Looking locally: Communities building capacity

In 2024-25 the Moray Local Action Fund once again supported communities in Moray through a Scottish Government grant for community led local development. 

The fund’s focus is to enable community led activity, which supports a just transition to a wellbeing economy; an economy that works for people, places and planet, and in doing so, helps to address issues of both equality and sustainability.

All projects were invited to demonstrate that they advanced inclusion, equality and diversity while meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:

• Climate - addressing the climate and environmental emergencies.

• Sustainability - enabling a just transition to a carbon-neutral and sustainable future.

• Wellbeing - supporting the development of a wellbeing economy[1].

• Community - facilitating community development[2] and capacity-building[3].

• Leadership - investing in community leadership and community led local development[4].

• Wealth building - supporting and building on the concept of community wealth building[5].

Impact 

The fund awarded a total of £279,530.17 to community groups and organisations across Moray,

The money was spent on a mixture of physical assets (capital expenditure) and general running costs (revenue expenditure). 

See the full list of supported projects.

Notes

[1] A Wellbeing Economy is an economy designed to serve people and planet, not the other way around. In a Wellbeing Economy, the rules, norms and incentives are set up to deliver quality of life and flourishing for all people, in harmony with our environment, by default. Source: weall.org

[2] Community development is a process where people come together to take action on what's important to them. Source: www.scdc.org.uk/who/what-is-community-development

[3] Community capacity building is the support that community groups access to help them address issues which are important to them. Source: www.scdc.org.uk/hub/community-capacity-building

[4] Community led local development (CLLD) gives local communities the power to tackle their own, local challenges. By building knowledge and skills, supporting new ideas and encouraging cooperation, CLLD helps to create viable and resilient communities. Source: www.ruralnetwork.scot/community-led-local-development

[5] Community Wealth Building is designed to harness the economic leverage of local ‘anchor’ organisations (such as local councils, health, universities, colleges, housing associations, or large local private sector employers) to tackle long standing systematic challenges and structural inequalities within our communities. Source: www.gov.scot/policies/cities-regions/community-wealth-building