Big Lottery FUnd's contribution to the 2014 COmmonwealth Games ...

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Legacy 2014 Evaluation Big Lottery Fund’s contribution to the 2014 Commonwealth Games Legacy

Legacy 2014 evaluation Further copies available from: Email [email protected] Phone 0845 4 10 20 30 Text Relay: 18001 plus 0845 4 10 20 30 (for those with a hearing or speech impairment). Our website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk Written by Aine Lovedale Accessibility Please contact us to discuss any particular communications needs you may have. Our equality principles Promoting accessibility; valuing cultural diversity; promoting participation; promoting equality of opportunity; promoting inclusive communities; reducing disadvantage and exclusion. Please visit our website for more information. We care about the environment The Big Lottery Fund seeks to minimise its negative environmental impact and only uses proper sustainable resources. Our mission Helping communities and people most in need. Our values We have identified three values that underpin our work: being supportive and helpful, making best use of Lottery money and using knowledge and evidence. You can find out more about us, our values and the funding programmes including Bright New Futures by visiting our website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk The Big Lottery Fund is committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality of opportunity, both as a grantmaker and employer. The Big Lottery Fund will aim to adopt an inclusive approach to ensure grant applicants and recipients, stakeholders, job applicants and employees are treated fairly. © Big Lottery Fund, March 2015

Contents

Introduction 4 Legacy outcomes 5 Link to legacy outcomes 6 Big Lottery Fund’s investment in Legacy 6 Identifying Legacy outcome of programmes 7 Internal Programmes 8 Methodology 8 Celebrate 10 2014 communities 20 Lessons Learnt 26 External Programmes And Funded Projects 29 Active East 30 MyTime Active 32 UWS Digital Commonwealth 34 Beyond the Finish Line 36 Volunteer Support Pot 38 Host City Volunteers 40 Pilotlight 42 Conclusion 44 Annex: 45 Figure 1: Celebrate grants by LA area 45 Figure 2: 2014 communities grants by LA area 46 Figure 3: Timeline of Legacy investments 47

Introduction

This report provides an overview of the Legacy activities The Big Lottery Fund has invested in and how they have contributed to the outcomes set out by The Scottish Government in its Legacy plans for the 2014 Glasgow commonwealth Games. A key driver of the 2014 Games Legacy plan was recognition that ‘legacy doesn’t happen by itself’. We have to make it happen. As part of this, The Fund in Scotland invested in a wide range of Legacy activities, some large, some small, but all with the aim of engaging people in the positive opportunities presented by The Games. Our goal was for funding to support people to be engaged, active, confident and proud; for childhood obesity, inactivity and social exclusion to be challenged; and for communities to feel inspired and empowered to make positive changes to their lives. It is this engagement that marks our contribution to the Legacy journey as it imparted people with a sense of involvement, of excitement, but most importantly of ownership, over the shared resources and communities that helped bring The Games to life.

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Previous evaluations of large scale sporting events (such as the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester) have tended to focus on outcomes around physical regeneration and economic activity. In part this is due to the high level of investment into infrastructure required to host such events, which in turn leads to a cost/benefit approach to evaluating impact. Whilst this can be useful, it potentially leads to an evidence gap around the ‘softer’ social outcomes experienced by the communities who host the event. This evaluation hopes to begin filling that gap by contributing to the qualitative evaluation of the 2014 Games. It offers insight into how funding can empower communities to engage with large events and ensure a lasting benefit for all. Legacy can be described as a long journey and to get from A to B requires lots of smaller steps in between. At this stage (six months after the Games) it may be too soon to ascertain what shape Legacy will take in the long term but we can, however, describe the first steps that will help us get there.

Legacy outcomes

In its Scotland-wide plan, ‘A Games Legacy for Scotland’ the Scottish Government, along with various partners, identified the below four outcomes that it hoped to achieve through delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games:

R

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ON

OM

HE

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Increase growth of Scottish business

SC

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Increase physical activity and participation in sport

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Improve the active infrastructure (people and places) Improve Scottish sporting success

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Strengthen and empower communities in Scotland and the Commonwealth

Increase engagement through new artistic, cultural and creative experiences

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Enhance young people’s learning and everyone’s understanding and celebration of our and other countries’ cultures

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Demonstrate sustainable design and environmental responsibility

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Improve the perception of Scotland as a creative nation, producing world class cultural experiences

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Improve the physical and social environment of Glasgow, in particular the East End

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DEMONST

Volunteering Young People Engaging Communities Sustainability Equalities Partnership Working

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Increase movement into employment, training and volunteering

Improve the perception of Scotland as a world class destination for business, events and tourism

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Link to legacy outcomes

Big Lottery Fund’s investment in Legacy

Our legacy investment began in November 2008 with the launch of the £6.4m micro-grants programme ‘2014 Communities’ to support increased participation in sport, physical activity and volunteering throughout Scotland. A further £6m budget was allocated to 2014 Legacy by the Fund’s Scotland Committee in 2009 to support Legacy themes nationally, in Glasgow and in the communities most impacted in the East End. From 2010 to 2014 we developed and funded a range of projects and programmes which contributed to the legacy framework. As we approached 2014 The Scotland Director took the lead in proposing a joint lottery fund specifically for the Games, and ‘Celebrate’ was launched in April 2013. Celebrate was funded by all four lottery distributors who worked in partnership to support a wide range of projects that celebrated the Games. It enabled communities in all 32 Local Authorities to celebrate the creative and cultural diversity of the Commonwealth Games. Following the London Olympics, the Fund invested £40m at a UK level to establish the ‘Spirit of 2012 Trust’ to harness and build on the energy, social action and positivity that emerged during the 2012 Games, with its first £5m programme focused on Glasgow 2014. Our Head of Funding was seconded to the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee (OC) on a part-time basis from January 2013 which provided the Fund with an excellent insight into emerging gaps and opportunities arising from the Games planning and delivery. For example, learning from 2012 indicated that cost was a real barrier to inclusive volunteer participation so The Fund, working with the OC, contracted Volunteer Scotland to deliver a ‘Volunteer Support Pot’ to help with volunteer retention during the 2014 games. The demographic profile of those successful in the Clyde-sider selection process indicated a gap around more flexible, inclusive 6

volunteering opportunities, which led us to support Glasgow Life’s ‘Host City Volunteer’ programme. We developed and funded a range of projects and programmes through our ‘Supporting Great Ideas’ initiative which have contributed to the legacy framework. In total, £2.8m was invested in the following: MytimeActive (£1.7m); Active East (£0.1m); Pilotlight (£0.1m); Beyond the Finish Line (£0.1m); Host City Volunteers (£0.6m); Digital Commonwealth (£0.2m). Jobs and Business Glasgow was funded through our mainstream Life Transitions programme to deliver ‘Personal Best’, supporting young adults into employment through events volunteering, but timelines meant project delivery did not align with the Games. The People’s Development Trust was awarded £1.3m for the fit out and running costs of the Dalmarnock Community hub, which is due to be completed in March 2015. Neither is considered further in this report. Big Lottery Fund has invested more than £15m directly into this wide range of projects and programmes, all of which have contributed to the Legacy of the 2014 Games. Through the two small grants programmes we delivered internally, to the Spirit of 2012 Trust and our contribution to the various external programmes, we have made a considerable contribution to the opportunities, wellbeing and capacity of Scottish communities.

Identifying Legacy outcome of programmes

As The Big Lottery Fund has supported a wide range of Legacy projects we have contributed to three out of four of the Legacy outcomes. Our funding has linked to the ‘Active’, ‘Connected’ and ‘Flourishing’ outcomes as indicated in the table below. Programme

Funding from BIG

Legacy Theme

Celebrate

£4.5

Connected

2014 communities

£6.4 m

Active

Active East

£0.1m

Active

Mytime Active

£1.7m

Active

UWS Digital Commonwealth

£0.2m

Connected

Beyond the Finish Line

£0.1m

Flourishing

Volunteer Support Pot

£0.5m

Flourishing

Glasgow Host City Volunteers

£0.6m

Flourishing

Pilotlight

£0.1m

Flourishing

Our internally delivered programmes, Celebrate and 2014 Communities have helped to deliver the ‘Connected’ and ‘Active’ outcomes respectively and our evaluation has highlighted some key learning points for supporting the continuation of this legacy. Additionally, through our support of various externally delivered legacy programmes we have further contributed to the ‘Active’ and ‘Flourishing’ outcomes.

