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The Edinburgh Compact News Bulletin

October 2009 - Issue 3

Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the third issue of The Edinburgh Compact News Bulletin. The aim of this bulletin is to provide a resource that is both useful to and welcomed by you – so please email your ideas and your news to Julia, and meanwhile please forward this issue among your colleagues and networks.

The Compact embraces a vision for the city where all sectors work together towards the shared goal of improving the quality of life for all residents and communities.

Guest Profile

The Guest Profile is your chance to introduce your organisation to Compact partners and stakeholders. If you would like to be featured in a future Bulletin, please get in touch

In this issue we join SWAP – the Scottish Wider Access Programme – in its anniversary celebration.

21 Years of Widening Access

This year, the Scottish Wider Access Programme celebrates its 21st birthday, making SWAP one of the longest-running widening participation initiatives in Scotland.

Since its inception in 1988, SWAP has worked to build a route into higher education for adults with few previous qualifications or none at all. Working with college and university partners, SWAP produced a framework for access programmes that has now been adopted by colleges throughout the country.

The one-year SWAP programme prepares students to move on to degree studies. It gives them the academic work-out required by anyone returning to education after a gap. Alongside the academic content is the support element, designed to provide information and guidance and to help students develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed when they move on to HN or degree courses.

More than 28,000 enrolments have been recorded since 1988. Among them are many people who, for all sorts of reasons, missed out on a chance of higher education earlier in life. Many were the first in their family to think of university as a realistic option for them. Equally, many had a difficult time at school and had given up on education in the formal sense.

There’s John who set up a business because when he was at school, “guys just did not go into Nursing”. The business failed during the last recession, and at the age of 40, he took SWAP Access to Nursing as a second chance to go into the profession he had wanted all along.

Then, there’s Helen who hated school and left as soon as she could. After several years drifting in and out of low paid jobs with no prospects, she took a few courses at her local learning centre before deciding to give SWAP a go. She graduated last June. Not only has she gained a degree that will open doors to an interesting and worthwhile career, she discovered interests and aptitudes she didn’t know she had and made a whole new set of friends into the bargain.

Apart from the students themselves, what is the secret of SWAP’s success? It’s all down to the consortium approach. A network of people has been established in colleges, HEIs, in Community Learning and Development and through a wide range of agencies – people who are thoroughly committed to widening participation and who work together through SWAP to make it happen.

To find out more about SWAP Programmes available at local colleges, visit the SWAP website.

News from Compact partners

Artlink Edinburgh

Artlink Stories: Turning reality into a Fiction

Artlink Stories is a project of Artlink Edinburgh that works with the idea of fact and fiction. It asks individuals with experience of complex disabilities to describe a particular aspect of their life, and then uses the skills of a writer to describe the situation to people who do not have experience of it. The intention is to draw attention to the real impact of policy on ordinary people, creating a series of fictional short stories, informed by fact, and written by some of the best authors in Scotland.

The latest title in the series, Something in the Pause by Nicola White , has been recently published. The idea behind this particular story was to find a way to describe an arts project that involved an artist, an informatics specialist and a man with a liking for music. Nicola White has written a short story, a fiction from the point of view of the man. What happened to the story is a real testament to the skill of the writer: she turned a short story about a sound project into a sound work itself, creating an inspiring work from an equally inspiring project. Visit the Artlink Stories website to hear the podcast and download the story.

Big Lottery

2014 Communities

As the 2014 Commonwealth Games approach, BIG’s 2014 Communities micro-grants programme continues to be open for applications for smaller projects that make a real difference through sport and physical activity in local communities.

Here are the key facts:

2014 Communities is open across Scotland
You can apply for up to £1,000
The process is quick and easy – it takes 15 working days to get a decision!
They want to fund projects that increase participation and volunteering in sport and physical activity – it doesn’t have to be a Commonwealth sport! Activities like hill walking and keep fit are eligible.
You can still apply if you have an Awards for All grant.

