Spring Newsletter
Spring 2026
Hello and welcome to the Spring Edition of our newsletter. This year’s conference is filling up fast!Support and Advice
New Resource – Operational Plan Toolkit
We’re pleased to announce this brand-new resource! Available to DTAS Full and Provisional Members, our new Operational Plan Toolkit supports your Development Trust turn your vision into practical actions.
This toolkit is designed to help bridge the gap between “what we want to achieve” and “how we’re going to achieve it”. It guides you through creating a clear operational plan that everyone in your organisation can understand, follow, and feel confident about delivering.
To find out more contact your Member Support Advisor.
Do you have meeting or coworking space that has underused capacity?
Connected Hubs Scotland provides a free platform to promote community-based coworking and meeting spaces. It aims to:
- connect the operators of independent hubs across Scotland,
- enable mutual support and collaboration,
- increase the marketing of each space, whilst reducing the administrative burden.
To find out more and get included on the online map on the website, get in touch with polly@dtascot.org.uk.
Learning and Networking
Upcoming online events
Two upcoming webinars for Provisional and Full DTAS:
– Making the most of your DTAS Membership, 29 April, 10am-Noon
– Governance Essentials, 5 May, 10.30am-Noon
And for DTAS Members plus any community group managing a community facility, check out our Facilities Management Webinar Series:
– Facilities Management Risk Assessments: A How-To Guide, 28 April 10-11am
– Facilities Management Training 2026 – Two-day accredited training programme
– 8 & 15 May SOLD OUT – Join wait list
– 28 Aug & 4 Sept SOLD OUT – Join wait list
– 13 & 19 Nov SOLD OUT – Join wait list
– Facilities Management Day to Day: What You Need to Know, 26 May 10-11am
– Facilities Management Health & Safety Compliance, 30 June, 10-11am
– Facilities Management Operational Budgets, 28 July, 10-11am
– Facilities Management Fire Safety, 25 August, 10-11am
Follow the DTAS Eventbrite page to ensure you don’t miss out on more events being added in the new year!
Regional Gatherings
Supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, our first Regional Gatherings of the year brought together over 30 people from Development Trusts across Perthshire, Stirling, Dundee and Angus. Thank you to the amazing Comrie Development Trust for hosting and showing us around their Cultybraggan Camp, and to Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust‘s Development Officer, Steve, for his presentation on their “whole town approach”.
DTAS Member Support Advisor, Chris Sanderson, commented: “ BRDT is a great example of a community-led organisation working to make their town stand out and be noticed and we very much appreciated Steve’s insight gained from more than a decade of experience volunteering and working in the sector.
Development trusts, like so many other community organisations, face challenges both on a day-to-day and a more strategic level and it was really valuable to hear how BRDT faces these challenges and discuss possible solutions.”
Our next Regional Gathering is in the Scottish Borders, hosted by Burnfoot Community Hub in Hawick on Wednesday 6th May. All DTAS Members and aspiring Development Trusts welcome!
Sign up for our next Regional Gathering
And follow us on our Eventbrite page to hear about Regional Gatherings being planned in Fife and East Ayrshire.
Community Ownership
New Route Map to Community Ownership
The Community Ownership Support Service New Futures programme has produced a Churches Route Map to Community Ownership. This tailored resource guides community groups through the process of purchasing a Church of Scotland owned building.
Crowdfunding guide for community groups
Together with Democratic Finance Scotland the New Futures Programme have also launched a new Crowdfunding resource for community-based groups in Scotland who are considering taking ownership of a former place of worship.
The resource explains to communities their options, obligations and opportunities regarding crowdfunding.
Although it has Church groups in mind, this resource is useful for any community group looking to undertake a Crowdfunder.
Democratic Finance
A Decade of Community Shares
Over the past decade, DTAS’s dedicated community shares programme has supported 70 community share offers, raising over £21 million from 21,468 investor members.
From wee community shops pivoting to linchpins during the pandemic to pioneering community energy projects – we’ve been constantly inspired by these resilient community businesses, run by folk with generous spirits and creative minds.
We’re celebrating the success of this unique form of democratic finance in a new report: ‘A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland’ – packed with juicy data and inspiring case studies.
And you can get in touch via info@democraticfinance.scot to explore community shares and other democratic finance tools!
Research and Policy
Democracy and democratic governance are common themes of our policy work recently.
We launched the DTAS community-led manifesto at the end of last year for all influencers and changemakers who want to see communities empowered to shape their own futures. And we’re currently pouring over all manifestos to see where political parties show their commitment to stronger local communities.
From initial readings we’re pleased to see that some parties have responded to our call to action for a fair energy deal, as part of the Scottish Community Coalition on Energy (SCCE).
In terms of Local Democratic Reform the Scottish Government has just released its Democracy Matters Route Map towards potential new community governance arrangements. DTAS continues to work with the Scottish Government to inform and progress next steps.
For over 10 years, DTAS has been at the forefront of conversations about local democratic reform in Scotland—making the case that communities should have more say, more control and more power over the decisions that affect them.
From community asset ownership to participatory approaches and community-led governance, development trusts have been showing what meaningful local democracy looks like in practice, not just in theory.
Local economic democracy is another area key area where DTAS has an important voice. Our CEO, Pauline Smith explains,
“At DTAS we’ve always believed that communities should have the power to shape their own economic future. That’s why we’re proud to be part of the new Inclusive Democratic Business Models (IDBM) Alliance Scotland, chaired by Neil McInroy
This alliance is about connecting democratic control at the community level with wider economic systems, so that power, ownership, and wealth are shared more fairly across Scotland. DTAS is there to make sure the voice and experience of development trusts and the communities behind them are part of shaping this important agenda.”