Imagine Project

Imagine – connecting communities through research was a five-year research project (2012-17) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council under the Connected Communities programme. It had a focus on ‘civic engagement’ (the roles people play in the lives of their communities). It had four different ‘work packages’, which are described on the overall Imagine project website: www.imaginecommunity.org.uk.

• A booklet produced in two days in September 2017 to celebrate the work of the project: Imagine Booklet

Durham University coordinated Work Package 2 (Imagine2) on the historical context of civic engagement, which was led by Professor Sarah Banks, Durham University. The research was located in three places: Benwell in Newcastle; part of North Shields in North Tyneside; and Hillfields in Coventry. These three areas were formerly part of the National Community Development Project (CDP), which was Britain’s first national area-based anti-poverty programme in the 1970s.

In each area, teams of university researchers (from Durham and Warwick) and a range of community organisations undertook research and a programme of related activities. We looked at the work and legacies of the CDPs, the history of regeneration in each area, how local people have been involved (or not), the visions of local people, community workers, policy-makers and politicians (and how these differ) and considered how local communities can be engaged in imagining and creating better futures for their areas.

• The original aims and objectives of Imagine2

Contacts:

• Professor Sarah Banks (Principal Investigator), j.banks@durham.ac.uk
• Professor Mick Carpenter (Lead for Coventry Research) m.j.carpenter@warwick.ac.uk

Videos:

Imagining Benwell (2016) 
This film includes extracts from four films, made as part of community projects for Imagine North East. 'Filming change' is a film about the historic graveyard at St James Church in Benwell made by the St James' Heritage and Environment Group; 'Growing old in West Newcastle' shows a boat trip down the River Tyne to reflect how the area has changed. The boat trip was one of several activities for older people organised by Search; 'Never Felt so Good' shows the launch of an exhibition at St James' Church, Benwell, the culmination of a felting art project by St James' Centre for Heritage and Culture and 'Hopes and Fears', a film making project with young people by the Patchwork Project.

Imagine Project Video Playlist (4 videos) 
Some community partners created films as part of their Imagine North East project.

Publications:

Articles in a themed issue of the Community Development Journal:

• Banks, S. and Carpenter, M. (2017) 'Researching the local politics and practices of radical Community Development Projects in 1970s Britain', Community Development Journal, 52(2), pp. 226-246.
• Carpenter, M. and Kyneswood, B. (2017) 'From self-help to class struggle: revisiting Coventry Community Development Project's 1970s journey of discovery', Community Development Journal, 52(2), pp. 247-268.
• Green, J. (2017) 'Action–research in context: revisiting the 1970s Benwell Community Development Project', Community Development Journal, 52(2), pp. 269-289.
• Armstrong, A. and Banks, S. (2017) 'Organizing for change: North Tyneside Community Development Project and its legacy', Community Development Journal, 52(2), pp. 290-312.

Imagine2 Launch Event

• The Imagine2 research project held a launch event on Thursday 3rd April 2014 at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.
  • The Imagine2 Launch Report

Imagine North East Exhibition Launch

• On Saturday 27th June 2015, there was the launch of the Imagine North East Exhibition at St James' Church, Benwell, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

Imagining Benwell Workshop and Exhibition

• On Thursday 21st January 2016, there was the Imagining Benwell Workshop and Exhibition at the Discovery Museum, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
  • Read the Imagining Benwell Workshop Report
  • Watch the Imagining Benwell film

Imagining North Shields Workshop and Exhibition

• On Wednesday 13th April 2016, there was the Imagining North Shields Workshop and Exhibition at The Meadows, North Shields.
  • Read the Imagining North Shields Workshop Report.

Imagine2 Briefing

• This one-page briefing summarises key issues arising from Imagine North East and Coventry and can be found here:
  • Imagine North East and Coventry Summary Report

Imagine North East Films

• Some community partners created films as part of their Imagine North East project.
  • Watch the Imagine North East Films

Imagine North East Booklets

• In June 2015 we published two booklets, which can be accessed here: 

          Imagining Benwell: Past, Present and Future

          Imagining North Shields: Past, Present and Future

Imagine North East Blog and Timelines

• The Coventry blog and timeline can be found at www.kyneswood.com/Imagine_Coventry

Imagine Impact and Knowledge Exchange Event with DCLG 2016

• On the 9th March 2016, members of the Imagine project team met policymakers from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) at the NCVO offices in London. Read the report here:
  • Impact and Knowledge Exchange Event: Empowering Communities and Making Change Happen

Imagine North East Final Reports 2016-17

• Re-examining Benwell Community Development Project and its legacy, a report by Andrea Armstrong, Sarah Banks and Gary Craig.
• Re-examining North Tyneside Community Development Project and its legacy, a report by Andrea Armstrong and Sarah Banks.
• Benwell forty years on: Policy and change after the Community Development Project, a report by Fred Robinson and Alan Townsend.
• North Shields forty years on: Policy and change after the Community Development Project, a report by Fred Robinson and Alan Townsend.
• Some reflections on North Tyneside CDP and specifically its work on industry and employment, by Bob Davis.
• The Trade Union Studies Information Unit (TUSIU), by Keith Hodgson.

Imagine Census/Statistics: Benwell, North Tyneside and Hillfields (Coventry)

• From industrial to post-industrial: Changes in Greater Tyneside and Greater Coventry between 1981 and 2011, by David Byrne.
• Documenting the extraction of small area census data for the three CDPs (Benwell, North Tyneside and Coventry), by Alan Townsend.
• CDP areas, summary census results, 1971, 1991, 2011, by Alan Townsend.
• CDP areas, summary households, by Alan Townsend.

SAS Tables

• SAS Table 5 Economic Activity
• SAS Table 7 Age, Sex Structure
• SAS Table 15 Households and Cars
• SAS Table 16 and 17 Occupation of Dwellings
• SAS Table 19 Tenure of Households
• SAS Table 23 Socio-Economic Groups