In March, on behalf of councils across Essex, Councillor Peter Martin, Leader of Essex County Council, invited individuals, families and groups to submit ideas that could help improve their communities, support neighbourhoods and improve the quality of life in their area. 

This call for ideas is one example of how we are interpreting the government’s ‘Big Society’: we firmly believe that giving residents greater choice and responsibility in their lives is good for Essex. But it is nothing new for us and is already part of what we do: individuals take responsibility for commissioning their own care, communities raise money and allocate grants to community projects, volunteers  provide library services to people across the local community, and many of our young people provide training to adults wanting to use information technology. 

However, there is more that we can do to motivate, inspire and assist those interested in playing an active role within their community. Our ideas are shared in the Big Society prospectus, and include fresh initiatives such as the Big Society Fund, a way of ensuring local communities can access the grants they need. 

We are keen to hear your thoughts.

 

We have produced a simple form for you to fill in to explain your idea and the impact it would have.

 

You can email or post your completed form to us.

 

To support these ideas, Essex councils need to ensure that any change is fair, democratic and achievable with existing resources.

 

With this in mind we have published a set of criteria and a description of the process we will follow in assessing your ideas. Please read them before submitting your form.

 

Anyone who submits an idea will be kept updated on its progress.