So if you have a project that could fit with 2014 Communities and help build a legacy for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, get in touch by email, phone 0870 240 2391 or download a pack

Canongate Youth Project

Options Plus Lifeskills for 16 and 17 year olds – Now Recruiting

Options+ is a Lifeskills project at Canongate Youth Project (CYP) and funded by Skills Development Scotland. The programme is aimed at young people aged 16 and 17 who are typically not fully engaging with statutory agencies such as Careers Scotland and Job Centre Plus and who are experiencing a range of issues in their lives that are preventing them from moving into training, employment or education. CYP typically engages with young people for 4-6 months before the majority of them progress into sustained training, employment or educational outcomes. There are now some spaces on the programme and they welcome your referrals (details below on how to get in touch).

The programme operates on a Group and Individual basis. The group based work are two full afternoons a week, typically a Tuesday and Friday from 12 to 4pm. One of these will be skills and issues based addressing issues that are important and common to the whole group. Topics include drugs/ alcohol awareness, health issues (including mental and sexual health), independent living skills, literacy and numeracy skills, rights and responsibilities and citizen issues. Employability skills are delivered in structured and motivational sessions to support participants in their progression into employment. Sessions highlight opportunities into further education, training or employment which allows individuals to identify any further support that they may require to enable them to apply for a job or access training or education and to feel confident about undertaking interviews.

The second afternoon is activity based – either in-house or at some other venue. The focus here is on allowing young people to sample a range of social and challenging activities such as outdoor pursuits or sport or leisure activities. Young people decide, plan, deliver and review the activity and this process develops several skills: taking risks by sharing ideas for an activity with the group; negotiation skills and motivational skills

Groups are deliberately small so much more focused and intimate work can be done, complemented by individual support on a needs-based level. There is also room for individual support, if this is deemed more appropriate to the young person and their needs. The focus for both Group and Individual is very much on the young person and their needs to dictate the content of the sessions. This is one of the ways that make the Options+ programme quite unique in that it is tailored to the young person, rather than the young person changing to suit the group.

The referral system is very open and can be made from any outside agency, a friend/family member or even by the young person themselves. It is deliberately informal and simply involves sending an email or making a call and talking to the project worker, Neil Hyndman, who can then arrange a wee meeting and simply chat through where the young person is just now and where they want to go and what they want to achieve. Neil can be contacted on 0131 556 9389

Citizens Advice Service

The Citizens Advice Service celebrated its 70th anniversary on 4 September 2009. The service began in 1939 as a war-time agency. But, instantly popular with the public, it survived into the post-war years as it became clear that people needed an organisation to help them deal with the new Benefits system. Today, in the consumer age, it is also a vital life-line for people who are in debt and financial difficulty.

Citizens Advice Services publishes a number of public facing leaflets and posters that are available for use by external organisations. A catalogue is now available listing items that are available for order.

City of Edinburgh Council

'Making Scotland': The Edinburgh Lectures 2009/10

Edinburgh's premier lecture series, The Edinburgh Lectures, is returning to the Capital. The theme for the 2009/10 series is 'Making Scotland', focusing on "how physical, political, commercial and cultural issues shape our country and its people and Scotland's role on the global stage".

The series will see a host of luminaries taking to the stage, including Edinburgh International Film Festival director Hannah McGill, celebrated Scots artist and playwright John Byrne and world-renowned geologist and oceanographer Professor Dorrik Stow of Heriot Watt University. Other highlights in the line-up include Eric Booth, a member of President Barack Obama's culture team, who will give a talk on 'The Brass Tacks of a 21st Century Culture'; and HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan with a lecture entitled 'Inching Towards Peace: A New International Humanitarian Order'.

The full programme and booking details can be found at the Edinburgh Lectures website

Edinburgh City Local Plan – consultation to 17 November

A Public Local Inquiry was held towards the end of 2008 to deal with objections to the Edinburgh City Local Plan. The Report of Inquiry into these objections was received by the Council on 30 June 2009.

Reports considering the recommendations set out in the Report of Inquiry were approved by the Planning Committee on 3 September 2009 and 1 October 2009. These contained the Statement of Decisions, which record the decisions of the Council in relation to each of the reporters’ recommendations, and the proposed List of Modifications.