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Internal programmes

Methodology

In order to measure our contribution to Legacy outcomes, an internal review of our small grants programmes Celebrate and 2014 Communities was conducted, during and after the Games period in summer 2014. A qualitative approach was used to capture the personal perspective of grant recipients, who were asked to reflect on the legacy their Lottery funded projects had on participants and the wider community. Many projects had gathered feedback from participants either during or after their event occurred and some of their quotes have been assimilated into this overall report. A questionnaire was sent to 574 Celebrate grant holders (with 95 responses received) and to 526 of the 2014 Communities grant holders (with 79 responses received). The small return rate is acknowledged but not wholly surprising given the profile of small grant holders as typically hard to engage groups.

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In addition, telephone interviews were conducted with 15 grant holders to gather more in-depth data. Projects with a range of themes and beneficiaries were selected to ensure a wide sample. As the decision to evaluate the Legacy impact of 2014 Communities was only made in the final year of the six year programme, appropriate evaluation processes had not been built into the programme. Therefore it has been difficult to collect suitable data for the whole 2014 Communities programme. Instead, the evaluation has been narrowed down to the final year of the programme. This sample size was considered more likely to capture projects with a closer link to the Games and Legacy outcomes. With its launch just one year before Games time, the Celebrate programme was developed with a greater awareness of the Legacy outcomes, so the funding team were fully dedicated to capturing relevant data throughout the programme. This has resulted in a greater amount of available data for Celebrate than for 2014 Communities. However due to their similarity in programme outcomes and size it is reasonable to extrapolate this data to identify key outcomes of 2014 Communities.

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Celebrate Duration: April 2013 – May 2014 Funding: £4.5m Activities: Small grants awarded to help communities deliver a wide range of cultural and creative projects to celebrate the Games coming to Scotland Legacy outcome: Connected Running from April 2013 to May 2014 Celebrate was a new, jointly funded programme specifically developed to support communities to celebrate the sports and cultures of the Commonwealth. With a focus on fun and creativity, it offered everyone a chance to share in the excitement of the Games in a way that was unique or meaningful to them. Aims: The programme aimed to encourage communities to come together in recognition and celebration of the diverse range of identities, cultures and experiences of people in the Commonwealth. It also aimed to help people feel a sense of pride and engagement with the once in a lifetime national event; to feel connected to their own community and the wider family of Commonwealth nations. Distributors: Celebrate was jointly funded by four distributors (Big Lottery Fund, SportScotland, Creative Scotland and Heritage Lottery) who collaborated to deliver the aims of the programme. Activities: As one of our more ‘playful’ programmes, Celebrate funded a wide range of activities, from gala days, festivals and art exhibitions to the more quirky such as scarecrow making for people with dementia in Caithness and Sutherland, to a week long beach party in Elcho Gardens Calton, complete with 30 tonnes of sand and Commonwealth themed entertainment.

Project Activities

Number of projects

Opening and Closing Ceremonies

93

Mini Commonwealth Games

27

Taster Sessions

68

Exhibitions

63

Performances

123

Gala Days

24

Workshops

169

Concerts

19

After school activities

12



Programme outcomes:

Celebrate offered grants of between £500 to £10,000 to projects that met the following outcomes: ●●

Communities come together through arts, heritage, sports and local celebrations of the Commonwealth Games

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Communities celebrate the people, places and culture of the Commonwealth.

In total, £4,511,059 was awarded to 642 projects which benefited 5.2 million people in all 32 Local Authority areas (see annex 1 for details).

“We wanted to encourage new collaborations and connections within communities, celebrate cultural diversity and build the confidence of new groups to access funding. Celebrate made a huge contribution to Legacy and making these a Games for everybody by enabling communities to make the Games their own. “ Rona Alexander, Head of Funding, Big Lottery Fund Scotland 10

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Legacy Outcome: CONNECTED

With its focus on communities celebrating the Commonwealth Games through cultural and creative activities the celebrate programme was highly successful in achieving the ‘Connected’ outcome. Communities coming together to celebrate were at the very heart of all the projects we funded and feedback from grant holders indicates an increased awareness of Scottish culture as well as understanding of other Commonwealth cultures. Monitoring is still ongoing but to date, out of a total of 642 funded projects, we have received 240 ‘End of Grant’ reports which show the following indicators were met for the ‘Connected’ outcome:

Improve the perception of Scotland as a creative nation, producing world class cultural experiences: C1: Perception of Scotland internationally (culture & sporting excellence) C3: Memory of the event C4: Visits by overseas and UK tourists (trips and expenditure)

6.2 per cent 18.7 per cent 2.9 per cent

Increase engagement through new artistic, cultural and creative experiences: C5: Level of public engagement in Scotland with the Games

23.3 per cent

C6: Cultural engagement in Scotland among adults and young people (attendance and participation)

27.0 per cent

Enhance young people’s learning and everyone’s understanding & celebration of our and other countries’ cultures: C9: National and civic pride

19.5 per cent

“Celebrate helped maximise the exposure of the commonwealth games by funding small events which were inspired by the Games. Our hope would be that more people were sign posted to sports clubs as a means of continuing the sporting experience that they received through the Celebrate funded projects.” Andy Kelly, Project Manager, SportScotland 12

Key Theme 1: Community cohesion and identity

The majority of funded projects had a community focus and indeed the largest number of applications received was from Voluntary and Community organisations (see chart on the right).These projects tended to involve large community gathering, often involving food, music, dance, sport and general fun activities which appealed to all parts of the community. Celebrate in particular was highly successful in achieving its outcomes to help communities creatively celebrate the Games, feel connected to their own community and increase knowledge of other Commonwealth cultures. In response to our questionnaire: ●●

96.8 per cent of respondents reported that participants felt the event was ‘fun and enjoyable’

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66.3 per cent increased their knowledge of the Commonwealth

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75.8 per cent enjoyed taking part in physical activity

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66.3 per cent enjoyed taking part in cultural and creative activities

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44.2 per cent felt better connected to their community.

Voluntary/Community organisations Schools Statutory bodies Community councils Whilst this shows the positive effect for individuals at the point of project delivery, there is also evidence of a longer term impact for communities as a whole. For many, these fun events brought about a sense of identity and connection with others and increased pride in the community: “On reflection, most people’s experience was one of feeling part of a community, of having space to share and connect meaningfully with family, friends and new people.” “We contributed also to a sense of civic pride and well being in the town... the community focus around our street activities was especially strong and inclusive; it drew people of all ages to the work and created a genial and happy atmosphere which we believe has strengthened the relationship between the festival and the community such that in future years we will be able to enhance our community work yet further, creating more opportunities for inclusive and quality arts in the area.”

“Through Celebrate we inspired and enabled a wider and more diverse range of locally based organisations to deliver Games related cultural activity within and for their communities. It was an important funding source for projects aligned with our equalities agenda including BaME, LGBT, older people and people with disabilities.” Anne Petrie, Development Officer, Creative Scotland 13

Case study - Pollokshaws Area Network

Community cohesion was evident in Pollokshaws where parts of the local area have been demolished but delays to the regeneration process have left some residents demoralised and concerned about housing issues. A local community group recognised the effect this ‘high level’ issue was having on the area and wanted to help address it at a community level. So, hoping to raise spirits and boost community pride, the ‘Pollokshaws Area Network’ used Celebrate funding to organise a range of events including a Commonwealth gala day, sports day and Commonwealth legacy garden. Working in partnership with local sports clubs, church groups, The National Trust and other local community groups the events effectively engaged with the wider community which raised the groups profile and attracted more participants and volunteers. The events received very good feedback from the community, with many expressing a desire for future similar events which bring everyone together for a fun and positive experience. Key Theme 2: Games as a ‘hook’

Building a project around a recognisable ‘theme’ such as the Games seems to have made it easier for many first time applicants and hard to reach groups to engage with the funding process. Many grant holders reported that they were attracted and encouraged to apply because of the growing ‘buzz’ around the Games. The PR and marketing associated with such a high profile international event generally made it easier for smaller projects to raise their own profile. Many

reported ‘piggy backing’ onto the existing publicity and excitement felt throughout Scotland and particularly in the host city Glasgow. Timing limited the number of projects able to include the cost of Games tickets in their applications but many did benefit from 1000 tickets the Fund distributed through the Scottish Government Legacy 2014 Initiative as well as late returns and Opening Ceremony rehearsal tickets distributed by the Glasgow 2014 Legacy and Engagement team.

