Overall, the strategy has been developed in close collaboration with local stakeholders. The strategy was developed through open dialogue with representatives from a variety of council services. A cross-directorate Working Group has met regularly to lead the strategy and provide input and communication on behalf of directorates more widely. This Group has also included a social housing provider and a community based organisation that was responsible for engaging with, and feeding in voices of the community. All DMTs and Community Plan Delivery Groups as well as the Community Involvement Network have received a presentation on the strategy and had the opportunity to feed in. There have also been a number of articles in Managers’ and Members’ Briefings, to encourage a wide range of officers and members to feed into the development of the strategy.

As well as an online survey open to the wider public, a programme of consultation and engagement was commissioned and delivered by Urban Inclusion (a small local community led organisation). This included engagement with:

•           “Representative” bodies for particular issues or interest groups;

•           Community groups;

•           Service user forums;

•           Steering / taskforce groups;

•           Other community forums of residents.

Engagement included focus groups, interviews and a literature review. The strategy has also been informed by engagement with councillors and the Mayor including a cross-party Members’ Seminar and a number of discussions at Transparency and Overview and Scrutiny committees.

The draft strategy and action plan are also scheduled for formal consultation from June to July 2017. It is intended that a short, easy to use summary version of the strategy will be the main document consulted on, with the more detailed strategy and action plan available for those who wish to access it.

As detailed above.