Deadline: 4-Sep-23
Scotland’s Regeneration Forum (SURF) Awards for Best Practice in Community Regeneration organised and delivered by SURF in partnership with the Scottish Government.
SURF provides many opportunities for the sharing of information and ideas through its annual programme of events, research, publications and informal networking. The outcomes of this interactive process are used to inform and influence the development of more successful regeneration policy and practice.
Purposes
- The purpose of the SURF Awards process is:
- To recognise and reward best practice in community regeneration;
- To promote and disseminate best practice across Scotland as means of sharing knowledge and experience, and thereby enhancing future policy and practice;
- To highlight the important role that regeneration projects have in improving the wellbeing of individuals and communities.
Aims and Objectives
- SURF’s overall objective is to improve the lives and opportunities of residents in Scotland’s disadvantaged communities.
- To meet this goal, SURF’s key aims are:
- To provide a neutral space for all sectors and players in Scottish community regeneration to share their knowledge and experience.
- To stimulate challenging debate about community regeneration policy and practice.
- To maintain a high status for community regeneration on Scotland’s political agenda.
- To provide relevant and constructive feedback to key policy-makers.
- To meet this goal, SURF’s key aims are:
Categories
- There are five categories of entry in the 2023 SURF Awards:
- Improving Scotland’s Places
- Purpose – The Improving Scotland’s Places 2023 SURF Awards category will identify, celebrate and share the positive impacts of participative planning and regeneration processes in Scottish places.
- Criteria – Entries will be expected to show the journey that the place has been on, demonstrating progress against the following aspects:
- Participation:
- How has the project supported effective participation with the community, public and third sector organisations, and other bodies;
- Resilient economy:
- In what ways has the project improved economic opportunities for local people and businesses, and delivered better engagement with private businesses and social enterprises;
- Outcomes for the community:
- How has the project achieved social and other benefits for local residents, workers and service users;
- Physical Improvements:
- How has the project improved the whole place, such as better public spaces, access to public services, transport and digital infrastructure;
- Pride of place:
- How has the project improved the image/ identity of the place, and enhanced ‘pride of place’.
- Participation:
- Community Led Regeneration
- Purpose – This 2023 SURF Awards category will reward best practice in a regeneration project which features representatives of a community of place or theme in a leading role.
- Criteria – Entries will be expected to demonstrate the following aspects:
- Need:
- The demand for the project;
- Local Leadership:
- High level involvement of the local community in the conception, design and operation of the project;
- Activity:
- Enhanced levels of participation and cohesion within the community concerned;
- Outcomes:
- Benefits for the wider community, including positive impacts in preventing or offsetting deprivation or exclusion;
- Cooperation:
- Evidence of committed partnership activity;
- Sustainability:
- A practical vision for the viability of the project in the longer term.
- Need:
- Housing and Regeneration
- Purpose – The 2023 SURF Award for Housing and Regeneration is intended to recognise and promote the achievements of all housing providers in ensuring that their investments are planned and delivered in a way which produces substantial, lasting benefits to resident communities and the shared aims of wider regeneration partners.
- Criteria – Entries will be expected to demonstrate the following:
- Need:
- The demand for the project and the appropriateness of the response;
- Cooperation:
- Effective partnership collaboration in producing an appropriate strategy and practical outcomes;
- Engagement:
- Evidence of meaningful community engagement in the development process;
- Outcomes:
- Evidence of wider regeneration benefits, beyond housing itself, for the area(s) and/or target community(ies);
- Sustainability:
- A realistic plan for building on the initial benefits of the development, towards its wider and longer term legacy.
- Need:
- Removing Barriers to Employability
- Purpose – This 2023 SURF Award will be presented to a project that supports community regeneration by providing skills and employability support to help people fulfil their potential.
- Criteria – Entries will be expected to demonstrate the following:
- Effectiveness:
- Evidence an ability to progress participants into sustained positive destinations;
- Flexibility and Creativity:
- Detail flexibility, creativity and tailored support to individuals;
- Inclusion and Barrier Removal:
- Showcase examples of the support offered which encourages inclusion and assists barrier removal and the successful progression into employment, education or training;
- Collaboration and Partnership:
- Evidence effective engagement with partners, or other organisations, to support participant’s progression;
- Legacy:
- Be able to evidence successful learning outcomes, models of good practice and examples of how you have/will share this with others.
- Effectiveness:
- Creative Regeneration
- Purpose – This 2023 SURF Awards category will reward best practice in placing artists, arts and creativity at the heart of community regeneration efforts. This includes highlighting creative organisations and projects which support the ongoing recovery and rebuilding of their communities.
- Criteria – Entries will be expected to demonstrate:
- Need:
- The need for the project and how the local community benefits in terms of wellbeing and creativity;
- Engagement:
- Involvement from the community, working with artists in the concept, design and delivery of a project to benefit participants and/or the wider community;
- Creativity:
- Creative approaches designed to celebrate cultural and artistic ambitions that are rooted in the local community, or encourage ongoing creative activities in the local community. Under this criterion the judges will also consider how creative organisations support communities, artists and creative practitioners;
- Cooperation:
- Evidence of appropriate and effective partnership engagement;
- Outcomes:
- Practical benefits from the work of the project, for example, increased community cohesion or creative ambition within the community and/or targeted area;
- Sustainability:
- How the project can continue to support communities in the longer term, or may change in the work of the organisation/project in future.
- Need:
- Improving Scotland’s Places
For more information, visit SURF.
