Action needed from the top

Third Force News 26th September

A COMMUNITY may have to abandon plans to buy a forest on a remote island after European funding restrictions prevented it raising enough cash for the purchase.

Residents of the Inner Hebridean island of Raasay say plans to buy 740 acres of Forestry Commission land have come to a halt because strict European Commission (EU) competition laws mean they can only receive 20% of the costs through public funding.

The problem has occurred because timber in the forest is categorised as an EU-traded commodity and therefore subject to competition laws restricting the amount of public cash that can be granted.

Raasay Community, which is making the bid, said the land which is valued at £400,000 was already too expensive for a small community group to raise, and alongside the funding restrictions, it has now made its bid practically impossible.

It now says that unless laws are relaxed, other communities will be locked out from similar buyouts

Raasay Community’s development officer, Lloyd Gudgeon, said the only hope was that its bid for funding could be considered using different criteria.

He said: “The most we can expect from public funding support is just 20% of the total price, which is not very much when you have to raise £400,000.

“If we buy it, and we are able to use it to create jobs and affordable housing, this will lower costs for other government departments.

“It will save money on income support for instance.”

A spokeswoman from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which adminsters funding, said the use of state aid is a highly regulated mechanism, particularly around the acquisition of agricultural or forestry land and therefore its hands were tied.

It would however try to assist where possible said the spokeswoman.

“HIE is proactively working with relevant stakeholders to develop state aid-compliant interventions which should make some forestry projects more affordable for communities,” she said.

Despite having only 161 residents, Raasay has been successful in a number of community buyouts over the years.

Raasay Community Company was formed in 2006 and, using the Land Reform Act, bought Raasay House, its policies and walled garden, from HIE in December 2007.

It reopened the spectacular building this week as part of a £4.5m project, four years after a fire gutted the building.

The building offers a dramatic focal point for locals and visitors and delivers income to be re-invested in community projects.

It follows the island’s crofters’ association winning a five year lease for sporting rights from the Scottish Government after the lease was offered to a private company.

The Raasay Crofters’ Association managed the rights for 18 years, after a public agency gave them up, and it had expected to continue to do so when the lease was put out for tender last year.

It accused the government of acting like an absentee landlord and following a public and political row, the crofting association was awarded an extension.

Claim to fame 

For over a year, the Friends of Forfar Botanists have worked tirelessly to revive the town’s old Myre car park, transforming it into a vibrant community garden that celebrates the work of five of the world’s most renowned botanists — all of whom hail from the Angus town.

According to Eleanor Gledhill, the chairwoman of the community venture, the great legacy of Forfar’s famous botanists has for too long remained largely and disconcertingly unknown. She’s hopeful the town’s exotic botanical garden will start to change that.

“The whole idea is to bring attention to the five famous botanists who came from Forfar,” she said. “There are hundreds and hundreds of plants named after these five guys, all of which came from very humble beginnings in Forfar, and many of the locals here don’t know anything about them.”

Forfar’s botanists have certainly celebrated plenty of success amongst them.

Throughout the 1800s, Forfar brothers Thomas and James Drummond trekked across North America and Australia, discovering thousands of new plant species.

Meanwhile, Forfar natives George Don Sr and son Jr travelled across Africa and South America cataloguing exotic new species, while David Don was the first person to catalogue all the known plants of the Himalayas

After expressing a desire to transform one of Forfar’s most unkempt areas into an exotic living monument to the town’s botanists, the Angus Environmental Trust agreed to help sponsor the ambitious project.

The land for the garden was leased by owners the Forfar Common Good Fund, and work was able to commence at the end of last year.

Ian Christie, an expert on alpine plants, has been in charge of the planting.

“This project has really been going since last autumn, with several members of the community coming out to help with building structures and planting the hundreds of species we’re including that are all named after these guys,” he said.

Although many of the garden’s exotic plants are not yet in bloom, the Friends chose to give the public a sneak preview today by hosting garden tours and recounting stories of the botanists.

