Our Services

The Community Links staff team provide a range of services including:

• Preparing and updating regeneration plans
• Project initiation and development
• Needs and demand analysis
• Staff and committee training
• Preparation of briefs
• Project management
• Regeneration portfolio development and management
• Feasibility studies, business plans, option assessments
• Funding identification and funding applications
• Community information and participation

Ethos

The ethos of our work is to build on existing strengths across the community. Community Links Scotland try and identify all stages that communities can increase and or begin their involvement in the management and control of local facilities, activities and services.

Implementation

Each client is allocated a project manager who has overall responsibility for the management and delivery of the project/activity/service/facility. The project managers meet with the client to identify, prioritise and update the regeneration aims on a regular basis.

Business Plans

3 Villages Hall, Arrochar

Community Links Scotland has carried out a number of business plans across Scotland with the majority focusing around the acquisition, development and running of local community assets such as community centres and village halls. In many cases this activity is funded through grants from Awards for All, Investing in Ideas, LEADER and the Scottish Government.

CLS staff can cover all aspects of the business planning process, which particular emphasis on the consultation stages that are essential to any successful plan. We use our own in house team of surveyors from Streetlinks to carry out face to face doorstep interviews, on the street targeted group interviews or accessing information from community members attending open and community days. Our experience in fundraising means that finance, fundraising and revenue projections are both accurate and reflective of what can and cannot be achieved.

In addition to the case studies, business plans have also been completed for: Muirhouse HA, Edinburgh; Pennyghael Hall Committee, Mull; Hillhead HA, Kirkintilloch; Route 81, Garelochhhead; Kilmelford Village Hall, Argyll & Bute; Bellsmyre Information & Advice Centre, Dumbarton; Easdale Village Hall, Argyll & Bute; and Oban Youth & Community Centre, Oban.

Fundraising

Route 81, Garelochhead

A major element of the activity of Community Links Scotland is working with client groups to identify funding that suits a project idea and then assist the group to access the funding itself.

All our project staff have experience of identifying and completing often complex funding applications, however, we also have specialist fundraising members of staff who specialise in keeping abreast of all funding available and who are available to assist project staff and clients when required. In the last year CLS staff have attracted almost £12.5m of funding for client groups from with individual grants ranging from £100 to £640,000.

Funding most commonly accessed includes: Lottery, Scottish Government, LEADER, SRDP, Awards for All, Investing in Ideas, Voluntary Action Fund, Children in Need, Robertson Trust, and Tudor Trust.

Consultation

DRUMCOGS Community Event

Underlying all the work of Community Links Scotland is a commitment to community consultation that supports the community ownership and community empowerment process. Our staff undertake a variety of consultation methods and activities including:

• Questionnaires - postal, on-line, street based, qwizdom
• Face to face meetings
• Public or semi public open days - boards, models, stickers, workshops
• Street events
• Social events

On any one piece of work, several of the above methods can be used, from in house Streetlinks staff who can engage with young people on the streets or householders in their homes to qwizdom, a hand held electronic instant response system that lets 120 people play "ask the audience".

Project Development

Project Development

Community Links Scotland staff can become involved in a client's project at the very early ideas stage or much further into the development of the process. Whichever the case, our project staff provide years of experience across a great variety of projects, situations and issues that need to be progressed.

In some cases we have been involved even before there is an idea!

Staff have carried out several Community Action Plans in Taynuilt, Rosneath and Kilcregan designed to identify what the community would wish to see introduced into their respective areas in terms of activities, facilities and services. In many cases staff help community groups to take forward outline ideas into tangible projects before handing these entirely back to the community or taking a much more hands off approach.

Project Management

Knowetop Community Farm, Dumbarton

Community Links Scotland work in many situations where there is neither sufficient community confidence, capacity or available staff for good projects to move forward and be successful, without the hands-on project management support from CLS. In these situations our project management staff act with and for client groups assisting them, for example, in the appointment of design teams, meeting funders, liaising/negotiating with public sector agencies, liaising with contractors and consultants and generally ensuring that all the potential needs of a group are met.

As a result of this close and long term working relationship (many staff have worked for up to 8 years with clients) clients trust our advice and know that the groups best interest are at the heart of all decisions that are made.

