Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum

issue 38 : summer 2007 scotregensharing experience : shaping practice

In this issue: • Positive Deviance and the four Ds – Page 8 • Football and Regeneration – Page 1 • The wealth in languages – Page 10 • Small Towns- No Small Matter – Page 3 • Working solutions for prisoners - page 14 • BIDs for success – Page 4 plus the regular intriguing numbers and language • - On the right lines – Page 6 columns as well as reviews and news. FOOTBALL AND REGENERATION Intangible assets and goodwill

The ‘beautiful game’ now operates as a business of superstars, celebrities, sponsorship deals and politics, but in some of our most disadvantaged communities it is still offers a source of identity, pride of place and shared aspirations. Football also provides a hugely popular focus for young people at a time of mounting concerns about exclusion, poor health and anti-social behaviour. SURF, in partnership with Heriot Watt University's Social Confirmed key speakers include: Enterprise Institute, is teaming up with some of the top players in regeneration to produce an event that will tackle some fascinating • Lex Gold, Chair of the SPL questions: More than a game – The positive role of football in regeneration. • What is the role of football in place-based regeneration and how • Dr Alan Southern of Liverpool University can it be better defined and supported? Measuring the value – The impact of Football Clubs on communities • What more could be done to link football with health, employment and inclusion aims? • George Craig, Managing Director of Falkirk FC The Business of Football – on the field, in the community and on • What opportunities are there for linking physical, economic and the balance sheet. social regeneration through football? • Mel Young, President of the Homeless World Cup Goals Why Football? – Football as a medium for change As the new season gets underway SURF will present a conference There will also be discussion groups on: at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium that will: • A team game – Links between clubs and regeneration projects • Bring together a range of relevant individuals and organisations • More than a stadium – Football and place based regeneration with a shared interest in football and community regeneration. • It’s a funny old game – The economics of football • Offer an opportunity to consider the positive contribution that professional football makes to place based regeneration, and how This event will kick off with the new season on August 14th it might be consolidated and promoted. in Edinburgh. Go to the SURF web site to book your place or contact [email protected] Top players The focus of the above conference will be on the role of professional The thinking mans pundit, Pat Nevin, will chair the days football, but SURF is very aware of the massive contribution that is discussions which will hear contributions from across the field of made by people across Scotland who give their time freely to support football and regeneration, from local clubs to the business of the football and social activities on a voluntary basis. SURF plans to SPL and the truly international scale of the hugely successful examine the particularly beneficial impacts of voluntary football activity Homeless World Cup. in a related subsequent event. A view from the chair The most critical issue, arguably, the health of the Scottish people, has had a great deal of publicity recently which may, in part, account for the over- subscription to our recent Open Forum, delivered in partnership with NHS Scotland. But the more likely explanation for the attendance is the Ian Wall poor state of our health in Scotland and, sometimes, the confusion about SURF Chairperson how we are to address this. Matters such as health are not susceptible to short term fixes and require to be addressed through, for example, housing, the public environment and income, to name only three that require long term, strategic programmes to bring about the fundamental changes which will produce a ‘healthy, successful Scotland’.

New administrations often bring with them new administrative arrangements; the continuing role of the Scottish Enterprise Network, Fundamental objectives of regeneration Communities Scotland and Local Government in this field are clearly under strategic review but administration must be subordinate to the long term From the varied and vigorous hustings of our last issue we have now a new strategic objectives of meeting our needs. dispensation with our SNP administration, albeit, as a minority, they are Our conference this year takes the opportunity of our anniversary to look going to need the support of others for their programme. back over urban regeneration for the first fifteen years of the life of SURF Although governments change, the fundamental objectives of urban and to look forward to the next fifteen years. It will allow us the regeneration do not change but sometimes a shift of focus can be helpful as opportunity to identify the targets, the means and thus also the appropriate was shown by our conference on Regeneration and Small Towns which administrative arrangements. The Conference’s timing, strategically and was stimulating and productive; the results of which should certainly be for tactically, is well placed and we hope to see a very large proportion of our consideration by our new Minister and his department. membership to debate these issues in September in Dundee.

In this issue; • Our front page article invites you to get involved in kicking Editorial around the successes of linking Football to Regeneration goals at a special conference on August 14th in Edinburgh. • Page 3 presents a short summary of SURF’s recent seminar on Small Town regeneration, ‘No small matter’ for 30% of Scotland’s population • BIDs project director for Scotland, Ian Davidson Porter, spells Andy Milne out the benefits of Business Improvement Districts on pages SURF Chief 4 and 5. Executive • Trams have never been so topical. On page 6, Roland Hahn brings some new thinking to the debate. • What is Positive Deviance and how can it help us find new solutions to intractable problems? International Futures Forum Director, Andrew Lyon, explains all on page 8 • On page 10, Children in Scotland Chief Executive, Bronwen Cohen, makes a case for valuing the wealth of different Welcome to the Summer 2007 edition of languages that children speak. • In the featured letter on page 15, Iain Stuart calls for old scotregen regeneration initiatives to become new local authorities. • The Capital City Partnership’s Matthew Crighton finds work The purpose of this quarterly journal is to use SURF’s works for prisoners on page 14. independent position to raise discussion and debate about We also have our regular challenging columns on language and important developments in regeneration policy and numbers by Dr Chik Collins and Dr Stirling Howieson, as well as practice. Scotregen is part of SURF’s regular output of SURF news and reviews. publications, events and discussions aimed at supporting Your feedback on any of the above, or anything else you think we should be looking at in future editions of more successful and sustainable regeneration efforts in Scotregen, is always welcome. Just e mail me at urban communities across Scotland. [email protected]

Page 2 scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 NO SMALL MATTER

SURF Chief Executive Andy Milne picks out some of the main points from the recent SURF seminar on Small Town Regeneration

Much of the Scottish community regeneration policy Local models debate and resource allocation of recent years has Development Trusts and locally based housing associations been focused on the cities and their surrounding areas offer good opportunities for building local community of concentrated disadvantage. capacity and ownership of assets and processes. On May 15th, SURF Vice Chair, Colin Armstrong, Local services welcomed over 60 delegates from Orkney to Dumfries Good quality local services are core to maintaining and who gathered in Edinburgh at the SURF Small Town developing successful and sustainable communities. Regeneration seminar- ‘No Small Matter’. The title Design and sustainability refers to the fact that 30% of the Scottish population The quality of design is an important consideration both in live in small towns (up to 20K population.). terms of creating a sense of confidence and physical A series of Scotregen articles in 2004/5 highlighted the sustainability. particular challenges for Scotland’s small towns. Changing climate Towards the end of 2006, Scottish Borders Council, on More consideration needs to be given to the opportunities behalf of the South of Scotland Alliance, and in co- and challenges that climate change presents for local operation with CoSLA, produced a substantial report development. calling for dedicated policy and resource support for Scotland’s small towns. SURF’s ‘No Small Matter’ Spreading the jam seminar explored this important issue further. Some members of the audience queried whether the earlier report’s mooted figure of £90M for a catalytic, target based, Small Town partnership fund was sufficient. Others argued Ian Lindley, Director of that such resources as are available should be directed to Planning and Economic practical initiatives rather than central planning structures. Development at Scottish Borders Council, was one of A cultured approach the authors of the The relevance to the debate of the more creative ‘Cultural Scottish Small Towns Report Planning’ approach was noted and participants were 2007-2013 encouraged to look at the ‘Culture at the Centre’ report produced by the National Cultural Planning Steering Group which is available on the NCPSG web site at www.ncpsg.org Some of the main points emerging from the seminar included. FOLLOW UP The right focus? Should the focus be specifically on small towns? Some agrued In following through on this important debate: that proper consideration of ‘place’ provides a more practical • The Small Towns Task group will continue to lobby its case focus. They felt that the distinctiveness of place helps in for distinct policy consideration and dedicated resources securing meaningful local engagement within appropriate for regenerating small towns. structures to meet relevant aims for locally specific circumstances. The successes of HIE in this place and culture • The National Cultural Planning Steering group will be based approach was noted. following through on its work in support of using local culture, assets and knowledge to help create locally Institutional complexity relevant community regeneration strategies at all levels. Some community activists noted that the apparent complexity of institutional structures and related bodies was • SURF will use the information, comments and proposals unhelpful for local groups trying to find advice, and support. from this event to help inform discussions with decision makers towards better regeneration policy for Private partners communities across Scotland. It was generally agreed that supporting local small private sector services was vital in creating local vibrancy and • CoSLA, the Scottish Executive and its agencies will confidence, but their involvement must be in the right place continue to develop their thinking and responses to the to compliment their appropriate roles and interests. varied challenges of supporting successful and sustainable regeneration. Leading roles The need for good quality local leadership to build trust and Copies of the summary report including discussion co-operation is an essential element of any partnership group outcomes and key speakers’ presentations are approach. The role of local activists as well as elected available from the ‘Knowledge Centre’ section of the councillors should be respected. SURF web site at www.scotregen.co.uk

scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 Page 3 Business Improvement Distri As recorded on the previous page, delegates at SURFs BIDs worldwide have been shown to deliver a range of benefits, recent seminar on Small Town regeneration identified the including: support and engagement of the local businesses as a key • Improved access and transport links element in successful regeneration strategies. In this article, BIDS Project Director for Scotland, Ian Davison • Safer environments Porter, highlights how Business Improvement Districts can • Cleaner, improved environments for employees, customers and provide a regeneration opportunity for Scotland’s towns, visitors cities, business parks and rural areas. • Joint effort and drive towards a shared vision • Collectively invested money which works harder and smarter, sharing costs and responsibilities Ian Davison Porter • The opportunity to attract additional funding BIDS Project Director • Strong and effective private/public partnerships for Scotland • The harnessing of private sector management, drive and skills Ian.DavisonPorter • A competitive regional advantage @scotland.gsi.gov.uk • A strong local voice for business. These benefits impact positively on the businesses’ top and bottom lines. Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have been a major success story across the world with some 1400 having been Historical perspective established to support regeneration, the asset management of A BID, being a strong private – public sector partnership brings town and city centres and grow the local economy. focus to the difficulties and needs of business within our towns or A measure of their popularity is that to date almost 99 per cent cities, rural areas or business parks. have been given a new mandate by the businesses involved in the The first BID was set up by local businesses in Bloor West Village, BID area when they come up for renewal – usually every three to Toronto to compete with shopping malls that had sprung up on five years. the outskirts of the city. With thousands of shoppers motoring There are already more than 40 BIDs in England following out to the malls, some traders were forced to close their shops legislation in 2004 and Eire passed its BID legislation in 2006 with and the local area began to look run down. Dublin leading on the first BID. This business strategy has now A group of businessmen successfully lobbied for legislation that arrived in Scotland with six pilot projects established by the Scottish Executive in March 2006. Between 2006 and 2008, the meant all businesses would pay a levy to revitalise their business Executive is providing around £1 million to support the pilot area through physical improvements and promotional activities. development of this strategy for Scotland. Shoppers began to flock back and Bloor West Village quickly re- emerged as and remains a vibrant and safe environment to live, The six Scottish BID pilots are Bathgate, Clackmannanshire, work and shop. This success has led Toronto to establish 54 Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow and Inverness, with BIDs. Clackmannanshire likely to be the first to ballot businesses later this year. This strategy is also attracting interest from a number of Developing a BID other locations in Scotland that are considering establishing their In general, the model for delivering a BID remains similar to that own BID. But why are they so popular and what additional established by Bloor West Village 37 years ago. benefits can they offer different areas? Perhaps the best place to Normally, a steering group is established, perhaps initiated by the start is by answering the obvious question, “What is a BID?” public sector, but made up predominantly of private sector What is a BID? individuals. After consultation with the businesses, the steering Often initiated by the public sector, a Business Improvement group will identify the proposed BID geographical area, the issues District (BID) is a business-led strategy where businesses work to be addressed and the projects to be included in a business together and invest collectively in local improvements to their plan. The plan will also set out the delivery mechanisms and business environment. performance indicators, as well as the BID governance and BID Projects can tackle issues such as access, safety and security, management structures. environmental improvements, marketing and promotion, and An investment levy, calculated on the non domestic rates asset management whilst some BIDs are also developing more valuation, will also be proposed in the business plan. In Scotland, innovative projects around waste management, collective levy contributions could be made by a combination of tenants and procurement (utilities and consumables) and business to business property owners, or by tenants alone. selling. Each tenant and, if applicable, property owner who will be asked A BID is often, although not exclusively, a partnership to pay the levy will be able to vote on whether or not the BID arrangement through which the local business community and goes ahead. A BID proposal in Scotland will only go ahead if statutory authorities can take forward projects and services more than half the businesses vote in favour and they represent which will benefit the local economy. more than half of the rateable value of those businesses that vote. A BID is not a substitute for central or local government services, but is an innovative and effective way that additional funding can A Scottish BID will have a maximum duration of five years after be raised, with the businesses deciding how it should be spent to which the BID is required to seek a new mandate from the strengthen the local business economy. businesses in the BID area. The flexibility of the BID legislation means that it can be applied One of the key benefits of the BID approach is that all in a wide range of circumstances, it is fair to both small and large businesses benefit from the projects and services, and all businesses and can deliver against a number of different contribute to the costs. BIDs are fully accountable at the objectives. local level.

Page 4 scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 cts: A New Regeneration Opportunity for Scotland Town and city centres The Keswick BID projects to date have included undertaking BIDs are widely used to support and assist the regeneration, more effective marketing to highlight local attractions and management and asset management of town and city centres. facilities and the development of a major new event, the Keswick Mountain Festival, to drive up tourism and visitor numbers. Other In addition to the benefits previously mentioned, BIDs can help projects have focused on improvements to the trading create a more vibrant and viable town centre, and deliver a environment. strong and meaningful private/public sector partnership, which brings additional investment to support - for example, whole The Keswick BID has made the business levy work harder and town centre action plans. smarter by using the levy to source matched funding and lever in additional monies from the regional development agencies. Property Owners Scottish legislation does differ from that in England. One key aspect is that in Scotland each local BID steering group will specify in their business plan, following business consultation, if the levy is payable by both property owners and tenants. In England property owners are not required to make mandatory contributions. Despite this, a survey of English BIDs found that most of the BIDs had secured financial contributions from property owners. (Source: Dept for Communities and Local Government Sept 2006).

Bathgate The BID partnership can also contribute towards policy aspirations across a range of areas including planning, tourism, economic development and regeneration .and make a local contribution to the regional economy and support wider community regeneration objectives. BIDs do not subsidise the normal work of the local authority and other agencies such as the police. In fact, introducing a BID, with a strong partnership could open up new funding streams and create more buy in from other agencies and organisations.

