A welcoming city

Welcoming - action plan

Short Term (2021 to 2022)

BCC City Operations, BCC Commonwealth Games Programme Team and Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee: Through the Creative City programme, extend Games events to deprived wards in the city to support and strengthen the relationship between arts organisations and communities. Games Partner led with BCC support.

BCC Strategy, Equalities and Partnerships and BCC Commonwealth Games Programme Team: Through the Stronger Communities programme, work alongside communities across the city to celebrate the heritage and stories of all of our residents. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC City Operations and BCC Commonwealth Games Programme Team: Through the Celebrating Communities programme, invest in additional community capacity to support local organisations to deliver projects and encourage participatory decision making across the city. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC Commonwealth Games Programme Team: City dressing and streetscape improvements will deliver a clear positive message about Birmingham. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC Commonwealth Games Programme Team: Deliver the Host City Volunteers programme and ensure the volunteer workforce are signposted to ongoing volunteering opportunities beyond the Games. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC Adult Social Care: Promote the volunteer programme, events and other Games related opportunities through Adult Social Care Reach network and the delivery of webinars/events to support users and community organisations. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

Medium Term (2021 to 2024)

BCC City Operations: Develop a new Culture Strategy for Birmingham in 2023 and take new approaches to factor culture into major developments and regeneration areas, including the City Centre, Perry Barr and Balsall Heath. The approach will also seek to integrate cultural development with health and social care outcomes to deliver wider benefits. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC Strategy, Equalities and Partnerships: Build upon the benefits of hosting the Commonwealth Games in a way that builds cohesion, inclusion, and civic pride and uses the Games as a turning point in uniting the city’s population and tackling inequalities (enabled by our digital inclusion strategy ensuring access to training, devices and connectivity). BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC Strategy, Equalities and Partnerships: Establish a city community stakeholder panel by involving and enabling our diverse communities to play an active role in civic society and putting citizens voice at the heart of decision-making. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

Long Term (2021 to 2024+)

Welcoming Flagship Scheme. BCC City Operations: Working with key partners, develop a viable and sustainable annual cultural event in 2023 called the Birmingham International Festival, bringing local people and visitors to the area to celebrating the best there is from the local area. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC City Operations: Develop a strategy to ensure that major events hosted in Birmingham promote the city’s unique heritage and identity as a welcoming, youthful and diverse city. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

BCC City Operations: Develop further initiatives and interventions to strengthen and support the long-term viability of new and existing small community groups, particularly those that have become known as a result of the Games Celebrating Communities fund. BCC Scheme (not part of Partner Legacy Programme).

Welcoming key measurements for benefits realisation monitoring

  1. Percentage of projects in deprived wards (linked to the Creative City and Celebrating Communities Funds)
  2. Number of Birmingham residents participating in volunteer programme
  3. Number of community groups supported
  4. Percentage of residents who agree they are proud to live in Birmingham
  5. Percentage of residents who agree their local area is a place where people of different ethnic backgrounds get on well together.