Award in Community Organising L2/L3

How can we support people to achieve what matters to them in their communities in a way that builds power promoting self organisation and meaningful bottom up change?

WHATS THE PURPOSE OF THIS TRAINING?

The purpose of the course is to support participants to develop an understanding of the values, principles and processes of community organising along with an introduction to some of the underlying theories which inform community organising practice.

This course will give learners the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge required to activate communities through listening and dialogue.

Since Nov 2017 Community CoLab and Barton Hill Settlement's Bristol Social Action Hub has trained 172 people in our Introduction To Community Organising and now we want to take it to the next level, to embed community organising as an approach to how we engage with geographic and communities of interest in Bristol and beyond!

WHAT IS COMMUNITY ORGANISING?

Community Organising is the work of bringing people together to take action around their common concerns and overcome social injustice. Community Organisers reach out and listen, connect and motivate people to build their collective power.

Community Organising begins with genuine, effective listening which sparks dialogue and explores motivations, an analysis of power in community and how to build it, and an exploration of how to organise and motivate people to take effective action together to address common concerns.

This course is run by The Bristol Social Action Hub as part of the Community Organisers Expansion programme. The course is quality assured by Community Organisers Ltd who are a Registered Certa Centre for the delivery of Qualifications. The course is led by qualified Community Organisers with training qualifications.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

What will I study?
There are 3 mandatory units at Level 2 and Level 3.
Level 2 and 3 Certificate in Community Organising units
Credits

Community Organising Practice
Purpose and Principles of Community Organising
The Community Organising Process

An understanding of the practice, purpose and process of community organising.
An underpinning theory of and key concepts in community organising and an exploration of its origins.
An awareness of the contexts for community organising.
The development of relevant knowledge and skills
Support to achieve a L2 or L3 Award in Community Organising (a qualification)
To provide an opportunity for progression to other qualifications including a Level 2 or Level 3 Certificate in Community Organising.

WHATS THE COMMITMENT?

The Community Organising: Principles and Practice course is a 75+ hours training course that leads to a Level 2 or Level 3 Award in Community Organising, a nationally recognised qualification issued by CERTA, our quality assurance body.

This course is aimed at people who wish to develop their effectiveness in the application of the principles and practice of community organising by giving a foundation of knowledge and skills.

These 75+ hours are made up of 35 hours face to face class-based learning, at least 10 hours of guided reading, at least 15 hours of community organising practice across the period of the course plus the time it takes you to complete your assignments in order to achieve the Award L2/L3

What will I need to do to achieve the qualification?
The course is a credits-based course. In order to gain the Award, you need to achieve:

7 credits at Level 2 - made up of 3 mandatory units.
7 credits at Level 3 - made up of 3 mandatory units.

The level of the qualification (L2/L3) indicates the relative demand, complexity and/or depth of achievement as well as the amount of support the learner requires in order to demonstrate their achievement.
It is your decision which level you decide to study at. Factors to help you decide would be things such as previous learning experience and levels of achievement, as well as relevant experience in the community organising field.
We will support you in the decision-making process.

You will need to attend at least 30 of the 35 taught hours

WHAT SUPPORT IS ON OFFER?

We are committed to creating the best experience for all our learners. After you sign up we will arrange to meet with you to discuss your learning needs and support you to choose a level that suits you.
Between the start of the course in December and until March you will have access to support via Skype, Zoom or Whats App from our trainer.
We are also hoping to create a peer support network so that there is collaboration and networking opportunities.

WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR?

The Community Organising: Principles and Practice course has been designed for people aged 14 and over who are actively engaged in community or political action, voluntary or employed, and who want to develop their understanding, knowledge and community organising skills in order to be a more effective change-maker.

There are no specific entry requirements, but you must be able to commit at least 75 hours over 3 months to achieve the Qualification which includes taught hours, study, assessed course work and community organising practice.

This might include people:

Who are active in groups or campaigns in their own community
Who are working with people and communities in a variety of settings and contexts (e.g. health, local authority, education);
Who are working In Politics and/or local democracy;
Who are engaged or working in Community work.
Whose job requires them to develop their understanding of a community organising approach

WHO IS THE TRAINER?

Jose Augusto Barco Bermudez

Jose is a certified Community Organiser, social entrepreneur, Art of Hosting Practitioner and trainer based in Bristol. He is also the founder of Community CoLab and he is passionate about people power, social change, social justice and creating spaces for meaningful participation, collaboration and self organisation in communities and organisations.

Jose works designing and facilitating conversations and training in communities and with organisations in Colombia, Spain and the UK

Jose is a Member Organiser for Community Organisers Ltd, organisation which he is a former founding director of.
His work is influenced by his creative practice, musical roots and permaculture principles.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

We recognise that our privileges and economic situations may vary, we are also very keen to invite diversity and make sure this training is accessible to all, particularly people who have taken our Intro To Community Organising Training and are Community Organisers Ltd Members.

The real running cost of this program is about £533 per participant.
Whilst we have funds available to deliver this course, in order to sustain our work into the future and make this training accessible we are using a PAY AS YOU FEEL policy which means we trust you to decide how much you can contribute based on your needs or privilege.

Any funds raised through participant payments will be reinvested into providing free or affordable training through The Bristol Social Action Hub in 2019

We invite you to consider your privileges and your economical situation to consciously PAY AS YOU FEEL

STANDARD: £533-400
Choose this fee if you are from an organisation, paid to do your work and your organisation is paying for your participation.

DISCOUNTED FEE: £175
Choose this fee if you can't afford the standard fee and really would benefit from what we are offering.
(you will need to sign up to a free Community Organisers Membership following this link)

CONCESSION £100
Choose this fee if you have taken part in our Intro To Community Organising, you are unable to afford the discounted fee
The Bristol Social Action Hub can cover the gap. (you will need to sign up to a free Community Organisers Membership)
Offer what you can and a little bit more!

ADDITIONAL ECONOMIC SUPPORT
Choose this option if you cant afford any of the above options, offer what you can and ask for what you need.

We don't want anyone to miss this opportunity, so don't be shy if you really can't contribute. There are other ways to contribute if your financial situation is tight, we welcome alternative offers from participants which help to enhance the experience, learning and connection potential.

PLEASE USE THE BOTTON BELOW TO SIGN UP

limited spaces sign up now

WHERE AND WHEN?

The face to face elements of this training will take place at Barton Hill Settlement.
December 18-19th, 2018 (9-5pm)
January 9-10-11th, 2019 (9-5 pm)

All course assignments will be submitted via our Moodle platform by March 31st