“Two heads are better than one” – ORCC working in partnership

Did you know that ORCC started in 1920 when a small group of visionary pioneers got together to consider how they could promote rural community self-help? That early partnership included Oxford University, the (very new!) Women’s Institutes, the Workers’ Educational Association, YMCA, the Village Clubs Association and the County Council’s Education Committee. Their shared aim was to improve the quality of life in rural Oxfordshire – a place that looked very different to the county we know today.

ORCC was an early experiment in partnership working: a concept which is now held up as the modern answer to making the best use of voluntary, statutory and private sector resources. Well, look who got there first!

ORCC’s commitment to productive collaboration with others is still central to our work. We do this at every level from parish, through district and county, right up to regional and national level. We see this as a way of achieving action, policies and services which better reflect the needs of people in our rural communities.

We are pleased that ORCC is regularly invited to play an active role in a range of key partnerships and networks including Local Strategic Partnerships, specialist groups looking at particular issues, as well as in our regional and national RCC networks, SERCC (South East RCCs) and ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England).

Two partnerships which have particular significance to ORCC are the Rural Forum and the Oxfordshire Stronger Communities Alliance (OSCA). These give us the opportunity to work with a range of colleagues who, in the case of the Oxfordshire Rural Forum, share a concern for rural social, economic and environmental issues, or who, in the case of ‘OSCA’ provide vital support services for voluntary and community organisations around the county.