Community Champions

What is the Community Champions scheme?

Community Champions is a scheme initiated by Serco, Charnwood Borough Council’s waste collection and street cleaning contractor. It formed part of their bid for the Environmental Services Contract, which started on 1^st August 2009, and aims to increase the involvement of the Charnwood community in taking pride in their Borough.

Serco are also rolling the scheme out in a number of their other contracts across the country.

What are Community Champions responsible for?

The Champions can report street cleaning incidents, such as litter, detritus, graffiti, fly-posting, fly-tipping, spilt refuse, full litter bins etc in any area of Charnwood. They are not restricted to a particular locality within the Borough. The Champions have been asked to report incidents which they come across as they go about their day-to-day business, be that travelling to work, taking children to school, walking the dog, visiting friends etc. In this way, the demands on their time are kept to a minimum. However, the Champions in the pilot were so keen on the scheme that they scheduled time into their lives to make specific tours of parts of Charnwood to find incidents to report, which demonstrates their enthusiasm for the scheme.

How does the scheme work?

Whilst the scheme is still in it’s infancy, Serco has some experience of how it has worked on their other contracts in the UK. A pilot scheme was run in Charnwood from February to April 2010, using five volunteers for the scheme. They tested the PDAs and the software by reporting cases through to Charnwood Borough Council’s Contact Centre. These cases were logged on Lagan, the Council’s Customer Relationship Management software, and passed through to Serco for action.

Having completed a successful pilot further training was given to all Community Champion volunteers and further guidance and clarity provided. It should be noted that whilst Serco do not hold responsibility for removing graffiti in public areas, (this is the responsibility of CBC’s Environmental Services team) this can still be reported by Community Champions as these cases will be re-directed by the Council’s Contact Centre.

Who is responsible for resolving problems and within what timescales?

All problems are electronically issued to Serco as ‘cases’, which should be resolved within the standard timescales set out in the Environmental Services Contract. The timescales for Community Champions cases are no different to those reported by other members of the Charnwood community.

Who and where are the Community Champions?

For the Community Champions scheme to work effectively, the scheme aimed to recruit volunteers from a range of demographic and geographic areas across Charnwood. This has, to some extent, been achieved, although the success of this is restricted to the volunteers who come forward for the scheme. There are 15 places available on the scheme, and at present, active Community Champions live in the following locations, although their reporting responsibilities are not restricted to their home location: Loughborough, Syston, Rothley, Hathern, Barkby and Woodhouse Eaves.

What equipment do they have access to?

Each Community Champion has been equipped with a Personal Data Assistant (PDA). This allows them to easily photograph and electronically report incidents to CBC’s Contact Centre. The equipment has been provided by Serco.

How is the scheme funded?

Serco are responsible for funding the scheme through the provision of equipment and associated phone bills, training courses and meetings for up to 15 Champions at a time. Charnwood Borough Council provides the resource for logging the cases reported, and passing them to Serco for action. Now that the scheme has been established, Serco have responsibility for maintaining relationships with the Champions, and for being the first point of contact in case of queries.

How do I become a Community Champion?

To volunteer for the scheme, and to find out if there are vacancies in your area, please contact Tenille Woods, Serco's Administration Manager for Charnwood, on 01509 622241.

How do I report problems if I'm not a Community Champion?

All residents, Parish Councils, community groups and other representatives of the Borough can use the Charnwood Borough Council Contact Centre to report areas of concern, using cleaner.greener@charnwood.gov.uk or 01509 634 563.