As the Glasgow Commonwealth Games begins, we ask what’s the legacy for Scotland?
It’s exciting times in Scotland for all sports lovers as the start of the Commonwealth Games is now upon us. But as well as the excitement about the Games themselves there is much more going on behind the scenes to ensure there is a long-lasting legacy from the Games for communities across Scotland.
I’m not sure if people are aware that Scotland has a well-established 10-year legacy plan which runs until 2019 and Pilotlight is one of over 50 projects contributing to this. Indeed, the programme developed for the Glasgow Games is now being held up as a model of best practice.
Celebrating the success so far of all these projects across Scotland, at a recent event in Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, made me realise how much effort has been put into building a strong legacy by the Scottish Government and all the other partners involved in organising and delivering the Games.
Pilotlight’s Games project, ‘Our Moment’ is helping 12 sports social enterprises and health charities throughout Scotland to thrive by harnessing the skills of business leaders. So far, two of the sports social enterprises have completed the 12-month process, which has provided some real long-term benefit for them.
So, what difference has the project made?
Youth Football Scotland is a not-for-profit social enterprise connecting people interested in youth football across Scotland. By providing volunteering opportunities for young people, YFS enables them to gain skills and practical work experience in sports journalism. They help improve the literacy skills of young people, by encouraging them to submit match reports from football games. They also promote healthy living by increasing the number of people involved in grassroots sport through an online service, which matches young players and volunteers with the best possible club for them.
One of the most positive things to come from the Pilotlight experience was the development of the board at YFS and their understanding of the importance of strong governance. The senior management team also have a better appreciation of the value of staff and the importance of building a strong team.
As Robbie Forsyth, Director of YFS, says:
"With Pilotlight’s help we’ve achieved what we wanted to do. We now have a skilled, active board that meets monthly, our vision, mission and aims for the organisation are clear and in place and we have a strong team of staff to help us achieve our goals. We’ve just won a new contract with the Scottish FA, which will really help our young people get the opportunities to work in the world of football. We now have a clear business plan that we can act on and that’s a great position to be in."
Drumchapel Sports Centre is a community run sports centre that is home to many sporting clubs and is an important resource for many other community organisations. For Drumchapel the Pilotlight process has led to a marked increase in trust amongst staff members, volunteers, and clubs. People have more ownership of their tasks and are displaying more responsibility as well as delegating tasks more effectively. They now have a plan in place for the next few years and feel they have the skills to take the organisation forward.
So as I sit back to watch the Games unfold over the next ten days I do so in the knowledge that the Games are already having an impact on communities across Scotland and I look forward to following the progress of the other 10 social enterprises involved.
