Survey and Research Case Study 2

Lewisham Equalities Festivals

Wavehill's evaluation aimed to provide Lewisham Council with qualitative and quantitative data on the views of Lewisham's diverse communities on the current portfolio of equalities festivals and potential new delivery methods. The research also supplied evidence to enable services to deliver the Equalities Festivals in line with the Comprehensive Equality Scheme and equality impact assessments.

Lewisham's strategic approach to equality and diversity is set out in the Council's Equality and Diversity Policy, 'Creating an Inclusive Lewisham', and the Comprehensive Equalities Scheme (CES), 2005-8. These emphasise the Council's core values, specifically to 'draw on the diversity of our communities to create a more inclusive Lewisham' and'celebrate, respect and make known the variety of identities, lifestyles, culture and religions within the borough'

The council recognised that the current programme may not meet the needs and consequently took the decision to commission Wavehill to conduct research into a review of the equalities festivals programme.

We approached the brief by applying the following methods to ensure inclusivety across the local community:

• An area based sample - to get views across the different neighbourhood areas.

• Interview quotas based on Census demographic profiles - overall targets were set to ensure that the profile of the interview sample matched that of Lewisham residents;

• A detailed consultation was carried out to access and include the views of stakeholders, Voluntary and Community Sector organisations and residents in Lewisham.

The results identified the need to consider the possibility of how a festivals planning committee or forum might fit with the council's corporate strategy. Such a structure would meet a number of needs identified here, such as:

• The sustainability of the limited availability of Lewisham resources

• Involvement of a range of organisations

• Gaining ongoing feedback from Lewisham's diverse communities

Overall our research showed that there is a general consensus in Lewisham that equalities festivals are a good thing and moreover that they do contribute to residents sense of belonging to the area. Festivals are generally attended and enjoyed by a mixture of Lewisham residents but could potentially be of greater value to the whole community by continuously acting on the views of Lewisham's residents and community groups.

Client: London Borough of Lewisham