Q3 2025

It’s been a busy spell across the DTAS family and this newsletter gives a wee flavour of what’s been going on – from the buzz of the conference and Annie’s environmental spotlight, to learning and networking sessions and a few policy updates. There’s also plenty happening around democratic finance and we’re excited to introduce some new research, including Lynne Scott’s PhD with DTAS on community wealth building.

Thanks, as always, for all that you do.

DTAS Conference 2025 – Delegate Feedback

This year’s DTAS conference was attended by 273 people from 167 organisations (see map below) – our largest yet! 27% of attendees filled out our feedback form, providing us with valuable insights as to what worked and what needs to be improved.

In a nutshell, the highlights were:

• Networking opportunities
• Andy Wightman’s keynote talk
• Short talks with development trusts in the closing session
• The variety of topics covered by the workshops

The common suggestions for improvement were:

• Providing structured networking – icebreakers, pairing development trusts based on location, achievements or challenges
• Longer schedule with more opportunities to join workshops

It goes without saying that we were provided with much more in-depth feedback than what is covered above. We will be taking all of this into account and use it to shape the development of future conferences and our event programme as a whole.

We thank everyone for taking the time to fill out our feedback form.

DTAS Conference 2025 – What would you like us to do more of?

At the end of the conference we asked you what you would like to see DTAS do more of. We received 25 responses, with the following being the main themes:

• Peer to peer support mechanisms (or more effective comms on what already exists)
• More effective comms on the support we provide (including member benefits)
• Communication and involvement of members in policy and influencing work

The member support team and across the organisation will be focusing on these areas and facilitating the peer to peer work across the membership and I (Pauline) will also be setting up some dedicated policy sessions.

Thanks for all the feedback and the constructive suggestions that will help us support the membership better and also utilise the expertise that is within the network.

We recognise that many of our members bring valuable knowledge and experience in carbon reduction, and we’re committed to learning from them while supporting others on their own Net Zero journey.

Please enjoy this issue’s Environmental Spotlight.

Our journey to Net Zero

Since the start of 2025, DTAS has made significant progress in understanding our environmental impact and taking steps to reduce our emissions. In June, we published our Carbon Reduction Plan, outlining our path toward achieving Net Zero.

Read Edinburgh Climate Change Institute’s case study on DTAS and our approach to gaining organisation commitment and tackling business travel emissions.

Upcoming Environmental Events and Training 

Growing Climate Confidence, SCVO

SCVO are currently developing their next training offers as part of the Growing Climate Confidence programme. Keep an eye on their website for new dates.

A Case Study from our Membership

Read about how Culbokie Community Trust are promoting sustainable living and environmentally-friendly practices in the work that they do in our latest case study!

Key Links

• Discover the support and services provided by your local Climate Hub
• Explore the practical steps your community can take to become more resilient in the face of climate change using Adaptation Scotland’s  Community Climate Adaptation Routemap
• Read about the support that SCVO’s Growing Climate Confidence Programme can provide for third sector organisations on their journey to Net Zero

What does your organisation do to support the sustainability of your organisation and/or area? We’d love to hear from you! Get in contact: info@dtascot.org.uk.

World Mental Health Day – We want your stories!

It’s World Mental Health Day on 10th October. Looking after your wellbeing, especially at work, can feel really difficult at times.

We want to learn from you, our members, share your stories and inspire others to take steps in looking after their wellbeing at work. Our aim is to put together these stories, along with some from our internal team at DTAS, into a useful and motivating resource to share with our network.

So whether you’re on the board of a development trust, or a staff member or volunteer, our Wellbeing & Inclusion Coordinator, Amy, wants to hear from you!

• Do you have specific techniques for keeping yourself well at work?
• Do you provide specific support mechanisms for your staff and volunteers?
• Have you been faced with a particularly difficult challenge at work that you navigated well?

If this sounds like you, we want to hear about it. If you have a story you’d like to share, please contact Amy by Monday 6th October on amy@dtascot.org.uk.

Scotland Rural & Island Infrastructure Fund

This fund, supported by Transport Scotland, helps improve EV charging in rural and island communities. It can cover a significant portion of the cost to install publicly accessible chargers at eligible sites. To be eligible you must be a landowning businesses or charge point operator with privately owned land (in Scottish Islands or category 5–8 rural postcodes), and who meet basic business registration and banking criteria. Find out more here.

Recent events

Our recent online session Purpose First: Your Community Café Journey was insightful – we explored why having a clear purpose is so important, and how purpose shapes decisions, consistency, and community engagement. We also heard from member trusts about their café journeys. Thank you to everyone who joined and contributed to a lively conversation. Special thanks to Plunkett UK, Gorebridge Community Development Trust, Bùth Bharraigh Ltd, and Twechar Community Action for their contributions.

