Partnership & Corporate Social Responsibility

The Corporation of Londonrecognises that the Citys success needs to be reinforced and that it will notprosper in isolation. The Corporation is committed to working in partnershipwith neighbouring boroughs to improve economic, social and environmentalconditions because the Square Mile accommodates the richest concentration ofbusiness in the world, while its neighbours include some of the countryspoorest communities. The Corporation supports programmes to help fight poverty,build skills, foster business development and job creation, improve transportlinks and in the longer term build sustainable economical revival in the areasof London most requiring regeneration.

The Corporations Role

The Corporation has threemain areas of activities in which it is progressing regeneration initiativesincluding its work with regeneration partnerships, developing and implementingits own projects and engaging City firms.

1.      Working in Partnership

The Corporation of Londoncurrently works with five regeneration partnerships working to foster economic,social and physical regeneration in Londons most deprived areas. Thesepartnerships play a valuable role in the successful delivery of complexregeneration initiatives. They bring together the public, private and voluntarysectors, providing skills and experiences in a co-ordinated campaign of action.They help provide and raise money with which to implement necessary schemes,whether from their own resources or from funds such as the Governments SingleRegeneration Budget.

One such organisation isthe City Fringe Partnership which operates in the neighbourhoods bordering theCity to the north and east. Covering wards of the London Boroughs of Hackney,Tower Hamlets, Islington and Camden, its target areas include Clerkenwell,Hatton Garden, Shoreditch and Spitalfields.

Some key aspects to thepartnerships programme include supporting small businesses in the fringe areasto compete to provide services to the City and ensuring that local residentsbenefit from new developments occurring in the area. The partnership alsofocuses on improving the skills and employability of local residents,increasing the aspirations of younger residents through a range of youthprojects and seeks to manage the impacts of the Citys expansion into the CityFringe.

The Corporation is theAccountable Body for this partnership (responsible for financial management andprogramme delivery) and is also an active member in its various Board,Management and Steering Groups providing expert advice and guidance on thevarious partnership programmes.

2. Engaging the City

The Corporation iscommitted to promoting corporate community involvement, utilising its influenceto encourage City firms to help communities in neighbouring boroughs. Four keyareas to this programme include:

Promoting corporateinvolvement in community projects through employee volunteering. One example ofthis is City Action for Community Development, a joint Corporation of Londonand OneLondon initiative. This programme promotes business involvement in the communityby introducing firms to the benefits of community involvement and helping themto identify the appropriate forms of help they can offer. City Action acts as abrokerage, matching community projects from the boroughs surrounding the Cityin need of assistance with City companies or individuals who are willing tohelp. Employees time, expertise or office resources such as meeting rooms arecommon contributions to this programme;

Encouraging Cityfirms to look to local communities to meet their recruitment needs;

Encouraging Cityfirms to support local purchasing from businesses in the surrounding Boroughs.

Encouragingthe Corporation's own staff, through the newly established community affairsprogramme, to volunteer in community based organisations and projects inneighbouring boroughs. For example,reading partners in local schools, business mentoring of Year 10 students inTower Hamlets and assisting organisations through business and IT advice.

The annual Lord Mayors DragonAwards celebrates corporate community involvement by recognising companies whohave contributed significantly to the improvement of community life andemployment opportunities in London Boroughs.

The Heart of the Cityinitiative was launched in 2000 by the Bank of England, the Corporation ofLondon and the Financial Services Authority. The project aims to promote andencourage community involvement and charitable giving by City organisations,employees and individuals. There is a great tradition of philanthropy amongstcity firms and today there is some excellent work being carried out bycompanies. However, despite this impressive commitment, two in three Cityfirms, including 50% of large companies, still do not have a community actionprogramme. It is specifically these organisations that Heart of the City hasbeen targeting. Heart of the City is not a prescriptive organisation, more itseeks to encourage firms to start a community programme by providing examplesand case studies of city firms who already have active community schemes andthe benefits they get out of their work. Heart of the City has recentlypublished two new documents on good practice; The Heart of the City guide toWork Experience and Engaging with Business - a good practice guide forcommunity groups. These documents now form part of the Heart of the Citysuite of publications, joining The Heart of the City Survey and TheHeart of the City Good Practice Guide for companies. To obtain hard copiesof these documents, please call 020 7332 3643/3848, or download them from theHeart of the City website: www.theheartofthecity.com

3. Corporation ledprojects

The Corporation takes thelead on certain projects which relate directly to our stated objectives. Onesuch example relates to recognising the importance of a continued highlyskilled workforce to meet the Citys employment needs. To this end, theCorporations Business Traineeship Scheme has been developed. This programmeprovides suitably qualified students leaving college and schools inneighbouring boroughs with work placements to improve their futureemployability. The Brokerage Citylink, a local charitable organisation helpinglocal job seekers to enter City employment, delivers this scheme on behalf ofthe Corporation. In the current year (2002)50 young people were placed into City firms to undertake paid placements. 10 of these placements have subsequentlyturned into full time jobs.