Business Parks Bathgate BIDs have proved an effective strategy for addressing the needs of businesses in business parks. Of the more than 40 BIDs in Public Sector England, nine are based in business parks or industrial estates. The public sector is a vital element in the success of BIDs with the support of local authorities and other public sector partners The BID covering eight business parks in Bolton focuses on often required to get the BID established in the first instance. removing barriers to investment by improving security. This has reduced crime by 78.5 per cent with the cost per incident for In return, BIDs can support the wider regeneration aspirations of each company falling by 89.7 per cent. Other business park BIDs public sector partners and give a clear steer to the private sector in England have reported improvements to the physical on the level of ambition and opportunity for future change and environment, inter-company trading, road safety, business growth. support and transport links. BIDs can create early change and improvement in the area, with Rural areas in the longer term and perhaps as part of a wider strategy a shift The BID strategy can also be applied to rural areas, to assist rural in perceptions of both locals and visitors, helping to create more businesses and aid rural regeneration and management issues. A vibrant and sustainable areas. small number of enquiries have come from rural areas which rely on tourism and visitors as the main local economic driver. A rural BIDs can also deliver a platform for the private sector to invest BID proposer may, however, have to be more innovative than by providing a clear and transparent structure, improving the their urban counterparts with a rural BID covering perhaps a integration of the private and public sectors and lowering the number of small towns and villages who collectively work investment risk. together to achieve a common vision or aim. In this way, BIDs in Scotland will support a number of policies Keswick, a market town in the heart of the Lake District, including, Scottish Planning Policy 8 Town Centres and Retailing; recognised the potential that BIDs have and developed a BID to economic development strategies; tourism strategies and help with extending the trading season, developing visitor regeneration statements. numbers and increasing business turnover and profitability. Conclusion There is considerable worldwide evidence of the benefits of BIDs and BIDs in Scotland have the potential to bring about strong and successful business-led partnerships which can help boost business growth and the local economy and contribute significantly to the regeneration and improvement of our towns, city centres, rural areas and business parks.

If you have any views or comments in relation to this article or any of the others in this issue of Scotregen we’d love to hear them whether you want them published or not. Just e mail [email protected] Keswick scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 Page 5 New Thinking – Better Linking The Regi

Politicians and planners continue to struggle with the convert to this system idea and the initial stages of challenge of how to reduce congestion while supporting implementation are taking place. growth. In this special article, Roland Hahn suggests The latest Regio- system that has become operational in that a helpful part of the solution may be at hand. 2007 links the city of Kassel in northern Germany with its hinterland. Kassel has an existing tram line network and is, through rail tracks, well linked to its hinterland. Some rail Roland Hahn extensions and new stations are however required to provide Hahn Practice better links to key residential centres and regional towns to Scotland improve user access. One of the problems that were faced by the Nordhessische Verkehrsverbund (NVV), the organisation [email protected] operating the regio-tram system, was, that not all rail tracks were electrified. A new vehicle required to be developed that could overcome this challenge. Alstom, in connection with the Nordhessische Both, Edinburgh and Glasgow, plan to connect their city Verkehrsverbund, developed two new tram vehicles. One that centres and their airports through new rail links. can operate on the 15kV AC main rail line current and the Furthermore Edinburgh has developed plans for a new 600V DV tram line current. The second vehicle type has a Tram system to operate within the city boundaries and diesel generator installed that enables it to operate on both Glasgow is developing the Clyde Fastlink bus service to electrified and non-electrified routes. Common to both connect Glasgow City Centre, the Financial Services vehicles is that they have adjustable entrance ramps that enable District and the Glasgow Harbour project. Other it to operate on stations and stops with different platform measures to improve public transport are the heights. designation of bus lanes and attempts to streamline services. In the development of plans for improved public transport services it should not be forgotten that both, Edinburgh and Glasgow are well placed in the national rail network and are also regionally well linked by rail. The cost of the improvement of public transport services features prominently in the ongoing discussions and it is here, where the newly developed regio-tram system has a lot to offer. Regio-Tram (silver) in Kassel’s City Centre Picture Source: NVV Edinburgh and Glasgow are major business, employment and tourist centres with a high percentage of business customers The performance of both vehicle types is similar. The and employees commuting, often relatively short distances, into availability of these two new vehicle types brings considerable the city centres. It is in this kind of business and commuter cost advantages for the installation and implementation of the traffic challenge that improvements in public transport services regio-tram system. These are: need to be targeted to address traffic congestion. • new required rail tracks and rail links can be constructed at Key elements that could shift the modal split in favour of public lower costs since a vehicle does not require a track transport are: reliability of the service, service frequency, build to the specification of a main rail line service track comfort and competitive pricing. It is here were the Regio- Tram concept is worth some consideration. • existing stations can be used because the vehicles have adjustable entrance heights The Regio – Tram concept • existing rail lines can be better utilised; and In the 1990’s the southern German City of Karlsruhe developed a tram-train system that allowed the sharing of the of the • there is no need for the costly electrification of non national rail network and the inner city tram rail network electrified rail lines for the regio-tram system to become through the use of a light railway vehicle that could operate on operational. both tracks and electric power systems. This allowed for the The operational advantages of the regio-tram system are: provision of seamless journeys between Karlsruhe’s hinterland and its city centre, which proved to be extremely popular. • the lower running costs of a light railway vehicle Because existing rail networks could be utilised, the only • effective operation on lines with short distances between investment that was required for the provision of these new stops services were new short rail linkages and investment into new vehicles that could operate on both systems. • reduced track wear and tear Following the success of the Karlsruhe model other European • high level of customer comfort cities followed suit and similar systems were developed for the • options for improved accessibility through new stations and Saarbruecken region in Germany and the Rijn-Gouwe-Lijn area, reduced distances between stations; and through Leiden and Gouda, in the Netherlands. The city of Mulhouse in the Alsace region of France has recently become a • a high level of service dependency.