The proposed modifications are now subject to a six week consultation period between 6 October 2009 and 17 November 2009. For more information about how to respond to the consultation, please see the Council website.

Forth Sector

The Public Social Partnerships Project

The Scottish Government’s Public Social Partnerships Project is being delivered in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Forth Sector. Public Social Partnerships (PSPs) are an innovative approach to public service delivery, involving social enterprises and voluntary organisations. The PSP model has great potential to benefit the third sector and the public sector in Scotland, and to improve outcomes for service users, clients and communities.

The Project has three elements:

Third sector organisations work with public sector purchasers to design a service;
A consortium of public sector and third sector organisations combine in a short-term pilot, helping to refine service delivery;
The service is further developed to maximise community benefit before being competitively tendered.

Further information about PSPs and how to apply to become a pilot PSP is available on the Project’s website. Applications are welcomed until the closing date of Thursday 8 October 2009. If you have any questions, please email or telephone 0141 245 2303.

Lothian and Borders Police

Lothian and Borders Police New Focus on Serious Organised Crime

Lothian and Borders Police has revealed how it plans to tackle the Serious Organised Crime networks which operate within its area. It is the first Scottish Force to implement its own strategy in response to the findings of the Scottish Government's Serious Organised Crime Taskforce.

Speaking at St Leonard's Police Station in Edinburgh on Monday 28 September, Lothian and Borders Police Chief Constable David Strang said: “Serious organised crime is a Force priority - this is not a short term campaign. It is core business and as such is the focus of every individual within the organisation who will be alert to it as they go about their daily business. We are determined to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups and discourage others from becoming involved in such activities. Working with our partners, we are also trying to change attitudes, build safer communities and reduce the harm caused by these groups.”

More details about this are available in the online press release on the LBP website.

NHS Lothian

Support patients into training, volunteering or work

Free training courses for health professionals working in Edinburgh are available to support patients into training, volunteering or work.

This half-day training course will

increase your awareness and understanding of the relationship between employability¹ and the health and well-being of individuals, their families and communities
Illustrate the employability pathway and services available to support patients/clients
Help you to identify how and when to begin an employability discussion with your patients/clients

Training dates: 13 October; 5 November; 18 November; 1 December.

All courses will start at 9.15 and finish at 12.30, at a venue in central Edinburgh

To register for a place please contact:
Kate Burton, Public Health Practitioner (Health & Employability), Edinburgh Community Health Partnership on 07970 744 519

¹ Employability is the combination of factors and processes which enable people to progress towards or get into employment, to stay in employment and to move on in the workplace.

Scottish Arts Council

Perspectives: Live from Monday 5 October

Perspectives is the first Creative Scotland online discussion forum. Designed to engage the artistic and creative communities, this discussion forum is your chance to share your views on the emerging role of Creative Scotland, the new national development body for the arts, culture and creative industries. Creative Scotland will invest directly in Scotland’s talent. It promises to be as imaginative as the sectors it will serve.

Perspectives will use the four priorities for Creative Scotland, as outlined by the Minister for Culture, Michael Russell, as a starting point. Over the next months, each of these priorities will be introduced by an independent provocation commissioned from the international creative community to stimulate live discussion. The schedule of discussion is as follows:

5 October - The Creative Practitioner
Hans Abbing
Visual artist and economist, professor emeritus in art sociology at the University of Amsterdam.

19 October - Accessibility
Alice Taylor, Commissioning Editor, Education, Channel 4 Television.

2 November - Participation
Diane Ragsdale, Associate Program Officer, Performing Arts, The Andrew W Mellon Foundation, New York.

16 November - International
Git Scheynius, Director, Stockholm International Film Festival.

Keep up-to-date on forum developments by logging onto Perspectives.

New programme supports digital development

The Scottish Arts Council recently launched AmbITion Scotland, a new £800,000 programme to support digital development and change in arts organisations throughout Scotland. By signing up to the programme online, AmbITion Scotland can provide arts organisations striving for digital development with free workshops, events, online material, case studies and online tools.

