Achieving Community Empowerment (ACE) 

National community capacity building programme

SCDC has been awarded 5 years funding from the Big Lottery Fund to deliver the Achieving Community Empowerment (ACE) capacity building programme in Scotland. 

The programme aims to build the capacity of community groups by providing mentoring support, developing learning materials, facilitating the sharing of knowledge, experience and learning between participating projects and communicating key lessons more widely.  The programme will run until September 2014 and will directly benefit 40 groups across Scotland.

We are working with around 10 groups per year to support them to assess the motivations and capacities of their own organisation, and those they seek to influence or work with. We will encourage groups to build awareness and support in their community, and to build the evidence to support the case for change. 

Such change may involve establishing community-run services or facilities; working with public agencies through community planning processes, or advocating through other means. This will be done through a series of structured workshops that focuses on the four key considerations in effective community action: assessment, planning, doing and reviewing. 

We are also developing a toolkit which draws on a range of good practice materials and ensure shared learning takes place with and between participants so that lessons learned can be shared across the statutory, voluntary and community sectors.

The deadline for applications for year 2 of the programme has now closed. However if you think you would benefit from this kind of support and would like to apply to the next stage of the programme, please contact Aileen Skillen by telephoning 0141 248 1964 or by e-mailing aileen@scdc.org.uk. 

Further information about the programme and how to apply is contained within the ACE programme guidance notes.  Click here for a copy.

A short report containing profiles of the ten groups involved in year 1 of the ACE programme is now available.  Download the ACE - Group Profiles report.

'Stronger Communities'

The Big Lottery Fund is funding two other capacity building programmes with other partner organisations under the Dynamic Inclusive Communities Fund.  All three programmes of community support are brought together within 'Stronger Communities', a collaborative initiative between Future Balance, the Scottish Community Foundation, and the Scottish Community Development Centre. 

• Our Community Our Future, delivered by the Scottish Community Foundation, is designed to provide support to a small number of new and emerging groups to develop their capacity to influence change within their community.  For more information, please visit http://www.scottishcf.org/.
• Future Balance will provide support to 150 new and existing groups under the 'Sus It Out +' programme to help them develop and become more sustainable.  For more information, please visit http://www.futurebalance.org.uk/.

For more information, visit the dedicated 'Stronger Communities' website at http://www.strongercommunities.org.uk/.