The Stewardship & Management Workgroup remit includes a large range of topics. Below is just a summary of some of the work underway and where they need your comments / suggestions:

What is going on

• Westley Award 2020 for tower maintenance announced on CCCBR website – applications by noon 31st May 2020.
• Continued preparation of a steady stream of articles for The Ringing World, most headed “When did you last do it”, on various topics that are addressed within the Workgroup.
• Updating out of date advice and guidance notes, progressively being added to CCCBR website.
• Recruitment of new members to the Workgroup – new members and specialists now getting involved. Thank you to all those who volunteered!
• Unsurprisingly, specific enquiries from ringers have almost dried up since we stopped ringing. However, we will reply as usual if people wish to contact us. We would welcome ringers thinking ahead if they have questions / concerns, rather than waiting until ringing is underway again.

What is not going on

• Plans to deliver face to face seminars, undertake tower inspections etc are on hold.
• Meetings scheduled with CBC/Church Care and the DAC Bells Advisers conference have been
  cancelled, but the annual meeting with EIG was held virtually.
• Planning activities for September 2020 CCCBR Conference has stopped and will restart for 2021. (The formal CCCBR Council meeting will be a virtual event.)

Engaging with the ringing Community

• We are intending to establish “networks” for people with common interests in topics covered by SMWG. We are looking for a suitable secure technical “tool” to facilitate this. The hope is that ringers will be able to communicate together using the tool. The opportunity to set these up in the current circumstances is ideal! The “networks” should enable ringers who have responsibility for or knowledge of specific topics (eg safeguarding, insurance, personal data management, restoration projects) for ringing societies or individual towers, to share ideas, ways of working and issues arising between themselves, rather than working alone. While we are limited to working remotely, we have an opportunity to update and prepare as much as we can outside the tower.
• We would like to hear what additional guidance / advice ringers or anyone else involved in towers and bells (eg PCC members, church wardens, clergy, DAC Bells Advisers) would like to be made available through the CCCBR website and in what format. (Our ability at present to add pictures and videos may be limited but they can be added later.)
• We are preparing advice for ringers for the key checks that should be undertaken in towers prior to ringing restarting. This will be made available as soon as we hear indications of when we may be able to return to ring in our towers.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, or can offer help in any of these areas, please do get in touch.

Alison Hodge
Stewardship & Management Workgroup Lead