The Get Heard project is a participatory process designed
to enable people with experience of social exclusion to express
their views on government anti-poverty initiatives and policies
for:
· Inclusion in the next National Action Plan on Social
Inclusion (the government’s anti-poverty strategy).
· Joining forces nationally with others facing social
exclusion.
· Local advocacy and campaigning.
On this page you can find out more about the project and
how it works – just scroll down this page. On this website
you can also download free copies of the toolkit and handouts,
and get contact details for the project and project partners
– see the menu on the left.
The Process
What is the Get Heard Toolkit - and how
does is work?
Who is behind the Get Heard project?
1. The process is made of 3 phases:
1. What is the Get Heard Project?
The process was launched on 15th October 2004 - the UN International
Day for the Eradication of Poverty – and is in 3 phases:
Phase 1 = key preparation – Get Heard workshops held
by grassroots and community groups from October 2004 to November
2005.
Phase 2 = joining together – regional events in England,
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, in Autumn 2005, where
workshop participants, and local and regional policy makers
discuss the key issues that have come out of the local workshops.
Phase 3 = the key issues – national event in early
2006 when all parties come together to pin down the key issues
to be put forward to the National Action Plan. This means
people with experience of poverty, local and regional decision
makers and civil servants.
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2. What is the Get Heard Toolkit –
and how does it work?
The Get Heard Toolkit contains a workshop structure, and
advice for using it, that any group of people living in poverty
can use to hold a Get Heard workshop. By holding a workshop
the group will be able to clearly express their views on the
government’s policies to fight poverty, specifically:
· What’s working?
· What’s not working?
· What should be done differently?
After the group has held the workshop and written up their
workshop conclusions (using the feedback sheets in the toolkit),
and sent the results to the Get Heard project, they will be
included in the Get Heard grassroots submission to the government’s
next National Action Plan on Social Inclusion.
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3. Who is behind the Get Heard Project?
The Get Heard project has been set up by the Social Policy
Task Force - a group of anti-poverty NGOs - and the government’s
Department for Work and Pensions . Other project partners
include the UK Coalition Against Poverty,
ATD Fourth World, Oxfam
UK Poverty Programme, Northern
Ireland Anti Poverty Network, The
Poverty Alliance and the England Anti Poverty network
and the European Anti Poverty Network (Engalnd).
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The toolkit can be downloaded,
or, if you would like a hardcopy please contact the UK Coalition
Against Poverty on 0161 272 9111. Large print versions are
also available.
 
With the support of the European Commission, Directorate
General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.
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