TUESDAY, 10 MARCH, 2020

PHOTO ATTACHED: (left) COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING OFFICER RICHARD MCINTOSH AND OUT GOING LAY CHAIR OF NHS TAYSIDE CHARITABLE FUND COMMITTEE DR DAVID DORWARD

Celebration Event marks Fifth anniversary of Community Innovation Fund

A showcase event was held in The Steeple in Dundee to celebrate the success of community projects funded by NHS Tayside’s Community Innovation Fund.

Representatives from over 40 funded projects from across Tayside presented their work to NHS Tayside and shared their ideas and information with other community projects. Over 150 community groups have been awarded money since the launch of NHS Tayside’s Community Innovation Fund five years ago.

The Fund helps community groups to develop local improvement projects which will benefit the health and wellbeing of their local population. The Fund is financed through the Tayside Health Fund, the charity for NHS Tayside.

NHS Tayside’s Community Capacity Building Officer Richard McIntosh, said, “The event was a celebration of the incredible work of community groups right across Tayside where people have come together to make their lives healthier, to make the lives of other people better and, ultimately, make a better society for us all.

“The examples of the projects highlighted really showed the inspirational ways through which people all across Tayside have come together to develop exciting ideas that are now coming to fruition and delivering major benefits to society.

“NHS Tayside is a strong believer in the role community groups play and how their activities make a vital contribution to a healthier society. Community groups build their activities from firsthand experience and maximise the local knowledge and connections available. Building resilience in communities is a vital way of helping people to live healthy lives, and is a key part of the strategy of NHS Tayside to improve the wellbeing of the population of the region.

“The Fund can really go to the heart of a community to make a difference, supporting local people to make decisions about the changes they want to see to help them improve the health, wellbeing and resilience of their own communities.”

Heather Simpson from Tayside Council on Alcohol said, “We are delighted with the opportunity that the Community Innovation Fund has given us. Our Kith ‘n’ Kin choir has been so successful in creating a safe, healthy and calming space and the project has significantly improved the lives of people throughout Dundee who experience many health inequalities.  

“We have found that the wellbeing of everyone has been uplifted, our carers feel that their own confidence has grown and this would not have been possible without the support of the Community Capacity Building Officer and the Community Innovation Fund.”

The Community Innovation Fund aims to support new, innovative projects which will work in partnership with communities in disadvantaged areas, promoting quality of life, overall health and wellbeing and creating a stronger sense of community and social relationships.

Community groups can apply for any amount between £500 and £25,000 over a three-year period to establish new and innovative projects.

Anyone interested in applying or finding out more information should visit the website www.communityinnovationfundtayside.scot.nhs.uk

Notes to editor:

• Any community-led organisation can apply to the Community Innovation Fund for funding for a project in a community in an area of need.

• The project must show ongoing benefits and improvements to the community

• The Fund enables people to identify issues of concern in their community and to take improvement action.

• The Fund aims to help people to form partnerships with others who can provide assistance to work together to bring about change.

Contact:

Anna Michie

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 424138