The Drummond brothers were even represented, as descendent James Drummond conducted a symbolic planting in the garden with his two daughters. The public can expect the Myre Garden to celebrate its official opening next spring.

The Art of Hosting

How can we create better, much better? How we can create better functioning societies, that are regenerative, and more resilient? How can we shape the future of a country to be better prepared for a more uncertain and perhaps more challenging world?

• Scotland the wise? Scotland it seems is picking up this mantel. Recently I met with Jim Mather ex-minister of Enterprise for Scotland. Jim was interested in No Straight Lines and my work (he even made a mind map of the whole book) in exploring what next and better might look like. During a very intense conversation, in which we free ranged over many of the challenges we face today, I pointed out how profound systems change can be achieved through participatory cultures and tools and that I had experienced this for myself.

• Participatory leadership in practice: Jim, then told me that The Art of Hosting, with Toke Møller, Tim Merry, Anne Madsen, and Linda Joy Mitchell were coming to do some serious work in Scotland around these very themes. I was excited as I know Tim, and, admire the extraordinary work he does. The story of real systems change in the Nova Scotia Healthcare system enabled through Tim’s work and the process of participatory leadership is in my book – I cite it as key to understanding that one can achieve real, enduring and lasting change at scale through using participatory cultures as a design and process tool. I understand that Jim also very kindly suggested to the Art of Hosting team that No Straight Lines could be useful for thinking systemically about innovation for society, community and the future economic foundations of Scotland. Jim also talked about Ken Cloke’s Ladder of Unity, as a methodology to deliver better to the future of Scotland.

• The power and potential of participatory cultures: Those with closed minds, called participatory cultures anarchy. Those that are open see a design process that empowers people in extraordinary ways. And that this process is about in my mind two things; [1] working with the full potential of humanity (we are humans so that makes sense to me) [2] being able to use the power and potential of complexity, the networked nature of knowledge and how that knowledge is held within a collective consciousness. My view is, linear thinkers want to cut through complexity (ask KPMG), to manage it like one a line manager would, whereas non-linear thinkers and practitioners see beauty, power and potential in complexity.

• The Scottish potential: Within Scotland there are a number of developments which are now offering a unique opportunity to shape the future of the country. Developments such as the Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill and the Regeneration Strategy offer Scotland the opportunity – and the responsibility – to move from consumers of services to active citizens, who can play a defining role in shaping key decisions at local and national levels. A commitment to public sector reform has come with the recognition that public services need to do things differently, collaboratively, and with communities. But to achieve this aim, the institutions that have been conceived and put together for another age must undergo significant change if they are to deliver effectively for us. Meanwhile across the country, networks for change across all sectors are forming and growing, which provide alternatives as to how Scotland can thrive.

So here is the invitation from The Art of Hosting

What kind of future do we want to create for Scotland? If we are to seize the opportunities emerging in communities, businesses and organisations across the country. Now is the time to be brave and do things differently. We must explore new paths so we can achieve the fundamental changes needed to realise our potential together. Join us as we learn the art of hosting authentic conversations, at every level of Scottish society, to lead us to wiser action and real change

The purpose of this training is to:

• Support Scotland to be in conversation with itself about its future, by offering maps, methods, mental models and personal practices for systemic change

• Bring people together who are longing to find new ways of working collaboratively and connect up the many innovative and diverse initiatives that are already happening in Scotland

• Move beyond ‘hero’ leadership towards participatory leadership so that everyone is part of the solution

We Aim to : Build capacity for community organisational and business leaders across Scotland to respond in innovative and collaborative ways to the increasingly complex challenges we face now, and train citizens and devision makers in hosting meaningful conversations for substantive and long lasting solutions that work for people and organisations in all sectors in Scotland

The event is hosted by: Anne Madsen, Linda Joy Mitchell, Tim Merry, Toke Moeller, and will be in Perthshire.