“People came from all over the world for the Commonwealth Games. It was a unique opportunity for us to celebrate and share our heritage with them. With Celebrate funding, diverse communities across Scotland showcased their history and culture and their links to the Commonwealth nations.” Colin McLean, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland 14

Case study - The Bike Station

The Glasgow Bike Station (formerly the Bike Shed) effectively capitalised on the excitement and publicity surrounding the Games in order to deliver a two week cycling festival in June 2014. The group were keen to engage people who might not necessarily get involved in the main Games and in particular women and people from black and minority ethnic communities, who are often under-represented in cycling. Recognising the importance of partnership working in order to reach the widest audience, the Bike Station utilised and strengthened existing networks with other cycling and community groups, including CTC Glasgow, Freewheel North, Glasgow women’s library and Belles on Bikes. Together they delivered accessible, recreational activities which focused on the sociable rather than physical side of cycling in order to make it less intimidating for those new to it. Themed activities included foraging whilst riding in the countryside, a pedal powered cinema and a women’s heritage ride around Glasgow. By offering “cycling with a purpose”, the festival successfully introduced new people to cycling, approximately two thirds of whom were women. The project clearly benefitted from “the Games fever in Glasgow at the time [which] generated a lot of interest and enthusiasm” and also from the strong partnership working between the different cycling groups. The experience of delivering such a successful project has also strengthened their model of partnership working and encouraged those involved to form an official network, ‘The Glasgow Community Cycling Network’. Working at a grassroots level, this new network will empower cycling community groups in a way that is sometimes not as easy to attain at a local authority level. They are already planning to hold another larger festival next year: “Now we’re in a position where we could confidently apply for funding in the future to work together because we know we work well together and we can produce something that’s really successful”. However, not all groups found it beneficial to ‘hook’ onto the Games theme. LGBT Youth Scotland initially found it difficult to find a suitable venue for their project during games time as most venues were fully booked. Others reported issues getting the level of participation they expected due to ‘saturation’ of events meaning there was “too much going on all at once” – not surprising with over 200 projects taking place in the Glasgow area alone.

Overall, though, the Games theme was regarded as a good way to inspire groups to deliver something new and encouraged communities to get involved. Feedback from many of our grant holders suggests they found the experience positive and are now interested in delivering future projects.

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Key Theme 3: Networks and partnership working

A large number of groups effectively utilised networks and partnership working to deliver their projects and many commented that they wouldn’t have been able to deliver such a ‘large scale’ or ‘ambitious’ project without our funding and exposure to other stakeholders/networks. This links back to the overall idea of the Games as a ‘hook’ as because so many groups were working on similar types of projects there was increased awareness and knowledge sharing about support available.

Case study - Active Stirling

From the applications we received it was also evident that in many cases schools, local authorities, local clubs and community groups were working together to access our funding: “The event improved relationships between the school and a number of local groups. This will further help us as we strive to become a community sports hub. The feel good factor will be felt for some time, all involved created history that morning”. This indicates the emergence of stronger networks and joined up working between service providers and groups who work with children and young people, which could be considered a positive legacy of our funding.

Through our funding Active Stirling were able to provide a wide programme of extra-curricular sports and activities to primary schools throughout the Stirling Council area. Various after schools clubs were set up, with support from local clubs and Sports Leaders in local High Schools who were able to offer sports not normally delivered by the schools. Active Stirling worked hard to link in with existing sports clubs and services, such as the local tennis club and cycling groups. Through these new partnerships new programmes have now been set up for the children to attend in future. This approach was very successful in both increasing the children’s interest in new sports and also strengthening partnerships with local clubs who were keen to promote and support future collaboration with the schools. As a result some of the schools involved are now planning to include the new sports in the curriculum in order to foster the children’s newly formed interest which will support a long term legacy of increased physical activity.

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Key theme 4: Capacity building

Most feedback from grant holders suggests they now feel more confident about delivering similar projects again as a result of building their internal capacity, developing relationships with stakeholders and increased awareness/participation from the public. For some smaller organisations, the experience of delivering a Celebrate funded project boosted their confidence and ambitions to deliver future projects: “We were able to think very ambitiously for the first time and deliver an exceptional programme. This has been a very strong learning process for all of us and we intend to build on the experience. In particular we will begin planning for next year now.” “I think the experience of organising and delivering an event of this size has definitely encouraged us to think as big in the future and perhaps expand on already existing events to make them bigger and better.” This suggests a legacy of improved capacity for many organisations which will hopefully lead to future successful funding applications and delivery of other projects.

However, an important point was raised about the need for future funding to support this legacy work: “Without the Celebrate funding, the event couldn’t have happened certainly on the scale that it did. And that was one of the anecdotal comments from one of the community partners: “That was a great event. But how do you then replicate it the next year or the year after without significant funding?” And to some extent I think we can. You know the partnerships are there. The community spirit if you will, the social capital is all there but it would be useful to have a similar financial support to facilitate events like that happening.”

Key Theme 5: Engaging and celebrating diverse groups

Another positive outcome was the programme’s success in attracting groups new to lottery funding and groups working with and/or led by people from ethnic communities. Typically, only 5 per cent of applications we receive are from groups who classify their beneficiaries as people from BME communities. However, 15 per cent of Celebrate applications were from these groups. Overall

Priorities



Number

Awarded

Average

Children and Young People

427

£2,934,846

£6,873

Older people/those who care for them

55

£367,222

£6,677

Black and minority ethnic

95

£742,414

£7,815

Refugees, Asylum seekers and new migrants

34

£280,894

£8,262

Disabled people/those who care for them

74

£572,980

£7,743

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender

5

£49,732

£9,946

Areas high on SIMD index

159

£1,075,574

£6,765

None/open to all

90

£618,786

£6,875

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Celebrate was also successful in engaging isolated and minority groups to participate in events: “The project increased participation by our community in Kirkcaldy, especially women and young people in sport, culture, exercise, and outdoor activities. It provided opportunities for the most excluded, and isolated members of the community to meet with other members of the host communities in a safe and supportive environment. This has increased their self confidence, and allows them to play a fuller part in the life of the community.” Building on the success of delivering projects around creative and cultural themes, in January 2015 we collaborated with Glasgow Life to run an outreach event for Celebrate grant holders who are from or work with BME communities. The aim was both to raise awareness of wider funding opportunities and to promote opportunities to be involved in the 20th anniversary of the Glasgow Mela in June. This event was attended by approximately 50 people from a range of BME communities all of whom were very positive about the opportunity of reapplying and the support they were being given to do so.

Case study - Whale, the Arts Agency

Key Theme 6: Cultural exchange and integration

Celebrates success in attracting applications from ethnically diverse groups appears to have been largely due to the social and cultural aspects of the programme. Many projects included a multi-cultural theme to reflect the international aspect of the Games. This was particularly effective in engaging with people from BME communities as it encouraged celebration of diversity and showcasing of different cultures. Engagement was fostered through sociable activities such as eating, dancing, singing and other creative outputs which were accessible and inclusive: “It has given young people from Scottish born and migrant backgrounds alike a chance to express their views on current issues of critical importance. They have been able to portray their ideas of identity and create an image of Glasgow in stark contrast to negative media portrayals...at the very least this is a starting point to challenging negative attitudes and prejudice towards migrant communities and young people in Glasgow”.

Working with a range of partners, ‘Whale, the Arts Agency’ organised a variety of artistic activities, all with significant outreach to the wider community to get people involved and interacting. They used funding to support local adults with additional support needs and learning disabilities to work with textile artists to produce a piece of art; deliver a joint dance project including Scottish and Indian dance; and hold a final event ‘Celebrate Wester Hailes’ with performances from drama groups, musicians and dancers. The project served to develop and strengthen partnerships with other organisations and widen community engagement, particularly with people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, who the project specifically targeted. With over 300 people attending the final celebration event the grant holder is keen to build on the success of the project and harness this into a legacy of continued engagement and partnership working. 18

A common pattern to emerge was the strengthening of cultural integration through delivery of projects with a creative or cultural theme. Many of the Celebrate funded projects showcased the food, art, music and dance of different Commonwealth countries in a colourful, celebratory manner, effectively presenting diversity as a positive part of society.

As we had anticipated, our funding programmes were very popular with schools and nurseries who embraced the core Commonwealth themes of ‘Sport’ and ‘Culture’, often delivering their own ‘mini-Games’ sports days. Funding supported children to try out ‘taster’ sessions of different sports and activities and many projects incorporated a cultural element into their projects by showcasing Commonwealth food, music and cultures which helped bring communities together. School projects often utilised the resources available through Game On Scotland to enhance classroom and extra-curricular activity.

