Resources and Links

• Action Research by, in and for Communities (ARC) - A practical guide to community-led action research is a new online guide to help community and voluntary groups carry out action research in and with their communities. It has been developed by the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) with support from Education Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The guide draws on the extensive experience that SCDC has had in supporting many different community groups through the action research process. It gives practical information on what action research is and how it can be used by community groups, offers guidance on how to plan and carry out action research, and includes useful research tools and resources. 

• The Social Audit Network in Scotland, along with JUST the Business, want to promote the Prove, Improve and Account (PIA) Initiative. The Social Audit Network (SAN) is an international network of practitioners who are actively involved in social accounting and audit. Exploration into methods of social accounting has its roots in Scotland and was originally a way for community businesses to fully account for the social, environmental and local economic performance and impact. Over the years social accounting has been modified through actively working with social and community enterprises. SAN in Scotland (SANiS) is planning a new initiative to increase awareness and the practice of social accounting and audit.                                                                                                                                            
• Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) have just launched the Third Sector Knowledge Portal. Working in collaboration with the British Library and Big Lottery Fund, TSRC has developed the Portal to make identifying and accessing research easier. The Portal is an online database of material specifically related to the voluntary and community sector. There is a massive amount of information out there, from academic research, to reports produced by voluntary organisations, funders or government departments, which can help inform the work people do – but it is hard to know where to find it. The Portal will bring as much of this information together as possible, offering people one place where they can look for research on the sector and make their own collections available to others. 

• Evaluation Support Scotland (ESS) works with voluntary organisations and funders so they can measure the impact of their work. They provide practical support and access to resources and tools, and  take action to build evaluation and learning into funding and policy-making processes. The website is packed with very useful resources and guidance about how to do evaluation.

• The H Form is an evaluation method that was developed along with a whole range of methods known as Participatory Appraisal (PA). The H Form comes from Susan Guy and Andrew Inglis (1999). PA methods are designed to give everyone a chance to have their say. Many of the PA methods are visual and use materials that are ready and available wherever you are. The H Form can be used to evaluate anything from a conference to an event to a training course. It uses a single question to ask: how good was the ... ? The responses to the question come direct from participants’ experiences, and their answers highlight the things that are important for them. In this way they create the agenda for improvement and change – very powerful and very empowering.