Registration details

• For further information check out the website Art of Hosting Scotland

• Or contact Pamelagalbraithyahoo.co.uk 07796 110064 or mail pamelagalbraith@yahoo.co.uk

• For registering your interest in a place contact Valerie Menelec: vmenelec@yahoo.co.uk

Glasgow makes credit unions flourish

Glasgow City Council recently announced it was cutting rent in half for credit unions. The move is aimed at encouraging the growth of the network and cutting off business for high-charging payday loan companies.

City Treasurer Paul Rooney will announce the rent cut at a meeting of the Association of British Credit Unions, which is holding its annual conference in the city. In 2001, only 3% of people in the city were members of a credit union. Today one in four Glaswegians is a credit union member, meaning 150,000 people are taking advantage of the services they offer.

Mr Rooney said: “That means 16% of all credit union accounts in Britain are held here in Glasgow. That has not happened by accident. Our credit unions have shown huge determination to grow, to professionalise their products and services.”

The conference will be told the city council has gone out of its way to support and encourage the movement. Mr Rooney said: “We have invested more than £8 million in the sector. We have also provided direct financial support for credit unions to move into high street premises and to meet staff and running costs.”

As well as cutting rents by 50%, credit unions in the city already get 100% relief on non-domestic rates. Mr Rooney added: “Glasgow is the credit union capital of the UK and we are very proud of how the sector has grown and flourished over the last decade. Our credit unions combat financial exclusion in our communities and can also play a key role in tackling the harm caused by the use of predatory, high cost payday lenders.”

“By offering a real discount, we can help put credit unions at the heart of their communities where they will be more accessible to members old and new.”

Recently, the city council decided to ban access to payday lender sites from all local authority computers. The move affects the council’s 20,000 staff and the thousands of people using computers in city libraries. Around 100 sites offering high-cost, short-term loans have been added to an automatic blacklist, more often used to prevent inappropriate material such as pornography.

Council IT staff are also monitoring the internet and will bar access to new firms which come on the market.

Lobbying Bill strays wide of the mark

Click here to read John Swinney’s correspondence to Chloe Smith MP Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform 

A starter for ten 

New Start Magazine 25th Sept 2013

The difficult challenges facing local government are also an opportunity to do things differently. It’s not an easy route but many councils are but innovating their way to a new future. Here’s ten of the best ideas for change in local government:

1. Embed innovation and leadership skills within a council: At the time when they need to be most innovative many councils are struggling to dedicate the time and resources to change. Monmouthshire Council has created an intrapreneurship school to allow its staff the chance to take time out of their day-to-day roles to think more creatively. FutureGov has created an innovation lab in partnership with Surrey Council. Called Shift, it is an ongoing design process to identify local priorities and prototype solutions. Devon Council held a month of events earlier this year to allow staff to become more creative while Oldham Council sent its councillors on a specially created local leadership course.

2. Create or join forces with energy companies: What better way to take control of local energy supplies than by setting up an energy company? That’s what Woking Council did in 1999. Through Thameswey Energy the council has adopted green energy technologies and radically reduced its energy consumption, saving thousands of pounds each year. Stoke Council has set out the ambitious goal of making the city energy self-sufficient and has set up a joint venture vehicle with a local energy company.

3. Use technology to redesign public services around people: Tyze is an online tool that brings together all of the people involved in the lives of someone with care needs. It’s been successful in Canada and is currently being trialled by local authorities and housing associations in the UK. Similarly Patchwork from FutureGov joins up the team of practitioners working with a vulnerable child or family.

4. Invest in local people: Jim McMahon, the leader of Oldham Council, has created an investment framework for the town, including a job guarantee for young people, and is using the assets already in the town – its land banks and social capital – to co-create a brighter future. ‘Oldham belongs to its people. The primary responsibility comes from them. We all need to roll our sleeves up and do better’, he said.

5. Pay employees a living wage: As people struggle to deal with the rising cost of living, councils are leading the way by signing up to a living wage for all employees and encouraging the private sector to do the same. The list of those accredited by the Living Wage Foundation is growing rapidly.

6. Develop a culture of enterprise: Rotherham Council’s vision is to ensure its young people have the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century economy by embedding enterprise within the curriculum of schools and colleges. Its Rotherham Ready project has helped hundreds of youth businesses get off the ground and led to the city being named the most enterprising place in Britain in 2010.

