Case Studies

Tullibody Community Garden- Rosyth Eats

Growing food for broader community benefits

People outside gardening around raised beds with a polytunnel to the right

We wanted to explore (ie more efficiently and effectively) transition from a 100% volunteer run community garden to one with a staff team. So enabling us to expand and develop the number and range of community services that we provide.

Make best use of Trustee time eg avoiding pitfalls. Thereby freeing up time for them to get on and deliver the changes. Broaden and strengthen our current planning, funding and marketing/publicity efforts. So allowing us to better deliver on our Mission and reach out to more community members, especially disadvantaged folks.

The exchange helped to highlight the importance of taking volunteers with you, sustaining their interest/commitment/support when loads of new activities and groups happening. Avoid a feeling of being “left behind”, and that the new work means the garden feels “busy” and maybe doesn’t benefit them so much. Monthly volunteer/staff meetings, quarterly newsletter, annual review meeting.

Tackling inequalities: engagement with the Poverty Action Group is  important; ‘Pay It Forward’ scheme in Hub cafe that allows those with more income to support those with less whilst avoiding any stigma; Ticket Taylor for event bookings and Malechimp on marketing – allow subsidised/free offerings and standard prices overpay; run a Food Bank

Gardening: Sustainability measures eg water collection and distribution system for garden – solar portable water pump and mobile bowser; composting.

Communications: links with funders eg give certificates for corporate activity participants; good quality publications

Publicity: taking part in award/recognition schemes brings recognition and good evidence for funders; social media doesn’t tend to cut through all the ‘paid for’ rubbish

 

Learning Outcomes

  • Analyse the key learnings and best ways to smoothly transition from a purely voluntary organisation to one that successfully employs a staff team, working alongside volunteers, including Trustees.
  • Re-assess and improve our Business & Strategic planning, funding and marketing/awareness-raising provision.
  • Understand how their gardening, cooking activities and facilities fit in with their Vision, Mission and Objectives.

Community Organisation:
Tullibody Community Garden

Exchange Host Partners:
Eats Rosyth

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Get Growing Scotland

"We were able to establish a good relationship and personal connections between our organisations that will be mutually helpful. We made a firm plan for Eats Rosyth to visit us later in the year."

Case Studies

Cross sector exchange

Safeguarding the future of community work

3 tables in a room with group of people sitting at each

This exchange provided the opportunity to learn how to work with, develop, and utilise the skills of the next generation of community workers. The exchange provided insight and advice into placements, courses, and different approaches to learning, as well as the challenges facing future community work.  The Crannie Community Hub has a relaxed and informal setting, where we got to hear from input from a community work student, which really got people connecting with their own stories. Always time for conversations and connections which is critical when you get folk in one place (and not online). Shared experiences, was good to hear from others and find same positives and negatives. We were as able to think about the role of the CLD Standards Council as well in supporting practitioners in a way which was meaningful and relevant to the learning exchange.

Learning Outcomes

  • Thinking about different ways that community development workers/projects can support people to get involved in the profession.
  • Navigating potential issues and challenges that present a threat to the future of community development.
  • Considering the future and adopting different ideas and approaches to create a stronger CLD network.

Community Organisation:
Mull and Iona Community Trust, Mayfield and Easthouses Community Trust, Strathglass and Affric Community Company, Scottish Rural Action, Scottish Government, CLD standards council, Youth 1st Partick Housing association, SHRUB Cooperative, Edinburgh College

Exchange Host Partners:
The Crannie Community Hub

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Development Trust Association Scotland

"Feeling inspired and will be looking into the CLD Standards Council further. Will be sharing back to our board the identified challenges and opportunities from the day. Helped me realise the importance for networking and hearing others experiences so will seek to network more with others doing this work esp. in similar settings to ours."

Case Studies

Meetings Centres Scotland exchange

Dementia Friendly peer learning and support

A group from dementia friendly meeting centres visiting Samye Ling

Beyond its planned outcomes, the Learning Exchange generated a wide range of additional learning and benefits. The shared activities inspired new ideas that could take place in their own Centres. Activities including fairground fun, planetarium visits, gin or soda tasting, sound baths, and trips to Samye Ling Buddhist Temple highlighted the diversity of programming possible and reinforced that activities can be engaging, locally relevant, and member-led. Members said that seeing these creative approaches in action encouraged them to adapt similar activities for their own communities, Since attending, members from Dementia Friendly Dunblane have introduced their Meeting Centre to the therapeutic experience of Sound Baths whilst others learned that for some people the experience felt uncomfortable and reinforced as a learning point how options are critical to developing sessions and activities in a Meeting Centre and quiet spaces to relax is feeling a sensory overload.