Financial support will also be available from the AmbITion Scotland programme to fund ideas for digital development. For more information and to sign up, visit the Scottish Arts Council website.

Scottish Arts Council - Changes to funds for Individuals and Organisations

The Scottish Arts Council has recently reviewed and updated its funds for Individuals and Organisations. Information on what you are required to provide as part of your application has changed significantly since the 2008/09 financial year. They request that you read the new guidelines and application forms carefully before submitting them, and ensure you have included everything they ask for. Visit the Scottish Arts Council website to read the new guidelines for individuals or for organisations.

Vital Spark awards open for applications

Creative Scotland has committed £1 million from its £5m Innovation Fund for the ‘Vital Spark’ awards to enable new collaborations by creative practitioners.

Individual awards of between £20,000 to £100,000 will be offered to encourage work that goes beyond the boundaries of creative disciplines and will support collaborations between artists and practitioners working across all the disciplines.

The Vital Spark awards will encourage experimentation, radical new work and innovative approaches to engaging with audiences. It will be open to collaborations between creative practitioners and those from other sectors, including the wider creative industries, science and education.

The Vital Spark awards will be an opportunity for projects between practitioners based in Scotland and their international colleagues, as well as being open to creative professionals at different stages in their careers. A panel of international practitioners will be appointed in December to select the Vital Spark winners.

Further details including application forms and guidelines are available from the Vital Spark webpage

Volunteer Centre Edinburgh

Developing a social media marketing plan – free seminar

This free seminar is being run by CIVIC in partnership with Volunteer Centre Edinburgh. CIVIC is an award-winning digital communications agency, who support us at Volunteer Centre Edinburgh with our website and hopefully help us further develop our website to incorporate some of the latest technology and ensure the best possible experience of accessing Volunteer Centre Edinburgh’s services.

Social Media Marketing is about having a conversation with your community. The medium enables you to generate brand awareness, loyalty and advocacy. Done well, it can be the most cost effective form of marketing there is. But taking your first steps can be daunting. Do you choose Linkedin, Twitter, or Facebook? Do you extend your media to YouTube and Flickr? How do you generate content? What are the risks? And how do you measure success? This seminar will answer all these questions and more, and provide you with an action plan tailored to your needs.

The seminar will be presented by: Jonathan Melville, Content Analyst, CIVIC; Kelly Jones, Head of Content, CIVIC; and Mark Steven, Web Project Manager, CIVIC

Monday 12th October from 9:15am to 12.00pm, at CIVIC, 12 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4AX.

For more information contact Mark Steven ( mark@civicuk.com ) on 0131 624 9850 or book online ( www.amiando.com/socialmediamarketing )

Introduction to SROI (Social Return On Investment) – a free Workshop

The Scottish Government SROI Project is a project designed to help develop, promote and support the use of Social Return On Investment as a tool for measuring and communicating socially added value. SROI is a term heard ever more commonly across the sector but it is still a relatively new concept for a lot of organisations and their staff and stakeholders. SROI is an approach to understanding and managing the impacts of a project, organisation or policy. One of the aims of the SROI project is to increase awareness and understanding of SROI for third sector organizations, their funders, investors, customers and others.

This short introductory session will provide an introduction to SROI, describe the benefits and challenges for organisations conducting SROI analysis, and offer further information on the two year SROI Project. A great opportunity for you to find out more! This workshop will be facilitated by Penny Morriss, Business Development Consultant at Forth Sector Development.

Tuesday 13 October, from 2.15pm - 4.15pm, St.George’s West Church, 58 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RT

This workshop is free to all Volunteer Involving Organisations and Community Groups

Please book online or email

For more information about the SROI Project please visit the SROI Project website where you can access resources and sign-up for regular updates on the Project if you wish.

