Describe your best practice
The aim of our Awards is to engage with the local community, celebrate the great work local people, businesses and organisations do and raise the profile of Neighbourhood Watch and the contribution we can make to the life of our area. We have achieved all these things and more since we started in 2015.
What did you do and why?
We established a local Facebook page where we publicise our Awards. Anyone is allowed to nominate in any of the 7 categories we have. We then announce the nominees in a live Facebook event at a local business. Voting takes place over 3 weeks both at street stalls and fairs and online.
The winners of the Awards themselves are announced at an Oscar style ceremony, again at a local business.
Duration of the project
It is annual and takes 2 months from the opening of nominations to the announcement of the winners.
What worked well?
The Awards have gained the support of local businesses who volunteer to help with fundraising and hosting events. We have a Neighbourhood Watch Facebook group with over 1,000 members and 1,500 people voted in the Awards last year which is 10% of our local community.
The Facebook group is an easy, quick and cost free means of speaking to our members. This and the street stalls attract a lot of people who then go on to form their own local groups. The Awards evening itself is a great success and is now an established event in the local calendar.
How did you overcome any challenges?
The greatest challenge was that no-one felt the Neighbourhood Watch was relevant to their daily lives. These Awards have seen us speaking to the community about things that matter to them. They have engaged and inspired local people and drawn people towards Neighbourhood Watch so they are now setting up their own groups, sharing information and working together.
How did you cover any costs?
Our Awards are now so successful that we have attracted sponsors as well as people who are willing to give their services for free.
Force/ Borough area
Nottinghamshire
First Name
Colin
Last Name
Barratt