Tools

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Community regeneration

Scottish neighbourhood statistics
Small area statistics on health, education, poverty, unemployment, housing, population, crime and social/community issues at the data zone level and above.

Regeneration guide
The guide is published by 4ps. Guidance on the main processes that underpin successful regeneration projects, looking at strategy development. Considers some core areas involved in the move from procurement into delivery and operation, in particular, organising and resourcing, operating within a shifting environment, and evaluation.

Practical guides for using neighbourhood-level data
Includes guidance on:

  • monitoring change and identifying programme effectiveness in a deprived neighbourhood
  • using updated population estimates rather than Census data when looking at trends
  • health outcomes at neighbourhood-level
  • assessing whether datasets are fit for purpose
  • using crime data at neighbourhood-level to target programmes

Published by Department of Communities and Local Government

Assessing neighbourhood-level data for target-setting
Covers three areas:

  • how to assess the quality of neighbourhood-level indicator datasets
  • why it is important to be uncertain
  • assessment of the quality of key neighbourhood-level indicator datasets, relating to the local economy, adult health and wellbeing, safer and stronger communities and children and young people

Published by Department of Communities and Local Government

The IMAGE Project: new tools for neighbourhood regeneration
Summarises the outcomes from the IMAGE project which involved partners from five northwest European countries sharing experiences in regeneration and tackling the problem of poor image, particularly in relation to high-rise estates. Contains three toolkits:

  • Integrated Regeneration Process
  • Neighbourhood Branding
  • Self-Evaluation

Draws together conclusions from three years of European cooperation on enhancing the image of high-rise neighbourhoods.

Financial inclusion

Financial learning online (FLO)
Resource for workers and volunteers involved in developing and delivering financial learning projects for adults in Scotland. These projects, which are guided by learners' needs and circumstances, focus on a range of financial issues: from the literacy and numeracy skills we need to be able to handle money effectively, to understanding where to get help when things go wrong.

Income inequality and poverty

Child poverty toolkit
Developed by Inclusion and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) to help local partners:

  • frame an informed debate on child poverty in relation to employment, income, education, health and social services
  • analyse the local child poverty story using the most reliable and comprehensive data sources
  • develop a local child poverty target
  • ensure that local policies are 'child poverty-proofed'
  • design a multi-themed strategy for achieving this

Employability

Key indicators
Easy-to-use tool, developed by Future Skills Scotland, which provides online access to a wide range of labour market and economic data for a range of geographical areas in Scotland.

Young people, early years and education

Play your part
Toolkit developed by the Housing and Communities Academy and Community Service Volunteers (CSV) for teachers to help encourage pupils to play an active role in community projects; it can be used to support Citizenship, Drama, Geography and PSHE lessons.

Health and wellbeing

Health impact assessment of greenspace: a guide
Published by Greenspace Scotland. How to conduct a health impact assessment (HIA) of greenspace, including greenspace policies, strategies, plans, frameworks, programmes or projects. It presents some background information on greenspace and the current greenspace and health policy context in Scotland.

Routes to sustainability
CHEX Briefing highlights resources to help organisations plan their long term sustainability. Includes information on business planning, monitoring and evaluation, addressing health inequalities, working with communities, influencing policy and practice, marketing, partnership working, advocating your agenda, and funding.

Service delivery

Learning in regeneration skills pack
Find out what skills you need to be more effective; understand more about learning; and support others within your own organisation to develop their skills. Published by Scottish Centre for Regeneration.

The LEAP framework
A toolkit developed by the Scottish Community Development Centre. Designed to support a partnership approach to achieving change and improvement in the quality of community life. Describes both an approach to changes and a 5 step planning and evaluation cycle that can be used to implement it.

Placeshaping: A toolkit for urban community land trusts
Sets out how Community Land Trusts (CLTs) have the potential to play a major role in managing urban change. Explains the policy framework, gives examples of working projects, and sets out some of the techniques that can turn a bright idea and the determination of local people into a practical success. Published by Community Finance Solutions, University of Salford

Community engagement and empowerment

How to guide: Community engagement
Developed by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration to help people who are involved in community engagement. Aims to help everyone understand what community engagement is, how it works, and the impact it can have.

