Contents
Introduction
Alex Neil MSP, Minister for Housing and Communities
Welcome to the Summer 2010 edition of the Community Empowerment e-Newsletter. In this edition, we highlight more great examples of community empowerment, with the Sleat Community Trust in Skye and Greener Kirkcaldy in Fife. Both of these community-led organisations have made excellent use of the Scottish Government Climate Challenge Fund to tackle the issue of climate change. We also catch up with Community Links South Lanarkshire, who featured as a case study in the Community Empowerment Action Plan. All of these case studies demonstrate what can be achieved when communities come together and have an active role in determining their future.
The public sector has a fundamental role in setting the conditions to enable community empowerment and community engagement to happen effectively. We are developing a range of tools and resources to build the capacity of community engagement practitioners, all of which are underpinned by the National Standards for Community Engagement. The VOiCE toolkit, developed by the Scottish Community Development Centre, is now available, which enhances the planning, delivery and evaluation of community engagement activity. The Better Community Engagement Programme is being taken forward by Linked Work and Training Trust to develop a national programme of training and learning materials and resources to build the skills and competencies of community engagement practitioners. In addition, we have commissioned the Development Trust Association Scotland to develop of a range of support, resources and learning materials on community asset ownership.
We find out how Community Links South Lanarkshire has developed in the past year, and how its use of the VOiCE toolkit has enhanced and strengthened its role in building community capacity.
I hope that you are inspired by the resources, energy and commitment of organisations and communities outlined in this newsletter. We cannot function or develop as a sustainable country without the input, skills and experience of the public, third, community and indeed private sectors. In these challenging times, it is essential that we adopt good practice, celebrate our successes and strive to make changes in our routines and processes to work together, collectively and responsibly to ensure the future sustainability and success of Scotland.
Councillor Harry McGuigan, COSLA
Scotland is facing significant financial challenges over the coming years. In a period of financial cuts accompanied by an expected growth in need, community empowerment and resilient communities will be vitally crucial to supporting provision of services. It is clear that local and national government must invest in, and support, community empowerment and focus on delivering services which are affordable. The Sleat Community Trust and Community Links South Lanarkshire are good examples of how this can be done.
This newsletter is a timely reminder of the excellent work going on in our communities which enable local people to have a bigger say and influence over, and involvement in, the decisions that affect them. I am particularly pleased at the direction local government is taking in relation to the ownership of community assets by local communities as I believe that this is an important element of empowering those communities.
While everybody accepts that we are facing a very difficult financial time ahead, I believe that this newsletter clearly demonstrates that we have much to be positive about and that there are many opportunities to be grasped over the coming months and years ahead.