This workshop hosted by Volunteer Centre Edinburgh and iGIVE (The Implementation Group Inspiring Volunteering in Edinburgh)

“Good to great!” Free training and development for board and committee members

The support and development of your organisation’s board is important. The G2G Programme helps your organisation become even more effective through supporting the management committee or board of trustees, to fulfil its role even better. Based around the National Occupational Standards for Trustees and Management Committees/Boards of Voluntary and Community Organisations, it includes work on effective decision making, governance issues and effective meetings.

Saturday 31 October, 9.45am to 4.00pm in Edinburgh. This popular event is supported by City of Edinburgh Council. You can book online and if you have any queries about this event or would like more information, please email Jean or telephone on 0131 225 0639

Information and Events

Joint Statement released on the Relationship at Local level between Government and the Third Sector

The Joint Statement on the Relationship at Local level between Government and the Third Sector has just been released.

The statement, signed by the Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE and SCVO, represents an important milestone in efforts to create partnerships and encourage joint working in Community Planning Partnerships throughout Scotland.

This paper sets out key principles around funding and partnership working underpinning the relationship between government and the third sector at the local level.

Scottish Government announces Resilience Fund to help Third Sector combat recession

Third Sector organisations affected by recession can apply for support from a £1.7 million Resilience Fund, John Swinney has announced. The Finance Secretary has encouraged Third Sector organisations to apply.

Grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 will potentially be available to Third Sector organisations which can demonstrate:

How the recession has led to increased demand or significantly undermined their services
Any increased pressure on their services is as a direct result of the recession
That prior to the recession they were a viable organisation with a proven track record of delivery over two years
What caused the problem, and their proposed solution including the submission of a detailed Recovery Plan
They have unrestricted reserves equating to less than six months' running costs of the organisation
The requirement for the Resilience Fund and their longer term viability with certification by an auditor or chartered accountant to that effect
Appropriate safeguards are in place for both the expenditure of funding and, if the need arises, recovery.

The fund, which will be open for five weeks from late October, is being delivered as a ring-fenced part of the £12 million Third Sector Enterprise Fund. Organisations seeking information on the fund, or potential applicants, should contact Mary Lyden on 0141 305 4176, or Polly Chapman on 01463 663918.

GCVS Chief gives evidence to Holyrood finance inquiry

GCVS Chief Executive Helen Macneil was at Holyrood on 9 September to present a submission and give evidence to the Local Government and Communities Committee's inquiry into Local Government Finance. Helen was present in her role as a Director of Voluntary Action Scotland (VAS), the new national body representing council for the voluntary sector/service networks and supporting Third Sector interfaces. Kenny Murphy, Chief Executive of Falkirk CVS and a fellow Director of VAS, also gave evidence.

The two VAS directors highlighted to the Committee the sector's vital contribution to economic prosperity and healthy communities. They spoke of the negative impact the current economic downturn was having on Third Sector organisations of all sizes, and expressed concerns about the increasing trend among local government and Community Planning partners, to contract and commission rather than providing grant funding, and about the disproportionate impact that major cuts in non-statutory services would have on small local organisations across the country.

The evidence and submissions taken by the committee can be read here.

Announcing EVOC Care Training Needs Analyser Version 2.1 with new features

In response to feedback from clients using the programme, a new version of the EVOC Care Training Needs Analyser online programme has been launched as ECTNA 2.1.

Developments include new saving and reporting features, improved flexibility and a printable Individual Learning Record. ECTNA 2.1 is available FREE until March 2011 to voluntary organisations (SME) providing services in East, West, Mid Lothians, Scottish Borders and Edinburgh. For details please see the ECTNA page of the EVOC website.

Do you already use ECTNA?

EVOC is setting up a TNA steering group to develop the tool further, in particular to:

incorporate permission levels which would assist multi-service organisations to have their data in one system.
ensure that data gathered is in line with regulatory requirements/external stakeholder requirements

For more information or to become involved please contact Trisha Gow.

Gude Cause

The Gude Cause campaign is organising a 100-year anniversary procession in Edinburgh on Saturday 10 October. Gude Cause was formed to mark the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Procession along Princes Street in 1909. The culmination of this celebration will be a re-enactment of this march.

Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival

The Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival takes place between 1 and 22 October 2009. The Festival programme features over 200 affordable events taking place in over 100 venues across Scotland. For information see the website.

Public Procurement Conference

Public procurement will play a key role in supporting economic growth over the next few years. The economic challenges facing Scotland will require a sharpening focus on the importance of effective procurement. The Scottish Government’s Fifth National Public Procurement Conference will provide an opportunity to hear how organisations and individuals from across the public sector are meeting the challenges and what lessons can be learned from those involved in reforming procurement practices and performance. Friday 25 October 2009, Glasgow.

Scottish Third Sector Research Conference

The Scottish Third Sector Research Conference 2009 will be held in Edinburgh on Monday 26 October.

Booking has now opened for this event and a full programme of presentations and discussion panels has also been announced. The event is co-hosted by SCVO and Edinburgh University and will feature new and existing academic and practitioner research from across Scotland.

At the Scottish Third Sector Research Conference 2009 you will get the chance to:

Highlight the profile of your organisation to key funders of Third Sector Research in Scotland
Attend your choice from 12 presentations showcasing the latest research of relevance to the sector in Scotland
Help set the research agenda for the Third Sector in Scotland alongside key decision-makers and commissioners of Third Sector research at UK and Scotland levels
Receive a free copy of the new ESRC/SCVO publication “The Third Sector – discussions around public policy issues” which will be launched at the conference

For more information or to book a place please visit the conference webpages.

Tell-a-Story Day – free resources

Tell-a-Story Day on Friday 30 October 2009 is the national celebration of oral storytelling for all ages, and the perfect opportunity to hold your own DIY storytelling event – telling your own tales, or encouraging and enabling other people to share their stories, experiences and memories. Anyone can organise their own DIY storytelling event: it's fun, it's easy, it's free and you can obtain all the essentials from the Scottish Storytelling Centre website : resources, advice, posters and stickers, publicity support... everything you need for a successful day!

Leadership and resilience

The purpose of this seminar is to examine the changing nature of leadership in local communities and for local services, on the back of a review of the cutting edge research on this topic. A representative from the Scottish Government will chair this seminar, which will involve a series of presentations with an accompanying Q&A session. Two of the presentations will report on recent academic research in the field, whilst one will provide a view from a policy/practice perspective. In the afternoon there will be the opportunity to work in cross-organizational groups exploring the implications of the seminar for the future leadership of local communities and local services.

Friday 30 October 2009, 10.30am for 11.00am to 4.30pm, at Seminar Room 3, Chrystal Macmillan Building, University of Edinburgh Business School, George Square, Edinburgh

This is the second in a series of three seminars organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), University of Edinburgh Business School, Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations (ACOSVO) and Society of Local Authority Chief Executives & Senior Managers (SOLACE Scotland).

For more information see the ESRC website or contact Marzena Bien on 01793 413137.

The Gathering 2010

Don't miss Scotland's biggest charity and voluntary sector event! 18 and 19 February 2010 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). Whether you are a volunteer, a board member or work for a charity or social enterprise, or just want to find out more, this is an event not to be missed, so get involved! For more information see the SCVO website.

Volunteers needed for Children's Panel

A call for more volunteers to join the Children's Panel and help improve the outlook for young people in their area went out across Scotland recently. Around 500 volunteers are needed across Scotland. The Children's Panel is unique to Scotland and was established in 1971 to address the needs and behaviour of children and young people who face serious problems in their lives. The Scottish Government is discussing proposals to strengthen and streamline Scotland's Children's Hearings system and improve the support given to vulnerable young people with stakeholders before legislation is introduced to the Scottish Parliament early next year. More information is available at the InfoScotland website or on 0845 601 2770.

Cutting 10% of emissions in 2010: everyone’s at it

10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions can be achieved in 2010.

WHY BOTHER?

Why bother jumping out of the way of a speeding car? Why bother removing a burst appendix?