Page 6 scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 o – Tram Concept

The existing city region rail services in Edinburgh & Glasgow The relevance of the Regio – Tram system and concept for Edinburgh and Glasgow At the beginning of this report reference was made to the existing rails systems that connect Edinburgh and Glasgow to If economic growth is to be maintained in both Edinburgh and its hinterlands and to the plans for the new airport rail links. Glasgow, then the two cities need to find an environmentally friendly, cost effective and attractive solution to its commuter transport challenges. Building more roads and providing more parking places is not the best way to address these challenges and might consequently have negative impacts on the city environment qualities that require to be at least maintained if not enhanced if business location advantages are to be maintained. The regio-tram system and concept might be a possible answer to these transport challenges. Both cities have existing rail systems and the Regio-Tram system and vehicle could in the first instance be used in a manner that would allow for the full and cost effective utilisation of the existing rail service network. The regio-tram vehicle, designed with journey times of up to Regio-Tram interior Picture Source: NVV one hour in mind, could also be used to provide cost effective services within the inner conurbations of Edinburgh and in particular Glasgow. A wide range of the services that are on offer operate within the inner conurbation with service routes that take less than Taking the travelling distance from the city centres to the one hour to complete. At present Juniper class 334 or class 170 Edinburgh and Glasgow airports into consideration, the regio- vehicles or older vehicles of similar weights and capacity tram vehicle could also provide an attractive, frequent and cost operate on these service routes. These vehicles have a effective rail service between the airports and the city centres, passenger capacity of 183 seated passengers and 102 standing while at the same time offering options for easy and user places and weight up to 135 tonnes each. friendly links to the main national rail network. These vehicles operate on routes such as the Dalmuir to If new rail track linkages are required or if its is planned to Springburn service with a total service length of 36 minutes and extend the existing rail services by providing new lines, these 15 stations and with journey times of around 2 minutes could be built in a cost effective manner. between stations. This is a very heavy vehicle for this type of service and there are a wide range of similar train service Should Edinburgh decide to proceed with the construction of routes within both, the Edinburgh and Glasgow conurbations. the proposed inner city tram service, then it would be possible to provide here seamless, attractive and comfortable public It is here were the Regio-Tram model and vehicle could come to its own. transport services between the city centre, inner conurbation locations The Juniper class 334 vehicle in comparison to the and the Edinburgh airport. Regio-Tram vehicle On balance, the regio-tram system The Juniper class 334 vehicle can carry up to 285 and concept can provide an passengers, weights 135 tonnes and is powered by four attractive, user friendly and cost- 270 KW traction motors (total power per vehicle = effective solution to the public 1080 KW). transport and commuter How does this compare with the new Regio-Tram challenges faced by Scotland’s vehicle? major cities. The Regio-Tram vehicle has a passenger capacity of 229 Interested? passengers, weights between 59.8 tonnes and 63.4 tonnes (Diesel version) empty and approximately 82.5 The Nordhessische tonnes to 85.2 tonnes fully loaded. A 600KW engine Verkehrsverbund (NVV) has powers it. printed a brochure about the Due to its lower weight and lower power input the Regio-Tram in the Kassel area in Regio-Tram vehicle is more suitable to operate on short English. You can view a copy of journey routes. Its lower weight also results in reduced this brochure on the SURF track wear and tear. website by using the following link: http://tinyurl.com/2sjrq4 Although both trains have a comparable purchasing price, in the long term the Regio-Tram vehicle provides significant cost Alternatively, you can get of copy of this brochure directly from advantages due to lower operation costs in comparison to the the NVV website by visiting the following web address: Juniper class 334 or similar type vehicles. http://www.nvv.de/RT/Pressespiegel/Pressespiegel.html

scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 Page 7 ‘Positive Deviance’ Encouraging Social Chang

Andrew Lyon, Director of the International Futures Forum, in ecumenical and open advocacy to end the practice. This action had suggests an approach that may point out practical, local uncovered and rid the community of a deep sense of hurt and betrayal solutions to some community regeneration challenges. around the practice. 3. Trafficking of young Indonesian village girls into the sex trade by their families. Villagers were encouraged to discover the behaviour of families whose girls were not sold into the sex trade and find ways to allow others to practice the same behaviours. For example a poor Andrew Lyon farmer, Pak Drama, plants cash crops to ripen at different times of the Director of the year so that he has good cash flow to lay by for his girls’ education. A International Futures Forum number of actions have ensured that no new girls have been trafficked andrew@ from the village since the initiative began. internationalfuturesforum.com 4. MRSA in United States Hospitals. MRSA causes approximately 100,000 deaths in the US every year. Working in a veterans’ hospital in Pittsburgh, the PD approach was introduced to discover new ways to hinder its transmission based on the practice of all staff in the hospital. What if I told you there was a method around which had saved Following these four stories, JS presented a summary of the concepts 2.2 million children in Vietnam from starvation? What if I told underpinning Positive Deviance: you that the same method was helping to stamp out the “Hospital Acquired Infection” in the USA? Well, the Glasgow • Uncommon practices exist “before our eyes” in every community or Centre for Population Health, in collaboration with the organisation which help some do well with the same resources as International Futures Forum, facilitates a public lecture and others who do not. seminar series each year. The third series opened in November • A Positive Deviance Enquiry enables the community to discover the with a session by Jerry Sternin of Tufts University in Boston on practices of Positive Deviants. Positive Deviance. The idea has generated enthusiasm in Scotland as it seems to offer a new way to approach stubborn • Only those practices accessible to all are kept the rest are deemed challenges. This article will outline the methodology and give “True but Useless” (for example “when I fall on hard times my rich some example of its use. uncle helps me out”) and are discarded as not everyone can adopt them. Positive Deviance may be described like this: • It is easier to act into a new way of thinking than think into a new “In every community and organisation there are certain individuals whose way of acting. The method as presented is principally about uncommon behaviours or practices enable them to do better than their behaviour change rather than simply knowledge or attitude change. colleagues or neighbours with the same resources.” How do we find out what these are and encourage and support others to do similarly? • The presence of positive deviants today implies that it is possible to improve today without waiting for all of the underlying causes – such The key ideas behind Positive Deviance are: as poverty and discrimination - to be tackled (although they should • Positive Deviance: doing better than expected in relation to some be too). factor than other people with the same resources. The four Ds of Positive Deviance are: • TBU (True but Useless): a factor which, while true for one person, is • Define the problem, and the desired outcome (a behaviour or status not accessible to another and so therefore cannot help with more change) succinctly. widespread transformation. • Determine if anybody (individual, organisation, etc) exhibits the • The Four Ds: define, determine, discover, and develop. desired behaviour, status. We will return to these below but here are some examples of to • Discover, through PD enquiry, what strategies these people adopt to introduce the idea of Positive Deviance, Jerry Sternin (JS) told four find better solutions than their counterparts. stories (from among many on the Positive Deviance website (www.positivedeviance.org)) of its use. • Develop and implement opportunities for others to PRACTICE these behaviours. 1. Child under-nourishment in a Vietnamese village (1990) in which the practices of extremely poor parents with well nourished children were Following these four steps a further two Ds can be introduced: uncovered and presented by local volunteers to others with the • Discern; figure out what the impact of the positive deviance opportunity to develop similar practices, such as feeding children programme has been smaller amounts more frequently and collecting shrimps crabs and greens for the children from fields. The programme was extended to • Disseminate; spread the word and tell others what you have done. 2.2 million Vietnamese over the next five years. These steps allow Positive Deviance solutions to emerge from 2. Female genital cutting in which the 8% of parents who did not understanding existing replicable aspects of solutions, rather than work indulge in this 4,000 year old, cross-cultural practice in Egypt help to from problem to solution. The uncovering of existing solutions characterise their own behaviours so that others could emulate if they practiced by those “just like me” creates a climate where other so wished. Five years later, hundreds of people were further engaged solutions can emerge.

Page 8 scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 e from the Inside Out The 2007 SURF Awards for Best Practice in Urban Regeneration The most important elements of this relationship between knowing Organised in Partnership with Communities Scotland. and doing are:

• Self discovery of and by individuals, communities, teams, etc.

• Social proof based on what is known and seen to work which acts as a catalyst to change.

• Opportunities to practice these solutions for oneself and not simply being told what to do or how to do it by others.

Positive Deviance works well when:

• adaptive behavioural and social change rather than technical challenges exist;

• an intractable problem is worth the risk of a new approach;

• Positive Deviants exist; and

• leaders and skilled facilitators are willing to champion the effort.

The approach also raises some challenges. It requires a professional This is the 9th year that SURF has organised awards for best practice in shift from outside ‘expert help’ to ‘facilitator’, comfort with uncertainty regeneration. Our aim is: and lack of control over outcomes. It tends to be intensive in terms of • to reward best practice; time and human resources. This in turn raises important questions • to help promote and disseminate best practice in regeneration efforts about the scalability of the technique. A further issue which has been across Scotland; raised in conversation about the approach is the extent to which issues • and to highlight how regeneration and inclusion initiatives can make a of attitude and thought can be separated from those of behaviour. These issues are surmountable with an approach that is patient and real difference to communities. considered. It is worth making a start on your wicked issues with the A panel of 9 independent judges from key regeneration organisations method, because as the examples above show, it holds of the promise will select one winner and one commendation in each of the 3 of yielding significant results in difficult circumstances. categories of People, Place and Partnership. The awards are open to any project or initiative, taking place in Scotland, which is currently in place or has been completed within two years of closing date. The simple information and entry form is available on the SURF web site at www.scotregen.co.uk or by contacting the SURF office directly . The closing date for entries will be 12 noon on Friday 21st September 2007.

