PACT Coordinator Six Month Report 05 01 2011

The initial funding of £1000 allocated last summer for Coordination and development work has now run out. (Barring £50). It was initially meant to run for three months. I have managed to stretch it out a full six months.

During that time I have achieved the following:

• Profiled the existing customer base and made personal contact with about 50% of the Membership

• Made initial steps to identify and communicate with other organisations in the Penrith Area who should be sympathetic to PACT’s aims, either in a general sense or on specific projects. (Document “Pact Contacts in Other Organisations”)

• Produced an initial 6 month Events Plan, with a view to producing a regular annual events list to help build wider community involvement and connect regularly with the Membership. Some of which has been adopted and implemented.

• Proposed, as part of the annual events list, a major coordinating event for representatives of other organisations and members, specifically on introducing and inviting contributions to the Energy Decent Action Plan.

• Made contact with and actively developed a working relationship with other Transition coordinators in Cumbria. As part of this process I have initiated a Cumbria-wide social networking site (still in test mode) to which these coordinators have been invited. There are also plans to link this with the new PACT website.

• Attended the one day Eden Funder's Fair in Penrith

• Attended the Carlisle Home Energy Fair

• Attended the one day Sustainable Transport in Cumbria workshop in Kendal

• Delivered the presentation on Bursting the Economic Bubble at the Friends Meeting House.

• Identified the need for an administrative ‘hub’ for all of the various documents, plans, minutes and other work which has been done by all the Steering Group and other members over the last two years. I have collated a lot of the material produced so far and intend to import it to the new Website when it is completed.

• Produced a comprehensive report for Chris Cant on how to incorporate administrative/organisational elements into the new website structure.

• Did early coordination work with the Giants of Eden project on behalf of PACT

• Attempted to coordinate sales of the PACT Calendars in December when it was evident that sales were low.

Assuming further funds can be found, and the Steering Group feels that it is desired, I would like, over the next six months to:

• Complete the work of setting up a central admin hub on the new Website

• Communicate with the remaining un-contacted members

• Begin to actively explore specific ways in which PACT can work with other organisations, on particular projects and specifically on exploring the possibility of a day workshop on establishing the concept of the Energy Decent Action Plan as a co-ordinating visionary living document for coordinated work.

• Organise an EDAP day workshop in six months time.

• Continue to work on promoting and developing an annual events program.

• Continue developing active relations with other transition Initiatives in Cumbria and developing the online network site.

• Help explore funding options for PACT and for specific projects.

• Help explore ways in which PACT, as an organisation, can begin to generate its own economic resources.

• During my attendance at the Vitality of Penrith event workshops, it became clear that Penrith does not really have a vision of how it wants to develop in the future. This has relevance for creating an EDAP. I would like to explore this question as part of the above processes, possibly as an overarching theme to pursue the above work.

Michael Hallam

05 January 2011