2021-22 Projects
Moray Rural Communities Testing Change
During 2021-22, two funding streams were made available by the Scottish Government to Local Action Groups to allow them to build on the positive legacy of the LEADER programme - while using their experience to properly innovate, test change and pilot new approaches to community led local development (CLLD).
Whilst prior national and local evaluations identified the unique, ‘truly community led’ Moray arrangements as one of the key strengths of the Moray LEADER programme, gaps identified in the 2021 local development strategy, provided the immediate focus for test of change projects.
In Moray, two projects -- Community Priorities and Carbon Neutral Communities -- took this place-based, CLLD approach further, to support communities to come together and increase their capacity to take action for a just and sustainable renewal.
Overseen by the Moray Local Action Group and delivered by tsiMORAY, Community Priorities and Carbon Neutral Communities, used new, creative and more holistic CLLD engagement methods to develop collaboration, learning as well as gain and amplify crucial community feedback. A five-part series of events was created, as well as content-specific workshops and sessions.
Community Priorities
Building community capacity to set local priorities and agree a collective plan of action.
Community Priorities, using an engagement method developed by the Global EcoVillage Network, helped local communities overcome past divisions and sticking points, to sow the seeds for a renewed and inclusive agenda for change.
The tool, using specially designed cards, allowed participants in facilitated sessions to explore how whole systems work together and then how systems can be prioritised when it comes to areas of community regeneration.
The project’s Participatory Grant Making (PGM) element also saw six community projects receive funding, under the principles guiding a just and green recovery. These projects ranged from addressing climate change mitigation with cycle and car clubs, reducing food miles to addressing how gender inequality prevents change.
From this project, a deeper understanding of local priorities has been gained, which will inform the development of a new Local Development Strategy for Moray, led by the Local Action Group.
The Moray Local Action Fund, a new participatory grant-making fund, draws on the learning from the PGM element of the projects, and will be delivered by the Moray Local Action Group.
“We could have lost that positive energy focusing on the current situation, but these cards help us look beyond our narrow view to a creative, positive community. ”
Carbon Neutral Communities
Bringing people together to explore what life in a carbon neutral Moray should look like - and it’s not all about what you need to give up.
Most people are aware of the climate emergency. But many are confused by the jargon (e.g. what’s carbon got to do with it?), unclear and worried about what impact addressing the issue might have on their lifestyle, and unclear about what they can do to help.
The Carbon Neutral Communities Project engaged communities across Moray, using an assets based approach to increase the understanding and enable community led action to address the issue. The project identified the need to ‘translate’ studies and research developed elsewhere for different contexts into simple language, relevant to the people of Moray and capable of restoring their sense of agency.
Communities developed materials to describe and illustrate what life in a carbon-neutral Moray might look and feel like, e.g. with regard to housing, agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, travel and transport.
Together, communities produced artworks, stories and videos to amplify the learning and connections, and to amplify communities being able to tell their own story and how they want to take action.
“You’ve helped us establish a greater confidence to advocate for and to lead in part our own community’s change toward a carbon neutral community.”
Impact
Engagement with stakeholders
Developing partnerships and sharing best practice with:
Third sector groups including Elgin Youth Cafe and Transition Town Forres
New Elgin East community
Community groups in Portgordon, Cullen and Tomintoul
Workshops
We ran creative sessions in person and online to help prepare the vision ground work and raise awareness of the programme. These included:
One Power to the People event (48 participants)
4 Moray Climate Assemblies (44, 31, 6 and 5 participants - 86 in total)
4 sessions at Elgin Youth Café (11 participants)
3 sessions at TTF (14 participants)
2 sessions with REAP at vegan café Planta (13 participants)
2 sessions at Portgordon (9 participants)
Documentation
Local artists, photographers and videographers were commissioned to work directly with local groups to inspire fresh thinking, document the collaborative process and record their thoughts and visions for carbon neutrality.
These included artist Rosie Balyuzi, storyteller Margot Henderson, filmmaker Lorenz Gramann, photographers Mark Richards of Aurora Imaging, and Alexander Williamson.
Visioning Images by Rosie Balyuzi
Workshop at Elgin Youth Cafe
Workshops at Transition Town Forres
Workshop at Portgordon Village Hall
Workshop at Planta