This week we also held the first of two Recovery and Resilience Programme Info webinars, both sold out. The second session is next week on the 9th of October, and there will also be a recording available on the members area of the website for those who couldn’t attend.

Upcoming events

Please visit our Eventbrite for a list of all upcoming events.

Democratic Business Summit 2025

This year’s Democratic Business Summit – a one-day conference to advance democracy across the UK business economy – is coming to Glasgow’s Barras Art & Design on 4th November 2025, and Head of Democratic Finance at DTAS, Morven Lyon, will be a panellist.

Social Enterprise Academy – Senior Leader’s Programme

Social Enterprise Academy is inviting applications for their ‘Senior Leaders’ programme, available highly subsidised through Just Enterprise. This flagship programme creates a peer group of 14 or so of Scotland’s top social enterprise leaders, creating a unique support structure for people in some of the most challenging positions in our society. Learn more here.

Learning How To Develop Your Own Place Plans

Ever wanted to learn more about Local Place Plans? Training videos produced by Imagine If CIC for the Scottish Community Councils Network explain how Development Trusts and Community Councils can create their own plans – very useful if you’re exploring this process. Find them here.

Local Legacy Giving Pilot

Running from September 2024 to September 2025, our Local Legacy Giving Pilot involved nine Development Trusts from across Scotland. The pilot was designed and delivered by DTA Scotland’s Democratic Finance team, who provided tailored support to help these organisations build confidence, capacity, and practical tools around legacy giving.

Through one-to-one support, group workshops, shared learning sessions, and partnerships with organisations like WeWill (a digital will-writing platform), the pilot explored how DTs can integrate legacy giving into their broader fundraising strategies. Find out more here.

SCCE Manifesto

The Scottish Community Coalition on Energy (comprised of DTA Scotland, Community Energy Scotland and Community Land Scotland) seeks to secure a Fair Energy Deal for Scottish communities.

As such, as part of the SCCE, we are publishing our manifesto recommendations which are informed by the needs of our members, to overcome barriers and unlock benefits for the climate, communities and local economies across the country.  Read the manifesto here.

MacGregor’s Share Offer

Scotland’s Littlest Department Store is Killin’s community-owned village shop and post office. They recently launched their community share offer to raise funds to invest in the store to future proof the space and meet local needs. To find out more you can view their share offer document here.

New series of events from our Churches team

Watch this space – we’re about to launch the next series of events from our dedicated Churches team. If your community is considering taking on a church, or is already in the process of doing so, do keep an eye out for these – they’ll appear on our Eventbrite very soon.

DTAS Manifesto

Watch out for the DTAS Manifesto hitting your inboxes soon. Our manifesto is for all political parties, policymakers and citizens who want to see communities empowered to shape their own futures. It sets out practical, systemic reforms and actions that can be embrace by any political party or government committed to stronger communities and a healthy and wealthy Scotland.

5 pillars for change:

1. Sustainable and supportive environment for communities: unlocking the full potential of development trusts and other community-led enterprises.
2. Developing local democracy: strong, local, participatory and accountable
3. An inclusive, sustainable, wellbeing economy: creating community wealth that works for people and planet.
4. Land reform and community ownership: empowering communities to take on sustainable assets.
5. A just transition and climate action: positioning communities at the heart of Scotland’s Net Zero journey.

New PhD for Community Wealth Building

Lynne Scott, a PhD researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University, is calling on DTAS members to share your views on Community Wealth Building in Scotland by taking part in a short survey that will help inform both research and practice.

Lynne’s research, undertaken in collaboration with DTAS, is focused on Community Wealth Building’s development, implementation and impact, with a particular focus on the perspectives of the community sector.

The survey is open to all, even if you are unfamiliar with Community Wealth Building, and all views are welcome. If you have any questions or would like to hear more about the research, please contact Lynne at lynne.scott@gcu.ac.uk.

Common Good Funds and Community Lotteries

The Democratic Finance team is currently conducting a survey to assess community organisations’ awareness, understanding, and experiences of accessing Common Good Funds and Community Lotteries in Scotland. Your responses will help us identify gaps in access and support and assess common practices.  Please fill in the survey here.

DTAS Community Right to Buy Consultation Response

Thank you all for your participation in our CRtB survey and attendance at our joint consultation event on the 8^th of September. Your feedback has been instrumental in developing our consultation response. The results of the survey and the final response will be available very soon on our website.

90% off Xero for 4 Months

From 1st October, DTAS members can claim an exclusive discount on Xero accounting software via our special link.

Please note: Xero is just one option — we encourage members to do their own research to ensure it meets your needs.

Claim Your Xero Discount