Case study - Royston Nursery

Staff at Royston Nursery were particularly keen to instil positive learning for the 2- 5 year olds who participated in their project. In the weeks building up to their ‘Commonwealth Day’, where children competed in different sports, the children also learnt about different Commonwealth countries. In recognition of the multi-cultural background of many of the children, the Nursery Manager actively engaged their parents to join in and share information about their home countries. This helped to break down barriers and encourage parents from culturally diverse backgrounds to integrate with the other parents during the project: “It was a good way for parents to come in and interact with everyone else. It’s quite daunting for some of the parents, who don’t have much English, but it’s been really good, they’ve been very supportive of it all.” The project successfully engaged with parents and children from different cultural backgrounds by celebrating diversity in a fun, educational setting which removed language barriers. As a result some of the parents have been interacting more with staff and other parents, suggesting they are now more integrated into the community. 19

2014 Communities Duration: November 2008 – August 2014 Funding: £6.4m Activities: Small grants awarded to encourage increased participation and volunteering in sports and physical activity Legacy outcome: Active One year after Glasgow won the bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, The Big Lottery Fund launched the first Commonwealth Games legacy funding scheme. The programme, ‘2014 Communities’, ran for six years and aimed to increase grassroots participation and volunteering in sport and physical activity. The Fund recognised the opportunity presented by the Games to deliver a legacy which went beyond sporting activity and facilities, towards a community focus on healthy, active lifestyles. With an emphasis on volunteering and a broad range of physical activities which went beyond mainstream sports, the programme was developed to improve health and wellbeing for communities throughout Scotland. Aims: The programme aimed to increase the number of people participating and volunteering in sport or physical activity and, crucially, we took a broad approach to ‘physical activity’ as including any kind of movement, such as walking, gardening or dance. This is very much in line with the Scottish Government’s strategy for physical activity ‘Let’s Make Scotland More Active’ which describes physical activity as “movement of the body that uses energy”. It is expected that, through our funding, any increase in physical activity will have long term positive effects on the health and wellbeing of participants, as well as contributing to the prevention agenda of public policy. Another key aim was to promote community integration and capacity by encouraging people to come together through volunteering and participation in events. Recognising the potential for community cohesion offered by volunteering the programme aimed to increase volunteer numbers during funded events but also to encourage a legacy of volunteering long after the projects were delivered.

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Activities: Typical activities and items funded through 2014 Communities included: coaching; sport taster sessions; extra-curricular activities; community exercise classes; school links to clubs; sports equipment and uniforms. However, funding wasn’t just for sports, it also supported activities such as gardening, walking and dancing to ensure people with a wide range of abilities and interests could benefit.

Programme outcomes:

Grants of between £300 and £2000 were made available to voluntary and community sector organisations, councils and schools for projects that delivered one of the following outcomes: ●●

More people take part in sport or physical activity

●●

More people volunteer in sport or physical activity

●●

More people and communities are brought together through taking part or volunteering in sport or physical activity

Whilst funding was available to most statutory and community organisations, we prioritised those communities and groups with low participation in physical activities such as women and girls and people from BME communities. We were also successful in engaging with smaller groups and more hard to reach beneficiaries who may not have applied for funding before. By targeting funding at small, grassroots organisations ‘2014 Communities’ took a bottom-up approach which supported local community groups and clubs to access funding, often for the first time. For many groups, this funding not only allowed them to deliver new activities but also helped to raise their profile within the community and engage with local sports clubs and facilities.

Questionnaire feedback shows the following were achieved: ●●

88.6 per cent found the event fun and enjoyable

●●

82.3 per cent enjoyed taking part in a new physical activity or sport

●●

63.3 per cent reported improved confidence

●●

51.9 per cent learned about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle

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48.1 per cent intend to make sport or physical activity part of their lifestyle

●●

38 per cent enjoyed volunteering

Since 2008 a total of 4192 grants have been awarded across all Local Authority areas, with a combined value of worth £6,468,646 9 (see annex 2 for details).

Legacy outcomes: ACTIVE

In recognition that fewer people in Scotland are regularly participating in sport or physical activity, 2014 Communities took a broad approach to funding activities in order to maximise the accessibility and impact of our funding. The programme was very much about removing barriers to participation and investing in local community groups. For many people, lack of money, confidence or services was preventing them from being more active so 2014 Communities funding focused on overcoming these obstacles to build a legacy of healthier, more active communities. Although many of the projects we funded included an element of community building which will have contributed to the ‘Connected’ outcome, the strongest Legacy outcome for 2014 Communities is ‘Active’.

Key theme 1: Increased participation through barrier removal

One of the major outcomes of 2014 Communities funding was the removal of barriers to participation in physical activities. Although it awarded relatively small pots of money (£400-£2,000) the funding made a big impact on the beneficiaries, supporting people in all 32 local authority areas to participate in new sports and physical activities. Funding covered costs for essential items such as sports kits, equipment, coaches’ fees, transport and venue hire which enabled new sports clubs and activity groups to be established. Feedback from grant holders highlights the huge difference that 2014 Communities funding has had on the immediate and long term health and wellbeing of participants: “More young people tried new sports in venues they had never been in around Glasgow. Tiredness through sport is a good feeling as opposed to tiredness through lethargy!” “The grant has given young people opportunities that were previously inaccessible to them due to financial restrictions.” For others, funding to cover core items meant the club could keep membership fees to a minimum, or even offer sessions for free, in order to make the activities accessible to a wider range of people: “The purchasing of equipment through the grant kept the start up cost low and therefore ensured we could charge a minimum membership fee. Reducing the membership fee meant individuals could join the club and participate without the worry that cost brings. Removing the barrier of cost to participation has allowed the club grow to a total of 22 members in our first 7 months.”

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Key Theme 2: Volunteers

It has not been possible to fully gauge the volunteering legacy of 2014 Communities projects as feedback sought and received from grant holders has focussed on outcomes for participants rather than volunteers. However, some impacts have been identified and it is reasonable to assume these might be common to other projects involving volunteers. As many projects were organised by community groups they often relied on volunteers to help deliver activities and indeed some reported they would not have been able to run their projects without volunteer support. For some groups, the process of recruiting and training volunteers has been very valuable for the potential success of future projects, with some commenting that holding a Games themed project raised their profile within the community and made it easier to attract more volunteers:

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“We now have systems and contacts in place including a core of volunteers to make it easier for the event to continue.” Whilst we have limited feedback directly from volunteers, many of the project organisers have identified some immediate benefits for volunteers, such as increased skills and confidence: “Our volunteers have learnt many skills from assisting professional coaches.” “Over 40 children and young people participated in the project some of whom played cricket for the very first time. We also had volunteers who improved their skills and experience by coaching these children”. “The volunteers involved also benefited by working with children they didn’t know and gained valuable coaching experience working with a higher qualified coach.”

Case study - The Hidden Gardens

The Hidden Gardens, a community garden in Pollokshields Glasgow held a volunteering event which aimed to raise the profile of different community and voluntary groups and inspire people to sign up to a volunteering ‘time-bank’. Themed around the Commonwealth and Volunteering and held on Mandela Day as part of Festival 2014, the event successfully showcased the work that volunteers currently do in the community as well as highlighting opportunities for people to get involved. By inviting volunteers to come and deliver activities or workshops and just chat with visitors, the group were able to personalise volunteering and show the sociable side of it: “We felt there sometimes is a perception about volunteering as something people don’t have time for but actually it can be as little or as much as you want to do. We wanted to showcase examples of what people do to volunteer, whether that’s considered formal or informal it might inspire people to think ‘you know there’s folk here today who’ve volunteered and they’re having a great time, they’re making friendships’, there’s a real social side to volunteering, so we thought we’d try to celebrate and promote that” The Hidden Gardens effectively tested a new model of volunteer recruitment by delivering an interactive event which celebrated volunteering and broke down the formality of the typical recruitment process: “Typically volunteering opportunities are promoted online or like a careers convention, a town hall is booked and people set up stalls but it’s quite passive. The level of success of that model would be interesting to test in comparison to our event which was very vibrant and tangible, in that people who were volunteering on the day could talk to people who were thinking about volunteering.” A film of the event, co-produced with volunteers, was screened in November, providing an opportunity for organisations and volunteers, old and new, to meet up post Games and plan further initiatives. The groups’ success has been noted by others in the voluntary sector, such as Volunteer Glasgow, who attended the event and have shared the learning from this new model with the Legacy Forum. 23

Whilst our small grants funding has supported volunteers to some extent, we have more evidence of our contribution to a volunteering legacy through more targeted external programmes such as the Legacy 2014 Volunteer Support Pot and Host City Volunteers – which both specifically focused on volunteer engagement and retention and are discussed in more detail later in this report.

Key Theme 3: Rural and isolated areas

For many people living in remote or rural areas, there is often a limited range of sports and physical activities on offer locally, preventing them from being more active. Sometimes services and facilities are only available in nearby larger areas, which people have to spend time and money to access. As a national funder we were well placed to support projects in rural and isolated areas and 2014 Communities funding was successfully awarded to every local authority area in Scotland (see annex 2 for details).

Our funding has helped to overcome some of these barriers and increased access to activities for rural or isolated communities: “Pupils and members of the community have had access to two new sports. The peninsula is remote and access to sports venues is expensive and involves travel, including a short ferry journey. Being able to take part in more new activities is beneficial because everyone starts at the same level of experience. This gives those who may not have taken part before more confidence.” “The legacy of the project is the establishment of a sustainable, vibrant and developing cricket club. The club now also has a senior team and we are in the process of negotiating to acquire our own home ground. The long term impact is a thriving addition to the sporting clubs in the rural community.”

