Category

• Emerging Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Prevention
• Awareness

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Poverty driver

• Non-driver - improving quality of life

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Keywords

• Lived Experience
• Research, Data and Evaluation
• Community Engagement
• Empower

Aim

The aim of the project was to co-design a test of change with communities and third sector organisations. North Ayrshire Council also aimed to find third sector organisations that were willing to support communities and existing networks.

Summary

North Ayrshire Council’s Child Poverty Strategy Team was established in January 2025 following the award of funding through the Scottish Government’s Fairer Futures Partnerships programme. The programme supports local authorities to test place-based approaches, with a clear emphasis on co-design with local communities.

This case study focuses on the first stage of the work: the Pan Agency Decision Making Model.

North Ayrshire Council’s Pan Agency Decision Making Panel worked collaboratively to co-design place-based approaches to poverty reduction through a joint grants panel made up of three equally weighted partners — the Council, the third sector, and community members with lived experience of poverty. The process aimed to strengthen working partnerships between the local authority, the third sector, and community members with lived experience of poverty, ensuring that a range of voices with equal weight informed panel decisions, while exploring a model that could support wider systems change within the local area.

What difference does it make?

• A Multi-agency decision making panel was achieved by the team and they felt everyone had equal input into how funds were allocated.
• The project has strengthened partnership working between the Council, third sector and community members.
• Made lived experience central to decisions
• Brought a wide range of perspectives into funding decisions.
• Increased trust through a clear and open process.
• Showed the importance of doing this work consistently.

Key take-aways

• Having a diverse range of participants strengthens partnerships, enhances trust between those involved and brings new knowledge to projects.
• Be explicit when communicating with specific phrases and terms.
• Integrate the perspectives of those with lived experience early on to shape the project.
• Ensure preparatory support is available for community members with lived experience of poverty before they come into the decision-making panel space as it can be intimidating.

 

Organisations

• North Ayrshire Council. • Third Sector Interface (TSI) (The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) and Arran CVS. • The Lennox Partnership supporting our call for lived experience consultants. • Celcis - our learning partners throughout the process.

Location

Throughout North Ayrshire.

Contact