Learning Outcomes

  • Peer to Peer Learning, support and strengthened network
  • Practice based insights and Inspiration
  • Operational and Strategic Development

Community Organisation:
STAND Fife, Dementia Friendly Tweddale, North Edinburgh Arts, Ayrshire Meeting Centres AILN, Past Times, Weekday Wow Factor, Meeting Centres Scotland, Summerhill, The Johnston, Kirrie Connections,

Exchange Host Partners:
Eskdalemuir Community Hub - The Community Living Room Summerhill Community Centre The Johnston Kirkcudbright - Johnston Connections

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Community Health Exchange Network

"Visiting other Centres and meeting peers highlighted both the diversity and shared ethos of our Meeting Centres, reinforcing that the movement is community-led and shaped by our own voices."

Case Studies

Women’s Aid Orkney visit to Shetland Women’s Aid

Building collaboration opportunities

A group of 13 people smiling at the camera

The exchange allowed Women’s Aid Orkney team members to sit back and reflect on the breadth and depth or service they provide on a daily basis. It allowed them to feel proud of what they are achieving and the difference they are making. Spending time with some of the Shetland Women’s Aid team brought a real sense of solidarity. Relationships have been forged that will be beneficial on a personal level but also to the services more widely. There were enthusiastic conversations about future collaboration and finding ways to meet annually. At WAO we have been approached by numerous people who want to volunteer with us and we have been considering how best to start a volunteer program. Hearing from Shetland Women’s Aid about the ways in which they work with volunteers and also facilitate continued engagement from service users was inspiring and gave us lots of ideas.

Learning Outcomes

  • Share learning around tools and approaches like Own My Life that can help promote culture change and engage local communities in efforts to prevent GBV.
  • Learn how to work better to meet the needs of survivors of GBV across island areas, especially those on outer isles and in smaller communities. Gain an understanding of what support local groups are providing in their communities and how WAO can work with them to support them and their service users.
  • Sharing knowledge on staff wellbeing, learning from other organisations how they champion the wellbeing of their staff.

Community Organisation:
Women's Aid Orkney

Exchange Host Partners:
Shetland Women's Aid

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Scottish Rural Action

"The best part of the day for me was meeting some of Shetlands Women's Aid. This was beneficial for learning more about them and some of the differences, but also similarities in what we offer. This was also great to give us ideas on how to continue to grow and develop our service"

Case Studies

Spirit of Springburn exchange with Cranhill Development Trust

Opportunities for locally owned food in community employed shops

Food growing planters in Cranhill DT Community Garden

A fantastic visit and came away with brilliant ideas on moving forward. Their community shop is up and running and of great value to local folk. Very professionally run, with a post office in place too. A ‘village shop’ idea, the wee shop is a labour of love and provides a lot of items very cheaply. Also gave us ideas of type of products to provide and how to supply (many products come in multiple packs and can be very expense – or just not needed in that amount – they provide one or two of each which saves a lot of money and is achievable). Provision of food bags with small recipes that are tried, tested and popular. We’re taking this idea on board too.

We run a community fridge however we were looking at becoming a stand-alone pantry however, after discussion with the team at CDT, we’ve decided to go with the shop idea. There’s a more dignity in practice involved here which clients having a basket and deciding their own shopping needs, with a ‘checkout’ at the end. At this stage there’s an opportunity to share information, to find out a bit more about the family/individual needs and create an ongoing relationship through time,

 

Learning Outcomes

  • The first is to see how CDT set up their shop at the beginning and the support and management involved, and to compare and discuss similarities with what we’re doing already (one of our volunteers will lead on this.
  • To discuss similarities between our communities and how they identified the need for a shop (and why a shop?). This will be an open discussion. To learn from each other, discuss stories etc.
  • How they started and the process to follow – also to plan a support strategy. Here we will also look at getting feedback from each of the volunteers from each group.

Community Organisation:
Spirit of Springburn

Exchange Host Partners:
Cranhill Development Trust

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Development Trust Association Scotland

"We discussed our journeys with start-up and becoming a development trust. She shared a lot of really relevant information and our stories are very similar, right down to the pressure involved! CDT are way ahead of us in development. They provide such a lot of support right in the middle of the community and a lot of activities take place in their own building. Made me realise how 'hemmed' in we are in the shopping centre unit. Also encouraged me to initiate progress to our next steps. Prioritising how we go forward as a charity/DT and what our priorities should be according to Springburn Local Place Plan. A brilliant visit and we left feeling very positive and motivated. Lastly, what really helped overall was to hear Carnhill's journey. It's a high stress environment and the needs are great. We were reassured that we are doing the 'right things' and following the right paths. Knowing that helped a lot. Issues we face are common ones. Support and suggestions to move forward helped a lot as there wasn't anything that we've faced, that the CDT team haven't already come across. Reassuring."

