Building social cohesion – a new online resource

Building Social Cohesion in our Communities is a free, interactive online resource to support development of strong, socially cohesive communities. Primarily aimed at local government, the resource will also be useful to non-government organisations, community groups and others with an interest in community cohesion. Developed by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government for the Commission under the National Anti-Racism Strategy, Building Social Cohesion in our Communities aims to help local governments to:

• Understand their communities and measure their strengths and weaknesses
• Engage their communities and build partnerships between key stakeholders
• Prevent and respond to incidents of racism or conflict between groups if they arise
• Strategically plan for the needs of their communities now and into the future, and
• Monitor, evaluate and share outcomes.

The resource is structured around the five elements of building social cohesion based on international best practice. It features case studies from local government areas around Australia, tips for implementing good practice at the local level and links to further resources. View the resource here