Guides, tools and templates to make the most out of PRs
Case studies
We have gathered information from some communities who have submitted Participation Requests so you can find out about their experiences.
Click on any of the links below to read any of the case studies:
Share your PR success so that others can see what's possible and learn from your experience.
Argyll and Bute Council are a PSA who actively promoted Participation Requests on an on-going basis, seeing them as one of the ways that communities can ask to get involved in working with the Council to improve how services are delivered.
Families into Sport for Health (FiSH) used a participation request, in 2017, to further their campaign to pilot Sunday opening hours of a local sports centre. Among other things, this case study demonstrates that even if the initial request cannot be validated because the group haven’t set out a clear outcome, it shouldn’t be declined. Instead, the group should be advised why their request isn’t valid and given time and support to help them make a request.
In 2023, Luing Community Council (LCC) made a Participation Request to Argyll and Bute Council to be involved in discussions around improving the ferry service to better meet the education, work, business, health and social care needs of islanders. In this instance, the public service authority’s community development team offered support in making and participating in the request.
The Joint Forum of Community Councils in West Lothian made a participation request to West Lothian Council concerning waste services throughout West Lothian in 2022. This case study shows how a request can be refused if a public service authority doesn’t consider the group an eligible community participation body.
St. Andrew’s Research Group made a Participation Request (PR) to NHS Fife to improve health and wellbeing for the people of St. Andrews and North-East Fife, specifically relating to health provision at St. Andrews Community Hospital. It was refused in March 2023 on the basis that the board felt that channels already existed through which the group could engage with locality stakeholders on the issues.
In early 2022, People First (Scotland) submitted a Participation Request to Fife Health and Social Care Partnership to open discussion around the reduction and closure of local community based services and the impact of limited support. This request resulted in unintended outcomes, where the public service authority invited the group to engage in long-term decision-making processes.
Scottish Borders SDS Forum is a group of people with lived experience of self-directed-support (SDS) in the Scottish Borders. In May 2019, the forum made a participation request to Scottish Borders Council after the local authority decided to introduce pre-payment cards without adequate consultation. The case study outlines who they were able to contribute to the Outcome Improvement Process.
In 2019, Tillydrone Flat Association submitted a participation request to Aberdeen City Council in order to prevent the relocation of the Tillydrone Community Flat to a new community campus. In this instance, the group felt that a Participation Request gave them a way to engage with the PSA in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, and which led to a positive outcome.
In 2024, Elie & Earlsferry Community Council (EECC) made a Participation Request to Scottish Rural College (SRUC) to improve the educational outcomes for SRUC students in Fife through improved access to local land-based courses at Elmwood College and contribute to the redesign of the educational offerings at Elmwood College. The case study demonstrates how community bodies can propose modifications to the suggested Outcome Improvement Process.
Portobello Community Council used a participation request in 2015, as part of the community's wider effort to increase their involvement in the sale of the Westbank Street land, known locally as the ‘Pitz’. The community group in this scenario found the initial application process easy and straightforward, but that the outcome improvement process could have been more productive if the PSA had recognised what they could bring to it.
Social Studios’ Participation request Portal which maps requests submitted between 2015 and 2020