About Us

Well, it’s not so much ‘about us’, as ‘about you’….  

Why? Well the story starts in 2003, with people working to deliver services in the community – in other words, people like you - coming together, to look at social exclusion.  The result was a report entitled 'A County for Everyone' and an action plan that included a committment to developing a learning programme.

Across Devon we learned that people were hungry for resources that would help staff, in all kinds of organisations and at all levels, to break cycles of disadvantage and work more inclusively.

So, we worked with them to identify the information they thought would help, and to design tools that would enable them to make changes.  These were then piloted with similar groups of people who helped make sure the resources were down to earth, user friendly, and, most importantly, helpful.

The product was a handbook called ‘Open Hearts, Open Minds’, developed by Red Door Associates and supported by Exeter Community Initiatives and Devon County Council.  The handbook’s name came from the recognition that its resources helped people deploy and build on their own most powerful tool in breaking down barriers – an open heart and mind.  

In 2005 we decided to go back to people who’d bought the handbook to ask them what they thought of it and what else would help.  The response was a big thumbs up, but with a clear call for the resource to take advantage of IT (which was now so much more available to people) to keep the resource updated with new facts, figures and ideas and to deliver it in smaller bits; They liked what Open Hearts, Open Minds offered, and now wanted it in a way that was

Throughout 2006 discussions also took place with partners across Devon about how Common Ground could support them through its Neighbourhood Action Support Programme and in the autumn the decision was taken to establish an e-news service.

• Bite sized
• Regularly topped up with latest news and ideas
• Fed directly to the reader in installments
• Accessible for both the eye & the ear
• Website-based

So we’ve developed the Open Hearts Open Minds website, with its free e-news information top-up service.  As soon as you register, the e-news letter will pop up in your email each month, with a brief feature article, fresh news items and top tips.  All this, plus easy access to the original tools and resources. 
We don’t think there’s anything else quite like this to help you, and your organisation, in the development of your outreach to the community and awareness of social inclusion.   And if it has impact, it’ll be because you’ve used it to make the difference.

You can help continue to make it what you want it to be: 

• ♦ You can volunteer to join our team of editors – who take it in turn to select and review articles each month (click here for more information) - this is a picture of people who've joined the editorial team, on the left!
• ♦ Or, just email us with the kind of articles you’d like to see, and we’ll aim to include these in the next editions
• ♦ Or, contact us to share ideas about good practice or even to send in your own articles!