Welcome statement from Tom Arthur MSP

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Welcome statement from Tom Arthur MSP

Welcome to the redeveloped Communities Channel Scotland website which was first launched in 2014 as a one-stop shop information hub and to highlight the great work of community groups across the country. The new and improved website will continue to be a key online resource for community organisations and will provide up-to-date information including key Scottish Government policies such as the Local Governance Review, Community Wealth-Building, Regeneration and Community Empowerment.

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Support for local networking: Garelochhead Station Trust's experience during Covid-19

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Support for local networking: Garelochhead Station Trust's experience during Covid-19

One of the most effective ways of supporting community-led activity is to create the conditions for community and voluntary organisations to work, learn and grow together. This case study shows how Garelochhead Station Trust benefitted from this kind of support provided by Argyll & Bute Council.

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Making room: how Social Impact Pledges can help community groups in need of space

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Making room: how Social Impact Pledges can help community groups in need of space

One of the issues community organisations most fequently raise with Communities Channel Scotland is how to go about finding some space in which to operate from. Public bodies can help by letting community organisations use rooms, buildings and outdoor spaces. Some have already been doing this through the Social Impact Pledge.

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Livingston community group helps disabled people get cycling

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Livingston community group helps disabled people get cycling

After applying for Cycling Friendly Community development grant funding, a programme funded by Transport Scotland and delivered by Cycling Scotland, West Lothian Bike Library has been able to purchase another adaptive bike suitable for people with physical disabilities to add to their fleet.

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New cycling facilities help youngsters in Dundee get on their bikes

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New cycling facilities help youngsters in Dundee get on their bikes

After applying for Cycling Friendly Community development grant funding, a programme funded by Transport Scotland and delivered by Cycling Scotland, the Yusuf Youth Initiative has been able to purchase bikes, cycling equipment, and bike storage facilities to teach more Dundee-based kids and adults to cycle and learn how to maintain their bikes.

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Branching out - Higlands and Islands Enterprise reports on social impact pledge progress

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Branching out - Higlands and Islands Enterprise reports on social impact pledge progress

HIE’s first Social Impact Pledge included placing graduate volunteers in a local social enterprise to support young people. In this short case study, HIE describes how the initiative has led to benefits for the volunteers as well as wider social impact for young people.

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SEPA and Foundation Apprenticeships

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SEPA and Foundation Apprenticeships

In this case study, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) describes how it has arranged Foundation Apprenticeships for school pupils in North Lanarkshire, giving young people the chance to develop skills such as software development. Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) were part of SEPA's 2016 and 2018 Social Impact Pledges.

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Cairngorms pupils see planning in action!

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Cairngorms pupils see planning in action!

The Scottish Government's Social Impact Pledge asks public sector organisations to commit to doing things differently in order to increase the positive impact they make on their local communities. Cairngorm National Park Authority (CNPA) published the following news item about how, as part of its pledge, local school pupils have attended monthly CNPA planning meetings.

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Employer supported volunteering: a win win win for your social pledge

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Employer supported volunteering: a win win win for your social pledge

George Thomson, CEO at Volunteer Scotland highlights the benefits of employer supported volunteering as promoted by Volunteer Scotland, and invites public sector organisations to consider employee volunteering as one way of contributing positively to communities as part of the Social Impact Pledge initiative.

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