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18th October 2023
Fifteen years ago, almost to the day, a chance encounter on a platform in Aviemore Railway Station sowed the seeds of what would eventually become the Scottish Community Alliance. Although the two people I’d bumped into were working in different parts of the community sector to myself, we were as one in believing that our sector’s contribution was too often misunderstood, frequently undervalued and perennially under-resourced. As we went on our separate ways we resolved to meet up again and also to spread the word that Scotland’s community based networks were beginning to work together. And so for the next few years, the number of networks attending our occasional meetings steadily grew, all the while building levels of trust and understanding between ourselves. In those early years, we coined the slogan – Local People Leading – as the brand for our informal collective endeavours but eventually agreed to become properly constituted so that we could hold and administer funds, and so we became the Scottish Community Alliance. SCA continues as it began, a loose coalition of the willing and a shared platform on which the country’s community sector can collaborate. Just as we did most recently in publishing this, Our Vision for Scotland.
In the most recent briefing…
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On the ground
Read moreThe common perception of community transport is as a stop-gap filler for when public transport fails. Particularly in rural Scotland where many bus services have been curtailed or withdrawn completely, communities are often left with little choice but to step in with whatever they can muster in terms of mini buses or car share schemes. But as many of the projects showcased in the first ever Community Transport Week demonstrate, some are proving to be more popular and more commercially sustainable than the public operators. With a little more investment strategically placed, the Scottish Government might actually end up saving money.
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On the ground
Read moreTime was when our sector was considered a testbed for innovation, when funders favoured the brave and when fresh thinking could attract ‘pilot’ funding with some expectation that long term funding would follow success. Whether it’s down to austerity, covid or simply because somehow we’ve forgotten how to value the good stuff, but a return to those days is long overdue. Since March 2021, the Culture Collective has demonstrated unequivocally the value of participatory arts projects – both for artists and communities alike. Funding ends this month but if ever a ‘pilot’ should be allowed to fly….
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On the ground
Read moreTwo hundred million disposable coffee cups are discarded every year in Scotland. Since becoming aware of that fact, I cannot stop seeing them. They’re everywhere. Apart from the plastics involved in their making, anything with a single use is such an incredibly wasteful use of resources. Which is why recent efforts of the Irish town of Killarney to eradicate what they describe as a ‘plague’ are so impressive. Persuading the town’s 21 independent cafes to hold the line has been an uphill battle but they are getting there. Which Scottish town will be first to take the plunge?
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Policy talk
Read moreOur Vision for Scotland describes the kind of country we need to become if we are to meet the many challenges that lie ahead. However, visions have little value if not backed up by action. After extensive consultation, SCA has also published a manifesto containing over 80 recommendations for the Scottish Government to adopt as it considers how to implement its most recent Programme for Government. Drawing primarily on our responses to Scottish Government consultations, our manifesto is designed around four cross-cutting themes: Governance and Decision-Making ; Land, Assets and Resources ; Local Economy ; and People.
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Policy talk
Read moreA community can often be taken by surprise when some land or an important local building is put on the market. While the community might wish to purchase the asset, all the arrangements that have to be put in place (finance, a vote of support from the community to buy etc) before an offer can be made can take too long and the opportunity can be lost. Crown Estate Scotland who hold and manage significant wealth on behalf of Scottish Ministers, have come up with an elegant solution to the problem.
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Policy talk
Read moreWhen it was finally deemed unacceptable to require people with a disability to spend their lives locked away in institutions, I well remember the debates concerning how ‘care in the community’ might play out. Would the community and all our systems of social care be up to the job? Not it seems without the tireless campaigning of people like Jimmy McIntosh who himself had spent over 40 years in one of those institutions. The life of this extraordinary man, who held no bitterness towards a system that had failed him so badly, is told in a fascinating new book.