Janet Dean helps put the heart back into Bristol community

Janet Dean of the Dean Knight Partnership Ltd has been commissioned by the ODPM’s Neighbourhood Renewal Unit to mentor a Project Manager responsible for a major regeneration project being delivered by Community at Heart, which is the name of the New Deal for Communities initiative in Bristol. The project involves relocating and improving retail facilities and community resources in order to establish a new ‘village centre’ for one of the city's most deprived neighbourhoods.

‘My role’ says Janet ’is to offer support and challenge to the project manager to enable her to grow in skill and confidence and to provide a sounding board for her questions and concerns’. It is a complex project which is part of the large scale regeneration of the community and involves residents at the centre of decision-making alongside public, private and voluntary and community sector partners.

This assignment fits well with the philosophy which Janet and her partner Keith Knight are developing for their regeneration consultancy, the Dean Knight Partnership Ltd, established in June 2005.

‘One of our aims is to add value and capacity where organisations are managing change, both in the physical environment and in the transformation of the skills of the people within the organisation’, says Keith, who leads DKP Restoration and offers specialist skills in architecture and historic building restoration.

Janet leads DKP Regeneration which specialises in project and interim management for local authorities, strategic partnerships and community organisations who are tackling major regeneration and change programmes or implementing neighbourhood renewal schemes.

‘We can manage projects directly, and we can fill gaps if skills are missing, but we also believe passionately in transferring our skills to the organisation so that we add value, and leave a legacy behind’, says Janet. ‘This project for Community at Heart is very much about adding value, through a process of mentoring, support and challenge, so that the project manager can deliver the scheme.’

As well as skills transfer through mentoring and coaching, the Dean Knight Partnership can provide access to Association of Project Management training for regeneration professionals, especially for architects and conservation officers. Keith Knight, a member of the Association of Project Management by examination says, ‘Project Management skills are increasingly relevant for a whole group of specialists who have not been trained in this area – particularly those who are responsible for delivering projects funded by Heritage Lottery or other grants where robust project plans and effective management are essential’

For more information about the work of the Dean Knight Partnership Ltd or to contact Janet Dean or Keith Knight visit www.deanknight.co.uk