The revised National Standards for Community Engagement were launched by Kevin Stewart MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Housing and Local Government.

What Works Scotland and the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) worked together to undertake a full review and refresh of the original standards published in 2005.

The purpose of this review was to ensure that the Standards are ‘fit for purpose’ in the current context with a focus on strengthening participation and community engagement, particularly in the light of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.

The revised Standards were launched on Thursday 29th September 2016. There are seven Standards:

1.  Inclusion
2. Support
3. Planning
4. Working Together
5. Methods
6. Communication
7. Impact

The review process drew on contributions from a wide range of community organisations, third sector (voluntary) organisations and public sector bodies.

As part of the process, What Works Scotland and the SCDC organised a Policy Reunion, bringing together people who were involved in creating the original standards more than 10 years ago.

The Reunion was attended by a broad range of participants, including Marco Biagi MSP, the former Scottish Government Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment, and key people from the early development of the Standards including Alan Barr, Alasdair McKinlay and Tressa Burke who contributed their views and opinions about the process of developing and implementing the Standards over the past 10 years.

• See an article on the What Works Scotland blog by David Allan, SCDC Deputy Director, about the policy reunion.
• See the video on YouTube of the policy reunion discussion

There are more details about the Standards on the National Community Engagement Standards website. More resources will also be added to the website in the future to help groups and organisations use the Standards.

See more information on the Scottish Community Development Centre website.