The Neighbourhood Forums have undergone some structural changes recently, following the merging of the five District Partnerships into three. There will be several new changes to this part of the website in the upcoming months so please contact one of the forum coordinators more more information if you are unsure as to what is going on in your area

The Neighbourhood Forums, (or Participation Team) run on a more local level than the strategic forums.

They run geographically based forums which link to the District Partnership in their area and the sub-groups of that partnership. They also link to neighbourhood decision making structures.

The Participation Team aims to:

• Influence decision-making,
• Cascade strategic information to and from the forum from decision-making structures,
• Provide a feedback mechanism for selected voluntary, community and faith sector representatives,
• Strengthen and support existing forums and initiatives ,
• Present the forum as a body with which other agencies can consult,
• Support the voluntary, community and faith sector to deliver and contribute to partnership targets,
• Consider any matter relating to current and future developments which affect the status and safety of the voluntary, community and faith sector
• Utilise experience and skills within the voluntary, community and faith sector by facilitating peer led training.

Participation Co-ordinators negotiate & secure representational places on local decision-making structures i.e. District Partnerships within the 3 wedges of the city. Once these places have been secured the Participation Team facilitate elections to recruit representatives.

The team also facilities wedge based forums which act as a feedback mechanism for elected representatives. These forums are also used as a consultative forum for VCF input into partnership actions.