Lead Partner: Southern Uplands Partnership
Description
This action research was carried out simultaneously in "communities on the edge" of participating large private landowning estates in South Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway.
The core principles of work undertaken were as follows:
- Relationships between Communities and Landowners- how communities and landowners can work together for mutual benefit.
- Test bed for Asset-based community development - not just buildings, but recognising the unique set of assets of any one rural area as a driver of economic and social change. Throughout there is a commitment to local people as assets and learning as the foundation of this work.
- Community Planning- how Community Planning partners work together and within their organisations to deliver local community priorities
With the need for rural communities to become more self sustaining in the face of challenges such as climate change, economic downturn and peak oil, the COTE project adopted a community development approach, aiming to build skills and confidence within the rural community.
Three full time equivalent workers were deployed in three estate communities across the South of Scotland, with teams of ‘Community Animators’ engaging with local people through a regular and sustained approach.
Recruited from within these communities, these teams of animators worked to encourage individuals and groups to become more active citizens, supporting them to participate in the shaping and development of their communities. A truly ‘bottom-up’ approach, the project respected and valued the opinions of local people above all else. Implementing large group processes, local agendas were prepared and working groups were established around each of those priorities. Through animation, many of the projects which grew from this local agenda are now at an advanced stage and the skills, knowledge and confidence of the community has been enhanced as a result.
Process was as important as product in this project. Community Animators did not deliver services. They did not do things for people; rather they worked alongside local residents, investing in often overlooked human capital. These were long processes and solutions were not achieved swiftly. But by taking time and investing in relationships, much broader and stronger foundations have led to more sustainable outcomes.
To find out more about this role please see- A Handbook for Community Animators (attached below.)
The project culminated in a successful conference for the UK and Ireland’s landowning sector held at Floors Castle which aimed to share the experiences of the COTE project and explore opportunities for future collaborative work.
Contact Details
Pip TaylorCommunities on the Edge Project The Southern Uplands Partnership Studio 2Lindean Mill
Galashiels
TD1 3PE 01750 725154
E: piptabor@sup.org.uk
Website: http://www.sup.org.uk/
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| A Handbook for Community Animators.pdf | 3.83 MB |