Case study - Sanday Community Association

The North Isles Sports Day, held annually on the Orkney Islands, usually focuses on elite athletes from the island, but in 2014 the organisers wanted to capitalise on the publicity and excitement of the Commonwealth Games to get more people involved. New, nontraditional sports and activities were introduced and participants competed on behalf of a different Commonwealth country with medals handed out for winners. By framing the event as more about fun physical activity than elite sport the organisers, ‘Sanday Community Association’, successfully attracted participants from different age groups and genders as well as visitors to the island. The grant holder reported that less active members of the community felt included and inspired to join in, stating: “It was good because there were lots of people who never actually do anything sporty at all. It’s a fun day, everyone is having fun, there’s no pressure so they all had a go anyway.” Crucially, this newly found activity is likely to continue as some of the more popular activities, like sumo wrestling, will be included in the annual sport day and there are plans to set up a lawn bowls club on an ongoing basis. 24

Key theme 4: Inter-generational ‘demonstration effect’

An interesting outcome of many projects was that the positive benefits often extended beyond just the individual who participated directly in the activity. There is evidence of a ‘demonstration effect’, whereby the parents and family members of children who undertook a new activity also adopted more positive, healthy lifestyle choices: “While the programme was going on we spoke to the kids and parents about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and took away the ‘this is bad and this is good’ mentality. This has actually led us to run a pilot fitness and nutrition class for parents who wanted to find out more... by having an open door policy, families from various communities were able to access the programme.” “By running this programme we have been able to break down many territorial barriers amongst families and hope this will then show with the future generations when they become parents. Also through feedback from parents and kids we have seen vast improvements in families’ health and well being. Once again we hope that this will be passed on to future generations.” Although many projects involved one off or short term activities, feedback indicates the emergence of longer term benefits for participants, such as increased confidence and awareness of available resources in the community. In particular, there is evidence of projects with children as the main beneficiary group effectively utilising this wider engagement from parents and family members in order to sustain the positive impact of the project work.

projects actively encouraged parents and carers to come along and join in, resulting in increased awareness of the benefits of exercise and a healthy lifestyle: “The children are very aware of healthy eating now and how to keep fit. They like to go out more rather than sitting at a computer. Even the parents will take them out now to local parks and let them get some exercise. We’ve got the children bringing their bikes and scooters to the nursery now whereas they didn’t do that before. It’s all been very positive.” Another project introduced children and parents to the simple pleasure of outdoor play: “Parents and children went outside and got active in the local Glen and woodland area. They met other parents, got a chance to talk to each other and school staff informally and realised what is available outside their front door to exercise themselves and their children without the need of money. Many do not go outdoors and previously would not feel comfortable venturing into the Glen. Many parents and children are afraid of mess, mud, rain and bugs and the project helped them all to play and feel more confident about the outdoors.” As a direct result of seeing firsthand how much their children enjoyed the new activities, feedback suggests many parents are now proactively looking for local sports clubs and classes for their children to continue with their new found interests on a regular basis.

We received a high number of applications from schools and nurseries and a popular idea was to hold a sports day or ‘mini- Commonwealth Games’ where the children could try out different activities and compete in a fun, inclusive way. Many of these 25

Key theme 5: Increased wellbeing and personal development

Many projects reported an increase in confidence and wellbeing amongst participants as a result of doing team activities and socialising with others. This was particularly true for young people who volunteered to deliver projects or had the chance to try something new: “The girls came together from different communities and they reported that meeting new friends was one of the best parts of the pilot. The girls were signposted and linked in to other local services to continue with physical activity and two young volunteers got experience of volunteering.” There are already well known links between physical activity and self esteem and by providing the opportunity to compete and achieve success, participants learnt valuable life lessons and skills: “Many of the children gained confidence in their own abilities and were amazed at their performance on the Assault Course - particularly scaling the 6 foot wall. They realised that being tall/small was not the issue but perseverance and attitude were far more important. One of the Downs Syndrome children in our supported class was encouraged to join an athletics club.” “The outcomes of the project will be further reaching in terms of improving health and well-being, acquiring essential life-skills, including communication, social tolerance, team-work and self-discipline.” “Long term legacy has been the children being very active and seeing what’s possible and what they can achieve...The children feel very, very proud of themselves and what they’ve managed to do and what they’ve attained.”

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Clearly, the experience of participating has raised the confidence and aspirations of many young people who engaged with a 2014 Communities funded project. As we know from research into early intervention and prevention, introducing positive attitudes and experiences at an early age can have excellent long term benefits for a child’s resilience and wellbeing. The emergence of these ‘soft’ outcomes is therefore a key contributor to the legacy of happy, healthy individuals.

Lessons learnt

Engaging applicants through ‘small and simple’ approach Both Celebrate and 2014 Communities operated as small grants and in fact 2014 Communities was considered a ‘micro-grant’ programme as it awarded small grants of up to £2,000 which did not require the same detailed level of monitoring as our larger programmes. The aim for both was to encourage small community groups to apply for straight forward projects that could be delivered quickly and easily. Therefore the application process and reporting requirements were kept to a minimum to avoid any onerous strain on grant holders resources, particularly for first time applicants. This ‘light-touch’ approach was welcomed by grant holders with many commenting positively on the process: “I’ve had a really positive experience - the application process was easy and there was a lot of support throughout” The simplicity of the process was also successful in removing the (sometimes) perceived difficulties in applying for grants and in many cases grant holders were encouraged to apply for future funding: “Applying for the funding was not nearly as complicated as I had thought. The process was swift and the people on the other end of the phone were approachable and exceedingly helpful. I would definitely consider another project - just need inspiration!”

Internally, our enquiries team also found the simplicity of the programmes a successful way to engage with new customers: “It was a new opportunity to deliver something that was ‘fun’. In that, we didn’t insist on a need for something and it was very accessible for lots of groups. Also, with it being time limited, it encouraged communities to get involved very quickly.” Working differently A dedicated website was set up for Celebrate at programme launch, designed by UWS to act as a forum for exchanging project ideas, learning and best practice. In reality the site did not develop as a home for user-generated content in the way it was hoped it would and case study content and email updates were largely driven by the Fund’s Communications team. In contrast, Twitter proved to be an excellent way to share information about grant holders’ events and to build interactive relationships. With regular and proactive involvement of Funding staff promoting events and achievements, grant holders were encouraged to share content which allowed The Fund to generate significant goodwill. Grant holders in turn used twitter to acknowledge the support of Celebrate, raising The Fund’s profile. By attending grant holder events as well as the many receptions, functions and events hosted by Games partners The Fund made itself highly visible through Games time. This was further facilitated by having a member of staff seconded to the OC. By bringing their presence and personalities to the fore at weekend and evening events in the run up to and during the Games, staff demonstrated that the Fund

was interested in what grant holders were doing and built on the ‘feel good’ factor of the Games. An outdoor showcase event was planned for the final day of the Games as part of Festival 2014, but was cut short by inclement weather. Nonetheless, staff and projects regrouped in the Fund’s offices to continue their joint celebrations. The knock-on effect of this level of engagement, staff believe, is a cohort of new, under-represented grant holders that now feel more able to reapply for funding. Strong partnership working was another feature of the successful delivery of Celebrate in particular. Working with the Lottery Distributors, but also more widely with Glasgow 2014 Engagement and Legacy team, the Festival 2014 team in Glasgow Life, and the Glasgow Area legacy groups, as well as intermediaries such as the Scottish Refugee Council, the programme was appropriately promoted and targeted. Celebrate was also well integrated with work with local authorities on QBR planning. However, a programme title referencing 2014 or the Games directly, had it been acceptable to all parties, would have made a stronger link to the successful Glasgow 2014 and 2014 Legacy brands. Sustaining legacy through building capacity and connectivity While there is clear evidence of how funding at a project level can be a catalyst for longer term interest and engagement, this is only the first stage in achieving a legacy of active, healthy, connected citizens. Successful partnership working and improved capacity of groups is a key to maintaining the momentum achieved so far.

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The process of successfully delivering community projects has strengthened many grassroots organisations, by forging partnerships, building networks and raising ambitions. Many of those who delivered projects were confident that the experience would make a lasting impression on participants, especially children, who they anticipated would continue to engage if they were supported to do so. There was evidence of a desire to build on the work our funding had started and an awareness of the potential for a longer term impact: “The local agencies experienced partnership working in new and more meaningful ways - this can only help the local community by offering better, improved services who are working together to serve the need of the community. Working with new volunteers offers new inroads to different members of the community, energising a sometime apathetic area. Focusing our work on supporting local volunteers we hope to foster a sense of community activism and get people engaged with their community”.

