Your Moray - About Area Forums

Here are some frequently asked questions about Area Forums. More Information can be obtained from the Local Community Planning Protocols and Guidelines (PDF document).

How will the Forums be supported?

Each Area Forum will be supported by:

a Lead Officer
an Area Forum Support Worker
a Community Learning and Development Worker

The Lead Officers will be appointed by the MCPP. They will be senior representatives from the MCPP partner organisations and act as champions for developing the Forums and monitoring progress on the Area Action Plans.

The Area Forum Support Workers will facilitate and promote the smooth operations of the Forums. They will work closely with Forum members to ensure a supportive structure, which responds to the needs of the Forum members in addressing issues.

The Community Learning and Development Workers will have a key role in the support of community groups, organisations and individuals, particularly those who do not traditionally engage in community issues, to participate fully in the process of Local Community Planning.

More detailed information about the roles of the above support functions can be found in the Local Community Planning Guidelines (PDF)

Is there any funding to assist the Forums?

A small amount of funding is provided by the Partnership to each Area Forum. This is intended to cover administrative expenses only, including the cost of secretarial assistance, meeting venues, stationery and promotional media, such as posters, news sheets etc. It also covers the meeting of relevant expenses incurred by Forum members, including childcare costs, travel to meetings and email, telephone and postage costs. This funding will be made available to each Forum at the start of the financial year and transferred into their bank accounts.

Requests for possible funding for projects identified within the Area Action Plans, and/or identified by Theme Groups, will be channelled through the relevant Area Forum Support Worker.

Forums will also have the opportunity to draw down funding from external sources. However, this should only be done where there are no existing local groups, either individually or collectively, in a position to do this. The Area Forum Support Workers and Community Learning and Development Workers will have a role in supporting the Forums to identify and make applications to sources of funding.

There may be occasions where the Forums can access amounts of funding through particular funding streams. Where this is the case, the funding will be allocated through liaison with the funding provider and invoices submitted directly to them.