Join us to celebrate success together The winners and commendations will be presented with their certificates at a celebratory awards dinner in Glasgow on the evening of Thursday, December 6th, 2007. You can reserve your table now by contacting [email protected] or calling him on 0141 585 6879.

THE SURF ANNUAL CONFERENCE, SEPTEMBER 27th 2007, WEST PARK CENTRE, DUNDEE. “ Plus ca change….." 1992- 2022 A GENERATION OF REGENERATION

Jerry and Monique Sternin came to Glasgow to talk about Positive It is 15 years since the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum was Deviance last year established. A lot has changed since then, and yet much remains the To find out more go to Glasgow Centre for Population Health same. website (www.gcph.org.uk) and follow the seminar series links SURF will be using this year’s annual conference to learn from the past to Jerry Sternin’s lecture in seminar series three. A small group interested in the method has formed a virtual network on the in order to help us see how we can meet the challenges of the next 15 Centre’s website discussion Forum, please fell free to register years. This ‘must attend’ event for all those interested in regeneration and join them. will link key figures with crucial historical experience to current players and future challenges. Andrew Lyon, International Futures Forum www.internationalfuturesforum.com To reserve your place contact [email protected]

scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 Page 9 The wealth of language A POSITI

In the context of multiculturalism and the increased movement of Its conclusions highlighted the amount of work needing to be done to people in a globalised world, there is much discussion about change the status quo, but also the potential rewards. Hierarchies of community, integration and social inclusion? Bronwen Cohen is Chief language are still being enforced in early years and education settings, resulting in reduced self-esteem and learning problems among multilingual Executive of Children in Scotland and UK and Ireland publisher of children, the conference found. Children in Europe magazine, which recently produced a special issue on multilingualism. A variety of speakers at the conference gave their personal and professional perspectives on language inequality. Serap Sikcan, co-director, Kinderwelten Project, Berlin, Germany, said: “Children are still being given the message that monolingualism is important and multilingualism is not. This must change if we are to Bronwen Cohen develop positive and responsible attitudes towards the diversity of Chief Executive of children’s languages and cultures.” Children in Scotland Dr Priscilla Clarke, executive director, FKA Children’s Services, Australia, info@ said language hierarchies could have a profound effect on children’s childreninscotland.org.uk learning. She said: “The devaluing of children’s home culture and indigenous language can result in a loss of feeling of self-worth, loss of intimacy and the ability to build relationships, and, crucially, loss of motivation for learning.” Naomi Eisenstadt, director of the Social Exclusion Task Force at the Language learning is recognised today as important for many Cabinet Office, who chaired the conference, called for a more genuine reasons: for identity, for culture, and for economic success. But and complete approach to language diversity in order to counter these these same reasons put different languages and those who speak problems. She said: “The notion of anything being ‘standard’ or ‘normal’ them into different hierarchies. in relation to language is dangerous. We need a much more holistic In the UK, languages such as Gaelic and Welsh are considered culturally understanding of diversity. Good citizens value each other, celebrate valuable although it is probably agreed that they have limited direct diversity and have an interest in difference. The idea that it’s either or, or economic worth. At school, children learn languages considered to have one or the other, is unhelpful and damaging.” economic value – in England the proposed inclusion in the curriculum of Support and resources for children from diverse backgrounds must be Arabic, Mandarin and Urdu alongside French, German and Spanish has strengthened if multilingualism is to be given the same priority as met with praise from the business organisation the Confederation of monolingualism, the conference concluded. British Industry, and has been welcomed by others as contributing to social cohesion in an increasingly linguistically diverse country. Valuing people Language promotion policies are seldom aimed at young children, despite Edinburgh alone has 106 languages spoken by its residents, but most of the fact that it’s precisely this age group that is most open to different those languages won’t have recognised cultural value or be considered languages. From an early age young children should be encouraged to economically worthy. It is easy for those who speak such languages to feel learn from and absorb linguistic diversity around them. devalued and this is especially the case for children. We need to recognise much more specifically the links between devaluing Children perceive at an early age that languages are valued differently and language and devaluing people. In Europe’s year of equal that hierarchies between languages and the people that speak them exist. opportunities for all, we A learning environment that fails to acknowledge and value a child’s so- believe this is called first language can lead them to feel that their ability to speak more fundamental, than one language is a disadvantage rather than an advantage. and an issue At a time when there are moves in England to rethink the traditional, which anyone economically valued languages such as French and German to include interested in learning of Arabic, Mandarin and Urdu, Scotland should be building on the engaging and wealth of languages present in our communities to enable all children to involving children become more aware of and proficient in languages other than English. and young people should To consciously promote and encourage language skill development, give priority. professionals, especially those working in the early years, need to know more about how children acquire and develop language. The example below, extracted According to latest estimates, more than half of the world’s population lives from more in “multilingual” areas, where two or more languages are present and this detailed number is growing. Knowing more than one language is generally considered descriptions taken beneficial, but because of the way services for children in particular are run, from Children in proficiency in a language other than the main indigenous language can be a Europe issue 12, disadvantage. illustrates how Special conference services for children A special Children in Scotland conference, ‘In My Own Words – services for can impact negative young children in a multilingual society,’ held in Edinburgh on 1 June, examined experiences of the benefits of nurturing indigenous languages from the earliest age. language.

Page 10 scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 VE APPROACH TO CHILDREN’S DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

Creating language-friendly Promoting language skills Having a mix of languages in an early childhood centre does not environments for children in Germany automatically mean that all children learn German or get to know each other better. This only happens when educators give children the chance By Serap ßykcan to actively experience the multilingual contexts in which the children Serap ßykcan is author of a three-language Dictionary of Education, covering grow up. To consciously promote and encourage language skill terms and concepts for pedagogical practice in English, German and Turkish. development, educators need to know more about how monolingual and multilingual children acquire and develop language competencies. Monolingual workers will need to make a special effort to observe, document and support multilingual development in children. How can they do this? By making the diverse languages audible, for example by the use of multilingual welcomes, songs, games, stories, audio cassettes and CDs. And by making language diversity visible, for example with: name tags; with multilingual signs, birthday calendars, parent notice boards, invitations, newspapers, magazines, picture books, and play materials that include different types of writing; and the presence of different written symbols. Obviously, educators cannot learn every language spoken by the children, but by making these languages visible and audible, every child will find acknowledgement and recognition of his group and self-identity.

