Pioneer Guide

Information
Overview
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Pioneer guide form

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2Overview

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1. What are our being well needs?
Things to consider
As a community, you can identify local needs in the round, based on a real understanding of people’s lives and experiences, and of the different factors that affect them.
Of course, plenty of official data is available on all these, but often not at such a local level. Even when it is, it won’t show how different factors may be connected. But you may find some data useful as a check and evidence of need once you explore further.
First: Which challenges do you want to explore?
Do any of the common health and wellbeing challenges faced by rural communities resonate with you? If so, which are the ones you want to explore?
1a: Which challenges do we want to explore?

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Also: Who is likely to be most in need and why?
Is everyone in your community affected in the same way? Do you have an idea of who may be more likely to be in need, for example because of their:
- age
- income or employment
- where they live
- family circumstances or recent life event?
1b: Who in our community is more likely to be in need?

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2. What can we build on?
Things to consider
Every community has strengths you can build on and resources you can call on. Using an ‘asset-based’ approach, rather than focusing on gaps and barriers, means starting out in a positive way.
The idea is that everyone has something to contribute; you just need to work out what it is and how to unlock it. It can be surprising and inspiring to see how many assets there are – and the sum is often greater than the parts when you bring them together!
First: What are our community assets?
What strengths, skills and facilities - or ‘assets’ in the widest sense - does your community have that could help meet your being well needs?
2a: What are our community assets?

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Also: Other resources and assets?
Could any of these have something to contribute, depending on what you are exploring:
- places, such as your pub, shop, café, hall or community centre, library, school, woodlands, commons, farms or places to stay
- local people and organisations, with relevant interests, skills and experiences, including those with needs and those close to them
- partners outside your community to talk to or involve, such as charities or clubs, GPs, councils, specialist providers from health to housing to transport?
2b: Other resources and assets?

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3. What could we pioneer?
Things to consider
Community co-operatives are businesses run by and for local people, with everyone encouraged to become a member with an equal say. Whatever kind of business they are in, they usually act as a community hub with wider aims, such as reducing social isolation, loneliness and poverty.
Advantages of a co-operative approach include:
- the ability to draw on local knowledge, skills and assets
- the option to raise working capital from a community share issue, while generating an income from services provided
- equal membership including for those who will use services, so giving them a say and safeguarding their interests
First: What is our pioneer idea?
Having thought about your community’s specific needs, assets and (we hope) taken inspiration from what is being done elsewhere, what is your pioneer idea to explore? Is it around wider wellbeing and prevention, around social care or health needs - or a combination?
3a: What is our pioneer idea?

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Also: Which services, support or facilities will you offer?
What specific services, support or facilities might your community develop, co-ordinate or create to help meet local being well challenges? Bear in mind that:
- what you offer may – indeed most likely will and should – evolve over time as needs change
- it may be a basket of different opportunities that is needed, when there is a variety of needs
- offering an adaptable space, variable service or combining activities might mean more than one need can be met at the same time
3b: Specific services, facilities or support?

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4. What might it look like?
Things to consider
When it comes to turning your pioneer idea into reality, it is good to look at different ways this might be done – starting to explore who would be involvedand how it could be run.
It partly depends of course on what you are thinking of: perhaps you are exploring a single, well-defined service or facility, or it could be a more complex proposal involving different services and contributors. Going back to your notes of local assets to draw upon may help, together with your outline of what services or facilities you want to offer.
First: Who would be involved?
Who would be involved in your pioneer idea as users, supporters and funders? Would it have volunteers, employees, suppliers or partners? It is possible to have more than one role of course.
4a: Who would be involved?

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Also: How might it best be run?
How might it best be run? Considering who will be involved and your local context, are there different options to explore, such as:
- talking to an existing community co-operative, such as your shop or pub, about adding it as a new offer to what they already do
- setting up a new community co-operative, either because you do not yet have one or because the offer is so different from an existing one
- using a franchise model, seeing if you could join an existing co-operative delivering similar services – especially if your idea could benefit from economies of scale or involves specialist training or regulation (such as in caring for vulnerable or sick people)
- a different model altogether – you can find more on this in the next question.
4b: How might it best be run?

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5. What are our next steps?
What are our next steps?
This guide is intended as a first step to help you explore the particular challenges around health, care and wellbeing in your community. You can do this on your own or start involving others.
To develop your ideas into a successful community-led enterprise, you will need to do a little more. From our experience, it helps getting some expert advice and guidance, suited to the ideas and potential solutions you want to explore. Or you may want to pick up on other ideas such as running a health walk, nutrition class or dementia cafe.
Things to consider: Is this project for you?
Does your pioneer idea seem to lend itself to an enterprising, community-led solution?
We have now identified some pioneer groups to support until the end of 2017, with specialist advice and small pots of funding to help develop their idea further. You can still share your answers with us or contact us if you have such an idea for your community.
5: What are our next steps?

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What else?
Perhaps you find that a community co-operative and this project are not what you need? The further information below may help you develop other ideas that will also make a difference.
We are now working with pioneers but, if you have an enterprising Being Well idea, you can either simply contact us or share your answers with us by giving us your email here. That way, we can get a better idea of whether we could still help you. Thank you!
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