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By providing physical spaces where
clusters of social enterprises and grass-roots organisations
can thrive; EMF is enabling the country’s minority ethnic
sector to flourish. Our community assets bring a wide range
of individuals and organisations together under a common roof;
thus promoting cooperation, joined up work, sharing of resources
and productive exchange of ideas. The buildings’ conference
and seminar facilities furthermore provide a forum where community
leaders, stakeholders, decision-makers and academics meet to
generate new thinking on the many deep-seated social problems
affecting the nation’s communities.
EMF’s drive to develop community assets stems from a series
of UK-wide exploratory consultations with minority ethnic organisations
undertaken at the time of the Foundation’s inception.
This consultative process– which explored the challenges faced by grass-roots groups in delivering services to their constituents across the board – revealed widespread disadvantage
among minority ethnic communities, with common barriers to service
delivery including: |
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Lack of available funding |
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Lack of premises and resources |
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Lack of access to ICT facilities |
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Lack of skills and training |
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Lack of information, professional guidance and support |
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Lack of access to community networks |
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Lack of representation at governance and decision-making
level |
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One of the main findings to emerge
from the consultation exercise was the need for long-term
investment in an effective infrastructure able to sustain
the minority ethnic voluntary and community sector. Creating
the right infrastructure through which change and modernisation
of under-skilled, cash-strapped grass-roots organisations
could take place would be critical to tackling the social
exclusion still disproportionally affecting them. EMF’s
community assets programme thus emerged in direct response
to this need. The programme would not only provide emerging
local groups with an operational base; it would allow them
to interface with similarly minded community agencies, while
enabling them to access information and advice, professional
and financial support as well as policy decision-making processes.
EMF’s programme would ultimately result in stronger,
self-sustainable, integrated communities capable of actively
and positively contributing to British society.
In the past five years, the Foundation’s community assets
programme has seen EMF acquiring two buildings: Boardman House
in London and EMF House in Manchester. Situated at the heart
of their local communities, these properties feature easy
access to public transport facilities, while comprising a
combination of ICT-enabled business units and fully catered
meeting, conference and training facilities. They have both
become centres of excellence, community-based activities and
social regeneration initiatives. Two additional buildings
are in the process being acquired for the Foundation’s
community assets programme; they are located in Gloucester
and Cardiff respectively.
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| EMF-Boardman
House, London |
| Located in Stratford, East of London, EMF-Boardman
House was the very first building acquired by EMF in 2002 as
a community asset. The four-floor edifice features: |
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35,000 square feet of
office space |
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20 business units for social
enterprises and voluntary organisations |
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17 minority ethnic organisations
housed in the building |
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The East London Centre -
located at ground level provides adult learning facilities,
ICT training and business support services. Every year,
some 45,000 members of the public in search of information,
training and support visit the Centre. |
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| The organisations currently based in EMF-Boardman
House comprise an amalgamation of faith communities, ethnic
minority and refugee agencies, lobby groups, educational and
development bodies as well as local business and creative ventures.
Mostly supported by the Foundation, these organisations have
access to an array of backroom support including: |
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For details click here:
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Some of the minority ethnic organisations currently based in EMF-Boardman House include the following: |
| Previous occupiers include: |
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Policy Research into Age and
Ethnicity (PRIAE) |
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National Association of Black and Asian
Councillors |
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National Black Police Association |
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Eastside Young Leaders Academy |
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Sure Foundation Youth Project |
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British Muslim Research Centre (BMRC) |
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National Association of Black Architects |
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| Throughout the years, the Foundation’s Core-grant
programme has enabled organisations such as these to deliver
much needed services, by providing them with financial and infrastructure
support. The Foundations’ innovative approach to regeneration
has allowed grass-roots organisations and social enterprises
to flourish and become sustainable by: |
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Creating clusters and networks
of voluntary and community-based organisations and groups |
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Providing a collective physical space conducive
to the development of partnerships, sharing of resources
and exchange of ideas |
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Widening participation, fostering community
leadership and active civic engagement |
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| EMF
House, Manchester |
| Following the development
of Boardman House, EMF acquired a Grade-II listed building in
the heart Manchester’s Chinatown, in 2005. A twelve-month
refurbishment programme culminated in the official launch of
EMF House on 8th February 2006, the Foundation’s second
community asset. |
| This four-floor building features: |
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10,000 square feet
of office space |
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12 business units for social
enterprises and voluntary organisations |
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12 minority ethnic organisations
housed in the building |
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The organisations
currently based in EMF House comprise an amalgamation of faith
communities, ethnic minority and refugee agencies, lobby groups,
educational and development bodies as well as local business
and creative ventures. Mostly supported by the Foundation,
these organisations have access to an array of backroom support
including: |
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Financial services – from budgetary
preparations to payroll and audits |
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Legal services – service contracts, funding agreements
and employment matters |
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Human Resource services – employment relations,
job evaluations, training and development |
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Access to meeting, conference and training suites equipped
with: |
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Communal reception and telephone services |
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State-of-the-art networked ICT facilities, broadband
and teleconferencing |
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Access to ‘hot desking’ facilities |
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Access to an Open Learning Centre |
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For details click here:
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| Some of the minority ethnic organisations currently
based in EMF House include the following: |
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Help the Aged |
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Manchester Oriental Organisations Alliance
(MOOA) |
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Federation of Irish Associations |
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Strong Roots Consultancy |
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Pearl Foundation |
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