Further information and reading…

• The latest issue of Children in Europe magazine is In my own words: services for children in a multilingual society. For more information Language development in migrant children is one of the most frequent see www.childreninscotland.org.uk/eur problems raised in German political discussions on education. The lack of German language skills among migrant children often paves the way for • Conference packs for ‘In My Own Words – services for young children failure at school. Today, early childhood services are under immense in a multilingual society’, are available. For more information pressure to counterbalance the ‘language deficit’ of these children. email: [email protected]

Most immigrant parents embrace their children's multilingualism. They • Equal Opportunities for All, issue 13 of Children in Europe, will be see the family language(s) as an important tool enabling them and their published in September 2007 children to understand each other; while recognising German is the shared language in kindergarten and school. By contrast, these services mostly follow a rigid model of monolingualism. So although up to 80 per Children in Europe is a joint publication by a network of magazines in 11 cent of children attending some early childhood centres are multilingual, languages across Europe. The focus is on services for and work with their language experiences are not reflected in daily routines, physical children from birth-to-ten and their families. The English language issue of environment conversations or staff structures. the magazine is published by Children in Scotland simultaneously in eight Parents usually support the consensus of a monolingual society and make languages twice a year, in March and September. no demands for multilingual support. Some immigrant parents even take www.childrenineurope.org their children out of centres where most children have a migrant • Vygotsky: the impact of a Russian psychologist - A special publication background. Where parents do not systematically ensure the published to coincide with the 17th Annual Conference of the development of first language skills, these go into decline. European Early Childhood Association (EECERA), will be published Hierarchies of value in August. Children perceive at an early age that languages are valued differently and the hierarchies between languages and the people that speak them. Children with valued first languages, eg English or French, are almost Scotregen would welcome any comments on this article or any of automatically deemed capable of learning German; children whose first the others in this journal. Please send your thoughts to language has a low status, e.g. Persian or Arabic, are categorized as [email protected] problematic language learners. Children speaking the majority language also receive the message that languages are valued differently. They experience their language receiving greater acknowledgement and that Children in Scotland is Scotland's this applies to them as speakers of this language. This can lead to the national children's agency, bringing development of a feeling of superiority in majority children and of together voluntary, statutory and inferiority in migrant children, which is damaging for everyone. It can lead professional organisations and all children to the conclusion that monolingualism is normal while individuals to improve the lives of Scotland's children and their families. multilingualism is not.

scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 Page 11 The Numbers Game Dr Stirling Howieson of Strathclyde University is Scotland has its own version of Houston Texas. What's it called? .... Cumbernauld! The Scottish new towns were conceived interested in numbers. From understanding the 'big bang' when modernist planners - usually seen holding thick pencils to managing your credit card repayments, numbers hold and drawing on remarkably small maps - envisaged the internal the key to everything. Here, in his regular Scotregen combustion engine as progress. Concurrent with the closure of thousand of miles of railway line, a decision was taken to re- column, he offers some more interesting figures...... distribute the population, to what was for all intents and purposes, the countryside.

Dr Stirling Howieson This bizarre strategy had two major deleterious effects. Firstly, it systematically extracted from Glasgow, the skilled and semi- Strathclyde University skilled aspirational working class. Almost overnight Glasgow lost its tax base. Secondly, moving from a dense city with a s.howieson@ strath.ac.uk good public transport infrastructure to towns with no pavements, dramatically increased the average new town dwellers individual carbon footprint for transport. In Glasgow 26% of the working population are employed within 2km of their home. In Cumbernauld it is less than 5%. In Glasgow only Between 1971 and 2001, the population of the City of Glasgow 1.5% work more than 20km from their home. The equivalent fell by 362,814. This represented a net outflow of 37%. It is figure for Cumbernauld is 28%. This of course would not difficult to find a city in the world - apart from New Orleans - necessarily be such a problem if public transport was the that has faced such a crisis. Unlike New Orleans however, the chosen option, but less than 18% use public transport in migration of Glasgow's population was not forced by natural Cumbernauld, compared with 36% in Glasgow. The 26% of disaster - it was actually planned. people in Glasgow travelling less than 2km per day by public transport will have a total carbon footprint of under 0.5 kg of Carbon footprining is now all the rage. It has become a lifestyle CO2 per day, for their journey to and from work. The issue of choice, especially among the limited number of people Cumbernauld employee travelling up to 80 km round trip per who have the opportunity - some may say luxury - to exercise day by car, will have an equivalent footprint of over 20kg (1kg such choice. of petrol equates to 10.4 kg of carbon dioxide). Cumbernauld, When you compare oil used for transport across the great cities a town with a population of circa 50000 is thus highly likely, to of the world, the citizens of Houston Texas are in gold medal have a carbon footprint for transport to and from work, greater position, using over 80000 mega joules (MJ) per capita per than that of the City of Glasgow with its circa 630000 year. This compares with less than 5000 in Hong Kong (most inhabitants. European cities fall between 11000 (Amsterdam) and 18000 The numbers also show that the new towns - having failed to (Paris)). The three factors controlling these numbers are, urban achieve their target populations - now appear to be in sharp density, the availability/quality of public transport and car decline (Cumbernauld has lost 20% of its population since ownership. Houston has an urban density of less than 25 1991). If we are serious about tackling global warming, those that persons per hectare, while Hong Kong is close to 300. moved out of Glasgow, should now be encouraged to return.

SURF stuff - dates for your diary 14th August 2007 27th September 2007 SURF Conference: “Football and Regeneration” SURF 2007 Annual Conference Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh “Plus ca change… 1992-2022: A Generation of Regeneration” is the theme of this year’s Annual Conference, which will be held in Dundee’s See front page feature for further information. West Park Centre. Book your place now at www.scotregen.co.uk 6th December 2007 SURF 2007 Awards for Best Practice in Urban Regeneration 6th September 2007 A celebratory presentation dinner in Glasgow’s Radisson Hotel. SURF Open Forum: A Regeneration Perspective from a City-Region like Aberdeenshire This Aberdeen event is the latest event in SURF’s Open Forum For more information on any of the above events you can visit programme, funded by Communities Scotland’s Scottish Centre for the SURF website at www.scotregen.co.uk or contact Regeneration. SURF Events and Communications Officer, Derek Rankine on 0141 585 6879 or at [email protected]

Page 12 scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 SURF Open Forum Programme Update

Edward Harkins, It was also suggested that in seeking better outcomes for Health Networking Initiatives, SURF. Improvement from community regeneration we could: • Learn from current longitudinal research • Talk more in terms of health impacts around activities such as housing • Define health impacts as the ‘glue’ for clusters of regeneration outcomes

Edward Harkins • Place more value in community learning & development outcomes SURF Networking • Explore collective health impacts that can apply to whole communities Officer The event provided, in addition to quality speakers, an

edward@ opportunity for high quality exchange and learning; but it did also scotregen.co.uk require a high level of commitment and contributions from the participants! Paul Ballantyne of Communities Scotland recommended that participants study the lessons learned in the EQUAL programme, whilst Erica Wimbush of Health Scotland recommended ‘Levelling up Part 2’, the WHO discussion paper An emerging and popular aspect of the Open Forum programme on European Strategies for tackling social inequalities in Health. is the growing activity around a broad theme of ‘Health, Wellbeing and Regeneration’. Responding to the success of the PowerPoint presentations from the event are available on the two recent Forums on the theme, SURF entered into discussion SURF and Improvement Service websites. Health Scotland is with a number of relevant stakeholders. One consequence was a compiling an Outcomes Paper that will also appear on both departure from the established Open Forum programme, with websites. SURF being commissioned by Health Scotland to deliver a Continuing on the ‘Health, Wellbeing and Regeneration’ theme, consultation event bringing together a range of players in the SURF and Communities Scotland are liaising with a view to SURF Community Planning field. This event was on the topic ‘An delivering a similar event for them on a ‘Health Perspectives’ Outcomes Approach to Health Inequalities: What is the theme. Contribution of Community Regeneration?”

