• The Lincolnshire Citizenship Network is one of seven national hubs supporting Take Part: Active Learning for Active Citizenship. The Lincolnshire / East Midlands Take Part hub works in partnership with a diversity of voluntary sector project managers and organisations.

• The hub aims to build capacity for active citizenship by supporting a range of informal, flexible learning experiences and more formalised learning opportunities such as workshops and seminars. Such activities have supported learning within many contexts  - including within crime reduction partnerships, mental health & care service user groups and migrant worker communities.

• The aim of the Lincolnshire / East Midlands hub has been to encourage the growth of both individual and organisational capacity to influence and change society. Much effort has been put in to building networks of learners and providers and to providing varied opportunities for participants to interact through these networks. This kind of learning is different from other forms of provision. It is based around existing community activities, is in relaxed informal situations and is grounded in the experiences and reflections of the individuals involved.

• Much of the ‘learning’ involved does not look like learning in a traditional formal sense, but rather involves conversations constructed around participants’ experiences, their perception of civic processes and their reflections on the kind of civil society they wish to help build.   It involves exploring resources, challenging assumptions and making new connections / building up capabilities which in turn create new possibilities for civil (and civic) engagement.