Place-based working in Scotland

5 Jul 2018 11:31 AM

Understanding the current enabling conditions, as well as barriers, to wider adoption of good place-based working in Scotland, and how to improve practice.

New report by Collaborate CIC and the Corra Foundation.

During the Spring 2018 Collaborate worked with the Corra Foundation(formerly Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, a grant maker aiding charities across Scotland to improve the lives of individuals and communities experiencing disadvantage) on the first stage of a project funded by Scottish Government exploring what a ‘Scottish Approach’ to place-based working might entail. As part of the programme, a new report Place-based working in Scotland: learning from six case studies is now available sharing research on a range of approaches — from Community Land Trusts in Lewis and Harris, to regeneration schemes in Fife and Glasgow, the work of a local Health and Social Care Partnership and a national initiative for children’s services using a place-based model.

The research, led by our Scotland Lead Associate Annabel Davidson Knight, engaged a range of partners from across public, private, third and community sectors involved in each local collaboration. Annabel explored key strengths of place-based work in Scotland, the conditions that enable such work to thrive, and some of the challenges facing place-based initiatives. The findings demonstrate the power of locally-based, often community-owned schemes in bringing in investment of skills, time and finance that otherwise would not have been possible and transforming places for the better. All schemes display some common features.

They are…

• Collaborative — Involving a range of partners and institutions from across sectors who are key to the place (ideally public, private, third sector and community)
• Community centred — Communities and other stakeholders and institutions in a place recognise their interdependence and work together to shape the area
• Able to work across different spatial scales — From neighbourhoods to towns, to local authorities, to regions and to the national level, partners engage across these scales to ensure planning and delivery connects.

Click here for the full blog post