Changing the Community Landscape in West Edinburgh A Social Capital Building Project

Planned Outcomes SOME intended outcomes for the project are: To ensure more local people are engaged in community learning and development/community engagement activity, through, for example, volunteering, attending learning opportunities, taking part in local decision- making. To get involvement from groups traditionally ‘hard to involve’, particularly young people, the elderly, people from minority communities, and people with disabilities and feel their perspectives are taken account of and thus ensuring they inform the community planning process. To build up a robust bank of qualitative and quantitative data on what works, and what doesn’t work. To increase the levels of social capital in West Edinburgh through all of the above.

Overview of Activities Social Capital Survey Training Youth Engagement Events Community Group Networks Time Banking Art Project Final celebration

Initial Social Capital Survey gives us a rough guide… for all graphs 1= most positive, 10=most negative

Training 2 half-day workshops on using Social Capital in our work delivered by Assist Social Capital Well attended by CEC staff, voluntary sector and community activists Feedback shows that people will use the training to develop their work with the social capital approach “The workshop will help me to measure social capital within our own organisation [and] will inform future work within our community” -Participant (Sept. 2010) “You broke through my usual scepticism of ‘sector-speak’. You did this very well & made a convert!” -Participant (April 2010)

Youth Engagement Events Along with colleagues in CLD, the project supported two engagement events for over 60 young people in West Edinburgh.

Networking Opportunities for Smaller Community Groups Community Group Fair In addition to providing a space for community groups to promote their activities and attract new members, the CCL project hosted an informal networking lunch. Series of Talks Voluntary Sector Forum and CCL project hosted the first of a series of talks for small community groups on using social media.

Time Banking What is time banking? For every hour of time you give to help someone in your community, you get one hour of time credit that you can spend on a service you need. It’s a way of exchanging skills in your community but, more importantly, it’s a way of introducing people to each other. A small group of community members are involved in developing a time bank in the area of Drum Brae, Clermiston and East Craigs and we’re working with the Day Care Centre who will continue to develop the time bank once the project ends.

Art Project Four groups are working with a professional community artist to produce works focussing on their community. We’ve asked groups to think about what they like, what they don’t like and how they can contribute to community development.

177 people completed the initial and follow up social capital survey. Over 90 community members have attended project events such as an information evening about Time Banking and a community group fair in Kirkliston. 60 young people attended the Easter Egg-stravaganza and Connected Youth Engagement Events. 27 community workers and volunteers have attended training on using social capital in their work with communities. Project workers have visited over 20 local groups to talk about the CCL project in general and Time Banking in particular. 10 community workers and volunteers attended a Social Spaces ‘Travelling Pantry’ Workshop sponsored by the RSA. 8 members of the community have decided to join the Time Bank so far. 4 groups (about 50 people) are participating in an art project focussing on their community.

Contact Information Heather McCluskey Project Development Worker Lawrence Arscott CLD Worker