Sharing experience : shaping practice

Community Empowerment in Scotland: Some Context and Questions

Andy Milne, SURF Chief Executive

SURF’s Role

•Independent, cross-sector and holistic

Sharing experience : shaping practice

•Focus on ‘wellbeing’ as the ultimate outcome

•Informing and influencing policy and practice

Sharing experience : shaping practice

SURF Community Regeneration Awards

Scottish Policy Context•Community Planning – pre-existing

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•Regeneration Strategy – new

•Infrastructure Plan – new

•Cities Strategy – new

•Community Empowerment & Renewal Bill – forthcoming

Questions of Empowerment•How ‘empowered’ is the Scottish Parliament to support regeneration?

Sharing experience : shaping practice

•What is it doing with the powers it already has?

•What would it do with more powers?

•What about welfare reform & tax policy?

Questions of Empowerment (2)

•What is the optimum relationship of empowerment between national government, local authorities, private sector, third sector and communities?

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•Independent people and communities – or just parliaments?

•Are we still handing our power to ‘the professionals’?

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Reality, Resources, Resilience

Recession impacts

•False economies

•Blocked systems

•Fractured plans

•Reverse empowerment

•Sense of abandonment

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Ameliorative Responses•Creative collaborations

•Liberating the front line

•Willing partners ‘bending the rules’

•Useful political and bureaucratic cover of pilot projects

•Some successes in scaling up and devolving down

Sharing experience : shaping practice

SURF Annual Conference – Reality Checks

•It’s the stupid economy – 7th biggest

•First class services – Sharp elbows

•Regeneration games – Fast track or false start?

•This land is whose land? – 7:84

•Community assets & liabilities – dividend or diversion?

Sharing experience : shaping practice

Sharing experience : shaping practice

Thanks

For more on SURF and its work, please visit:

www.scotregen.co.uk

andymilne@scotregen.co.uk

0141 585 6848