Scotland: National Rural NetworkNicky Donald tells us about the Buchan Development Partnership which was established in 2000. You can find out what their greatest achievement so far has been, what challenges they face and what top tips they have for others.
Buchan Development Partnership (BDP) is an independent community -led organisation, established in 2000 to progress community economic, social and environmental development. in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire. It provides a one-stop shop for communities providing a wide range of information and networks.
They assist with everything from advising on group structures, community consultation and funding applications, to study visits and linking groups together. They hold community Forums four times a year which are very well attended and enable community groups to come together to learn from each other and a relevant platform for Agencies to consult with the community .
They also produce a printed Buchan Bulletin with a host of information which is distributed across the area and an online resource for communities http://www.buchantoolbox.org/ with a wealth of funding and other information.
BDP is based in Maud and work across the whole of the Buchan area in north east Aberdeenshire, a mainly rural area of about 230 square miles but including the town of Peterhead (18,000 population).
BDP was originally founded when five community project groups in Buchan joined forces in 2000 to apply for Scottish Executive Local Rural Partnership funding to employ a development officer. BDP has grown from there to have a membership of over 100 community groups and employs three members of staff. BDP is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status and is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors and Management committee drawn from our member groups.
BDP has been funded from a variety of sources over the years - LRP funding, EU funding, Aberdeenshire Council, Shell UK and Community Planning Partnership funding. They have also successfully applied for project funding to undertake different pieces of work to aid community development eg Scottish Executive Network Support Fund funds which helped develop the role of Community Councils in the area.
As BDP is an organisation that gives help and advice, it was certainly a sharp learning curve at the start to know where to go to learn all we needed to know! Much support was given through the Community Economic Development Department of Aberdeenshire Council and BDP formed a partnership with other Local Rural Partnerships in Aberdeenshire to enable us to share and learn together. Learning from our fellow practitioners across Scotland and the UK has always been very important and attending conferences and training courses has been an invaluable source of information and learning eg the Rural Services Conference , Development Trust Association Scotland Conference and network, Social Enterprise Fairs etc.
This is a hard one because much of our achievement is really measured in the successes of our community groups with whom we have worked over the last nine years. However, I would say that there are two main achievements:
1. BDP's work in the development of the Community Planning Process in Buchan has been a highlight, particularly using Planning for Real(R) as a Tool to help communities identify their needs and aspirations. BDP then link them with the Agencies that deliver services and also work with the communities themselves to help them deliver some of the projects identified in the PfR process eg community buildings, parks, walks etc. The Action Plans that the communities develop from this process are then fed in to the Community Plan for Aberdeenshire. Hopefully making the Community Planning process one that works!
2. Raising the profile of Social Enterprise in the area and helping groups develop successful social enterprises, and showing that community groups can and do run successful enterprises!
As with many groups finding funding to help us continue is probably the biggest challenge! Funders do not always recognise the importance of the role of an organisation like BDP - as a facilitator of project development rather than delivering any projects themselves - and so core funding is difficult to get. However, these challenges are always useful for keeping us on our toes and help us look at new ways of working e.g. service level agreements with Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership which bring in income to help us help communities to deliver their aspirations.
Keep on keeping on! Make sure and learn as much as you can about what other people are doing across the country and pass this on to your groups. Make networks and use these to help your aims and most of all be enthusiastic about and believe in what you do. If you are, then others will be too!.
That is a bit of an unknown as BDP reacts to whatever ideas or projects Community groups want to pursue! However BDP continues to help communities develop Community Action Plans and work in partnership with the Council and Agencies to help make Buchan a vibrant and sustainable place to live.
Buchan Development Partnership, Area Office, Nethermuir Road, Maud, Peterhead. AB42 4ND
Tel: 01771 613584/613666
Email: bdp@scotmail.net
Development Officer: Dawn Brodie
The Buchan Development Partnership featured as one of the case studies in the Scottish Government's Community Empowerment Action Plan.
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