Five key learnings from the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund co-design process

To recap, a group of people who live in and love the National Park have co-designed a process to give out £1 million for the benefit of the nature, climate and local communities of the Cairngorms. Working together over the last few months, the panel have enjoyed getting to know one another better, chewed over thorny questions, disagreed at times, shared their own perspectives and found consensus, all with the support of independent charity Involve.

Reflecting on their hopes for the fund, one member shared that they think it could be a “game changer” for local funding, serving as a dose of inspiration that others in Scotland and further afield can learn from.

• The Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund design panel. Cairngorms ​National ​Park ​Authority

  

  
• Final in-person session of the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund design panel. Cairngorms ​National ​Park ​Authority

  

  
• Final in-person session of the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund design panel. Cairngorms ​National ​Park ​Authority

  

  

We’ve shared the panel’s experiences throughout the process, which you can find in these short videos on our YouTube channel. Involve has produced a summary report for those who would like more detail. But as we approach the launch of the fund, I wanted to share some of our bigger picture learnings too.

Here’s my five takeaways:

1. We have so much more in common than we think. Way back at the start of the process, Involve selected panel members anonymously using an approach based on random selection. But we were also keen to ensure that the final panel fully reflected the diversity of people who live in and love the Cairngorms National Park. This led to a room full of people who otherwise would never have crossed paths.

   People with vastly different life experiences, of different ages and communities, geographies and priorities naturally came into the process with different thoughts and opinions. Working across generations and across apparent divides to find common ground and solutions. And actually, there was *a lot* of common ground. Where there was disagreement, rather than digging their heels in, I saw people really listening to their fellow panellists, even shifting their own opinion in response.

2. It’s still important to meet in person. The flexibility of online meetings was great (and important for making the panel accessible), but we saw the value of bringing people together face-to-face pretty much immediately. Our first introductory meeting took place online, but it was only when the group came together in person that it really started to click, and the energy was clear.

   To build trust and connection, we must find opportunities to come out from behind our screens. This has benefits for individual pieces of work, but also for building long term relationships – and who knows what might come of those?

3. Co-design is a gnarly process and independent facilitation is key. We were clear from the outset that we wanted to hand power over to the panel to make decisions, but it’s not fair to do that without appropriate support. That’s where Involve’s experience really kicked in, keeping us on track and allowing space for proper discussion. It also meant that we were able to really listen and consider what everyone was saying. I’m proud of what the panel achieved here and excited that the community will get to decide who gets funding, too (more on that soon!).
4. Communities have the solutions. The people closest to the issues are usually also the ones who’ve thought about how best to resolve them, right? I really hope that the lesson from the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund is that communities should be trusted to find fair and creative solutions. Throughout the process, our panellists were clear that this funding pot had to reach people who have never received funding before. The majority of panel members had never been involved in funding decisions before, which brought fresh perspective and innovative ideas. I’d love to see more of this across Scotland.

5. Finally, don’t be scared to try something different. The Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund required a leap of faith from us, from our funders The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and from the panel itself. As we near the end of the process, I’m grateful to everyone for taking that chance, approaching the project with such openness and curiosity.

   We learned that it’s okay to change our minds. To disagree but do so respectfully. By properly listening to one another, we came to a solution that none of us would have designed on our own, but which truly benefits the nature, climate and communities of the Cairngorms National Park.

The Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund will fund projects ranging from £500 to £100,000. If you or someone you know is interested in applying, or would like to be part of the group making decisions on who gets funding, sign up on the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund page and keep an eye on our social media for updates.

Cairngorms 2030 is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.