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“People are now more aware that with funding, good ideas and leadership, much more can actually be achieved. It brings hope and a sense of purpose for the future.” It is important therefore that these local partnerships and improved ways of working are sustained and the enthusiasm that came from the 2014 Legacy funded projects is not lost. A joined up approach at a local level would support continued participation and provide the next step in moving towards a lasting legacy of healthy, active communities.

External programmes and funded projects

The external programmes that received Big Lottery Funding were asked to provide analysis of their contribution to Legacy, either through completion of a ‘self evaluation’ form or provision of external evaluation reports. However, as all but one of the programmes is still ongoing (see annex 3 for timeline) it has not been possible to capture their final impact

so instead this data should be viewed as a ‘snapshot’ of their legacy contributions to date. Many are also conducting their own evaluations which will provide much greater detail and feedback about the programmes once they are complete.

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Active East Duration: Nov 2012 - Nov 2016 Funding: £0.1m Activities: Community based volunteer programme for young people to deliver sports and physical activities to peers in wider East end community. Small grants funding for partner organisations to deliver sports and physical activities Legacy outcome: Active Typically large scale events such as the Commonwealth Games or Olympics bring visible regeneration to an area, with investment in infrastructure and services, but sometimes local residents may feel somewhat removed from the process – merely spectators of the action. In light of this, the Big Lottery Fund wanted to support initiatives that engaged with the local community and helped to build their capacity, ensuring that the benefits of the 2014 Commonwealth Games were fully shared with the whole community. The Active East programme effectively used the Games as a catalyst to address significant issues relating to young people’s lack of participation in sport and physical activity in the East of Glasgow and to create a local legacy from the Games. In particular, the Games were seen an opportunity to ensure young people in the East end fully benefited from the experience of an international sporting event being held in their community. This award winning programme, which has been running since 2011, majority funded by the Robertson Trust, benefits young people from some of the most deprived areas of Glasgow by encouraging them to participate in sport and activity, bringing health and well-being benefits and improvements to their self-esteem and personal development.

Programme outcomes: ●●

Increase number of young people accessing accredited training and development opportunities

●●

Increase partnership working among local community organisations

●●

Young people increase their levels of physical activity and associated well being

Increased participation in sport and physical activity: To date, Active East has recruited 64 Active Champions (young volunteers aged 14-25) who are completing an individualised programme of awards 30

and training in sport, physical activity and volunteering. Not only have these young people directly benefitted from these activities, they have also put the skills they gained into practice by coaching and inspiring other young people in the East end of Glasgow to try new sports and activities. Out of the 64 Active Champions enrolled in the programme at the start of 2014: XX

23 have moved onto positive destinations such as school programmes, college, university and vocational programmes.

XX

3 moved on due to personal difficulties

XX

2 have become Active Mentors

XX

A further 28 new Champions were recruited, bringing the total back up to 64

Partnership working: This has been a very successful element of the Active East programme with key partnerships being formed throughout the process. Working with a range of strategic and delivery partners has helped ensure that the programme has the widest possible reach and impact for the young people of the East end of Glasgow. At the end of year two of the programme a total of 35 local organisations are now supporting Active Champions and Mentors, including: FARE, PEEK, Reidvale Youth N Action, RAPA, Urban Fox, Connect Community Trust, Cranhill Play Centre, A&M Training, Easterhouse Panthers, Fuse, Includem, Tollcross YMCA, John Wheatley College Youth Access, South Camlachie, Playbusters and Shettleston Harriers. Active East utilised the hook of the Games on their doorstep to the hilt–with Active Champions and Mentors involved as batonbearers, as clyde-siders and in the ceremonies cast. Service users benefited from Legacy 2014 and Glasgow City’s ticket initiatives.

Active East are building a legacy for future delivery of physical activity by bringing together delivery partners to share skills and experience and to provide safe free play opportunities in the local area. As a direct result of their involvement in Legacy 2014, in 2015 they begin a new collaboration with MyTime Active, delivering MEND healthy weight programmes in the East end of Glasgow. They will work with the partners until 2016 to embed the ethos of partnership. Volunteering: All of the young people involved have done so on a voluntary basis and feedback shows a high level of dedication and enthusiasm from participants who have been keen to progress and take up more opportunities for personal development. As of November 2014, Active Champions had contributed 8148 volunteer hours, indicating a high level of engagement.

Legacy Outcome - ACTIVE

Active East has already made a significant contribution to the legacy of a more active Glasgow and will no doubt continue to do so long after the programme ends. In recognition of its achievements, Active East was awarded winners of the Dell Beyond the Games Legacy Award 2014. Active East are also working towards increasing the capacity of the sports infrastructure by working with community based sports and physical activity providers to recognise the needs of young people and the skills required to facilitate provision suitable to them. Funding through small grants is available to partner organisations to both pay for new activity or development of existing provision as well as funding staff training to sustain this activity and increase capacity and skill set within organisations.

The structure of the Active East programme, whereby Active Champions complete an induction, complete a personal development plan, receive 1-2-1 support and mentoring has proven to be highly successful at engaging the young people and maximising their success. Young people who take part in the activities and benefit from the programme will be encouraged and supported to become the next generation of community workers who advocate physical activity and deliver local provision.

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MyTime Active Duration: August 2013 – October 2016 Funding: £1.7m Activities: Community based healthy weight management programmes using a ‘whole family’ approach Legacy outcome: Active Childhood obesity is a growing issue in Scotland, with almost 32 per cent of Scottish children overweight, including 15 percent who are obese or severely obese. Healthy Powerful Communities (HPC), delivered by MyTime Active, is focused on tackling this issue by addressing barriers to physical activity and empowering families to make informed healthy lifestyle choices for a fitter, healthier and happier life. Through development of a whole community approach to weight management HPC seeks to demonstrate the efficacy of family and community based approaches to this key policy issue. The project delivers a range of evidence based child healthy weight interventions called “MEND” (Mind Exercise, Nutrition, Do It), which takes a sustainable, whole family approach to weight management. The approach is further strengthened through leadership training of ‘community champions’, ongoing support for MEND graduates and funding of local groups in order to the reduce barriers to physical activity and improved diet. Programme outcomes: XX Healthier Communities: Improved health and well-being for children, young people and adults participating in healthy weight programmes and lifestyle initiatives. XX

Empowered Communities: Local people develop sustainable skills to help address overweight and obesity.

XX

Health professionals and policy makers in Scotland become more aware of and replicate the model.

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Increased participation in sport and physical activity: In year one of the programme an improvement in physical activity levels, dietary behaviours, waist circumference or BMI was detected in 74 per cent of participants. Healthy Powerful Communities report that the majority of people who attended the programme have experienced: ●●

increases in levels of physical activity

●●

lower sedentary behaviours

●●

improved diet

●●

peer support

●●

improved self efficacy and self esteem.

Many families who were engaged with the project at the time of the Games benefitted from the excitement and inspirational stories that came through the Games. However, it is difficult to say if the benefits brought about through the ‘festival effect’ have continued within those families. Training and employment: The funding provided by Big Lottery Fund, has provided employment for 6 full time members of staff and 50 programme leaders. Training has been provided to 213 community leaders and volunteering opportunities have been provided to 12 people across Scotland.

Legacy outcome - ACTIVE

The Games provided an excellent focal point for the development of partnerships and also to inspire families who engaged with the programme to become more active. The whole ethos of the project is based around empowering families to reduce sedentary behaviour, get more active, adopt healthier behaviours and have fun while doing it. The MEND programme and subsequent ‘Graduate Clubs’ builds confidence in families who are above a healthy weight to address the issue and act as a gateway into a range of sports and recreational activities which can allow for a lifetime of active living. Partnership working with local authorities, health boards and other third sector organisations has been a key driver of success, however difficulties achieving ‘buy in’ and data sharing agreements in some areas caused delays to progress. Community engagement was also a key element of success, with the programme graduates acting as advocates for the MEND approach within their peer networks. This highlights the importance of fostering strong relationships and maintaining a good reputation with both partners and the community. In the long term it is expected that as positive lifestyles changes are embedded in family behaviour and championed in the wider community by participants, communities across Scotland will be more engaged and empowered to improve their health related behaviours.

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UWS Digital Commonwealth Duration: July 2013 – March 2015 Funding: £0.2m Activities: Media workshops to improve the digital literacy in schools and communities, using the Games as a theme for storytelling Legacy outcome: Connected The University of the West of Scotland delivered a year and a half long project focusing on making digital media tools widely accessible. Working with many people from diverse backgrounds they used the Commonwealth Games as a platform from which to practice capturing life and sharing it digitally. Project work supported communities across Scotland and aimed to empower individuals currently lacking in digital literacy skills, assisting them to get creative using digital tools they may already own, but do not yet fully utilise. By learning new digital skills the groups were able to tell their story of the games through blogging, photography, video/audio creation and use of social media.