Examples of longer term project management would include Route 81, Garelochhead, Arrochar & Tarbet Community Development Trust, Rosneath & Clynder Community Action Trust, Bellsmyre Information & Advice Centre.

Wider Role Plans

Arklet Housing Association, Giffnock

Community Links Scotland provides Registered Social Landlords (RSL) with a wider role plan service which enables them to plan and forecast their wider role priorities over a three year period. RSL wider role activities should not be viewed in isolation from the national and local context and the actual needs rather than the perceived need of a local area. In the majority of cases wider role projects are not something that will be initiated, actioned, completed and evaluated within one financial year. It is clear that any wider role plan produced should meet the following requirements:

• provide a development framework for partnership working with statutory and local organisations

• set a policy and project procedure that will impose itself on any proposed wider role project

• identify the local needs and ensure that these are reflected in the wider role activities prioritised by the RSL

• develop a series of questionnaires and exercises aimed at bringing to light potential wider role issues

• prioritise wider role activities within any one year and in the short, medium and long term

• provide a document which can project for three years and that can be reviewed each year to re prioritise the third year of wider role activities

• provide indicative costed proposals with potential funders

• establish outcomes, outputs and evaluation and monitoring indicators to enable a satisfactory cyclical review system by all partnering agencies.

CLS have established a Wider Role Plan to meet the above requirements and have successfully carried out and subsequently updated these both for individual RSLs and groups of RSLs.

Streetlinks

Streetwok, Whitecrook

Streetlinks is a detached outreach project within Community Links Scotland whose primary aim is to identify and address the needs of 12-20 year old young people who are not currently accessing services or are in need of support.

Streetlinks has the following aims:

• Identify young people and work with them in areas where they feel secure and where they regularly meet, predominantly working out on the streets

• Impart relevant information and signpost young people to partner agencies

In addition to carrying out detached streetwork from 6-10pm, Streetlinks also carry out a number of youth drop-ins in venues throughout Scotland. These are held throughout the week but are generally on a Friday and Saturday night where preventing risky behaviour is a major issue. Streetlinks have a variety of games and activities that they can take to drop-ins but they also have their own minibus to take young people to facilities as well as a mobile Multi-Use Games Arena (MUGA) and a mobile climbing wall that can be taken to venues where facilities for young people are not present.

The Streetlinks staff team is composed of full and part-time staff, together with a large number of sessional detached outreach staff.

Sportslinks

Climbing wall at Linstone Community Day

In addition to carrying out a variety of strictly youth work approaches to working with young people CLS also established a sports project within Streetlinks called Sportslinks to provide a range of sports based outreach services. Facilities include a mobile Multi-Use Games Arena (MUGA) which can be set up as a football, basketball, tennis or general sports and play area on a flat piece of ground either grass or hard standing. This allows sports facilities to be set up within an hour and young people engaged with over a two hour period, before taking away the pitch at the end of the evening.

Sportslinks also operate a mobile climbing wall which allows up to two people to ascent a 14-foot rock wall in a safe and supported environment. In addition to these facilities Streetlinks and Sportslinks staff also work with a variety of other sports service providers to operate midnight soccer leagues, twilight basketball sessions and summer programmes.

For more information about sports projects, please visit the Streetlinks website:

Groundlinks

Groundlinks is a stand alone wholly owned subsidiary of Community Links Scotland. Its aim is to give local people a strong voice within the development of the spaces that most impact on their physical and social environment. This service looks beyond mainstream services to provide a sustainable resource that works with deprived communities and integrates them within the design and consultation process from the outset.

Groundlinks is an organisation which:

• employs two experienced, fully qualified landscape architects, both members of the Landscape Institute with more than 20 years experience of community landscape architecture between them

• provides a community based landscape architecture service to RSLs, and voluntary sectors organisations, to develop and deliver projects which support regeneration priorities in the area

• develops and delivers projects to ensure consistent quality in accordance with all partners

• provides resources for project and programme development, project management and delivery

Marketing

CLS marketing materials at a community event

Community Links Scotland employs a graphic designer who works with our staff, clients and community groups to prepare leaflets, brochures, questionnaires, posters, newsletters, web sites, and any other promotional material required.

By having this resource in house, community groups are able to present their case in a professional, modern manner that attracts attention and reflects well on the community group.