Caithness Partnership Newsletter Index

Welcome to another edition of the ebulletin which a way of circulating information that has come in to the Partnership office. If you wish to include any items in the next issue please get in touch. We will try to make this service as useful to you as we can. If you have difficulty accessing any of the information off the web we can get you a paper copy. Please forward the bulletin within your organization if that would be useful.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Draft Strategy

Third sector funding crisis – report

Funding news

Training

Events

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – Draft Strategy
The NDA Draft Strategy focuses on the cleaning-up and environmental restoration of nuclear sites across the UK nuclear sites. NDA state that they aim to ensure that they play a part in building a UK “skills framework” which will support decommissioning and clean up over the long term. The strategy details the NDA plans over the next 5 years and the next 25 for decommissioning and waste management until long term management plans are in place. The Draft Strategy is a very reader friendly document and can be downloaded on www.nda.gov.uk and the website has a section where you can submit questions and comments to the NDA Strategy Team. If you have any problems downloading there are a couple of copies available at the Caithness Partnership Office, or a hard copy can be posted to you if you phone Kelly Jackson on 01925802185. The consultation period finishes on 11 November 2006

Third sector funding crisis – a survey to voluntary organizations produced by National Council for Voluntary Organisations found that three out of ten respondents said their organization was in danger of closing if a bid for funding failed and nearly nine out of ten said that the way funding is awarded in the voluntary sector leads to low workforce morale and minimal investment in workforce development and training. To access the full report “Short-term funding, Short term thinking” email janet.golds@amicusunion.org

Scottish Natural Heritage - New Grant Programme
Scottish Natural Heritage has recently introduced a new grant programme. The new programme consists of eight new grant schemes. Information sheets, guidance notes and application form are now available on the SNH website www.snh.org.uk or you can request an application pack by phoning 01738 458677. SNH is introducing some changes to the way it assesses grant applications. For grants of less than £10,000 you can apply at any time. Applications for £10,000 or more will be assessed in two competitive funding rounds each year. The closing date for the first round of grants is 14 October 2005 and thereafter the closing dates will be 15 April and 1 September. Applicants are encouraged to come forward well before the closing date to allow time to produce additional information that SNH may request.

Funding for young people: The Big Lottery Fund has announced the start of a new partnership with UnLtd who will become an award partner to deliver The Big Boost programme. The programme awards grants of between £250 and £5,000 to help individuals and small groups of young people, aged between 11 and 25 years, deliver projects in their local areas. It will encourage social entrepreneurship among young people from all backgrounds, helping individuals develop projects which will make a lasting difference to them and to their communities, http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=165819&NewsAreaID=2. 

Wave 2 of Tobacco & Inequalities small grant fund aimed at community and voluntary groups and universities to develop projects which will help people quit smoking. It is particularly aimed at groups of people with high smoking rates who traditionally have difficulties in accessing mainstream smoking cessation services. £175,000 to be shared between the best new ideas. For more information contact douglas.guest@ashscotland.org.uk .

The Open University has launched a Certificate and Foundation Degree in Working with Young People. These nationally recognised vocational qualifications are suitable for those working with young people, aged 13-19, in a range of informal settings. Please note that the courses are currently awaiting CeVe endorsement. Contact: The Open University,
Tel: 0131 226 3851; Email: scotland@open.ac.uk; Web: www.open.ac.uk.

HNC in Working with Communities – to be delivered via Lews Castle College, part of the UHI Network based in Stornoway. The course is made up of four Higher National Units appropriate for continuing professional development or people interested in beginning work in this field. It is a supported home study on-line course running from 3rd Oct to 20 January 2006. The four units are: Community Learning & Development: Social Science Approaches, Principles & Practice, Learning Approaches and Preparing to Work with Community Groups. There is a fee waiver for up to 10 students as the course is being run as a pilot. Contact anna.third@inverness.uhi.ac.uk for more details.

A course to enable participants to increase their confidence in promoting health by providing a framework which will guide reflection on practice and encourage the development of effective practice. With an academic credit rating of 15 points at Scottish Degree Level 3 it is aimed at all occupational gorups involved in health improvement both within and outwith the NHS. Course takes place on 28, 29, 30 November 2005 and 9, 10 January 2006 with a final day in March 2006 in Fairburn Activity Centre, Marybank – and its free. For more information contact Jane Groves on 01463 704791 – closing date for application is 31st October.

North Highland Forest Trust will be running this event.

The Strath of Dunbeath has an incredible range of remnant hazel coppice and wood-pasture areas of huge cultural significance as well as of great beauty.  As a result, the main species to be looked at during the day will be hazel, with willow and other suitable species also considered. 

The day will include:

The aim of the day is both to raise awareness of the existing resource as well as to look at the potential for new coppice planting and potential markets for produce. For more information and to book a place phone Steve Robertson of North Highland Forest Trust on 01408633986.

4 October 2005 Highland Hospice, Inverness. Highland Physical Activity Forum. An information and discussion event with news about projects and programmes to encourage better health through physical activity. Topics to be discussed include Healthy Men Project, Step it up Highland, Health Promoting Schools and the evidence for beneficial effects of exercise on depression. Interested in attending? Contact Sharon.duncan@hhb.scot.nhs.uk

Scottish Centre for Regeneration has a programme of events over the next few months aimed at people involved in regeneration projects. The Scottish Centre for Regeneration is part of Communities Scotland, the Scottish Executive's housing and regeneration agency, and works to help improve the effectiveness of people and organisations trying to achieve the Scottish Executive's Closing the Opportunity Gap objectives. The aim of the events is to support those involved in community regeneration to improve their effectiveness:

For more information on all these events have a look at http://www.zealey.com/SCR/

23 October 2005 Trail Running in Rumster Forest – feeling fit? Why not try one of a series of Trail Runs organized for the winter to take place in Caithness & North Sutherland. First run is in Rumster starting at 10.00 (4.5m). For more information contact Indiana.jones@homecall.co.uk

27 October 2005, Victoria Suite, Ross County Football Stadium, Dingwall. “Working with You” an NHS one-day event inviting people to participate in an interactive development day – aimed at NHS staff, partner agencies, patients, commuities and voluntary organizations. For more information contact Isabel Rogers at NHS Highland, Beechwood Park, Inverness.

2- 4 November 2005 Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre “Sustainability – Creating the Culture” The Sustainable Development and Research Centre’s second annual international conference following on from a conference in Inverness this event will “build and examine further the policy, infrastructure and stakeholder requirements needed to create a culture of sustainability”. The conference will bring together an international and interdisciplinary audience to share new ideas and debate current best practice. Have a look at http://www.sustainableresearch.com/events/conferences.asp