SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Supporting Active Communities in Scotland

Objective Three - to broaden the range of people involved in volunteering and community action

Introduction

22. The Active Community initiative should promote social inclusion by identifying and removing barriers to involvement in volunteering and community action experienced by individuals and groups. It should assist non-participants within local communities to become more active as volunteers and to engage in community action. It should challenge all those who can influence increased participation. Opportunities for involvement should be expanded by building on existing models of best practice. The need for fresh approaches, as well as new and different styles of participation, should be recognised.

23. People who may experience difficulties in getting involved in volunteering and community action and who may have extra support needs include:

people who are socially isolated;
housebound people;
people from remote rural communities;
people who are unemployed or on low incomes;
people from minority ethnic communities;
people with physical disabilities, sensory impairments or learning disabilities;
people with mental health problems;
younger people; and
older people.

The above should be viewed as a representative, rather than definitive, list.

24. A range of different kinds of action is required to broaden the mix of people involved in volunteering and community action:

Action Points	Action By
C1: Public bodies should publish strategies and set targets for supporting excluded people and communities to get involved in volunteering and community action. These strategies should include:	Scottish Executive, local authorities, other public bodies and funders
action to identify and tackle barriers to involvement; a commitment to partnership working with organisations that represent excluded groups; and the provision of funding to volunteering and community organisations to involve excluded groups.
C2: Funders of volunteer-involving organisations should acknowledge the cost implications of involving volunteers with different support needs and that the act of volunteering is in itself a positive outcome.	Funders
C3: Strong infrastructures of local volunteering development agencies (LVDAs), councils for voluntary service (CsVS) and local community development agencies are necessary and should be adequately funded and maintained to support excluded communities and individuals in developing new volunteering and community opportunities.	Scottish Executive, local authorities, SCVO, VDS and Community Learning Scotland
C4: Volunteer-involving organisations and community groups should be supported to develop and implement best practice in working with volunteers and supporting community action, in particular, the development of equal opportunities, volunteering policies and appropriate support mechanisms.	VDS, LVDAs, CsVS and community development agencies
C5: Examples of best practice and guidance in supporting volunteering and community action by people with extra support needs should be disseminated	VDS, SCVO, LVDAs, community development agencies and specialist organisations which represent people with extra support needs
C6: Partnerships should be developed with black and minority led organisations to support volunteering and community action.	VDS, SCVO LVDAs and the Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure Scotland (BEMIS)
C7: Volunteer-involving and community organisations should set targets for engaging excluded people and communities.	Volunteer-involving and community organisations
C8: Volunteer-involving and community organisations should build on and extend existing work that has successfully engaged people from excluded or under-represented groups. In particular they should build on the experience from the Active Community demonstration projects (see Annex 2) and work on supporting volunteers with specific needs,	Volunteer-involving and community organisations
C9: Further opportunities for volunteering by young people should be created by extending and developing the Millennium Volunteers programme and by more effective dissemination of the experience of past projects that have successfully engaged young people or developed good practice.	Scottish Executive, volunteer-involving and community organisations
C10: While recognising that technology can exclude people who are unable to use it, priority should be given to using information and communication technology flexibly to involve people from excluded groups in volunteering and in community action.	Volunteer-involving and community organisations
C11: New and imaginative ways in which individuals can be supported in volunteering and community action should be developed, for example through "buddying", group or family involvement, and peer-led initiatives, and through links with support workers e.g. in housing.	Volunteer-involving and community organisations
C12: Healthcare providers should develop links with LVDAs and volunteer involving organisations to obtain advice, information and guidance on issues concerning voluntary work and its appropriateness for clients with extra support needs, and to identify relevant opportunities.	Health Trusts

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