Launching an Equalities Assembly to understand what 'good employment' means to residents – North of Tyne Combined Authority

The North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) is a partnership of three local authorities: Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland. It was created in November 2018 to build an inclusive economy through investments and job creation as part of the Northern Powerhouse. It is a large combined authority, which stretches from Newcastle to the Scottish Borders and is a mixture of urban, rural and coastal areas. The North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll, was elected in May 2019.

As the first mayor of the region, the combined authority wanted to raise the NTCA’s profile, engaging with local people on the core aims of work and an inclusive economy. Traditional engagement methods however were increasingly reaching the same people.

In addition, the mayor’s manifesto contained a specific pledge to hold an Equalities Assembly – a listening event on what 'good work' means to local people with protected characteristics. Assemblies are open, inquisitive events without prescribed outcomes. A flexible approach and some management of attendee expectations was required, to ensure that attendees knew what may and may not be within the combined authority’s power to take forward.

NTCA co-designed the Equalities Assembly with 20 voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) partners across all the protected characteristics. To ensure that the right organisations were part of the process, the team identified a single initial partner to advise and snowball other organisational participation. This was one of our local infrastructure organisations in the voluntary sector. All partners tested the intended approach and recruited participants directly, targeting people and voices which were often underrepresented.

Several elements went into the day to ensure it was inclusive and accessible. The team sent pre-event reading material (provided in ‘easy-read’ format) to participants to help reduce the unknown and associated anxiety. The venue was an informal community centre, to offer a familiar, friendly setting away from council offices. It also had a lift large enough to accommodate wheelchairs and provided halal food. Sign language interpretation was provided, and people were asked their pronoun preferences, including whether they were comfortable to share them.

The combined authority also ran a second event which was online only, for those unable to attend face to face to ensure everyone was included. They also asked for submissions of lived experience of inequality over email.

The team wanted to make the event fun and relaxed, away from the usual corporate image of a local authority. Officers, some of whom had a range of protected characteristics themselves, wore their day-to-day clothes and were ‘hands on’ at the event. Partners were paid a small fee for their time and participants were offered expenses, to help establish equality of partnership.

Creating this culture, and focusing on the narrative from attendees, enabled participants to relax and feel included and welcomed at the event. This set the tone to facilitate open conversations and reduce stigma to support more meaningful conversations.

The event was well attended – with 50 attendees present and 15 online. NTCA received overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. Having the right initial partner to drive forward the initiative and bring in other partners was fundamental to this success.

One of the partners who works for a voluntary organisation focusing on inclusivity commented:

This was the most inclusive event I have ever attended. The attention to detail was excellent.

The approach has helped NTCA gather evidence and build partnerships internally and externally. While eight to 10 different colleagues were involved at various stages, the impact of the event has undoubtedly secured support for future initiatives and been cost effective in the longer term.

Throughout the organisation of the event, NTCA learnt how to run an inclusive event, including meeting people’s requirements, for example, physical access, dietary and spiritual needs. Centralised guidance is now held for all staff on how to run inclusive events. This learning had the dual benefit of bringing to light the barriers people with protected characteristics faced when accessing work, while providing important reflections for other engagement activity.

Reflecting on the events, elected Metro Mayor for the North of Tyne, Jamie Driscoll, said:

Diversity of background and experience means diversity of knowledge, character, thought, and ideas. What smart employer wouldn’t want these things? I listened to stories of discriminatory practices I didn’t even know existed. The rooms were buzzing with ideas about how the NTCA can try to reduce and remove some of these barriers. My team and I have some serious thinking to do about how we can use our position to bring about some lasting change in the region.

Adopting such an approach on the topic of work and an inclusive economy has been a success. NTCA are intending to hold at least one other event and are in the process of writing a report on the lived experience collated, with a local university. They are also thinking about how they can adopt similar practices in other engagement events they hold, such as the 'Mayor’s Question Time'. NTCA is keen to keep this particular group of participants and partners together and are exploring how to continue to learn from each other.

• Colleagues may be initially apprehensive when trying a different engagement method. While it is important to acknowledge colleagues’ concerns, NTCA built momentum with colleagues and increased comfort levels with the approach. They were also prepared to prototype, that is, knowing they might get elements wrong and being willing to learn as they went.
   
• Have the right partners by your side from the very start. Much of the success of the event was having the right partners contact participants to encourage them to attend. On the day of the event, NTCA knew they could trust the planning and delivery. As the NTCA said ‘whoever is there is the right person’.
   
• Be prepared to step outside of your corporate image. The event was enjoyed by participants because the NTCA team stepped outside their ‘professional’ image and were genuine and authentic. Importantly, they had fun with participants which created a relaxed, enjoyable, experience