Thurrock Community Empowerment Network prides itself on delivering tangible outcomes for the benefit of all Thurrock residents and to provide true value for money. Over the  past two years TCEN has successfully delivered a range of projects and initiatives to improve the area we live in,  this page is designed to give you an overview on some of the success stories we have had over the past few years.  

1) The rejuvination of the Community Involvement Board and Showcase Event 2009.

Over the past few years TCEN played a fundamental part in the re-shaping of the Community Involvement Board. The change process took the Board from a dissfunctional structure into a tight knit strategic group, TCEN provided support and direction ultimately taking on the management of the Board.

This work was reflected at the CIB Showcase event in 2009 which had over 300 people in attendance, and was a fantastic platform to bring the various stakeholders together.  click here to view the report in Word

2) Peer to Peer Training and Research

 Thurrock Community Empowerment Network has run several of these projects, in which we provide training and support for a group of individuals to go out and conduct questionnairres with their peers. This method allows us to reach groups of people who would not normally engage with surveys and questionnaires and provides traditionnally hard to reach groups with the opportunities to influence decisions in their local area.

3) Designing out Disability Conferences

TCEN has always looked to empower traditionally marginalised groups, A prime example of this is the series of conferences we funded and supported with the Thurrock Disability Network and Thurrock CVS.

These conferences were focused on raising the profile of disabled and vulnerable adults agenda in Thurrock particularly looking at the commissioning of services. These conferences brought the service users together with commissioners and have been a roaring success and will hopefully lead to changes in the way we deliver sevices.

The events were successful and formed a key part in raising the profile of the Thurrock Disability Alliance launched in December 2009. 

 4) The TCEN database of 500+ organisations

The network we have created in Thurrock is the most comprehensive mapping of Voluntary, Community and Faith Groups available in our area. Our database is targetable down to geographical area, what sector the groups work in, and what the groups actually do. TCEN offers a service of dissemination of information to this vast network of people free of charge.

This ever growing network has placed TCEN at the hub of community activity in Thurrock and provides the sector with a constant stream of information. 

5) Communication

Alot of our work is focused around communication and the sharing of information. Through the large database TCEN has at its disposal we have produced a number of different schemes to share information.

We produce monthly e-bulletins that go to the entire database which provide information on The Shaping Thurrock Partnership to Funding and grants information plus much more. We also produce newsletters advertising opportunities to Take Part and feedback from current events (picture above).

TCEN also has a Twitter and a Facebook account to share information through social Networking.

6) Work in Progress through the Take Part Pathfinder Scheme

A) The Look before you Leap project- Panels of Councillor’s and School governors willing to have informal conversations with community members interested in these roles.

B) Community Internet Access project- Providing shared internet access to community groups and public buildings to ensure everyone has information at the click of a button.