SCDC Weekly

The authors of a new book that explores the impact of austerity in Britain have written a guest blog for CHEX outlining the disastrous effects these policies have had on life expectancy in the UK.  

A new blog from Tax Justice UK explores what changes could be made to ensure the UK's vastly unequal tax system sees more tax paid by the wealthiest in our society. 

An important part of renewable energy projects are community benefits schemes, which are additional funds that developers make available to communities, enabling them to share in the benefits of the project will bring.

A new report written by a group of Edinburgh residents has highlighted the extent of issues with their homes, and the impact the issues have had on their human rights.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a new report showing that more than 14 million people in the UK (1 in 5) were living in the poverty during 2022/23.

A new report provides a snapshot of participatory budgeting (PB) activity in Scotland, underlining both the challenges and opportunities that remain.

With the aftermath of last week's recording-breaking storm still being felt by many, it's worth exploring the role that community organisations play in supporting local responses to emergencies.

Our introductory open course will help develop your understanding of the principles, practice and policy connections of community development in Scotland today.

This resource from Third Sector Human Rights & Equalities explores the connection between human rights and climate change, and how organisations can work to address the unjust imbalances we see across our society.

Disclosure Scotland has published a report summarising responses to proposals on future fees, including changes to PVG checks that could see community organisations having to meet additional costs.

A recent workshop held during Co-production Week Scotland explored how HLS can support co-production practice.

Participatory budgeting work in Scotland has shown how green PB can help communities take direct decisions on how budgets are spent addressing climate change.

In a time of stretched budgets and difficult decisions, it’s more vital than ever that we understand community priorities. That’s when community engagement comes into play.

Keeping up to date with what community-led health organisations and practitioners are doing to improve people’s health and wellbeing is an important part of the job for the CHEX team – the Community Health Exchange.  

We’re always looking to improve and understand your priorities, so we’re asking you to let us know your feedback on The Weekly in our (very!) short survey.

The new Capital Investment Health Impact Assessment (CHIA) is an online toolkit to help capital investment teams consider how capital projects impact the health and wellbeing of local communities.

Organisations from across the sector have responded to last week's Scottish Government budget announcements. 

The 10th December is International Human Rights Day, a day celebrated annually to mark the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the aftermath of World War II. A range of groups and individuals come together to march on the Scottish Parliament Building, demanding the Scottish Government bring forward a Human Rights Bill for Scotland.

With COP29 now concluded, this article explores what the policy context looks like for communities taking climate action in Scotland.  

In a new article, CHEX Head of Programme Sarah Boath reflects on the challenging funding landscape community organisations are facing, and why we need to start thinking of these vital supports as prudent investments instead of short-term projects.

A new toolkit for refugee communities, refugee supporting groups, and community groups has been developed to help build stronger, more influential and effective community organisations. 

Public bodies have a crucial role to play in supporting co-productive approaches, and SCDC’s new training offer is specifically designed to support this role and give staff time to gain new knowledge and skills - and confidently apply them in their work.

As the public and third sectors face an increasingly difficult funding environment, a new article has outlined some of the challenges of carrying out co-production during this time - with a new Co-production Guide setting out some possible solutions.

This event will bring together people working in community organisations, who are facing the pressures of delivering their vital work in the current challenging environment, for peer learning and support. 

In response to a Social Justice and Social Security Committee call for views, SCDC and CHEX have reflected feedback from community organisations on what fair and efficient funding for the third sector would look like in Scotland

Later this month is Co-production Week Scotland, and this year it’s focused on how we embed co-production as the way to deliver services and support across the country.

Voices from across the sector have called on proposed cuts to community organisations in Edinburgh to be halted, and for further engagement to take place to better understand the impact this decision could have.

Applications for the SCDC Board Member posts have been extended until 5pm on 8th November 2024. 

New data shows life expectancy in Scotland is still lower than pre-pandemic levels, despite increases since 2020-2022.

We’ve launched a new suite of training designed to enable public bodies and partnerships to support community priorities and aspirations.