This event, held on 31st May 2007 in Glasgow, provided a high Future Forums quality range of speakers from Health Scotland and Communities Returning to the core SURF Open Forum programme, upcoming Scotland. The likely usefulness of the event was indicated by the events include: level of demand for places. SURF and Health Scotland did regret the number of applicants that they were unable to accommodate, September 2007 – Aberdeen: Regeneration from a city-region but this was due to level of demand – and it’s frustrating that a perspective; building on the successful March 2007 Open Forum few applicants who were allocated places failed to present at the in Inverness event, thus denying places to others. October 2007 – Dissemination of lessons from the Joseph Della Thomas of Health Scotland described the core issue that Rowntree Foundation’s Neighbourhood Programme – The Health Scotland wanted to consult on at the event as “What a impact of ‘light touch’ support in 20 communities (location TBC) regeneration outcome on tackling Health Inequalities might look Fuller information will be posted onto the SURF website when like”. confirmed. Speakers asked participants to think beyond the more traditional or conventional approaches to Health Improvement. These The Open Forum programme is funded by Communities approaches tended to be ‘badged’ targets aimed at specific Scotland’s Centre of Regeneration with the aim of lifestyle changes such smoking or sexual health. They also tended facilitating independent opinion and feedback to policy to be explicitly and directly about health or a health matter. makers in Scottish regeneration

scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 Page 13 Work Works, Even for Offenders The lack of prison places has not been far from the media Edinburgh typically sees around 2,000 people return to the city per year headlines in recent months. In this article, the Capital City from prison. However, groundbreaking work is being carried out in Partnership’s Matthew Crighton, outlines a fresh approach to Edinburgh Prison, where a Links Centre within the prison itself brings reducing levels of re-offending. together a variety of agencies (including JobCentreplus) to provide a number of services to prisoners under one roof. Our ability to help offenders find and keep employment has long been clearly associated with reduced rates of re-offending. Worthwhile and Some impressive early results have already been achieved and the sustainable employment gives offenders a stake in the world, through partners’ main attention has now turned to making sure that, in every increased disposable income for prisoners and their dependants as well as possible case, the progress made by many prior to their release is carried higher levels of self-esteem and a greater sense of purpose. forward once they leave the prison gate. Those in regular work are less likely to return to patterns of drug misuse On the outside, however, the support needs of most prisoners cut across and petty crime. As things stand, however, research shows that 60% of a variety of services, The creation of Community Justice Authorities will ex-prisoners will be reconvicted within two years of release. The direct aid in the development of joint working of agencies to reduce re- costs to the taxpayer are enormous. The indirect costs to the families, offending. neighbours, local communities and victims of crime are incalculable. Additionally, the Edinburgh partners are trying to counter this There is, therefore, a clear social and economic case for public agencies fragmentation with an integrated employability case management system. to join forces to find ways of increasing the employability and To bolster this improved co-ordination a new ‘Passport to Work’ service employment rates of offenders. In Edinburgh the city’s ‘Joined up for Jobs has been introduced with funding from social the Capital City Partnership strategy’ directly targets a wide range of groups who traditionally are at to support work with prison leavers, as well as those leaving care and particular disadvantage in the jobs market including prison leavers. others moving out of drug-use and homelessness. Clients will receive Research compiled for the strategy indicates that: intensive personal support and planning to assist them into training, education and employment. • 75% of prisoners have a drug problem. This combination of closer partnership working and coordination of • 70% of prisoners have some mental health problem. services along with intensive individual support will test how effective the • In England and Wales, one third have no permanent accommodation prospect and reality of employment can be in reducing re-offending. before prison and another third lose their homes when they go to prison. To find out more about the partnership’s Case Management In addition, 20-25% of prisoners have severe literacy and/or approach to working with offenders contact Matthew Crighton, numeracy problems and more than two thirds were unemployed when Jobs Strategy Manager, at Capital City Partnership 0131 270 6042 sent to prison. or e-mail [email protected]

Leading lights in the North East Aberdeen recently became the fourth Scottish city Council to take up sponsoring membership of SURF. Join SURF In confirming their sponsorship of SURF, Douglas Patterson, Chief Executive of Aberdeen City SURF’s membership is the backbone of its work. Council, said; Become a SURF member and get: "Aberdeen City Council is delighted to confirm its sponsorship and support of • A guaranteed 33% discount on SURF seminars conferences, SURF. In the years ahead, we have an and study visits. unprecedented opportunity to change the face and profile of Aberdeen for the better • Advance notice of all of our events. and make a real difference in all of its communities, including the most vulnerable. • A complimentary invitation to SURF’s Annual Lecture and a free copy of the speech. In doing so, we want to support a genuine regeneration movement in the city - • Priority access to our programme of Open Forums communities that share our aim to transform the city socially and physically; • Information on SURF’s annual Regeneration Awards for best creating a fair and rewarding environment in practice and reduced rates for the Awards presentation every regard - in education, employment, dinner. housing, environment, community safety, health, neighbourhood services and enterprise. • Copies of our quarterly Scotregen journal sent directly to This is underpinned by our commitment to take radical steps to you and your key colleagues. close the gaps that exist in our society - the inequalities in education, health, housing, employment and other areas that mean some of our • Access to our members’ library of SURF publications and citizens simply don't share the opportunities that others enjoy." reports on our Website. SURF Chair Ian Wall added; Get connected to a truly independent and informed “The increased involvement of the key City Council of Aberdeen in network of regeneration organisations and individuals. SURF’s national regeneration network is very welcome. We look Your support will help SURF be an effective catalyst for forward to working even more closely together to share experience, views, ideas and practice for better community regeneration across improving all our efforts to create successful and sustainable Scotland.” communities across Scotland. A full list of SURF’s current sponsoring members appears at on the To find out more and for a form to join SURF visit our web site back page of Scotregen. For a list of all of our member organisations at www.scotregen.co.uk or contact Andy Milne directly by along with details of the benefits of SURF membership and the simple application form visit the SURF website at calling 0141 585 6848 or e mailing him at www.scotregen.co.uk [email protected]

Page 14 scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 But during the Forum itself a starting point for a ‘less optimistic’ interpretation emerged. First, it was established that decades of LANGUAGE ‘regeneration’ have made little positive impact on health. Communities in some ‘regeneration’ areas have become less healthy. Next, we discussed the future. Should we henceforth seek to reduce health inequalities ‘starting from a wider social determinant perspective or starting from a GAMES “badged” health perspective’? Dr Chik Collins of Paisley University continues his personal look at the role language plays in social change. Curious question! One might as well ask: Should we seek to deal with a problem beginning from the main underlying causes, or should we What’s in a Job Title? proceed in some other way? In terms of ‘ordinary logic’ it might look like The Knowledge Manager a rhetorical question. But in the world of ‘community regeneration’ and ‘community planning’, action has long been ‘framed’ so as to rule out the I attended the recent Open Forum on key changes that would impact positively on the ‘main social regeneration and health inequalities. determinants’ (underlying causes) of those health inequalities. This is One of the speakers had an intriguing why, perhaps, so little has been achieved through decades of job title – ‘Knowledge and Practice Manager’. He spoke eloquently, and ‘regeneration’. In this context ‘ordinary logic’ can get a bit compromised, was a model of professionalism and and people have to find some other way of trying to make some courtesy in chairing discussion. But I difference (and there is a degree of validity in that for sure). found myself wondering about that But ‘ordinary logic’ isn’t always easily banished, and can be a stubborn job title. and persistent beggar of (unwanted) questions. Such questions might It’s immediately incongruous. In ‘liberal lead people to pursue ‘knowledge’ beyond the current community democracies’ we’re more comfortable planning ‘knowledge frame’. So, keeping an increasingly vast range of with knowledge being striven for, organisations and individuals within that ‘frame’ might require some debated, disputed – for the free attention to the ‘management’ of ‘knowledge’. On this view, the need to exchange of information, ideas and arguments, and the inevitable testing ‘manage knowledge’ would emerge out of what some perceive as the of rival views, is seen as the best way to arrive at some kind of ‘warped’ nature of ‘regeneration’ policy over many years. consensus as to what is valid or useful ‘knowledge’. The idea of knowledge being ‘managed’ by a state employee has something about it Somewhere between these opposing interpretations each of us will find which ‘jars’. our own perspective. Like most people, I want to lean towards optimism. But then, more often than I’d like, I’m struck less by what we The ‘optimistic’ interpretation would be that we don’t sufficiently don’t know than by what we don’t want to know. And that makes me understand the complex problems that regeneration is supposed to less optimistic. address, or how they can most effectively be tackled. In that case we’d need to ensure that better knowledge got produced and acted upon Further nominations for the ‘language games’ dissecting appropriately, and we’d need someone to manage that. table to: [email protected]

