Happy retirement, Dave!
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 19th March 2025
The SCDC team has said a fond farewell to David Allan, a longstanding member of our organisation and a key figure in community development, as he begins a well-deserved retirement.
David has made a huge contribution to community development practice over his distinguished 40-year career, from his community work posts in Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, to joining SCDC in 2001. Across that time, he’s held several positions, latterly helping to drive the development and leadership of the organisation as Deputy Director.
At SCDC, David has supported pretty much all areas of community development! But notably, he’s been instrumental in the development of community-led health through his work on HIIC, championed use of the National Standards for Community Engagement by all, and worked tirelessly to advance community-led action research to empower communities to take action on the issues important to them.
SCDC Director, Susan Paxton, said: “Dave’s been a huge asset to the Centre and his knowledge and experience of community development over such a long career has really helped us navigate our way through the ups and downs of the empowerment agenda for many, many years. He’ll be sorely missed by us all and he richly deserves a long and happy retirement – aw the best Dave!”
We know many people will have worked with David over the years and will join us in wishing him a hearty congratulations on his retirement, recognising the significant role he’s had in driving forward community development policy and practice in Scotland.
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