An essential step in the community benefit process is to get some consensus on what the benefits package will be used for and how it will be made available. A community action plan forms a key element of the fund strategy and can support discussions and decision making on the package of benefits offered by renewable energy businesses. This toolkit sets out a methodology to incorporate a community action plan into a strategy for the disbursement of an annual fund (see Creating a lasting legacy module).
Where an annual fund is involved these will usually operate for the lifetime of the renewables project, perhaps 25 years if an onshore wind farm or 40 years if a hydropower scheme. This means that, especially where large sums of money are involved, the community can begin to think about and plan for long term outcomes that the Fund might bring about, and how it can support long-lasting positive change and sustainability for the community. Developing a strategy for the community benefit fund that is based on locally identified needs and opportunities can help to ensure the Fund delivers this kind of legacy.
From a community development perspective, this can be best achieved if it is informed by a meaningful process of local consultation that results in the creation of a plan for the community, usually referred to as a ‘community action plan’ or ‘community development plan’.
Informed by the outcome of that consultation and the resultant plan, the community, in discussion with the renewable energy business, can then develop a strategy to guide effective distribution of the Fund towards activity that will contribute to the community’s vision. This strategy should set out the Fund’s purposes, and any more detailed local priorities within those, based on the community action plan. It should provide details about who can receive funding – whether that means constituted or un-constituted community groups that are working to bring about benefit locally, registered charities, private businesses, individuals, or a mixture of these.
The Fund Strategy should also determine how funds will be made available and how proposals for specific projects or activities will be identified and/or selected for funding. In selecting such distribution methods, consideration needs to be given as to whether and how they can encourage and enable the most positive impact to be delivered from the Fund, measured against its identified purposes.
The Fund Strategy may be developed before, after, or at the same time as determining the governance and administration arrangement for the Fund (see module Getting the Governance Right).
