The HCA Academy are running a debate - Engaging Communities, Empowering People - and would like to hear from you.

• Does empowerment mean different things to different people?
• How does empowerment work in practice?
• What are the barriers to empowerment?
• Has the recession had an impact on empowerment?
• What skills do people need to empower communities?

To get the debate started, they have assembled some films, case studies and reports. You can view these here.

Evidence shows that when citizens are confident, knowledgeable and better connected they can create a better quality of life for their neighbourhood. We're keen to find out what more needs to be done to support practitioners to empower communities and work better with active citizens.

Join the debate here.