A report concerning the Evaluation of the Community Facilitation Programme set up in July 2001 by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU) within the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Community Facilitation Programme (CFP) was set up in July 2001 by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU) within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM – now the department for Communities & Local Government) as a rapid response to a number of serious disturbances in northern towns in England that summer. The original plan was for a six-month initiative to establish a programme of work in 34 areas that had been identified as showing signs of high inter-ethnic community conflict and tension.

The areas targeted included those where violent incidents had occurred and also those areas where it was considered that there was a significant risk of conflict. The original emphasis was on providing, and working to ensure the immediate availability of, conflict resolution expertise in the selected areas. Regional Coordinators (RCs) for Public Order and Community Cohesion were appointed to the nine Government Office (GO) regions. Their task was to deploy community facilitators, and to promote training and support for this role.

In February 2002 the programme was extended by a further 18 months, following the publication of the Denham Report (Home Office, 2002a). The aim of this longer-term programme was to reduce inter-ethnic community conflict in high-risk areas by developing and supporting local conflict resolution and prevention processes.