Influencing decisions

Whether your group is set up to address particular issues or wider community priorities more generally, it is likely that at some point you will want to influence decisions that affect your community.

This section contains resources that will enable you to better influence decisions at a range of levels.

Title	Summary
Axis of Infuence	The Axis of Influence is a resource aimed at community groups and networks who want to expand their influence on other practitioners and agencies	More

Achieving Community Empowerment (ACE)	Throughout its ACE programme, SCDC has been working with around 10 groups per year to support them to assess the motivations and capacities of their own organisation, and those they seek to influence or work with.	More

Campaigning and Lobbying	NCVO has a section on its website on campaigning, with links to further resources.	More

Civic Activism	An online toolkit from Northern Ireland with useful introductions to a range of methods for getting local people more involved in decision making.	More

Community Development Alliance Scotland (CDAS)	If you know what is going on at a policy level and how your group fits into this, you will find it easier to make your case when influencing decisions. In our experience there is no better source of concise, relevant policy coverage than that of CDAS. You might want to consider signing up for the CDAS monthly bulletin.	More

Engaging and Influencing Decision-Makers	Quite jargony, but comprehensive, guide to engaging with and influencing decision makers.	More

Find your MP	Find your MP and learn more about MPs, including details of their parliamentary career and contact information.	More

Find your MSP	The Scottish Parliament website allows you to enter your postcode to find your local MSP.	MORE

Planning Aid for Scotland	Planning Aid Scotland (PAS), and the resources it offers, can help your group get involved in shaping the development of land, villages, towns and cities by engaging more easily with the planning system.	More

The Poverty Alliance	The Poverty Alliance works alongside people experiencing poverty to influence policies at local and national level that will have an impact on poverty.	More

They Work For You	Find out how your elected representative has been voting and read statements they have made.	More

Write to Them	As with the Find your MSP and Find your MP websites above, Write to Them allows you to identify your local elected representatives.	More