The conference took place on 15th June 2010 in Glasgow with 130 delegates.  This was a national conference to share the themes, experience and lessons coming from the Better Community Engagement programme and to explore the concept of sustainable community engagement and how we achieve it.

The morning workshops were spent with representatives of some of the local demonstration projects sharing their experience of engaging with hard to reach groups using creative methods, undertaking training needs analysis, engaging with key regroups like community councils, e-consultation, networking and communities of practice.  The afternoon workshops were led by some input and thoughts from keynote speakers on sustainable community engagement.

Keynote Speakers:

Dr Wendy Louise Smith from the Scottish Government Community Engagement Team opened the conference describing the policy context within which community engagement is being conducted.  This included the strategic objectives which Scottish Government is pursuing and the national outcomes, part of the national performance framework agreed with local government.

 The Scottish Community Empowerment Action Plan setting out Government and COSLA’s joint commitment to community empowerment includes investing in an integrated programme to develop skills, learning and networking to improve community engagement practice.  This led to the establishment of the Better Community Engagement Programme with local and national outcomes.

Fiona Craig, Director of LWTT outlines the aims of the Better Community Engagement Programme, to develop learning and training resources and materials through 10 local demonstration projects, evidence how learning can improve community engagement practice and evidence how learning for community engagement can be developed in the future.

 The demonstration projects are spread across Scotland in a range of different settings and contexts.  While most are at slightly different stages all are generating ideas, resources and learning materials linked to local needs in improving community engagement.  A key task is sharing these wider which is partly what the conference is about.

Jay Lamb, social entrepreneur and consultant started by recounting how one of his own experiences with the social enterprise. Re-Union Canal Boats related to community engagement practice.  He then encouraged delegates to relate improving community engagement to their own values and working lives, reflect and focus the specific goals for attending the workshop they had chosen and thereby creating a positive learning environment for the workshop.

Professor Margaret Ledwith, Emeritus Professor of Community Development and Social Justice at the University of Cumbria, provided a stimulating and thought-provoking presentation and introduction to the afternoon session.  She began by exploring what is community development and challenged delegates to ‘spot the difference’ between community development and community engagement.  Both have the same principles at their root: fairness-equality-inclusion. 

 Margaret then explored some of the challenges and assumptions; fairness, poverty, equality, social inclusion, the global dimension before highlighting some of the contradictions and suggesting a way forward involving;

• Defining our purpose
• Creating critical dialogue
• Generating practical theory in action
• Influencing policy
• Collective action for fairness-equality- inclusion

The following are available for download:

Dr Wendy-Louise Smith and Fiona Craig presentation (pdf)

Professor Margaret Ledwith presentation (pdf)

Professor Margaret Ledwith Speech (pdf)

Conference programme (pdf)

Conference workshop themes (pdf)

Keynote speakers biographies (pdf)

Sample of delegate comments:

"I thoroughly enjoyed Margaret Ledwith and could have listened to her talk all day! I also liked the variety of organisations represented on the day - very heartening to think that Community Engagement is a high priority. I thought that the agenda for day was really well done also - the day passed by very quickly due to the variety of the day".

 "I enjoyed the key note speaker, but it was also good to network and learn what others are doing".

 "I found most beneficial hearing how other people were enagaing with their communities and being able to take new ideas away".

 "The conference was very well organised and it was really good to have so many varied people in attendance. Well done & thanks!"

 "Mgt. Ledwith reminded us all of what we are trying to acheive, and took us back to our roots, i really enjoyed that lesson.".

Update!

There will be a second Better Community Engagement conference taking place in March 2011.  Details will be posted on our website so please keep watching this space.

For any further information on the Better Community Engagement Programme please contact Dr Wendy-Louise Smith, Scottish Government, Community Engagement Team, E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or Fiona Craig, Director, LWTT, E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it