Many thanks for visiting our website. During the current COVID-19 situation, Inspiring Scotland is still open, but we’re working remotely until further notice. The easiest way to reach team members is by mobile or email. You can also reach us at enquiries@inspiringscotland.org.uk. We’ll be keeping the website updated and we’re also on Twitter @InspiringSland
? We support essential charities to become extraordinary charities, enabling them to support the people and communities in Scotland that experience inequality and help them to change their lives for the better. We do it because we want a healthy, happy and thriving Scotland, without poverty or disadvantage. Introducing Working Together, the 2019 Annual Review of our
Read MoreFor decades, and despite millions of pounds of investment, Governments and public agencies have struggled to change the experience of many people living in Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities. Problems of low life expectancy, low levels of employment and educational attainment persist. Link Up set-out to prove that creating the right conditions for change and the
Read MoreThis Play Ranger Toolkit was developed using the experience and learning of Play Ranger charities supported by Thrive Outdoors, initially under its former name Go2Play. The Play Rangers project focused on providing opportunities for children to access free play within their community – on street corners, or in local parks or woodland. The toolkit is
Read MoreWe are pleased to announce the publication of the revised edition of the Loose Parts Play Toolkit. The updated Toolkit provides a greater focus on helping adults develop the skills to support inclusive, all-weather outdoor play in Scotland and encourage them to allow children to play in a less structured and more imaginative manner. Since
Read MoreFocusing on some of Scotland’s most deprived communities, Link Up is making a significant contribution to the delivery of the Scottish Government’s commitment to reduce health inequalities and improve health by: 1. Addressing the social determinants of health, widely recognised as key to addressing health inequalities and setting foundations for positive change 2. Growing individuals’
Read MoreLink Up is making a significant contribution to the delivery of Scottish Government’s Justice Strategy by: • Addressing the psycho-social factors that can cause individual criminal activity or increase the risk of unintentional harm. • Giving individuals the support, confidence and skills to choose alternative life-courses. • Building social connections & community trust, making people
Read MoreAnnual Publication 2019-2020 Link Up is Inspiring Scotland’s community development and wellbeing programme. It started in 2011 and sits at the heart of our ambition for a Scotland without poverty and disadvantage. It is among the largest and longest-running programmes of its kind in Scotland. Link Up brings people together to create activities and events
Read MoreFor people to thrive, three things really matter: supportive relationships, confidence and self-esteem. Seven years of Inspiring Scotland’s Link Up programme has demonstrated beyond doubt that these three things are not only fundamental human needs essential for individual wellbeing, they are the foundations on which individuals and communities can change things for the better. Find out
Read MoreThis evaluation of Link Up by ODS Consulting has found that Inspiring Scotland has successfully delivered its asset-building approach in ten communities in Scotland. There is clear evidence that this has had significant positive personal impacts for those residents who have been actively involved in these communities.
Read MoreLink Up looks at how strengthening social networks and facilitating opportunities for people to help each other through an activity, builds trust. It also explores how supporting others through these activities increases the confidence and capacity of individuals to seek solutions to their own problems instead of outsourcing their needs to external organisations.
Read MoreWe strive for a Scotland without poverty or disadvantage. Through our thematic funds, covering issues from youth employment to childhood health and wellbeing to community development, we work with and fund the organisations and people who can have the greatest impact. We want to make Scotland a better place and everyone at Inspiring Scotland, and
Read MoreFalling Through the Cracks is the first in a series of Insight Reports developed by Inspiring Scotland which we hope will help  inform our collective response to the youth unemployment crisis that has resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the positive response from Government to the Covid-19 youth unemployment crisis, some young people will fall
Read MoreDownload the original Go Play Outcome and Evaluation Framework, set out in 2011, which established the principles of Inspiring Scotland’s play programme.  The guide identifies ways that play organisations can realistically demonstrate their difference though the use of evidence and helps the play sector to identify common ground to assess how play organisations can have the
Read MoreThis guide contains eligibility, priority and contact details of organisations funding not-for-profit and charitable organisations in Scotland. It has been complied for Inspiring Scotland’s Thrive Outdoors programme and therefore focusses on potential funders of play activities. Funders have been selected through a review of SCVO’s ‘Scottish Directory of Funding for Third Sector Organisations’ and a
Read MoreIn 2014, independent evaluator Matrix was commissioned to undertake a preliminary examination of the monetary value of the impact of the Link Up programme established by Inspiring Scotland. This report does not provide a full cost benefit analysis rather, it gives an indication of the potential economic value of a still-evolving programme.
Read MoreThis brief literature review by the University of Strathclyde PhD student Avril Johnstone provides the background literature to the evaluation of Inspiring Scotland’s Active Play Programme. The evaluation has the following research question: does the implementation of an active play programme improve physical activity levels and fundamental movement skills competency in children?
Read MoreWe work with experts from the voluntary, public, private and academic sectors. Get in touch if you want to help us build a better Scotland.
Speak to us.