Within the Herefordshire Council’s County Plan, the community ambition of ‘strengthen communities to ensure that everyone lives well and safely together’ will be delivered in part through the Talk Community approach. This is a partnership approach that links three fundamental elements to promote and maximise independence and wellbeing within Herefordshire’s communities. Talk Community therefore focuses on the people that make up our communities; the place and space which those communities occupy; and the economy in which those communities work.
To inform the delivery of Talk Community, the council needed an improved understanding of Herefordshire’s diverse communities, including residents’ perceptions about how resilient they are and how they currently use their local area and interact in their communities.
Herefordshire Council commissioned DJS Research to deliver a survey representative of the broad demographics of the county across Primary Care Network (PCN) areas. The first wave was completed in early 2021 (1,100 telephone interviews), and a follow-up survey is due to take place in 2023. The survey covers topics including:
- The impact of covid-19 and the 2020 floods
- View about your local area
- Community cohesion
- Feelings of safety after dark
- Satisfaction with the council
- Participation in the local community
- Physical and mental wellbeing
- Economic wellbeing
- Digital inclusion
Findings from the survey can be found in this youtube video here.