Community Resilience

SURF delivered the Covid Cross Sector Connector Service (SCSC) as part of a package of programmes within its 20/21 agreement with the Scottish Government.

The SCSC was an expanded version of SURF’s successful People and Sector Connector Service, which had successfully worked with local government to share and promote knowledge and best practice on topical regeneration policy themes. The original programme provided networking and shared learning opportunities for more than 100 participants with regeneration related responsibilities in local authorities across Scotland.

The knowledge and experience of those members was at the core of the enlarged service. It was expanded to include a wider range of regeneration partners, including those working in the community, voluntary, academic and private sectors, in addition to other public bodies such as Health Boards and national agencies.

Read more about SCSC in the short paper below.

More than 120 participants joined SURF’s programme of five regional interactive events focused on COVID learning and future development, with an emphasis on attainable, practical resilience.

Discussion was based on SURF’s own continuing research and learning from its unique cross sector forum of frontline delivery organisations and those national agencies which support them.

Three prioritised themes were selected for discussion from SURF’s early COVID reports –Lessons from the Frontline and Building Community Resilience . Those themes – the digital divide; reduced red tape around funding; and new partnership working – were identified as offering the greatest potential for positive, sustainable change, while reflecting the interests of SURF’s broad network and its role as Scotland’s regeneration forum.

A learning report of the main points, drawn from all 5 events, is now available at the link below.

This report is a follow up to SURF’s well-received first COVID 19 report – Lessons from the Frontline.

That original report, which you can download below, was based on analysis of more than 150 responses from SURF’s extensive network of organisations delivering frontline services, and cross sector agencies which support them across Scotland.

Lessons from the Frontline identified ten common themes (see Appendix) and lessons learned from those activities. This practice based learning from SURF’s active network, was promptly shared to help Scottish Government, and other key regeneration partners, to connect with, learn from and sustain these frontline examples of cooperative resilient action in place based communities.

This second report, Building Community Resilience, focuses on three of those ten themes:

• Mutual support – Collaboration/partnership working
• Relaxation of rules – Flexible funding
• Online Scotland – Digital access

SURF’s role as Scotland’s Regeneration Forum became even more crucial during the COVID 19 crisis, as our network of community groups, local authorities, national agencies and funders responded to the lockdown’s disproportionate impact on the poorest people and places.

A key part of SURF’s work is to identify and share learning which can inform and improve regeneration policy and practice across Scotland. 

After lockdown began in March 2020, SURF provided a platform for SURF’s network to tell their stories of challenges, responses and resilience. Those frontline responses – more than 150 of them – represent a unique resource, providing inspiring examples of the ways in which communities and their partners responded nimbly and effectively to immediate need.  Those stories from all over Scotland form the basis of SURF’s COVID report.

SURF COVID 19: LESSONS FROM THE FRONTLINE  is a sound demonstration of the practical potential for a more collaborative approach to rebuilding our communities based on authentic local assets and aspirations.

Over a collectively challenging 15 week period SURF delivered a series of special SURF e-bulletins showcasing positive examples written by organisations delivering services or providing support to communities across Scotland, whilst we navigated through the Covid crisis. These special bulletins were part of SURF’s re-purposed Covid-19 Sector Connector Service, delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government.

All of the articles are featured in full in the News section of the SURF website.