So, what did we all do in the pandemic 2020 – 2021? – The Cambridge City Community Response

Back in Spring 2020 when Covid-19 first hit representatives from groups involved in delivering emergency support from each of the 14 City wards were invited to participate in the Ward Cluster Network (WCN) by the City Council.

The network created a gateway for communication, collaboration, learning and support. It initially met weekly online, and these meetings were supplemented by emailed updates.

As part of a wider community group recovery plan, CCVS was asked to interview members from each of the 14 City ward groups in the WCN, together with other contributing groups or individuals identified by the ward participants.

The intention was to capture the key lessons that could influence any future emergency response but also to build on the positives such as increased community spirit and partnerships to support communities moving forward into a recovery phase.

CCVS undertook structured online interviews with 30 participants from 26 organisations. Most of the interviews took place in June 2021. The initial report was drafted in July 2021

This report has been a while coming as partners have grappled with new and ongoing issues. Whilst both CCVS and the City

Council have learnt from this research we wanted to release it more widely as a contribution to the understanding of how the voluntary sector played a vital role in helping communities throughout the pandemic.

There is a lot for us to learn, a lot to build on, and a lot that needs doing to make sure that communities and community groups are front and centre of how we move forward to make Cambridge a fairer and more pleasant place to live.