This idea generated as a result of the Chain Reaction 'Stronger Communities, Stronger Economy' meeting held in Sheffield on 26 March 2009 (hosted by New Start Magazine)

We don’t stop to learn the lessons from the past – what worked well and why, and what didn’t and what we can draw from that. There’s a danger that in the current recession we’ll try to reinvent the wheel without considering what came out of previous hard times.

Many of the community organisations represented in the discussion emerged from the recession of the 1980s. They did so against the background of a hostile government, and much of what they achieved came through grassroots community development work.

Although there’s rhetoric about community development from some parts of government, it has little influence on the current regeneration agenda, which is mainly about economic activity. But the organisations that grew and succeeded over the last 20 years were rooted in their communities and provided services that local people needed.

To discuss further visit: http://chain-reaction.ning.com/group/strongercommunitiesstrongereconomy/forum/topics/learn-from-the-past

For more information on the Sheffield meeting click here: http://www.chain-reaction.org/index.php?/chain-reaction/Stronger_communities_Sheffield/