Community Links (South Lanarkshire) – Helping communities engage in regeneration
Key contact: Morag Pinion
Address: Unit 1A, Clydeview Shopping Centre, Blantyre, G72 0QD
Telephone: 01698 827 583
Email: Community Links (South Lanarkshire)
In a nutshell
We are a Voluntary Organisation who provides independent advice for the Blantyre and Hamilton Regeneration Areas. We provide support for community involvement work. We make sure that communities can have their say in all regeneration issues. We provide community representatives and volunteers with support and development - ensuring they have the skills, knowledge and confidence to carry out their roles effectively.
The issues addressed
Community engagement in the Blantyre and Hamilton Regeneration Areas builds on work that was undertaken by the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP). Community engagement was a very important part of the work of the SIP. Volunteer community representatives realised that there was a need to give more people the opportunity to become involved - and a need to support community members who were elected to represent the community.
Community Links helps to make community engagement activity as representative as it can be.
The approach to the issues
We aim to make sure that residents can:
• identify local issues
• prioritise action
• help manage a project (if they want).
We do this by:
• producing “Community Matters” - a quarterly newspaper to tell people about of regeneration activities
• designing and leading open consultation events - more than 1,200 residents influenced the development of the ROA
• setting up meetings between the communities and partner agencies
• using a wide range of consultation methods, including focus groups and street surveys
• providing training and support for those who wish to take a more active part as community representatives.
Setting up the work
Our work was initially set up by community representatives from the regeneration areas in 1999. We were funded by Empowering Communities and registered Community Links as a company with charitable status.
We appointed a project manager and an assistant to help with administration and to take on the responsibility of fundraising.
We are now funded by the Community Voices Fund, Community Regeneration Fund, the Big Lottery Fund and the Voluntary Action Fund.
Our management board is made up of Directors from Community Representatives, “Changing Places” Regeneration Team, the local Council for the Voluntary Sector and South Lanarkshire Council - with the community representatives having a majority on the Board.
Evidence of success
• We have changed the shape of service delivery in the regeneration areas - by making sure that communities are genuinely engaged.
• Our volunteers benefit from working with us and many have found employment following their work experiences. Their confidence increases and their abilities to work with others improves.
• Organisations have visited us to learn from our ‘good practice’. We were highly commended by SURF in 2006.
We have developed specific projects, including:
• an environmental improvement scheme – involving a clean up squad
• an ICT Buddy project – providing households with computers, support and training
• a community involvement project – recruiting volunteers to our work - like monitoring the delivery of Community Matters and market research.
One great thing – Volunteer training and support
Our volunteers help us with a range of important activities, such as carrying out market surveys, helping out at events and workshops and they provide computer installation and training for our ICT Buddy project.
We offer our volunteers a chance to gain valuable practical work experience – which they can use for future job applications. We also provide training and support for our volunteers, including:
• an induction course to regeneration – using the Scottish Centre for Regeneration’s Learning in Regeneration Skills Pack.
• confidence building
• computer training
• a mentoring system – where more established community representatives mentor new volunteers
• a personal development profile – where they tell us which activities they are interested in.
Lessons learnt
• It is important that the organisation is transparent, approachable and adaptable at all times for the community.
• Working with individuals to set their learning objectives and then reflect on their progress helps to develop skills within the organisation. A case study on how we did this and how our organisation benefited has been written.
• It is useful to look for new and innovative ways to consult with people - what worked before won't necessarily work the next time.
• Spend time to recruit volunteers – volunteers often move on into employment and need to be replaced.
