Background During the module we have explored two case study areas; the regen

Background
During the module we have explored two case study areas; the regeneration of Stirchley and West
Bromwich town centre. These have been selected as positive examples of community-led
regeneration or projects and initiatives where the community have had a meaningful contribution to
make to the process in terms of regenerating their own communities.
This assignment has been designed to enable students to undertake a process of self-directed study
on the importance of learning from best practice and to draw out lessons learned.
The task
It is in this context that you have just been appointed as a regeneration consultant by Birmingham
City Council’s Director of Planning and Regeneration to examine best practice examples of
regeneration within the region.
You need to choose one of the two case study areas to focus on. The purpose is to try and inform
current debates by exploring what are the key essential lessons we can learn from past and current
experience.
You need to delve into your chosen case study and undertake the following tasks:
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1. Investigate and research the nature and type of the regeneration project or initiative. You
need to clearly explain what the project or initiative is, the rationale behind it and identify
the issue the project aims to address.
2. Highlight and explain in detail the role (s) the community has played in the project.
3. Identify and fully justify 3 key success factors that emerge from your research. These also
need to be ranked in order of importance and you need to provide a rationale as to why this
is the case in order to help inform future regeneration policy in the city.
4. Reflect and identify the key challenges (up to a maximum of 3) and issues that needed to be
overcome in order for the project or initiative to come to fruition.
This is piece of self-directed work that will culminate in a written consultant’s report. This will give
you some additional experience of undertaking a real-life project and producing work of a
professional standard. These will be useful skills as you enter the workforce.
The Report (2,000 words maximum)
This is a professional report so keep it succinct and to the point. It should be well structured with
clear headings and sections as follows:
1. Introduction and overview
2. Rationale for the project
3. The role of the community
4. Identifying success factors (remember, these also need to be ranked)
5. Key challenges
6. Conclusion
Visuals are encouraged.
Writing a professional report – some basic tips
1. State your purpose and outline who you are writing the report for in one or two sentences
at the beginning.
2. Advisable to divide your report into short paragraphs to cover the topics you want to raise
and start a new paragraph each time you begin discussing a new idea. Often useful to
number the paragraphs so it is easy to reference or refer to in the future.
3. Use of sections and bullet points to be encouraged, as well as use of appropriate images and
visuals. Images, figures and diagrams need to be accompanied by an appropriate caption,
title and reference. They need to be legible and add value to the report i.e. don’t include
tables as a mechanism to reduce the word count.
4. Explain the background information pertinent to the report by giving the relevant
background to the area. You can either focus on the regeneration of the area in a broader
sense (e.g. in Stirchley by focusing on more than one example of community-led
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regeneration for instance Stirchley Baths, Stirchley library, the work of Place Prospects and
the proposal for the co-operative development) or focus on one particular scheme. Ensure
the focus and scope of the report is clear within the introduction
5. Use accessible language.
6. Support your identification of good practice with reasoning and evidence. You need to draw
upon the relevant academic literature and policy documents as appropriate. You are encouraged to
think creatively about the sources as both regeneration initiatives are still in progress. For instance,
you can draw on wider themes and literature discussed throughout the course to substantiate your
arguments.
7. Reference using in-text referencing and include a full bibliography at the end of the report.
8. Make sure you do a thorough proof-read and edit to ensure that the report makes sense and
there are no typos – bearing in mind for who the report is intended for.
Follow the assignment brief. This contains details of the structure of the report and the
information that needs to be included.
The examples uploaded onto Canvas are there to illustrate the structure and presentation of the
report. They are based on a different assignment brief.