A guide to engaging Muslim communities
Published by the Chartered Institute of Housing, the emphasis is on engaging with poorer communities that are likely to be socially excluded and may be directly affected by housing or regeneration programmes.

Community engagement in housing-led regeneration: A good practice guide
[not available as a download]
The guide addresses the question 'why engage with communities' and then looks in detail at what engagement means at strategic level, at neighbourhood level, and in decision-making on individual streets and houses. Considers methods of engagement in detail, including those needed to involve 'hard-to-reach' groups including young people, older people and newcomers to communities. Published by Chartered Institute of Housing

A guide to actively involving young people in research: for researchers, research commissioners, and managers
Published by INVOLVE and PK Research Consultancy Ltd. Outlines why and how to actively involve young people (aged 12 to 21 years) as researchers within health and social care research.

Town centre management

Managing town centre partnerships: a guide for practioners
Communities and Local Government publication provides practical guidance to support the development of Town Centre Partnerships (TCPs). Discusses issues relating to the policy landscape affecting TCPs, the role they play in town centres and how they balance representation from the public and private sector.

How to manage town centres
This publication by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister sets out guidance on how to make town centres cleaner, safer and greener. It looks at the practical challenges and problems of town centres and their night-time economies and suggests ways of solving.

How to improve residential areas
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister guide for people who want to improve their residential areas and streets.

Urban design

Creating successful masterplans: A guide for clients
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) practical guide to commissioning and producing a masterplan. Defines a masterplan and explains how it can contribute to achieving better designed places, buildings and public spaces.

Getting into town: A guide for improving town centre accessibility
British Retail Consortium publication presents step-by-step instructions for retailers and others on how they can best influence decision makers in relation to town centres and transport issues.

Small towns

SUSSET tookit
This toolkit, produced with findings from EU INTERREG IIIC and collaboration by SUSSET (Sustainable Small Towns Strategy) partners, provides advice for small towns across Europe that helps them find 'coping strategies' for the first quarter of the 21st century. Small towns are important places to work, live and visit and they play vital roles in the quest for 'territorial cohesion' across Europe, as well as the pursuit of 'sustainable development'.

Safety and security

Safe and secure: Town centres at night toolkit
BRE Trust toolkit for those involved in the night-time economy. How to assess the issues in relation to alcohol-related violence and disorder in town centres at night, identify priorities and take action to deal with them.

Funding

Funding regeneration: A guide to maximising public sector grants
British Property Federation overview of the financial support available for regeneration projects. Looks at how to maximise the chances of a successful funding bid, including partnering with other regeneration organisations and fitting projects into a wider regeneration strategy.

Social issues

Cultural diversity in Britain: A toolkit for cross-cultural co-operation
This Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines the connections between cultural diversity, innovation and thriving, prosperous urban communities. Argues that increased interaction between ethnic cultures will produce social and economic innovations that will drive the prosperity of cities.

Retail

Retail development in historic areas
English Heritage report providing advice for local authorities and the development sector seeking to achieve high quality new retail development in historic areas.

Business improvement districts

Starting a business improvement district: A step-by-step guide
Published by the Department of Small Business Services, New York City, this report describes the steps involved in forming a Business Improvement District - a public/private partnership in which property and business owners agree to make a collective contribution to the maintenance, development and promotion of their commercial district.

Scottish Centre for Regeneration

How to guide: Joined up working
Guide published by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration. Includes up to date information about joined up working both in Scotland, and elsewhere. The first place to look for information about joined up working.

How to guide: Community engagement
Developed by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration for people involved in community engagement. Aims to help everyone to understand what community engagement is, how it works, and the impact that it can have.

If you have any resources which you think may help people in regeneration please contact the SCR.

Page updated: Monday, October 12, 2009