Creating community assets
Strong and vibrant communities with high quality and diverse amenities and services are essential to retain local populations, especially young people, and make places attractive to in-migrants. Communities in the Highlands and Islands have a long history of doing things for themselves, and community organisations continue to play an important role in creating and enhancing attractive places. Community-owned and managed assets enhance local amenities and services, contributing to high quality of life and generating income to invest in further community activities.
Priorities for action
- Supporting community-based organisations and the voluntary sector to build assets and provide services, including multi-use community centres, sports facilities and local services.
- Providing advice and support for the acquisition and management of land and marine resources to generate community benefits.
- Enabling communities to harness the area's renewable energy potential through technical assistance and financial investment.
- Working with agencies, such as local authorities and Communities Scotland, together with the voluntary and private sectors, to bring more integrated and innovative approaches to community regeneration and asset management, including housing and other infrastructure.
Building capacity and leadership
A central plank of Scottish Executive policy is engaging communities in managing their own development. Increasingly, voluntary groups are enhancing their commercial activities and evolving into 'social economy' organisations. Building the capacity of communities to identify and exploit opportunities and manage resources is central to this process.
Priorities for action
- Raising capacity through skills provision (of employees, boards of directors and volunteers), advice and signposting, building networks, utilising ICT and, where appropriate, employing development workers.
- Implementing social economy skills programmes, building on the Highlands and Islands Community Capacity Partnership.
- Building the social economy through the Highlands and Islands Social Enterprise Zone and other social economy partnerships.
- Co-ordinating the implementation of Initiative at the Edge (Iomairt aig an Oir) to address development challenges in the area's most remote communities.
- Nurturing and supporting community leaders with a focus on young people, building on the Youth Parliament movement.
Enhancing natural and cultural heritage
The area's natural and cultural heritage are vital ingredients of local amenity, quality of life, health, community confidence and a sense of place. They are unique assets which offer clear economic opportunities in the creative industries such as music, cultural and environmental tourism - with potential for considerable community benefit - and make a major contribution to sustainable development aims. Equally, sport has a strong tradition across the area rooted in community participation in a wide range of activities from shinty to SPL football.
Priorities for action
- Strengthening the Gaelic language through focuses on young people, broadcasting, cultural tourism and the arts - working with partners, including Comunn na Gaidhlig, Bord na Gaidhlig, Feisean nan Gaidheal, and Proiseact nan Ealan.
- Pursuing initiatives with the area's Nordic, Scots and Doric traditions.
- Developing museum and genealogy facilities which have cultural, as well as tourism, benefits.
- Fostering the important role the arts play in regeneration, developing arts facilities, projects and events through our strategic partner HI-Arts.
- Building the role of sport in the life of our communities,especially as a means of engaging young people.
- Harnessing the value of natural heritage designations as assets which can create community benefits.
- Supporting social economy opportunities (and at the same time pursuing sustainable development objectives) in environmental improvement, waste management and recycling.
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