• "When people care enough to act, change will occur.... think about the unrecognised capacities in every community, find them and provide opportunities for people to offer them. Relationships build a community, we need to build them and utilise them, put citizens at the centre and engage them as actors, not recipients."
Dr Harry Burns (GIRFEC in Dundee – Making it Happen’ Conference, November 2010)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We know that in many communities across Scotland there are individuals struggling to cope with everyday life. There are issues of deprivation, growing inequality and communities are increasingly being characterised by the problems they face.

Over the past year Inspiring Scotland has been developing an asset based programme called Link Up which will focus on what an individual and community does have, and can do rather than the problems they face.

This is a new and different programme for Inspiring Scotland which has evolved from our experiences of working with communities across Scotland. Link Up will develop and grow over the next three years, using Inspiring Scotland’s experience of venture philanthropy, providing substantial development support in addition to financial investment.

Inspiring Scotland is not looking for applications or for groups with existing projects to invest in. Instead, we are looking for organisations to partner with us to deliver and explore the Link Up approach, whether as a Host Organisation or as members of a local steering group.

We are currently in discussion with a number of organisations and communities about taking Link Up forward. We would be interested in hearing from you if you can see how this approach could work in your local community particularly in the Dundee and North Lanarkshire areas.

Click here to download the Link Up summary for further details about the programme.