Case Studies

EATS Rosyth visit to Sunshine Kitchen

Catering for social impact

Young people standing next to a 'Sunshine Kitchen' sign with baked goods.

Building on our learnings from the exchange, we have identified the following actions for our own development:

Phased growth of income: We will explore a staged model of income diversification, beginning with modest trading activity and working gradually towards a greater proportion of self-generated revenue.
Market positioning: Our branding and marketing will prioritise the quality of our food offer, ensuring that customers buy from us first because of the product, with the added value of supporting a social cause.
Premises and facilities: Unlike Sunshine Kitchen, we already have our own premises, but to support growth we will need to furnish and equip a dedicated preparation kitchen. This will allow us to expand production capacity efficiently without the logistical challenges they faced.
Testing viability of new services: We will adopt a step-by-step approach, piloting new services carefully and
evaluating their commercial and social return before committing resources at scale.

Learning Outcomes

  • Diversified Revenue Streams – We aim to understand how a social enterprise can generate sustainable income from multiple services while maintaining its charitable mission. This includes exploring income sources, pricing strategies, and the balance between social impact and commercial viability.
  • Competition and Marketing Strategies – We will examine how the organisation positions itself in a competitive catering and market environment. This will cover approaches to branding, marketing channels, customer engagement, and strategies for standing out from competitors while securing repeat business.
  • Setting Up, Launching, and Lessons Learned – We will learn from the organisation’s experience of starting and growing its operations, including the practical steps taken, challenges encountered, solutions found, and key lessons. We will also seek advice that could guide our own expansion into new services.

Community Organisation:
Rosyth Community Projects (EATS Rosyth)

Exchange Host Partners:
The Sunshine Kitchen

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Scottish Communities Climate Action Network

"Engaging with The Sunshine Kitchen has given us valuable learning in three key areas: revenue diversification, marketing in competitive environments, and lessons from practical operational challenges. Across all areas, the central theme is maintaining social impact as the guiding principle, while exploring new pathways for sustainability and growth. Our next steps will put this learning into practice, ensuring we move towards greater financial resilience without compromising our mission."

Case Studies

Toisgeal Exchange

Gaelic & Island Arts & Culture

A small group of people visiting a textile studio

We discussed our hosts projects, exhibitions, practices, challenges and ways in which they collaborate with each other and with other artists, local and beyond, including the Even Here, Even Now project currently linking creative practitioners in the Outer and Northern Isles. We were able to reflect on our own aims and ethos as a group and think about ways in which we can grow our
creative community in a way that gives a voice to place-based art and practitioners, a Gaelic-focused approach to creating, and ways of mapping a path forward to future initiatives. The time we were able to dedicate to this was invaluable and in an environment that supports local creative practitioners in a very positive way.

In terms of peer-peer learning we discussed ways we could bring a joint exhibition/workshop event together and take it on the road around local village halls to engage different communities- we have started making a plan for a funding application to enable us to do so. We also identified details for a joint exhibition theme and highlighted threads to pick up for research and investigation, which we will take forward during monthly meet-ups.

Learning Outcomes

  • As our primary interest is in Gaelic/island arts and culture it would be incredibly useful to see how this has been developed and is managed in Lewis. We wish to visit and learn from groups of similarly-engaged artists who live within a similar island community facing comparable geographical and cultural challenges.
  • We have identified this visit as an opportunity to engage in peer-peer learning opportunities/skill-sharing. This will be a focused, informal environment and a supportive, effective way to encourage, strengthen and develop our creative practice.
  • We endeavour that this visit would be the start of an island-island exchange of practice and place-based learning as well as an opportunity to connect with fellow island artists and art centres/organisations on the island.

Community Organisation:
Toisgeal

Exchange Host Partners:
Reothart nan Ealain, Island Darkroom, Grinneabhat An Lanntair

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Creative Lives Scotland

"We've learned about the variety and vitality of place-based art practices on our neighbouring island which has motivated us to seek more time to spend time collaboratively, and have been inspired to identify funding streams we may apply to to allow us to support art in different ways within our communities."

Case Studies

Biggar Community Market Garden visit to Sustainable Kirriemuir

Community food growing

Image of a yellow courgette flower

The Sustainable Kirriemuir team is managing their growing and greenspace, leading to development of ideas on how we can facilitate activities in our own local primary settings.  Emphasis was on primary school reach and how this can be leveraged to gain wider community engagement with BCMG through school newsletters and events. Sustainable Kirriemuir  focused on how volunteer recruitment and retention is successful where they invite their community to come to them with ideas which Sustainable Kirriemuir can support.  By diversifying their activities, they have embedded the organisation through a range of focuses, from health and foraging walks to large scale community events for families.  Going forward the Biggar Community Market Garden team are keen to think of how we can take similar approaches in our area so that we are responding to the needs and interests of community members to invest their time and passion into wider climate resilience goals.

