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Achieving Strategic Influence

Building a Rural Evidence Base

Over the last three years Cambridgeshire ACRE and the Cambridgeshire Rural Forum has started to build a Cambridgeshire Rural Evidence Base. A range of data sources are available to identify local needs and priorities, however, weaknesses in existing date sources mean that they are not always suited to assessing rural need.

The Cambridgeshire Rural Evidence Base consists of credible local (often parish level) information captured and sustained through:

  • Village Halls Survey 2009
  • Community Led Planning data 2005 onwards
  • Rural Services Survey 2007
  • Housing Needs Survey data 2008 onwards
  • Parish Profiles

The aim is to establish evidence for targeting rural needs, as well as providing a benchmark to assess progress in meeting these needs and priorities. A robust knowledge base is needed to champion and influence rural interests and also to allow effective rural-proofing at a local level.

In the future, baseline date will be used to track progress against rural targets. This will be particularly useful in tracking local rural service increase or decline. The data also assists with the 'clustering of services' which will enable us to target support and provision.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Rural Services Survey 2007
In autumn 2007 Cambridgeshire ACRE conducted a survey of all parishes in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough about services available in their communities.

The Cambridgeshire County Council Research Group collated and analysed the results on behalf of Cambridgeshire ACRE.

Surveys were sent to parish clerks or parish council chairs of all parishes with a population under 10,000, in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Where a parish contained more than one settlement with a population of 200 or more, each individual settlement was surveyed.

Cambridgeshire ACRE is using the results to inform the future development of community support services and lobby on issues of concern to rural communities.

The results should also be used:

  • by local government and other local service providers to influence the delivery of services to rural communities;
  • by communities for planning, lobbying and other activities.

Anybody wishing to see a copy of the report should contact Cambridgeshire ACRE for assistance.

Parish Profiles
We are working to create a 'Parish Profile' for every parish in the county.

These profiles will not only contain factual data on the parish but will also allow us to store details of the work Cambridgeshire ACRE has done with that particular community. In this way, we will build a comprehensive picture of what is happening in each location, allowing for better application when undertaking strategic influencing activity.

Housing Needs Surveys
These are completed in parishes to provide evidence of housing need. They then support the case for the building of affordable rural homes on rural exception sites.

Cambridgeshire ACRE works with local Registered Social Landlords and Local Authorities, as well as Parish Councils, to support the completion and analysis of these surveys.

Community Led Planning Data
Every action identified by a community through its community led plan is fed into a database held on Cambridgeshire ACRE's ACT! Customer Relationship Management system. Actions are aligned to one of the five Local Area Agreement themes. By grouping actions in this way we are able to run reports identifying common issues affecting a number of communities and present them to the most appropriate partners for discussion and action. We can use this information to influence service deliverers to change the way services are delivered to rural communities.

National Village Halls Survey 2009
In early 2009, National ACRE undertook a survey of the country's village halls.The results are in the process of being analysed and more information will be posted here in July/August 2009

For more information, please contact Kirsten Bennett on 01353 865041.