7. Help local business: Northamptonshire Council made a loan to Silverstone to keep 22,000 high-value engineering jobs in the county, the interest on which is now helping the council pay for children’s services. In the Liverpool City region a Skills for Growth Bank backed by the local enterprise partnership offers local businesses funding for skills projects.

8. Put local people and the local economy at the heart of commissioning: Co-operative approaches to commissioning prioritise social value, not just cost, and put citizens and co-production at the heart. Co-operative councils are embedding social value and corporate social responsibility into tendering processes, which means that local organisations committed to the area and to local employment and volunteering are more likely to be preferred. Some co-operative councils are using the commissioning process to build community resilience by, for example, working with local bus providers to reduce fares.

9. Tackle the rise of loan sharks: Glasgow Council and partners set up a community development finance institution Scotcash to help provide access to mainstream financial services and halt the rise of high-cost payday lenders. Recently the council has pledged to give every young person in the city a credit union account.

10. Apply to the Public Service Launchpad: The Public Service Launchpad is a new programme that aims to build a movement for innovation in local public services – particularly from those inside the sector. It offers a scholarship programme and support to bring early stage ideas to life. Find out more here.

Could it be you?

Can you help us spend £100m a year supporting people and communities in need throughout Scotland? The Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is looking for 4 new members to our Scotland Committee. Applications are welcome from individuals who have the skills and experience to meet the challenges that this role will present.

The Scotland Committee sets the strategic direction and policy framework for funding programmes that make a distinct contribution to the Fund’s mission in Scotland, has oversight of the work and takes funding decisions. The Committee currently meets 10 times a year.

For full details please see information pack. 

Third Force News 10/09/13

THE Scottish independence debate is uninspiring, alienating, off-putting and boring according to Scottish charities.

New research from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has revealed strong feelings in the third sector against the current debate.

The majority of organisations are also not planning to take a position on the outcome of the referendum, despite recent reassurances from Scotland’s charity regulator that they can.

Of people working for charities who responded to the latest survey into attitudes towards the referendum, only 3% said that the arguments being put forward by the yes and no camps were clear.

Charities criticised the debate for focusing on the wrong issues and being too partisan. They called for the debate to move away from simple yes/no clashes and instead focus on the issues that matter to their members and clients.

The top issue that charities want to see discussed more is poverty, followed by welfare, social care and community empowerment.

However, Martin Sime, chief executive of SCVO, urged charities to ensure that the voices of their members and service users are heard in the debate about independence.

“It’s not surprising that people working for Scottish charities are uninspired by the debate so far. Neither side has created a vision of the future of Scotland that engages the ordinary people that charities work with every day.

“The third sector has many voices which use their influence to shape society and tackle the issues that really matter to people – welfare, social care and jobs.

“Now is the time to be heard about the kind of Scotland we want to see and to redouble efforts to get the views of those we work with into the centre of the debate”

Fears of alienating funders, members and service users as well as staff capacity and lack of information were the main reasons that charities gave for not getting more involved in the debate so far.

However, earlier this summer, Scotland’s charity regulator produced guidance on the referendum that made it clear that charities could get involved in the debate and even support a particular yes or no outcome if it was in keeping with their charitable objectives.

The Network of International Development Organisations in Scotland (Nidos) is also encouraging its members to get involved in the debate. It held an event in May where nearly 200 people from different sectors debated the values and principles that should drive Scotland’s international relations in the future.

“We want Scotland’s relations with the world and action to tackle global poverty to be included in the referendum debate,” said Gillian Wilson, chief executive of Nidos. “We think this is an important consideration in how we shape the future of Scotland, whatever constitutional outcome is voted for.”

Both Better Together, which is campaigning for a no vote, and yes Scotland also urged charities to help mould the referendum campaign.

A Better Together spokesperson said: “Given the importance of the decision we are being asked to make it’s vital that charities get involved in the debate. It can’t be left to politicians to argue among themselves. No matter their view, different voices across society shouldn’t be afraid to speak out.