Programme outcomes: ●●

Enhanced capacity of marginalised individuals and communities (older populations, migrant communities and excluded young people) to express themselves through documentary film, creative writing and song-writing in four areas (Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Dumfries

●●

Levels of digital media literacy are enhanced amongst Scottish school children in areas of most need

●●

Levels of community media capacity are enhanced in areas poorly served in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Ayrshire and East Glasgow

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Legacy outcome: CONNECTED

The project supported participants to become more digitally literate in a form that suits them, opening up new fields of communication and enhancing their potential for communal engagement. In this way previously unheard citizens made stronger links with their community, learning together to participate in digital documentation of activity. The University of the West of Scotland are conducting an evaluation into the programme. It is expected to look at the barriers to digital participation and storytelling as well as highlighting ways to give a voice to minority or vulnerable groups.

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Beyond the Finish Line Duration: Feb 2014 – Feb 2015 Funding: £0.1m Activities: Business support and mentoring of 12 aspiring social enterprises Legacy outcome: Flourishing Delivered by Firstport, the ‘Beyond the Finish Line’ programme supported young people to create 12 social enterprises with the aim of revitalising the stalled/empty spaces around Games venues in Glasgow. The project involved offering information and support from Firstport and Ice Cream Architecture, input from local businesses and entrepreneurs and the formation of an ‘incubator space’ where the young social entrepreneurs could come together to share ideas and learning. Programme outcomes: ●● Young social entrepreneurs will have increased their skills, knowledge and confidence to start and run a social enterprise ●●

Communities in Glasgow enjoy better local amenities and services through the visible and practical use of empty/stalled spaces in their area

Legacy outcome - FLOURISHING

The project contributes to the legacy aim of creating a flourishing, sustainable Scotland by nurturing 12 aspiring social enterprises to help regenerate Glasgow’s high streets. Businesses include: sustainable food projects, aquaponics, furniture upcycling, publishing, fashion, illustration, community news; creating employment and training opportunities, relieving mental health, promoting healthy and sustainable food, supporting young creative’s, getting local people involved in active regeneration, recycling of construction waste.

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They have worked with Challengers in the incubator over a 6 month period, giving them one to one business support to develop their business model, finances and legal set up, offered expert workshop sessions, building and prototyping sessions, events and opportunities for networking and selling their products, mentoring from industry practitioners. They worked in partnership with Glasgow School of Art MSc in Design Innovation and International Management, using students as consultants to challengers, supporting them with market research, branding and product development. Currently 5 social enterprises are actively trading, others are running events or pop-up activities. However, a barrier to success was the difficulty in securing affordable premises on a long term basis for the Challengers, in the absence of a positive strategic partnership with City Properties. The Incubator space in the Trongate was a lively hub of activity before and beyond Games time but was only available on a six month lease. Beyond the Finish Line was the proud winner of both the judges and public awards at the prestigious Design Impact Awards 2014.

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Volunteer Support Pot Duration: July 2013 – September 2014 Funding: £0. 6m Activities: Distribution of funding to support Clydesiders at the 2014 Games to fulfil their role and therefore increase retention rates amongst volunteers Legacy outcome: Flourishing Learning from the great success of the 2012 London Olympics, the Fund recognised the vital contribution that volunteers make to large scale events, so we wanted to support volunteers at the Games to fully participate in this once in a lifetime experience.

contributions were possible, reducing its impact for this group of volunteers.

To ensure volunteers got the most out of the opportunity we funded Volunteer Scotland to deliver the Volunteer Support Pot (VSP), which was launched in October 2013 with the aim of providing financial assistance to volunteers who faced potential barriers to participation.

The approach was later adapted with Spirit of 2012 funding to include volunteer cast members of the Opening and Closing ceremonies. Timing of this support allowed it to be promoted from the outset, and this together with working with established groups helped to ensure the cast was diverse and inclusive. Post Games, cast members have been able to access support and onward referrals to further arts volunteering opportunities.

Specific beneficiaries were:

Programme outcomes:

●●

volunteers on a low income

●●

volunteers with a disability and their volunteering role results in them facing costs associated to this disability

●●

volunteers with caring responsibilities (respite or childcare costs)

●●

volunteers living at distance from the Games.

The VSP was a new approach to supporting volunteers on such a large scale. Clyde-siders applied for support to help cover costs of training and volunteering and were assessed against VSP criteria and awarded some or all of the help applied for, according to need and demand.VSP also secured affordable accommodation for some Clyde-siders. While the majority of requests were fairly modest, some costs for carers and BSL interpreters for example, where more significant. Despite good working relationships, operating the Pot at one step removed from the OC’s Volunteer Programme was challenging for Volunteer Scotland as contractor and the Big Lottery Fund as funder. The Pot was set up to be for Scottish residents only as it was funded from Big Lottery Scotland funds. However the OC selection process resulted in more than 1/3 of Clyde-siders being from outside Scotland, including many former Gamesmakers. Additional funds were added but the number and value of applications to the pot from outside Scotland meant only token 38

To support Clyde-siders who were eligible under VSP to complete their volunteering role in full. Without the support, they may have had to withdraw at different stages in their role. An independent evaluation of the VSP, conducted by Strathclyde University, confirms that the funding did have a significant ‘retention effect’ for the majority of beneficiaries: XX

Without this funding support 63 per cent of recipients reported they would have withdrawn from their volunteering role, or only performed part of it.

XX

More than half (58 per cent) of respondents felt that the VSP had a ‘significant’ or ‘major’ impact on their ability to volunteer.

Legacy outcome – FLOURISHING

The VSP contributed to the Legacy outcome ‘Flourishing’ by: ●●

Engaging people in volunteering who would otherwise have found it difficult due to financial hardship.

●●

Encouraging them to continue or increase their level of volunteering after the Games.

●●

Supporting volunteers to build confidence and develop skills which can assist them in securing employment, or improving their contribution and productivity if already in employment.

To our knowledge this was the first time that a funding mechanism of this type and scale had been used at a major event such as the Commonwealth Games. The VSP programme was therefore an innovative model which, in effect, was ‘piloted’ at the Games. As such, the learning and findings captured by the VSP evaluation can be utilised by future organisers of large scale events, in effect creating a legacy of learning and innovation. Where a representative and inclusive volunteer workforce is seen as desirable by the host city, some support mechanism should be included in the bid commitments.

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Host City Volunteers Duration: Jan 2014 – Feb 2017 Funding: £0.6m Activities: Recruitment, training and support of volunteers from the Host city Glasgow, focusing on overcoming barriers and improving skills Legacy outcome: Flourishing Through their three year ‘Host City Glasgow’ Project, Glasgow Life are hoping to use the catalyst of the Games to foster civic pride, deliver a volunteering legacy aspirations and build more connected communities in Glasgow. In the Glasgow Household Survey of Autumn 2012 89 per cent of those surveyed believed the Games would have a positive impact on the city but only 52 per cent anticipated it would have a positive impact on them/their families. Data from the Glasgow 2014 Clyde-sider programme indicated they received proportionately fewer applications from Glasgow residents, disabled people, older people and those living in deprived areas. Glasgow Life scoped their Host City Volunteer programme to overcome barriers to participation such as heavy commitment of number and length of shifts, digital exclusion, preconceptions about who volunteers, economic barriers and ID and security requirements that excluded asylum seekers and ex-offenders. The project recruited, trained and supported up to 1,100 Host City Volunteers (HCV) to assist visitors with general information and way-finding in high footfall Glasgow city centre locations, Games venues, along active travel routes and in Festival 2014 ‘live sites’.

Programme outcomes: ●●

Increased recognition for the contribution of Host City Volunteers to supporting delivery of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

●●

People in Glasgow will enhance their pride in the city and their ability to host visitors to the city.

●●

People who face barriers to volunteering will take part in volunteering and improve their knowledge, skills and confidence.

Priority groups targeted in recruitment were older people, people with disabilities and people living in disadvantaged areas. A flexible approach was taken to recruitment, mixing outreach, voluntary sector networks, traditional marketing and social media and to training delivery which was offered in both city centre and other locations. Dedicated welfare support,

funding for accessible transport and communications support (e.g. BSL) were key success factors in delivery. The HCV programme achieved a diverse and inclusive workforce of active volunteers: ●●

31 per cent had never volunteered before

●●

15 per cent identified as disabled (compared to 4 per cent at London 2012 and 3.5 per cent clyde-siders)

●●

38 per cent are considered ‘hard pressed’

●●

23 per cent from minority ethnic groups

●●

30 per cent aged 16-24 and 11 per cent aged 65 years +.

Challenges included high attrition rates, with numbers halving from application to deployment and the cost and resource implications of the high levels of support provided by the project team.

