All community groups will consist of individuals with a range of experience and abilities. There will also be areas in which your group and its members can increase their knowledge, skills and confidence. As a result, your group should be more effective at what it is trying to achieve.

Below you will find resources relating to developing the skills and confidence of your group.  Many of these resources have a focus on community capacity building. The quote below describes what this is, and the video on the right goes into a bit more detail in straightforward language.

Activities, resources and support that strengthen the skills, abilities and confidence of people and community groups to take effective action and leading roles in the development of communities (Skinner, 2006)

Featured
Activate
Organisational capacity, Skills and confidence
Activate
Organisational capacity, Skills and confidence

Activate is a course which offers a community-based introduction to community development provided by the University of Glasgow in partnership with local agencies/organisations.

Organisational capacity, Skills and confidence
Education Scotland
Skills and confidence
Education Scotland
Skills and confidence

Education Scotland is a Scottish Government agency which supports and monitors different forms of education in Scotland. Its website contains a section on community learning and development (CLD), which the activity of community groups clearly fits into.

Skills and confidence
Volunteer Scotland
Involving people, Support, Getting started, Skills and confidence, Service provision
Volunteer Scotland
Involving people, Support, Getting started, Skills and confidence, Service provision

Volunteer Scotland is a national charity which supports people to get involved in volunteering as well as providing organisations with guidance, training, disclosure services and other support to recruit and manage volunteers.

Involving people, Support, Getting started, Skills and confidence, Service provision
Co-operate
Support, Working in partnership, Skills and confidence, Organising events, Land and buildings, Organisational capacity, Getting started, Funding
Co-operate
Support, Working in partnership, Skills and confidence, Organising events, Land and buildings, Organisational capacity, Getting started, Funding

Co-operate is part of the Co-operative Group, and is a website providing information to help local community groups across the UK in their activities, and also for people to find relevant local groups. The website includes a ‘how to’ section with guides to funding, finding a venue, planning activities, getting started and more.

Support, Working in partnership, Skills and confidence, Organising events, Land and buildings, Organisational capacity, Getting started, Funding
Health Issues in the Community (HIIC)
Skills and confidence
Health Issues in the Community (HIIC)
Skills and confidence

Health Issues in the Community (HIIC) is a course that helps people understand what affects their health and the health of their communities.

Skills and confidence
What is community capacity building
Skills and confidence, Involving people, Organisational capacity, Increasing influence
What is community capacity building
Skills and confidence, Involving people, Organisational capacity, Increasing influence

Community capacity building means supporting communities to achieve the changes they want to see. This animated video from Scottish Community Development Centre explains how this is done and why it is needed.

Skills and confidence, Involving people, Organisational capacity, Increasing influence
Third Sector Interfaces
Getting started, Working in partnership, Skills and confidence, Support, Organisational capacity, Service provision
Third Sector Interfaces
Getting started, Working in partnership, Skills and confidence, Support, Organisational capacity, Service provision

Whatever stage you are at, you could do worse than get in touch with your local organisation that supports voluntary organisations (sometimes called third sector interfaces) to ask about what support is on offer. The Scottish Government provides contact details for TSIs across Scotland.

Getting started, Working in partnership, Skills and confidence, Support, Organisational capacity, Service provision
Scottish Community Development Centre
Identifying issues, Skills and confidence, Involving people, Increasing influence, Support, Working in partnership, Engaging with evidence
Scottish Community Development Centre
Identifying issues, Skills and confidence, Involving people, Increasing influence, Support, Working in partnership, Engaging with evidence

Scottish Community Development Centre offers resources, guides, networks and a range of training and development support to community organisations and people working with communities across Scotland.

Identifying issues, Skills and confidence, Involving people, Increasing influence, Support, Working in partnership, Engaging with evidence
Scottish Community Alliance
Funding, Support, Skills and confidence
Scottish Community Alliance
Funding, Support, Skills and confidence

Scottish Community Alliance (SCA) is a coalition of community based, national networks and intermediaries – each one representing a different aspect of Scotland’s diverse community sector. SCA manages the Community Learning Exhange, which provides funding for community organisations to visit other groups in order to learn from each other and share ideas and approaches.

Funding, Support, Skills and confidence
Supporting Communities
Skills and confidence, Working in partnership, Organisational capacity, Increasing influence
Supporting Communities
Skills and confidence, Working in partnership, Organisational capacity, Increasing influence

Supporting Communities is a programme of support for community organisations and their local partners. The programme is intended to enable community organisations (at all levels and stages) to improve their effectiveness and influence over the community needs and priorities that they are involved in tackling.

Skills and confidence, Working in partnership, Organisational capacity, Increasing influence