Learning Outcomes

  • Gaining insights into funding and support mechanisms – community, local authority and national – utilised by each organisation.
  • Understanding the range of approaches of both organisations to volunteer recruitment and retention and extent of impact.
  • Understanding the range of approaches to engagement with nurseries, primary and secondary schools and wider community in each setting, including community engagement opportunities and the extent of impact of these approaches.

Community Organisation:
Biggar Community Market Garden

Exchange Host Partners:
Sustainable Kirriemuir

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Get Growing Scotland

" Sharing our educational resources and experiences that can be adapted to our setting to support our learning programmes and community engagement opportunities has helped inform our approaches to nurturing good relationships with volunteers that can be implemented in our setting to support retention and recruitment. We have a better understanding of strategies for building positive and sustained relationships with local businesses, local authority and national funders which will result in financial, logistical and organisational support."

Case Studies

Greener Kirkcaldy visit to Angus Cycle Hub

Active travel exchange

Image of bikes and seating area inside Angus cycle hub

Seeing how the open workshop sits alongside the cafe and public area was invaluable. The use of easy build screens, that were very well decorated and had ample signage and information on them
greatly enhanced the experience of someone visiting for the first time. These are used very flexibly to mark boundaries between different areas, and can be moved very easily with lockable castors
The use of a screen to display a rolling slideshow about services, events and other useful information digitally was great, very professional looking and easy to amend and update to keep current at very little ongoing cost.

When classes and events take place at the Dundee Cycle Hub, everything on the floor is moveable to clear required space and the large screen is used to show films, presentations and any other useful visual aids. Most of the active travel information is there for people to access independently, but all members of staff from the workshop, retail and cafe have had in house training on how to discuss active travel and where to signpost people to find out more, especially around journey planning.

We learned about their workshop management system (Citrus Lime) and their Point of Sale system (Square) and how these don’t work together very well and discussed our won findings that Hub Tiger workshop management can integrate with Square. We were also very impressed with the simple way that Square can host online sales of bikes through their web
based shop function.

Learning Outcomes

  • Explore how active travel advice is given to individuals on site.
  • View how active travel information is displayed and accessed on site.
  • See how the cycle shop and workshop work alongside the active travel centre and cafe.

Community Organisation:
Greener Kirkcaldy

Exchange Host Partners:
Angus Cycle Hub

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Circular Communities Scotland

"There was a great deal of inspiration to be taken from their collaborative work with Dundee City Council, Dundee Dragons adaptive cycling and the breadth and scale of their Access to Cycles work, across the whole of Dundee and Angus."

Case Studies

Weaving Words and Wonder visit to Orkney Folklore and Storytelling Centre

Storytelling tools for inclusion

Image of a cairn in Orkney by the sea

Seeing how Orkney Folklore and Storytelling works with additional support needs has reinforced what is unique in our own practice. The storytelling is interactive with the audience and has space for children’s different ways of receiving the stories. The Centre also run ceramic workshops for children and families and we could really see the quality of what the children produce and the experience of a traditional craft – the slow process of drying the clay, firing, glazing and glaze-firing and how stories build through the characters which emerge. Also the environmental
benefits of this slow craft where there is a lot less waste than with other forms of art ‘n’ crafts.

We explored how the peoples’ Island Calendar and their partnership with the ancient landscapes and surrounding seas has shaped the social landscape of today in these magical Highland and Islands of Scotland. This will enable us to share this knowledge with our Moray audiences – to enrich our tales with the first hand account of The Islands, the islanders and their history, culture, traditions and lives.

Learning Outcomes

  • Find out about past Highlanders’ and Islanders’ culture, social customs, work traditions and beliefs.
  • Learn how to make our story telling sessions inclusive of those children who may find it challenging to just sit and listen to a story – enabling our stories to reach a broader audience and include those with Additional Support Needs.
  • To learn the Folklore, Folk Tales, Legend, Rhymes, Poetry, Sagas, sea legends, crofting tales and myths to share with our Moray audiences.

Community Organisation:
Weaving Words & Wonder CIC

Exchange Host Partners:
Orkney Folklore and Storytelling Centre

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Creative Lives Scotland

"The experience of being on Orkney brings a depth and detail to our stories which would be missing if we hadn't seen the height and majesty of the standing stones, crawled through the deep dark tunnels of the ancient chambered burial cairn of dogs and re-emerged into the bright light of morning, gentle green hills sloping down to the turquoise loch and affirming that we live because of those who have gone before."