community planning carry this process further with a manager Letter to the Editor appointed with access to a limited budget, but the management group remains under the final control of the local authority. Dear Andy There is now the opportunity after the Holyrood elections to Consistently at conferences and most recently at the Surf pre- look again at this process of participation and power passing. election party political presentation in Holy rood, responses both from platform and floor stressed the need for local In any reorganisation of local government there will be a control, local democracy, empowerment at community level, chance to create new local government units centred on those as the key factor in community regeneration. areas to which much social and economic effort has been devoted over the years, the peripheral estates of Glasgow, The perception is that it is not happening. It is always delayed Edinburgh and Dundee. There will be issues of geographical or diluted. Power lies elsewhere. size, mix, services, central and local functions, budget base, but Yet this has been the aim since the earliest schemes in the these can be addressed, if there is a will. There may even be 1970’s. A generation of people in our areas of need have benefits for the cities in the spin off of their peripherals. New participated in these. The social capital must be there. It has grouping with surrounding affluent areas (e.g. Bearsden/ more or less gone hand in hand with housing development Drumchapel) should broaden the social mix for the area. schemes jobs and mini economic revival. The new councils would represent the culmination of a thirty A variety of instruments over time have contributed to this year process of socio – economic regeneration. Proportional virtuous circle of capacity building, ceding power and representation may serve to increase truly local involvement as empowerment. The earliest moves involved the appointment against subservice to national ideologies. The old initiatives of local co-ordinators who worked alongside the community would become the new authorities, empowered – grass roots and local councillors, to soften up bureaucracy and ensure – democracies. complaints were heard. Then followed various local authority Iain Stuart run initiatives in the larger estates, Easterhouse, Wester Hailes, and Whitfield. Central government then created ‘New Life Iain Stuart is a director of the Tullochan Trust, an educational Fore Urban Scotland’ in five initiative areas. This time the charity which provides employment opportunities for vulnerable community joined a management group of officials, councillors, 8-18 year olds from challenging backgrounds. He is also a former chaired by a Scottish Office representative with access to some Deputy Chief Executive of Strathclyde Regional Council with specified funding. Latterly we have seen the S.I.P.S and responsibility for its Social Strategy.

scotregen : issue 38 : summer 2007 Page 15 A striking feature of the report arose from those participants who live and work nearest to the real-life experience of poverty. Their Review: story was one of resilience and endeavor despite all that was around. For example, Rev John Miller of Castlemilk East Parish A curate’s egg of a conference Church described how poor neighbours collected money door-to- door when there was a death in a household in their community Glasgow’s People: Transcending Poverties – and how “In the poorest streets of Castlemilk every funeral Report of a conference organised by the Royal receives this kind of response, for everyone knows the need… while residents of Castlemilk may be materially poverty-stricken, Edinburgh Society in February 2007. A review by the opposite was true in relation to their spirit”. Edward Harkins, Networking Initiatives, SURF. A symptom of the diversity of the discussions, was contrary views In the last quarter of a century Glasgow has transformed itself into on what was addressed and how it needed to be addressed. For a vibrant and economically successful city of the twenty-first several speakers and delegates there was a need for ‘evidence century. Yet despite the vigour and affluence which can be seen on based’ policy, but with an acknowledged lack of the evidence. For every hand, the conditions of life for the poorest Glaswegians, these participants, it was important to address the big complex especially in the big housing schemes, remain obstinately bad, and issues around the ‘whole system’ and ‘societal responses’. This in some ways have become worse. It was the conviction that, systemic point was reinforced when attention was drawn to the although economically based, the solution to these problems was negative impacts of poor mental health on other features of an not susceptible to purely economic remedies, that led the Royal individual’s life, suggesting again the need for an inclusive response Society of Edinburgh to convene this conference. In this short to improve opportunities and an equalizing of chances to review, it’s impossible to cover even a substantive part of the participate in society. proceedings of such an eclectic gathering, and the following covers Other participants worried about the language being used at the no more than some of the more obvious aspects. conference or asked for consideration of more immediate and The theme of the conference was “deliberately chosen to be pragmatic matters like priorities for (the-then) incoming Scottish ambiguous” which meant that it was inevitable that there would Executive. be many diverse aspects to it; some familiar and some not so Proceedings wound-down on what appears to have been a familiar. One recurrent theme was the economy and questioning of what had been achieved and, in the final address, an worklessness. For example, when Professor Pacione of University assertion that some dreamed-of changes “ain’t going to happen”. of Glasgow spoke on the causes of poverty among groups such as But perhaps that’s in keeping with what even the optimists had single parents, the elderly, the disabled, this was in the context of argued for – an evidence-based and long-term view that does not the unemployment experienced by them due to their being look for conventional or easy answers. As “marginal to the job market”. For Stephanie Young of Scottish Carol Tannahill of the Glasgow Centre of Enterprise Glasgow, “work is better than worklessness and a good Population Health pointed out, ‘If we keep job is better than a bad job”. doing what we’ve always done, we’ll get The history and contemporary challenges of Glasgow were seen what we’ve always got’. by some as primarily a product of ‘long-term capitalist Glasgow’s People: Transcending Poverties – development’ or the ‘current neo-liberal capitalist system’. The Report of a conference organized by the riposte from a few was that this was not likely to change except Royal Edinburgh Society in February 2007. for the recent shift from Keynesian policies to a neo-liberal © The Royal Society of Edinburgh: economy and welfare state. Alongside this view was an implied May 2007 argument for the inevitability of poverty, at least in the relative The Royal Society of Edinburgh sense. This lead to appeals for a rejection of any such sense of 22-26 George Street inevitability; with the focus instead being directed towards seeking Edinburgh EH2 2PQ clarity about both the causes and consequences of poverty. e-mail: [email protected].

SURF, Fairfield House, Ibrox Business Park, Scotregen Govan, Glasgow G51 2JR. Scotregen is the journal of the Scottish Urban Regeneration Tel 0141 585 6848 Fax 0141 445 2024 Forum and is distributed free to its members throughout Email [email protected] Scotland. The views expressed in Scotregen are not necessarily shared by Editor: Andy Milne the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum, and therefore SURF is not responsible for the statements made or views expressed. Typesetting and production: Blueprint Productions (Glasgow) Ltd The Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum is an independent Relevant articles are welcome but may be subject to editing. company Limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland Any contributions should be sent to Andy Milne, No. SC154 598. VAT Reg. No. 735 2880 21

SURF is grateful for the support of its key sponsors, who are:

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