Scottish Communities CAN and the Ethnic Minority Environmental Network have joined forces to create a series of events to help community groups become more effective, sustainable and influential.You're welcome to come to one, two or all three events.

Book your place here

Session 1: Building a Healthy Culture in Your Organisation

1-4pm, Wednesday 29th August
Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall St, Glasgow G41 1BA
cost: £5: individuals, £15: organisations

While we're getting on with the work that our community projects care so much about, we often give less attention to how we look after ourselves and one another. Burnout and personal differences are common and can slow or stop the progress of otherwise brilliant projects.

This workshop will help you learn more about the skills and techniques we can bring to working better together and to looking after ourselves so that we can continue to give our best to the work we love. As well as sharing helpful ideas and tools, there will be space to hear from other participants, to think about our personal situations and how to bring more awareness and support into our work.
 

Session 2: Engaging with Decision Makers

1-4pm, Tuesday 25th September
Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall St, Glasgow G41 1BA
cost: £5: individuals, £15: organisations

We're all working hard on the ground to make a difference, but how do we become more influential? How do we share the good work we're doing, and how do we engage with politicians at the local or national level to make sure that the changes we get are the right ones?

If you want to improve the capacity of your organisation to engage with politicians and decision makers, this workshop is for you.

Session 3: Politics as Though People and Planet Matter 

10am-4.30pm, November 3rd and 4th
Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall St, Glasgow G41 1BA
cost per day: £5: individuals, £15: organisations

Day 1: Is there a fresh way to look at how we do politics? We know that most people tend to support social and environmental policies in principle, but not always the parties which push for them. We know that many people are put off getting more involved with politics because it seems unable to deal with bullying and corruption.

Through talks and workshops we’ll look at bottom up (zero-carbon) place planning; community empowerment; alternative decision making models such as sociocracy and the Democracy Matters consultation - to ask ‘can we do democracy differently to unleash community action and systems change?’ For instance, your community could develop a local food growing policy and decide to use vacant land strategically for growing rather than development, decide to invest in a fleet of electric trailer bikes to support people who want to get rid of their cars, or decide to invest in a plastic recycling plant, creating employment and useful products out of local junk. 
 

Day 2: Training day with Claire Milne of Transition Network. More details to follow.

• Apply anytime for projects that bring benefits to the community
• Apply for capital and revenue funding between £1000 and £4000 
• Community groups, schools, charities, local authorities and not for profits can all apply

Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) offers a range of financial support to local energy projects. The main funding streams for new applicants are:

• CARES Enablement Grant – Up to £25K to fund feasibility for energy systems or renewable energy projects, investigation of shared ownership opportunities or work to maximise the impact from community benefit association with renewable energy projects.
• CARES Development Loan – Up to £150K (10% interest rate) can be provided for projects with a reasonable chance of success.   
• CARES Innovation Grant – Up to £150K to either fund innovation activity or improve the viability of projects by grant funding elements of the project.

Enterprise Accelerator
Many community groups are looking to diversify their income streams and build a more sustainable group by setting up and running a social enterprise. The Enterprise Accelerator is a partnership between Scottish Community Alliance and Community Enterprise and is intended as a programme of business support for community based organisations who have little or no trading experience but wish to expand this aspect of their operation.

Interested? See more information here and contact us on info@scottishcommunitiescan.org.uk for an initial enquiry form.

We'll explore visions of civic decision-making in 2030 - what might it feel like / what are your priorities? Ideas will be posted on a big wallchart displaying people's values and aspirations.

Case Studies from community projects like Harlaw Hydro, Belford Church / Action Porty and Edinburgh Community Solar Coop.

We'll explore experiences from a decade of the City Council's Neighbourhood Partnerships and their radical slimming down / loss of function and replacement with just four "Localities".

Part of Democracy Matters - conversations on Scottish Government's Local Governance Review: Make your views known!

Free food and drink to sustain us for some deep thinking. All welcome.

More information and registration

The National Permaculture Convergence, organised by the Permaculture Association, will be taking place in Hulme, Manchester from 20 - 23 September.

The convergence is bursting with opportunities for learning, networking and demonstrating why permaculture is at the forefront in shaping a thriving future for everyone.

More information and tickets