Legacy outcome – FLOURISHING:

The programme achieved involvement of previously under-represented groups, developed significant social capital and built many positive and lasting relationships between people and organisations. Along with the support offered to volunteers during Games time, additional legacy aspects include developing an online flexible learning resource to promote the city’s cultural and sporting heritage and assets at gold, silver and bronze tiered levels that will engage 15,000 people over 3 years. From January to August 2015, a celebratory exhibition co-produced by the Glasgow Life Museums team and volunteers will be in the People’s Palace and then touring six community venues. An external evaluation is being conducted and is expected to highlight the motivations of volunteers and whether they would still participate without support or financial incentives, providing lessons for the remaining 18 months of the programme. The report will also look at the public perception of volunteers and should offer valuable insights into the HCV programme’s contribution to both the Flourishing and Connected legacy outcomes.

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Pilotlight Duration: May 2013 – Nov 2014 Funding: £0.1m Activities: 12 charities/social enterprises mentored and supported by business leaders to develop skills, capacity and become more sustainable Legacy outcome: Flourishing Pilotlight is a capacity building programme offering free tailored strategic planning support to charities and social enterprises that are tackling disadvantage. They match directors from charities and social enterprises with teams of senior business people and facilitate engagement to plan for sustainability, development and growth. Building on their experience of delivering a similar initiative during the 2012 Olympic Games, Pilotlight saw the 2014 Commonwealth Games as an opportunity to work with 12 organisations in Scotland. This was a partnership programme, with initial funding from the Scottish Government Legacy team for six organisations expanded to 12 with Big Lottery Fund support. Delivered in two waves over an 18 month period, Pilotlight supported 12 charities based in Scotland to develop their skills in the key areas of strategic planning, leadership, fundraising, evaluation and finance. The business leaders, or ‘pilotlighters’, were drawn from corporate organisations, the public sector and the sponsors and partners of the Commonwealth Games in the run up to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Through a series of workshops and ongoing engagement between charity and business leaders, the programme supported capacity building, strategic planning and skills transfer between the sectors.

Programme outcomes: XX

Improved skills within community organisations, improved capacity for growth and innovation, charity/social enterprise leaders with improved confidence to drive change.

XX

Charities/social enterprises work with more people and increase their income. Charities/social enterprises more engaged with each other and the business sector.

XX

Business leaders more engaged with their communities and the voluntary sector.

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Legacy outcome: FLOURISHING

Pilotlight initially faced challenges in engaging the Games Corporate Sponsors in the programme, though achieved some success in expanding their stable of corporate partners. They plan to conduct their own evaluation of the programme but based on their previous experience of evaluating the programme in other parts of the UK they expect to contribute to the ‘Flourishing’ outcome in the following ways: XX

Charity leaders engaged in the process will come away with improved skills and confidence, while the Pilotighters will emerge better engaged with the voluntary sector and also with improved skills.

XX

A measurable improvement in charity/social enterprise effectiveness, sustainability and reach, helping the most disadvantaged communities across Glasgow.

XX

Voluntary sector service users will have access to more efficient and effective services as a result of the improved capacity of the participating charities.

XX

A measurable growth in the intelligent giving of time and money by business; measurable skills transfer from the business community to voluntary sector organisations.

XX

A measurable increase in collaborative work, resource sharing and communications between voluntary, business and public sector organisations.

XX

A new approach to bringing people together to work for the long-term benefit of their communities, which can be replicated throughout Scotland.

Pilotlight will continue to work with the 12 organisations, where appropriate, on specific issues or by providing support, workshops or signposting. Their evaluation of the overall programme will provide further evidence of the legacy outcomes and highlight lessons to take forward. In particular it is hoped that the establishment of strong links between the third sector and business sector, which are sometimes lacking, will develop and expand in future for the benefit of the wider charity and voluntary sector.

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Conclusion

Delivering a Legacy for Scotland is recognised as an ongoing process and now, less than a year after the Glasgow 2014 Games, we cannot hope to capture the full range of outcomes and outputs from our funding. However, through the feedback gathered from our small grant holders and externally delivered programmes, it is clear that The Fund has made a sizeable contribution to three out of four of the legacy outcomes: Active, Flourishing and Connected.

We made a unique contribution to the connected theme, with all our investments demonstrating the value of inclusive and community based approaches. Celebrate funding and Digital Commonwealth are both notable for helping to increase awareness of cultural diversity within Scotland and the wider Commonwealth by showcasing and celebrating culture and creativity at a community level.

Overall we believe we helped Glasgow 2014 meet its aspiration to be an inclusive and fully accessible Games and deliver ‘a Games for Everyone’. New partnerships and collaborations have been forged, by both us and the organisations and groups that we have supported, that will continue to develop and We have contributed extensively towards a Flourishing bear fruit in future years. Individuals and organisations have demonstrated increased skills and confidence to Scotland through our support for new social grasp the opportunity to deliver on a different, often enterprises involved in Beyond the Finish Line and bigger stage, and we can be confident they will Pilotlight’s work to build capacity within the third sector. Along with our funding of Host City Volunteers continue to do so. and The Volunteer Support Pot, which have raised the profile of volunteering in Scotland and enabled more people to gain valuable skills and experience during a once in a lifetime event. The aim to get more people in Scotland living healthier, more active lifestyles has been greatly supported through 2014 Communities, Active East and MyTime Active all of which have enabled and inspired communities to get active.

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Annex Figure 1: Celebrate grants awarded by Local Authority area Local Authority

No of Celebrate awards Value of awards

Average Grant

Aberdeen City

12

£72,240

£6,020

Aberdeenshire

2

£8,997

£4,499

Angus

18

£137,347

£7,630

Argyll and Bute

16

£85,303

£5,331

City of Edinburgh

35

£253,988

£7,257

Clackmannanshire

7

£51,512

£7,359

Dumfries and Galloway

12

£82,208

£6,851

Dundee City

14

£94,108

£6,722

East Ayrshire

11

£72,801

£6,618

East Dunbartonshire

10

£63,437

£6,344

East Lothian

9

£62,932

£6,992

East Renfrewshire

5

£39,004

£7,801

Eilean Siar

2

£18,500

£9,250

Falkirk

9

£77,514

£8,613

Fife

28

£169,912

£6,068

Glasgow City

226

£1,699,325

£7,519

Highland

24

£160,866

£6,703

Inverclyde

8

£52,308

£6,539

Midlothian

7

£40,953

£5,850

Moray

6

£44,244

£7,374

North Ayrshire

25

£159,342

£6,374

North Lanarkshire

22

£153,067

£6,958

Orkney Islands

4

£19,810

£4,953

Perth and Kinross

15

£96,143

£6,410

Renfrewshire

26

£203,817

£7,839

Scottish Borders

10

£76,786

£7,679

Shetland Islands

6

£47,465

£7,911

South Ayrshire

7

£51,126

£7,304

South Lanarkshire

23

£123,318

£5,362

Stirling

16

£80,054

£5,003

West Dunbartonshire

6

£36,681

£6,114

West Lothian

5

£30,626

£6,125

Scotland Wide

16

£145,326

£9,083

32 authorities

642

£4,511,059

£7,027 45

Figure 2: 2014 Communities grants awarded by Local Authority Area Row Labels

Count of Number of Awards

Sum of Awarded

Aberdeen City

56

£85,707

Aberdeenshire

108

£147,334

Angus

99

£152,972

Argyll and Bute

104

£151,885

Cardiff

1

£2,000

City of Edinburgh

177

£282,552

Clackmannanshire

26

£40,332

Dumfries and Galloway

156

£229,660

Dundee City

51

£86,483

East Ayrshire

111

£178,089

East Dunbartonshire

56

£88,957

East Lothian

48

£79,397

East Renfrewshire

59

£100,643

Eilean Siar

41

£65,079

Enfield

£0

Falkirk

61

£107,379

Fife

205

£279,228

Glasgow City

565

£865,908

Highland

247

£362,249

Huntingdonshire

£0

Inverclyde

47

£62,907

Liverpool

2

£3,228

Midlothian

27

£39,205

Milton Keynes

1

£1,948

Moray

38

£49,121

North Ayrshire

85

£134,233

North Lanarkshire

278

£394,220

Not assigned

17

£31,505

Orkney Islands

25

£33,608

Perth and Kinross

73

£107,769

Renfrewshire

124

£207,922

Result

1

£450,216

Scottish Borders

53

£76,412

Shetland Islands

20

£27,416

South Ayrshire

127

£179,139

South Lanarkshire

325

£508,265

Stirling

76

£110,799

Torbay

1

£2,000

West Dunbartonshire

119

£199,126

West Lothian

52

£77,965

3662

£6,002,857

(blank) Grand Total

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Figure 3: Timeline of Legacy investments

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