Consultation Forum Terms of Reference

The Eyes, Ears and Voice of the Community in Bournemouth

Sustainable Environment Forum
Looks at all environmental, housing and travel issues

Safer & Stronger Communities Forum
Looks at ways to reduce crime and the fear of crime, build respect in communities and reduce poverty and disadvantage.

Thriving Economy Forum
Looks at ways to improve the competitiveness of the area, improve and sustain inward investment and raise skill levels.

Health & Wellbeing Forum
Looks at ways to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Bournemouth.

Investing in People Forum
Looks at ways to improve the quality of life for the people of Bournemouth, empowering people and bringing marginalised and excluded groups into mainstream society

1. The role of the forums is to provide Bournemouth 2026 with proposals for future goals to ensure that Vision 20261 is continually reviewed and refreshed to ensure that it reflects the views of people who live and work in Bournemouth.

2. How is that done? The Forum will bring together partners with an interest in the topic covered by the Forum to review “Bournemouth Vision 2026”, the progress towards that vision, aspects that promote improvement and those that prevent it.

3. What is the forum responsible for? It identifies new issues to be proposed to the Vision Board for inclusion in the “Bournemouth Vision 2026” based on research and evidence of need. It communicates clear goals to the Strategic Delivery Partnership for action. It reviews progress towards those goals and feeds back proposals for actions to the Strategic Delivery Partnership.

4. What are the partners responsible for? The partners are responsible for regularly consulting with the residents and organisations that they represent about issues and continuing to “listen for outcomes”2.

5. What if the issue requires further research or consultation? Tasks can be delegated to a Task and Finish group which will look at the evidence, do further research, call witnesses, etc and use a “heart of the matter”3 form.

6. What happens to new issues once they have been identified and, if necessary, researched and consulted on? Issues are passed to the Vision Board as proposals for inclusion in “Bournemouth Vision 2026”.

7. How does each forum make sure it is not overlapping work being undertaken by others? The Forums need to be aware of the work of the strategic delivery partnerships and other Forums. This will be achieved through minutes being made available on the Bournemouth 2026 website together with a short summary of any new / key issues discussed. The Bournemouth 2026 Coordinator will attend all Forum meetings and identify any overlaps or gaps.

8. What are the values, principles and arrangements that govern the Forum? The values, principles and arrangements that govern the Forum are the same as for Bournemouth 2026. These include a commitment to:

a. A “Can do” attitude – To work in a positive, confident and ambitious manner, where continuous improvement is welcomed.

b. Openness – To operate in an open, accessible and inclusive manner so as to gain the genuine involvement of local communities, the business and voluntary sectors, as well as local government and other public agencies.

c. Empowerment – To ensure that local groups and communities are involved in decision making within the partnership wherever possible.

d. Equality & Diversity – To ensure that individuals and organisations within “the Partnership” are appreciated, respected and that the value of diversity is recognised and all contributions to the work of “the Partnership” are equally valued.

e. Sustainability – To ensure that the decisions of the Partnership take fully into account the consequent economic, social and environmental impacts.

f. Continuous Improvement – To work towards achieving continuous improvement within available resources.

9. Who can attend the forum meetings? Any representative of a Bournemouth 2026 partner organisation can attend forum meetings.

10. Who is the Chair? The Chair is a candidate nominated by the Forum and elected from those nominations by a majority vote. Any representative of a partner organisation may vote. The election process will take place every 2 years.

11. Who is the Supporting Officer? The Bournemouth 2026 Coordinator is responsible for taking notes of actions agreed and tracking those actions over time. She will also identify areas of overlap and gaps between Forums and arrange, if appropriate, joint working between the forums.

12. The tasks we have to complete

a. Agree each forum’s area of responsibility in relation to other consultation Forums.

b. Ensure we are inclusive: Encourage representatives from all sectors, particularly from organisations representing residents, vulnerable people and the voluntary sector making sure their needs are met eg plain English used, accessibility and translations etc. Monitor that the attendance at meetings, conferences and events continues to be representative of the community and, where there are gaps in representation, seek to fill the gaps with new partners.

c. Identify how improvements are achieved and any barriers to achievement: Recognise what promotes and inhibits improvements, by using surveys, post project evaluations, etc.

d. Continue to “listen for outcomes”: Use this technique to identify possible problems for the future.

e. Work out what is really causing the problem(s): Explore in depth what is at “the heart of the matter”, looking for causes and the conditions which sustain problems that are not immediately apparent in the symptoms.

f. Find solutions: Partners and / or task & finish groups will research areas of concern for solutions and ways of overcoming any barriers to progress.

g. Make sure that what we are doing is relevant: Continue to translate the vision into tangible goals that clearly matter to people and monitor results.

13. How does the forum propose actions for previously identified issues? Proposals for actions will be passed to the relevant Strategic Delivery Partnership. Actions on all identified issues will be tracked by the forum through updates from the Strategic Delivery Partnership.

14. How do you know if you are being effective? The Forum will monitor progress towards Vision 2026 in their area of responsibility by:

a) Receiving feedback from partners who have
• continued to “listen for outcomes” by meeting with residents and their representatives, spending time with them where they live
• contacted the people who work closely with the most vulnerable on a daily basis.

b) Producing an annual summary report that sets out how well the forum has dealt with the tasks above.

c) Receiving and reviewing various surveys of community satisfaction carried out by partner organisations.

15. Do the forums have any funding? The forums each have £600 per year to put towards holding a themed event. These events should be aimed at assisting the forum with the tasks listed in 12 above.

16. Standing Orders:

a. Who Can Vote? Any representative of a Bournemouth 2026 Partner. Partners may send more than one representative to a meeting and they will all be eligible to vote.

b. What is the voting system? A simple majority vote of those representatives in attendance, with the Chair holding the casting vote if necessary.

c. How often are meetings held? The Forum will meet 4 times a year. Meeting dates will be set on a yearly basis at the beginning of each financial year.

d. What happens if an extra meeting is needed? Partners can ask the Chair, via the Bournemouth 2026 coordinator, giving their reasons why the meeting is needed.

e. Who needs to be invited to the meetings? All councillors and all Bournemouth 2026 partners will be invited to the meetings.

f. Who arranges the meetings? The Bournemouth 2026 Coordinator arranges the meetings. She will try to make sure that residents’ groups and others have easy access to the forum.

g. What do I do if I want to attend a meeting? All partners who wish to attend a meeting must inform the Bournemouth 2026 Coordinator at least three working days in advance and inform her of any specific needs, including transport.

h. What will be discussed at the meeting? An agenda will be provided for each meeting. This will include: apologies, minutes / notes of last meeting, proposals for items for the next meeting, any other business and the date of next meeting. Items discussed under any other business will reflect the purpose of the forum.

i. What happens if something needs to be added to the agenda? Additional agenda items must be given to the Chair, via the Bournemouth 2026 Coordinator, at least two weeks before the meeting. The Chair will decide if they will be added to the agenda.

j. When will the agenda be sent out? The agenda and any other papers will be sent out so they are received at least 5 working days before the meeting.

k. Who will keep a record of what is discussed and agreed at each meeting? The Bournemouth 2026 Coordinator will record this. A copy will be agreed at the next meeting.

l. Can anyone attend the Forum meetings? Yes, provided they are invited by a partner of Bournemouth 2026 and have the permission of the Chair. Invited attendees do not have voting rights.

1 Bournemouth Vision 2026 can be found here

2 “listen for outcomes” is a template form that when completed can give a clearer understanding of where issues originate

3 “heart of the matter” is a template form that when completed can give a clearer understanding of an issue