Blogs

Close to 40 delegates attended our Annual General Meeting last week (September 24^th). This year's theme related to the benefits of community investment and what outcomes can be achieved by applying time and effort to improve communities and conducting thorough research to identify needs.

The sessions were delivered by a variety of speakers, taking the audience on a journey to explore the outcomes of community project work and the approaches taken that were key to their success. Our presenters shared useful insight on research conducted to ascertain community needs, how they persuaded local residents to get involved while building and maintaining trust within the community.

After Regional Director, Lesley Anderson updated the audience about the company’s performance over 2023-24, Laurie Carberry, the SPA Committee chair welcomed 8 speakers to the floor, each bringing expertise around the theme from varying perspectives.

Also in attendance was SPA’s previous Regional Director, now Group Managing Director of LHC Procurement Group, Clive Feeney. Clive welcomed delegates and shared a whistlestop tour of SPA’s humble beginnings giving the audience a flavour of SPA’s history and how SPA was formed.

The first of our presenters, Shona Snow Director of Product Innovation at LHC, had the audience’s focus fixed on Kotti, a burgh of Berlin. Shona described the destitution felt in this part of the world but explained how the development of a community began to produce gradual improvements in people’s lives. Shona brought the segment full circle, as she illustrated that our procurement solutions would always be produced with communities in mind. They would adhere to the Golden Standard of public sector construction works, the Framework Alliance Contract and Construction Playbook.

LHC’s Director of Communities, George Stevens was next to deliver her presentation which highlighted the progress made to craft the Social Value Strategy published earlier this year describing how this momentum would continue and how the strategy would be embedded into key aspects of our operation. The group has made a public commitment to deliver more social value, George outlined how LHC PG will achieve this through our procurement solutions, community impact and upholding our values as an organisation.

David Allan, Deputy Director for the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) set the scene explaining the Scottish Community Development Centre’s (SCDC) priorities, including Community Led Action Research which was the bedrock of David’s talk as it is a major composite of how SCDC have become a thought leader in Community Development and influencer on government policy. This included their work on participatory budgeting programmes whereby to bestow the power of final decision-making for grant funding with the community that will benefit.

It was then Maria Throp of 1^st Step Development Ventures that described to the audience the work the charity had done to help members of the organisation and the Linlithgow and Falkirk community. The audience was encapsulated by the short film that SPA commissioned which showcased the transformational impact that 1^st Step is having on individuals that are involved with the service. Hearing the story of Steven and how 1^st Step has helped to transform his life and others as it helps them to develop the tools and vital support to battle addiction. Maria followed on from the video describing how CBF funding has assisted 1^st Step to add an additional paid member to their team to expand their service capacity but it also demonstrated the collective progress that has been achieved from the volunteers and participants alike to grow the charity and have a much wider and sustainable impact on the lives of the people the charity supports.

South Ayrshire Council’s Lorraine McKenzie outlined the progress and approach taken to launching a range of projects courtesy of the SPA Community Benefit Fund. Lorraine gave focus to the Holiday Hunger Programme sharing details into how the project continues to have a positive impact on addressing child food poverty in Ayr. Over 50,000 meals have been provided by the project to the South Ayrshire community since its launch. It’s estimated that the total cost of an annual cohort is around £30,000. These meals are offered throughout the community discreetly but provide a sense of need for the community officers, children can participate in a range of fun activities and also not need to worry about being hungry. It benefits the wider community as well because local caterers are used to supply the meals when the council’s in-house catering is unable to meet the demand.

Hawthorn Housing Association’s Director, Colin Turnbull spoke about Hawthorn’s approach to engaging with the residents and wider community. The community-owned a small group of houses in Glasgow’s Possilpark. An area of Glasgow that is considered one of Scotland's most deprived areas despite its proximity to the bustling and affluent Glasgow City Centre. The cooperative established a committee led by tenants of Possilpark to ensure that improvements planned on the site met the needs of the residents living there. With help from continued support from the CBF, the Cooperative has been able to deliver ESOL classes, appoint a Community Development Worker and develop a more accessible bus route for the site. Colin outlined the community’s strength and supportive nature whilst maintaining a respectful outlook on diversity welcoming a multitude of different cultures into its cooperative and the opportunities that they have had through the CBF and other funding sources to integrate new members into the community.

South Lanarkshire Council’s Jen Fleming and Jonathan Read delivered their presentation together, with the first half dedicated to describing how South Lanarkshire has progressed with its community benefits. Jen explained the work that had gone into the community benefits menu including the launch of the Community Wish List in February 2023. From implementing the wish list they have seen great interest in organisations uploading wishes and the fulfilment of these wishes from local businesses and residents. Jonathan then elaborated on the utilisation of the SPA Community Benefit Fund, describing how the funding would go towards tackling social exclusion and promoting digital inclusion. Jonathan then went on to highlight examples he had of gypsy/traveller sites receiving support in building accessible play parks and community facilities.

The SPA Community Benefit Fund was established in 2017 to accelerate community development and regeneration by providing a wide range of community groups, charities and organisations with access to vital investment. Since the fund was launched 100 Scottish projects have been awarded funding. The fund has been used to tackle a wide range of diverse issues relating to social isolation, poverty, employability schemes, environmental improvements and much more.

Each year £10k is distributed to SPA’s 14 Committee partners. The Committee meet regularly to discuss current market challenges, share knowledge on areas of interest and provide feedback on product proposals alongside may other key topics. Our Committee is formed of experienced procurement, development and senior executives within housing associations and local authorities. As a token of appreciation for their commitment, each committee partner is eligible to apply for £10k awarded annually as part of the SPA Community Benefit Fund.

For 2023/24  a total of £130k was awarded to support a host of community initiatives which include funding for a community festival, tenancy hardship scheme, mental health and tenancy support service and child wellbeing and food poverty programme. Since 2017 £910K has been distributed to 103 projects. Management and monitoring of the funded projects is conducted by Lintel Trust. Their involvement ensures that funds are channelled into projects that will have much wider and greater impact for the communities.

We want to thank all of our speakers for taking the time and speaking at our AGM. It was a real privilege to hear from experts in their field but also uplifting to hear about how communities can band together and overcome adversities. Our audience would have left the event with an enriched and inspired experience.