Scotland director invites dialogue on year ahead from throughout the sector

Big Lottery Fund in Scotland will launch its new funding portfolio towards the end of the year, its Scotland director Jackie Killeen has revealed.

But first it intends to hold focus groups, round tables, webinars, meetings and surveys to update the bank of information it already holds, including views gathered from last year's UK-wide conversation to inform the Big Lottery Fund’s new strategic framework.

In a New Year update, Killeen said the events will engage specific organisations to help the Big Lottery Fund, which is Scotland’s biggest third sector funder, capture information on particular issues but will also seek to hear the views of a broad range of parties on wider topics.

“The main aim of all of these conversations is to support the development of a funding portfolio that is relevant to the needs and aspirations of communities and individuals in Scotland today and in the future,” Killeen said.

“The information we’ve gathered from our experience and conversations so far is giving us a good steer in our early thinking.”

This is a very broad picture of our thinking so far and will be further informed by the information we gather through our series of events in early 2015

The move follows on from last year's, Your Voice Your Vision, which explored how the Big Lottery Fund should fund the sector between 2015 and 2021.

It committed to developing and agreeing the principles that will underpin its future funding programmes early in 2015, adding plans would be developed in summer and rolled out in autumn.

Killeen added the fund's mission would remain the same - contining to focus on helping people and communities most in need and it would try to do so by funding work which reduces inequality.

Lottery Funding, she continued, would do this in a supportive way, explicitly identifying and building on the assets, strengths and opportunities that exist amongst people and communities across Scotland.

She added: "We are considering the importance of and need for further preventative work, whilst recognising the necessity of vital support for many individuals and families in Scotland. Alongside this, we are exploring the best way to support community-led work that strengthens people’s influence in their own communities and enables communities to act for themselves.

“This is a very broad picture of our thinking so far and will be further informed by the information we gather through our series of events in early 2015.

“We’d like you to tell us what you think of our direction of travel.”

You can email your thoughts to [email protected] or tweet Killeen at @JackieKilleen.