133 Caring Neighbourhoods in Flanders and Brussels: the learnings so far from coaching and training and the development of a coaching tool 426
Authors: Clé Ann , Steyaert Stef , Gabriels Elise , Vlamynck Sissi , Pattyn Elise 
Published: January 2024

Objectives:

Introduce the Caring Neighbourhoods program as an

  interesting example of ICC

Discuss the main challenges and learnings from the

   coaching and training of 133 caring

   neighbourhoods

Present a coaching tool that challenges reflection and

   action in the caring neighbourhoods

Share reflections and ideas that can contribute to a

   successful implementation of caring neighbourhoods

 

Rationale: Worldwide, more and more attention is being paid to the neighbourhood as a place where health and care must be accessible, where informal and formal care complement each other and where residents and professionals work together to create a caring environment. 

June 2021, the Flemish Minister of Welfare, Public Health, Family and Poverty Reduction launched a call for ‘Caring Neighbourhoods’ that yielded 133 projects in Flanders and Brussels. During two years, a financial boost is provided, together with intense supervision and support.

There is a  large variety between the projects, for example in terms of previous experience, goals and actions, network and demographic context. But they all share the desire for more connection and cooperation between welfare- and care organisations, for participation and inclusion of the local citizens, for neighbourhoods where taking care of each other would gain more attention.

In order for these projects to take steps forward, the Department of Welfare, Public Health and Family asked the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) to shape a support offer. The KBF  built this support around 3 pillars: (1) a consortium of knowledge-, and expertise centers in the field of sustainable neighbourhoods to enable a constant dialogue between existing knowledge and field-learnings, (2) generalistic and flexible coaching for each of the projects and (3) a training offer on various themes. 

12 coaches supervise between 10 and 17 projects each. They are well placed to pick up, interpret and pass on insights, obstacles and opportunities. The same applies to the trainers that are part of the consortium and to other consortium partners that are connected with the field work in various ways. Their findings are related to several topics such as the importance of co-creation and the need for a flexible and adaptive governance.

In their coaching, the coaches depend on their skills, on each other as a team and on their supervisors. Early in the process they expressed a shared ambition to co-create a tool to help challenge caring neighbourhood-workers in different areas of reflection and action.

Audience: Health-, welfare-, and community workers, target group (representatives) and all stakeholders of caring neighbourhoods

Content:

Setting the scene: a brief introduction to the context of

    caring neighbourhoods in Flanders and Brussels (Ann Clé,

    KBF, 15min)

A presentation of the learnings and demonstration of the

    coaching-tool (Stef Steyaert, KBF, 15min)

World café: discussion in breakout groups on challenges in

    caring neighbourhoods on different levels (facilitated by 2

    coaches, 30min)

A plenary debate with feedback from the breakout groups

    (Stef Steyaert, 20min)

Conclusion and summary of the learnings (Stef Steyaert,

    10min)

The outcomes of the workshop will be summarized by visual harvesting.