Cutting 10% in one year is a bold target, but for most people it’s an achievable one, and is in line with what scientists say is needed over the next 18 months. In homes, in workplaces, schools and hospitals, galleries and football clubs and universities, this will take the first steps on the road to becoming a carbon neutral society. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of a huge problem like climate change, but by uniting behind immediate, effective and achievable action, 10:10 enables everyone to make a meaningful difference.

10:10 is the perfect opportunity to discover what’s possible when working together. See the 10:10 website for more information and to sign up.

Government support for social investment

The UK Government's Office of the Third Sector has published three guides to Social Return on Investment which supplements 'A guide to Social Return on Investment', published in May 2009:

Introduction [pdf 629KB]
For commissioners [pdf 521KB]
For social investors [pdf 432KB]

Or find the main guide in various formats. The Scottish Government's complementary project is online at the SROI Project website.

Launched at a recent Social Investment Conference by Minister for the Third Sector Angela Smith, she also presented 'Good Deals 2009: The Social Investment Almanack' [downloadable in a large-sized pdf of 6.48MB].

This new publication showcases different types of social investment and includes the first comprehensive directory of social investors, finance providers and support organisations in the UK.

Edinburgh Equalities Network – Executive Summary of first seminar available online

The Edinburgh Equalities Network (EEN) is supported by The City of Edinburgh Council and its partners in NHS Lothian, Lothian and Borders Police Service and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Network arrangements will help the public authorities to work in partnership with groups and communities of interest across the “equalities domains” of age, caring role, disability, ethnicity, faith/belief, gender/gender identity, and/or sexual orientation to collect views and information.

EEN held its first seminar event in June 2009 which gave Network members an opportunity to discuss experiences of inequality in service areas from across our public sector partner organisations. The report of this seminar has now been published. Fore more information please see the Network website.

SSEC publishes new guide to Community Benefit Clauses

The Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition (SSEC) has published Winning new business through sustainable procurement, a new guide to Community Benefit Clauses. It is often said that winning a slice of Scotland’s £8bn public spending needs market knowledge, patience and a hawk’s eye for detail. Yet understanding the reasons behind a new slow burn revolution currently taking place in public sector procurement practice could also offer exciting synergies for your business, working in partnership with Scotland’s £2bn social enterprise business movement. It could even change the way you buy goods and services for your business.

A Community Benefit Clause is one of a range of social clauses that can be included in public contracts and which is seeing increasing use in the public sector both in Scotland as well as the rest of the UK. While grants and donations to good causes have a long established history in both the public and private sectors, despite the economic downturn, procurement is now increasingly being seen as a dynamic tool to deliver social change and added value, through buying goods and services from social enterprises and other small businesses. Achieving wider social outcomes in the procurement process offers SMEs and social enterprises real opportunities in the supply chain. In other words – social transformation through trade and not charity.

Download this interesting leaflet and learn more about Community Benefit Clauses by clicking here [260 KB]. For more information on the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition including other publications, visit the SSEC website.

Zero Waste Plan

The Scottish Government is developing a new Zero Waste Plan for Scotland which outlines how everyone can play a part in reducing the amount of waste that is produced, how to reuse valuable resources and increase recycling levels to help Scotland become a Zero Waste Society. Whether at home or at work, everyone creates waste and everyone has a role to play in meeting this vision. Scotland's Zero Waste Plan: Consultation will close on Friday 13 November 2009 with the finalised "Scotland's Zero Waste Plan" being launched in 2010. You can respond online or download a pdf questionnaire.

EVOC Learning – courses available

EVOC’s autumn training programme is now online and bookings are being accepted for a range of courses. Places fill up quickly so book now to avoid disappointment. A range of courses are on offer such as:

Effective Meetings
Tuesday 6th October 2009
After this course your meetings will never be the same.

CMI Introductory Executive Diploma in Management
Every Thursday commencing 8th October until 17th December 2009
This qualification is intended for people who are considering a move into a senior management role or those who are new to such a role.

Assertiveness in the Workplace
Tuesday 13 October 2009
This one-day course is aimed at anyone who would like to become more assertive in their workplace; whether that is with colleagues, or with the individuals and groups they support.

