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JIT is a strategic improvement partnership between the Scottish Government,

NHSScotland, COSLA and the Third, Independent and Housing Sectors

Community Capacity BuildingLearning from Men’s Sheds

Mark McGeachie

JIT is a strategic improvement partnership between the Scottish Government, NHSScotland, COSLA and the Third, Independent and Housing Sectors

About

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Achieve the outcomes and targets

agreed by the national partners:

• Provide leadership in the

delivery of health and social care

reform;

• Improve performance

• Develop more integrated

approaches to health, housing

and social care services;

• Embed preventative

approaches;

• Adopt an assets-based

approach such as co-production,

and embed a personal

outcomes approach.


Why co-production?

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Integration

of Adult

Health and

Social Care


The link between co-production and

community capacity building…

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In order to co-produce outcomes,

people and communities need to have the

capacity – the skills, confidence, support

and experience – to be able to contribute as

equal participants…


Community Capacity Building is…

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“...enabling individuals, groups and communities to

develop the confidence, understanding and skills required

to influence decision making and service delivery. This

could include enabling communities to provide and

manage services to meet community needs.”

The Scottish Government’s definition of Community Capacity Building

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/communitylearninganddevelopment/communitycapacitybuilding/aboutccb/whatisccb.asp


Men’s Shed Research

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• Why we did this research?

• What did we learn?


Research – what did we learn?

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• Rapid spread over past 2 years:

– 49 in existence or being developed (42 confirmed)

– 2013, 6 Sheds in Scotland

– 2014, 16 Sheds set up

– 2015, 20 Sheds acquiring premises or being planned

– 18 of 32 local authority areas

• Supported by 5 factors:

– Information about Men’s Sheds was widely available

– Knowledge of local community needs

– The assets of the men in local communities

– Capacity and skills within local statutory or third sector organisations

– The flexibility of the concept

JIT is a strategic improvement partnership between the Scottish Government, NHSScotland, COSLA and the Third, Independent and Housing Sectors 8


What we learned…

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Idea – Heard about Men’s Sheds

Is this something we can do here? There appears

to be a need here.

Key supports – Community development worker resource with knowledge of the local

community

Access to sources of information and knowledge networks

Key challenges – Different agendas of different agencies which might compromise potential

for action

Key learning – Knowledge of the local community, its needs and gaps in services matching

this with ideas of potential initiatives


What we learned…

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‘Build’ the Shed – Get users to shape the Shed development

Key supports –

Local knowledge and networks of the Shedders

Local media

Key challenges –

Having a Shed to show potential users

Keeping interest of men when premises are not available for them

to participate in activities

Key learning –

Using the knowledge and networks of people involved in a

community initiative to promote it via word of mouth


What we learned…

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SustainabilityKey supports –

Capacity and assets of the Shedders e.g. fundraising, decision-making

Local sources of funding

Enthusiasm for using the shed

Key challenges –

Achieving low running costs

The need to keep chasing funding

Becoming self-sufficient in administering the Shed

Attracting younger users

The ‘normality’ of the Shed – disadvantage for finding funding

Key learning –

Sustainability requires transferring knowledge from supporting organisations to the

community

Supporting organisations need to look at their longer term role with community

initiatives

Focus on evidence-based investment and application of improvement science may

not be compatible with community-led initiatives


Learning about community capacity building

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• ‘One size doesn’t fit all’ BUT… tailoring will work

• Local level organisational support and capacity can

complement community assets – connect and facilitate

• Communities must own and make decisions about their

initiatives – support needs to focus on knowledge

transfer and self-sustainability

• Non-financial and financial support are equally

important

• Community initiatives may not fit neatly into boxes –

Organisations need to be flexible with criteria for

assessing and metrics of success


Final thoughts

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“You make your own Shed, it is not something you are given”

• Co-produced public services require community capacity

• Developing community capacity is about building on the assets which already exist

• Nationwide programmes, projects or services should be adapted to meet local context

• Less about ‘top-down’ v. ‘bottom-up’… more about ‘How we meet in the middle’


Thank you

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‘Learning about community capacity building from the

spread of Men’s Sheds in Scotland’ available at:

http://www.jitscotland.org.uk/resource/report-mens-

sheds-scotland/

Mark McGeachie

National Lead – Co-production and Community Capacity Building

[email protected]

http://www.jitscotland.org.uk/

http://www.jitscotland.org.uk/resource/report-mens-sheds-scotland/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.jitscotland.org.uk/

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