Case Studies

Public Interest News Foundation local partners

To gain a better understanding of the common thread in what the partners do

a group of twelve people standing outside the gates of a park, facing and listening to a person.

The exchange gave an understanding of what is understood as ‘public interest news’ and how to articulate it to funders, regulators, government and policy makers.

Learning Outcomes

  • How the Graeter Govanhill Newsroom allows diverse communities to access information, and the challenges faced in running the organisation, especially when it comes to generating funding and covering ongoing expenses.
  • Explore potential research projects that include measuring the impact and value of indie news and a deep dive into what drives sustainability.
  • Learn about the way in which members of the community who have no prior engagement with journalists are able to interact with them for the first time

Community Organisation:
Public Interest News Foundation

Exchange Host Partners:
Greater Govanhill Magazine

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
The Scottish Beacon

“The Independent News Forum was a very successful exchange and funding from the Scottish Community Alliance made it possible for 9 Scottish Beacon members to attend. This allowed them to share their experiences with the wider community of independent news providers in and build resilience to meet the challenges of working in the industry.”

Case Studies

Community transport approaches

To learn from one of the most experienced community transport networks in South Ayrshire to sustain our local activities in the South West.

a person stepping onto a community transport bus

This exchange was primarily about community transport processes in taking bookings, recruitment of staff and volunteers. How to source different streams of funding was also part of the learning in order to sustain local activities.

Learning Outcomes

  • Improved understanding of supporting the wellbeing of volunteers for sustainable recruitment
  • Sourcing funding partnerships and pathways
  • Improve service delivery and increase effectiveness of operations

Community Organisation:
South West Community Transport

Exchange Host Partners:
South Ayrshire Community Transport

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Community Transport Association

“We learned a lot from our visit – with extra understanding on ways to join up our strategic approaches to non-emergency patient transport.”

Case Studies

LGBTQ+ leadership in the SE space

The exchange focussed on learning from other SE’s by sharing some of the challenges and solutions of being an LGBTQ+ leader in the SE space.

a graphic of the Pride Outside Leadership Gathering.

The purpose was the development of an LGBTQ+ SE supplier chain and support the development of partnership working.

Learning Outcomes

  • Peer learning and partnership working
  • Connection to the SE sector- for LGBTQ+ SEs to build relationships with support organisations to encourage more LGBTQ+ SEs to be part of the sector.
  • To develop an LGBTQ+ Community Network which meet regularly to skill share and mentor new organisations joining the sector.

Community Organisation:
Pride Outside

Exchange Host Partners:
LGBTQ+ focussed SE’s

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Social Enterprise Scotland

“This exchange has helped inform our direction of travel by highlighting what people need in terms of support- such as developing an informal mentoring programme and the establishment of a formal LGBTQ+ SE leadership course.”

Case Studies

Rural Employability Partnership Learning Exchange

Third sector organisations from Argyll and Bute; Inspiralba, Fyne Futures, Oban Youth Cafe and HELP were able to host a learning exchange, with a focus on third sector collaboration for employability delivery.

a graphic of the Rural Employability Partnership

The exchange enabled 32 third sector representatives from across Argyll, Highland and Dumfries and Galloway to participate. In addition, representatives from Argyll and Bute Council, Highland Council, the Scottish Government, COSLA, and TSI’s attended and contributed to the discussions.

Learning Outcomes

  • Share learning on collaborative third sector delivery models: Exchanging ideas and strategies on how the third-sector organisations can work together effectively to improve their services.
  • Build connections across rural employability social enterprises: Creating networks among social enterprises that focus on rural areas, so they can share resources and work together to tackle local employment challenges.

Community Organisation:
Rural Social Enterprise Hub

Exchange Host Partners:
Inspiralba, Fyne Futures, Oban Youth café, HELP Oban

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Social Enterprise Scotland (SES)

“The exchange helped us identify the regional variations alongside the common themes. By sharing our experiences from the Highlands, Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll and Bute - we’ve gained a broader perspective on how employability services could be adapted to regional differences while still maintaining a cohesive strategy.”