community sector - particularly smaller community groups to contribute to regeneration policy, express the needs of community groups involved in CED, and to evaluate its progress in influencing the agenda for a more holistic approach to local economic development. As part of the Pan London Regeneration Consortium, LRN acts as a channel for small community groups to access a range its services including information on partnerships, technical support on partnership bids preparation, and training and development for effective CED partnership influence and capacity building.