Edition No. 74 - Thursday 9th December No images? Click here ![]() ![]() Dear , This afternoon, Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes will be publishing the Scottish Budget for 2022/23. Advance headlines have focused on the welcome commitment by Scottish Govt to double the weekly child payment to £20 per week. It will be interesting to see what further measures are included to address, what most would agree, are the urgent environmental and social challenges Scotland faces if it is to build a fairer and greener country. As one of the founding members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments Partnership (WEGo) – Scottish Govt is part of a collection of nations who are united in their ambition and commitment to redesign their economies. This article , from Tuesday’s Scotsman, by Dr Lucas Hardt of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland (WEAll), argues that, to do so, will require a level of boldness in taking the initial steps required to genuinely set Scotland on a path towards a wellbeing economy. The article touches on a number of the themes highlighted in WEAll’s recent report – Failure Demand – which exposes ‘the cycle of paying to fix what we continue to break’. ------------------------------- Scottish Community Alliance’s Community Learning Exchange (CLE) is a great opportunity for communities who are planning new ventures or thinking about future possibilities, to learn from the experience of other communities. There is nothing so powerful as learning from your peers and the Learning Exchange offers an opportunity to do just that. ‘Exchanges’ can be either face-to-face or ‘virtual’ – with costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence – up to £750 – covered. Sport SEN member, Let’s Get Sporty hosted its own CLE yesterday in Dumfries – with around 20 attendees. Also, the Rural SE Hub has produced this excellent resource on rural CLEs - including case study videos – as well as tips on how to run your own virtual CLE. News of a new Social Enterprise Network (SEN) starting up in Aberdeenshire. The new SEN, being supported by Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action and SENScot, will be launched at their Social Enterprise Forum in January. The Forum will include speakers from SENScot, Firstport, the Social Enterprise Academy and the Big Lottery – see link to sign up. If you would be interested in joining the Aberdeenshire SEN – see Registration Form. The re-forming of the Aberdeenshire SEN will see the number of place-based SENs increase to 19. There are also currently seven thematic SENs. Together, they represent over 1500 frontline social enterprises across Scotland. -------------------------------- A report commissioned by SCVO on the impact of the Covid pandemic on the third sector was published last week. The report – the Scottish Third Sector Tracker – represents the first phase of ongoing research by SCVO into how the sector has responded to the crisis and how it can contribute to the recovery. Over 600 organisations have been represented in the research – including charities, social enterprises and community organisations – with key findings reflecting the challenges faced by the sector – but also demonstrating its ability to adapt and create new services to meet increased demand and emerging needs. -------------------------------- A final reminder to folk that the Social Enterprise Census 2021 has been underway since the start of November – and this Online Survey will remain ’live’ in the run up to Christmas. This is the fourth Census to take place – following those in 2015,2017 and 2019 – and , as before, the Census is being conducted by Social Value Lab. If you’ve not had the opportunity to respond to the survey, we’d be grateful if you take 15/20 mins to complete it. It can all help to influence future policy and funding decisions for our sector. -------------------------------------- With the Omicron variant being identified in Scotland and the festive period just about upon us, Scottish Govt has asked that we continue to promote adherence to Coronavirus guidance and testing wherever possible. Safe behaviours across the sector and adherence to baseline measures, guidance and regulations in response to the pandemic, can be part of a collective effort across the whole country to help mitigate the risk of having to re‑impose restrictions. Adherence to the above remain one of the primary tools in managing the impact of the pandemic We’re all in this together! ![]() Last week’s ‘job of the week’ featured a couple of vacancies at Scottish Communities CAN (SCCAN). With support from Scottish Govt, SCCAN is now planning the development of regional networks to support community-led climate action. Over the next 12 months, they will be investing in up to ten, regional networks across Scotland: Following on from last week’s announcement of Social Investment Scotland’s new £5M Net Zero Transition Fund, another fund that may be interest to a number of SEN members is the John Lewis Circular Future Fund – which has a closing date of midnight on 9th January 2022: Congratulations to Pasna Sallis from Glasgow SEN member, the Weekday Wow Factor on receiving a Points of Light Award via the Prime Minister’s office in London. The Points of Light Awards recognise outstanding individual volunteers - who are making a change in their community: This Newsletter has regularly supported the introduction of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) – and has sought to promote the work of Basic Income Network Scotland. This week, Alan Faulds of The Alliance, has published the following document; Basic Income – emphasising humanity and transforming livelihoods. Alan gives this summary of his report - contending that though the timing might be right, barriers remain Actor Michael Sheen has been a regular supporter of social enterprise and other charitable organisations. In the ‘Letter to my Younger Self ‘ series in The Big Issue, this week, he now describes himself as a ’social enterprise, not-for-profit actor’ – citing the Homeless World Cup, held in Cardiff in 2019, as a turning point: Scottish Govt has commissioned research to gain a better understanding of the experiences of third sector organisations of public procurement in Scotland. The research is being carried out by Blake Stevenson who are inviting organisations to fill in this Online Survey – detailing their experiences – and also looking for folk to take part in interviews. Closing date is 21st December 2021: Catering social enterprise, the Scran Academy – based in Edinburgh – is now recruiting for a new Chief Executive Officer. See links for job details and more background. Closing date – 29th December 2021: Monday 13th December 2021(12.30pm) - Social Investment Scotland hosts its second workshop on its new £5M Net Zero Transition Fund - to help social enterprises, charities, and community organisations make the transition to carbon net zero. See booking details – and further background information: Monday 13th December 2021 (2pm) – Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) has published new guidance for communities who are considering Community Right to Buy. With three legislative routes now open to communities, it can be difficult to know which is the right option to pursue and how to go about it. This webinar will provide an introduction to the new guidance. See details and to register: Tuesday, 14th December 2021 (6pm) – the next SE Cross Party Group meets with the theme being – Social Enterprise and the Climate Emergency, including the Third Sector Net Zero Strategy. The discussion will look at the role of social enterprises in seeking to tackle this emergency. Try and get along if you can – the more frontline voices heard, the better. See booking details: Wednesday, 22nd January 2022 (10am) – Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action will be hosting its Social Enterprise Forum - where they will be launching the new Aberdeenshire SEN. Contributions, on the day, will also come from SENScot, Firstport, the Social Enterprise Academy and the BIG Lottery: |