On 24th April 2018, the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on International Development came together with experts from the sector and the media to consider the role of the media and perceptions of international development in Scotland.

We share some reflections on the evening and some key take-home messages from an honest and open discussion at Holyrood.

Stephanie Terreni-Brown, Managing Director of Clean Water Wave, an innovative social enterprise based in Edinburgh, writes about their work with partners in eastern Zambia to establish a collaborative clean water-solar energy-enterprise initiative.

Their Clean Aqua For Everyone (CAFE) community water treatment system is specifically intended for off-grid communities that struggle to get clean drinking water that’s safe to drink.

On 25th April 2018, Ruth Davidson MSP, Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, joined members of Scotland’s International Development Alliance for an engaging roundtable discussion at the Alliance offices in Edinburgh.

New Alliance member, Friends of Hilary Storm School Uganda (FOHSSU), a small charity founded in 2013 that is working to deliver high quality primary education in an impoverished rural area of Kumi District, eastern Uganda, write about their recent pilot project buying and selling produce in the local community.

We are delighted to announce that the Alliance has become a referral partner for Trust Law, the world’s largest legal pro bono platform, facilitating free legal advice and research for NGOs and social enterprises worldwide. 

How do you ensure your organisation survives and thrives? Do you find yourself developing projects in order to secure funding? Are you under pressure to work in new communities and countries? Do you have a robust funding strategy in place?

In the third and final part of our new online series on organisational sustainability, we look at one of the biggest challenges for our sector – finding and generating income.

This safeguarding workshop will be led by Sally Proudlove, Head of Safeguarding at UNICEF.

It is designed for larger organisations (i.e those with an income above £250k) who have existing policies and procedures that they want to review.

There are a variety of other important events on the horizon, including the DFID Small Charities Challenge Fund Information Session.