“We need the facts about the impact of separation on Scotland’s charities and the important work they do. Whether that’s on welfare, the economy or our public services, people need honest answers not more assertion.”

A spokesman for Yes Scotland said: “The voluntary sector will continue to play an important role in an independent Scotland and we are keen to engage with it as the campaign progresses.”

At the Big Lottery Fund Scotland we are committed to supporting communities across the country develop themselves by helping make the most of their assets. From the first Scottish Land Fund through to our Growing Community Assets (GCA) investment area we have witnessed the difference our backing can have enabling ALL communities throughout Scotland – both rural and urban – to purchase and develop all sorts of local assets that matter to them.

One concern over the last ten years has been the lack of evidence about whether or not the community ownership of assets works; about what impact it can have, what its benefits are, and what challenges are involved.

So today as we publish the independent evaluation of the first round of GCA carried out by SQW we hope this substantial research now offers evidence and knowledge around community assets for all to learn from.

Big Lottery Fund Scotland Director, Jackie Killeen says: “What is clear from the evaluation is that community ownership of assets is undeniably an extremely powerful way of communities coming together to work for their future development and prosperity and in some cases, their future existence.

“It can be a long, hard, frustrating, taxing and time-consuming process, but ultimately, thankfully, also a rewarding and satisfying one.

Through the first round of GCA, which ran from 2006 to 2010 we made 127 awards worth just over £48 million across Scotland. The report is clear about their significant impact:

• An estimated 36,000 people across Scotland are using GCA1 supported community-owned services and facilities.

• There are over 700 people involved in project management across 81 operational projects. These are supported by 1,700 regular volunteers.

• 337 full-time jobs and 301 part-time jobs have been created or safeguarded, while 143 businesses have been accommodated and 15 new businesses have started as a result or as part of GCA1 projects.

• Projects funded through GCA provide essential, community led services. The research shows that among those individuals using community facilities, 66% would not have been able to access the same service locally, and among those that did have this option, 80% considered their GCA1 facility to be “much better”.

• GCA projects play a part in raising the aspiration of communities. The evaluation found that 53% of respondents that had visited or been involved with a project felt that the GCA1 project had increased the “ambition and confidence” of the community to take on other activities.

This is a final year evaluation but it doesn’t mark the end of our support. The second round of GCA is open to applications and to date, 15 projects have been awarded funding of around £10 million.

Find out more about GCA evaluation Growing Community Assets 2006-2009 Evaluation

Civil Society 7th September 2013

Debra Allcock Tyler has called on Australian charities to stand up for themselves and not cower to demands to be more businesslike, arguing that in the UK government policy has “buggered up” the relationships between charities and government. Speaking to the Australian National Conference on Volunteering, in Adelaide, the Directory of Social Change chief executive said she was impressed with the local sector and issued a clarion call for it not to be silenced by fear of losing government funding from criticising government policy. 

She said she was hurt by government and private sector characterisation of charities as being run by well-meaning amateurs. “The condescension from the private and public sector in Britain really, really pisses me off,” Allcock Tyler told the Australian crowd.  “Many of our leaders think that business has the answer to everything. The UK government wants charities to be more businesslike. Slavish servitude to short-term corporate greed launched the British economy into crisis. They have the nerve to tell us we’re not sustainable!”

She said government policy was “buggering it up left right and centre” with regard to the relationship between charities and government. As debates rage on in the UK about charity campaigning, Allcock Tyler called on Australian charities to be ever more strident in their views. 

“We must never compromise our ethics and our beliefs,” she said. “We must speak up, serve others, and speak for them regardless of the cost to ourselves. Money is the mechanism, not the motive, and it’s what distinguishes us from the private sector.” 

She further went on to recount a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg where charities and the minister discussed using volunteering as a pathway to youth employment.  “Volunteering isn’t free!” she said. “We’re not there to serve volunteers. We don’t want some young person turning up for a couple of weeks, spend all our time and energy on them, and then they bugger off once they’ve got something on their CV.”