What we do

We work directly with community organisations, people who work in communities and with people who make policy.

We deliver large scale programmes across Scotland to help build the capacity of the community sector, support public agencies to work effectively with communities and to widen participation in local democracy.

We support and manage a series of networks, using our learning from these and working with communities and community practitioners to inform policy and legislation.

A major part of our work is providing research, training and consultancy services. All of our services are tailored to meet the individual needs of the organisations and partnerships we support. Find out more about our training.

We work closely with the European Community Development Network and the International Association of Community Development.

Our key work

Featured

Community Health Exchange (CHEX)

CHEX supports and promotes community development approaches to improving people's health.

PB Scotland

PB Scotland acts as a hub for sharing and learning about the work being done by participatory budgeting initiatives around Scotland.

Scottish Co-production Network

The Scottish Co-production Network is a way for people to share ideas and learning about co-production.

Health Issues in the Community

Health Issues in the Community (HIIC) is a training programme which looks at issues such as health, poverty, power and social justice in a different way.

Supporting Communities

Supporting Communities is a package of support for community organisations across Scotland to help build skills, confidence and capacity.

VOiCE

VOiCE is planning and recording software that assists individuals, organisations and partnerships to design and deliver effective community engagement.

Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is Power is a programme to support community-led action research across Scotland.

Learning, Evaluation and Planning

The LEAP framework is designed to support a partnership approach to achieving change and improvement in the quality of community life.

Communities Channel Scotland

The Communities Channel Scotland is a website which puts communities in the spotlight by connecting people and sharing ideas.

Building Stronger Community Organisations

This resource is designed to build the skills, confidence and knowledge of refugee-led organisations and refugee supporting organisations, although most of the materials will be useful to any community group.

Participation requests

Participation requests are one way that communities can ask to work with public bodies to make services better. SCDC works to raise awareness, and support the use, of participation requests, as well as to help strengthen and improve how they work.

Rebooting Resilience

This programme aims to explore what resilience looks like in our communities, how we can build on existing good practice and improve how communities and local agencies can work together to develop strong, resilient communities.

Climate statement

Our statement promoting community involvement in climate decision-making on as COP26 summit begins in Glasgow.

Supporting Communities Safely

These pages provide advice on how to virus proof the fantastic things communities are doing and reduce the risk of indirect spread of Covid-19.

National Standards for Community Engagement

The National Standards for Community Engagement are a way to build and sustain the relationships between public services and community groups.

Peer-led Practice Learning report

A report from Barnardo's Scotland & SCDC about peer-led evaluation and the impact that the Barnardo’s Nurture Service has had on the people involved.

Local Place Plans: Challenges and Opportunities

Using action research, we wanted to find out more about the implications of Local Place Plans were for the planning system and communities.

Strengthening Community Councils

Exploring how community councils can contribute to democratic renewal in Scotland.

Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act strengthens community voices in decisions about public services and makes it easier for them to own and manage land and buildings.

Our resources

Featured

Education Bill Provisions Response - SCDC response

SCDC submitted a written response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on proposals for a new qualifications body and a new approach to inspection of Education in Scotland.

Getting it right - a Human Rights Bill for Scotland

SCDC submitted a written response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a proposed Human Rights Bill for Scotland. We’ve summarised our key points, with a focus on the importance of participation and community capacity building within the context of human rights.

Engagement in Local Development Plans

Here are the key points from SCDC’s response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on ‘Effective community engagement in local development planning’ guidance in September 2023.

Community wealth building

Community wealth building is focused on growing the influence communities have on the economy and ensuring communities receive more of the benefits from the wealth they help to generate. The Scottish Government has adopted a community wealth building approach, and sees it as a key tool in supporting a just transition to net zero and reducing child poverty. This is a summary of SCDC’s response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on community wealth building which ran in 2023.

20-minute neighbourhoods

If you lived in a 20-minute neighbourhood you would be able meet all your day-to-day needs without having to travel more than 20 minutes by foot, bike or public transport. We’ve summarised the key points from our response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on planning guidance it is developing in relation to 20-minute neighbourhoods and local living.

Participation Request Resource Pack

SCDC’s participation request resource pack contains a range of guides, tools and templates to help you understand the Participation Request process, the language and terms that are used, and the process involved.

National Standards for Community Engagement: the 7 principles in graphics

We’ve made these graphics to help show the 7 standards in a simple way and highlight the key elements.

Making your community events greener

Are you planning a community event and want to do your bit to make a climate impact? Even if your event isn’t focused on climate change, there’s still lots you can do. Here are some practical things to make your event greener, and some things to think about too.

National Standards for Community Engagement

The National Standards for Community Engagement are a way to build and sustain the relationships between public services and community groups.

Peer-led Practice Learning report

A report from Barnardo's Scotland & SCDC about peer-led evaluation and the impact that the Barnardo’s Nurture Service has had on the people involved.

Strengthening Community Councils

Exploring how community councils can contribute to democratic renewal in Scotland.

Community Participation Action Learning Report

This report aimed to develop learning, take actions, improve practice and reflect together on opportunities and challenges in the current context.

Communities matter to democracy

Our response to the recent Scottish Government’s Democracy Matters consultation welcomes the idea of people having more control over what happens in their communities.

Knowledge is Power

SCDC and the Poverty Alliance worked with ten community organisations to co-design a resource framework which could be used to support communities across Scotland to conduct their own inquiries into the issues affecting them.

Widening the Welcome

Exploring the local experiences of refugee resettlement and how examines how community development approaches could be used to further refugee integration in Scotland.

Action Research by, in and for Communities (ARC)

ARC is to help community and voluntary groups carry out research in and with their communities.

Community development and co-production

This paper outlines the common approaches that community development and co-production take.

Co-production: Making a difference together resource

Published in 2015, 'Co-production – how we make a difference together' is a suite of resources – videos, case studies and information to help spread understanding of co-production

Building Stronger Communities

Building Stronger Communities is a practical assessment and planning tool for community capacity building in Scotland.

Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act strengthens community voices in decisions about public services and makes it easier for them to own and manage land and buildings.

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December 03, 2018

Knowledge is Power

December 03, 2018/ Admin

The importance of community-led action research in Scotland

New!
Following this report SCDC and The Poverty Alliance have launched a new programme, Knowledge is Power, to support community-led action research across Scotland.

Find out more.

Community-led action research is not research for the sake of it, to prove a theory or to satisfy the curious. It is about people asking their own questions about the issues they experience, getting the information, and evidence they need, and testing actions for change.'

Starting in 2017, SCDC and the Poverty Alliance worked with ten community organisations to co-design a resource framework which could be used to support communities across Scotland to conduct their own inquiries into the issues affecting them.

You can download the report here.

The key recommendations of the report are to:

Establish a new cross sector alliance to co-ordinate and manage the resource
Create a locus for access to practical resources, and for centralising research evidence
Develop a cohort of skilled practitioners and trainers in action research, drawn from community organisations across Scotland
Establish a fund for communities to pay for participation costs associated with their inquiries
Develop a peer led learning network
Create spaces and opportunities for communities and decision makers to share and deliberate research findings as a way of informing local actions and national priorities

You can also download an executive summary here.

Please contact kate.mchendry@scdc.org.uk.

Our work

We work directly with community organisations, people who work in communities and with people who make policy.

The importance of community-led action research in Scotland