Raising awareness of sustainability in Sefton Council

Sefton MBC had attended a workshop on the PlanitNW programme and they were impressed with the way the workshop developed a holistic understanding of sustainable development and got everybody involved.

Sefton MBC decided that they could get more out of the Learning Simulation (computer-based resource management model) if it was tied to their Council’s Floor Target rather than the Regional Action for Sustainability objectives in the original algorithm.

We redeveloped the algorithm and developed a bespoke scoring system – Planit-Sefton. The new scoring system required delegates to play a different strategy to the regional simulation. We trained a group of in-house trainers and ran a couple of mentor sessions. When the trainers were confident they went on to train internal staff. Sefton MBC uses the learning simulation it as part of their sustainability commitment.

Feedback Summary
Out of the 164 people who completed an evaluation form issued by Sefton Council, 163 felt that the overall event was “very good/good”.

Attendees commented that:

• The workshops had given them a wider knowledge and understanding of partnership working and communication..
• They had gained increased awareness of the Community Strategy/ Sustainable Development and recognised how strategies and departments/organisations are interlinked.
• They would think more about their impact on wider community.
• They would endeavour to improve communication between departments and other organisations and link objectives more closely with Community Strategy, Corporate Plan and service plans.