Jan Smithies continued...

She stressed community development is about more than simply delivering, as the aim is to help the maximum people possible. It involves bringing groups in to provide services, supporting groups so they can run their own services and helping people to look after their own health.

Examples of this could be setting up a group to encourage more Bangledeshi men to increase their level of physical activity, or setting up healthy eating groups for Afro- Carribean women.

Previously Jan ran a management consultancy business which focused on community development and regeneration and included projects in Bosnia and Romania. Her latest venture was an e commerce business – The Real Bradford Curry Company.

Born in Hessle in East Yorkshire, she came to study at Bradford University in 1977 and then worked locally in a family service unit, a voluntary community organisation which helped the most difficult social services clients. She worked in Mansfield on one of the first community health projects in the country, was employed as a co-ordinator of the National Community Health Resource, and was the community development manager for England for the Health Education Authority.