Supporting Performance
Monday 26 October 2009
This course is designed for managers and team leaders who supervise staff with special attention to managing poor performance.

Effective Minute Taking
Thursday 5 November 2009
This half-day course will help participants to learn how to set an effective agenda, identify what to include in the minutes, and produce accurate and user-friendly minutes.

Effective Presentation Skills
Monday 9 November 2009
This one-day course will focus on helping the participant identify the knowledge and skills needed to plan, prepare, and present a presentation.

SCVO Training Programme 2009/10

The SCVO training programme for 2009/10 is also available online at their website.

Bookshelf

If you have read something you’d like to share, or are aware of a useful resource, please contact Julia with your suggestion.

The New Economics: A Bigger Picture
by David Boyle and Andrew Simms
September 2009
Earthscan

New Economics Foundation (nef) fellow David Boyle and nef policy director Andrew Simms have written the definitive guide to new economic thinking, drawing on twenty years of nef research. Skeptical about money as a measure of success, this new economics turns our assumptions about wealth and poverty upside down. It shows us that real wealth can be measured by increased well-being and environmental sustainability rather than just having and consuming more things.

The book, The New Economics: A Bigger Picture, describes the problems and bizarre contradictions in conventional economics as well as the principles of the emerging new economics, and it tells the real-world stories of how new economics is being successfully put into practice around the world. An essential guide to understanding new economics for all those who care about making economics work for people and planet.

The Impact of Devolution on Social Policy
by Derek Birrell
September 2009
Policy Press

With new devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this book provides a study of developments in the major areas of social policy and a full comparison between the four UK nations.

For your reading pleasure . . . .

Social Inclusion News

Social Inclusion News is the electronic monthly newsletter of Capital City Partnership. The next issue will be published on 5 October and will be available at the website.

Social Enterprise Edinburgh eBulletin

This bulletin provides you with information, events and news from the world of social enterprise in Edinburgh.

Senscot Bulletin

Senscot is passionate about these people we call social entrepreneurs - individuals who believe passionately in something which will benefit the community - who get their hands dirty doing it and who have the dogged determination to see it through. Read the Senscot bulletin and be both informed and entertained!

Volunteer Organisers' Bulletin

Aimed at anyone involved in the management of Volunteers. Sign-up to this subscription-based news and information bulletin on all things volunteering related by email Lara at Volunteer Centre Edinburgh.

About this bulletin

The reason this information is sent electronically is that email is quick and immediate and it provides you with information that can be mailed on, printed out or cut and pasted into other documents. We hope you enjoy it and find it of interest.

We welcome your comments, suggestions and contributions, simply email Julia at the Compact Team.

The next Compact Bulletin will be circulated at the start of December. The deadline for submissions to the December issue will be 5 pm on Monday 23 November 2009.

All about the Compact …

- What is a Compact?

Webster defines a Compact as 'an agreement between parties,' and as 'a covenant.' One might say a compact is a contract, or a promise.

- What is The Edinburgh Compact?

The Edinburgh Compact is a high-level city agreement between the public and voluntary and community sectors. It is about the relationship between voluntary and community organisations and public agencies at a citywide level. It is about promoting and supporting an environment of mutual advantage.

The Compact Strategy sets out the underpinning principles and values which the Compact seeks to promote as well as a plan for action over the coming years that will address the key challenges identified in the development of the Compact.

The development of the Compact strategy and action plan are overseen by the Compact Partnership.

- What is The Edinburgh Compact Partnership?

The Edinburgh Compact Partnership is the primary context within which statutory partners come face to face with a range of voluntary and community sector (sometimes called the 'third sector') interests. The partnership is made up of voluntary sector and public sector partners in equal numbers and their contact details are available on this site. The Partnership is responsible for taking forward the work of the Compact Strategy and its Action Plan.

- What are the Compact Principles?

The Compact says that public agencies will work with third sector bodies 'In Equal Respect' and employing the Compact Principles of transparency, accountability, clear communication, equity and respect.

- Introduce me to the Compact Family of Strategies!

All the Compact Strategies are available to download, just click on the link below to be introduced!

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