Community context
When we talk about a community within this toolkit we normally mean a community of place. This is defined in the Scottish Government’s Good Practice Principles for community benefits from onshore renewable energy developments as “A community of people who are bound together because of where they reside, work, visit, or otherwise spend a continuous portion of their time. Such a community can be a neighbourhood, town, coffeehouse, work place, gathering place, public space or any other geographically specific place that a number of people share, have in common or visit frequently.”
Community development is a long established process, that is essentially about making communities better places. An understanding of the theory and practice of community development can help in identifying where a particular community ‘is at’, in understanding how it may respond to the opportunity of a new income stream, and how it can best be supported to do so. The Community development annex of this toolkit provides further detail on the theory and practice in this area and why it is important.
The response of a community to the prospect of a new community benefits package will be informed by the local context, as well as the approach taken by the renewable energy business. A combination of the following factors are likely to have a bearing:
- Culture: The prevailing attitudes and cultures within the community. Is there a group of people who can engage fellow residents effectively and harness local assets and strengths but also ask for support where required?
- Capacity: The extent to which a community is investment-ready or not; how visionary, ambitious, organised, experienced and cohesive is the community? Are local groups set up to operate in an accountable and inclusive way, and manage the risk of volunteer burn out?
- Collaborators: The role of intermediaries, including but not limited to the local authority and third sector interface, and the extent to which such bodies trust in, support, empower and work with the community;
- Characters: The influence of particular key figures within the community who may draw on various sources of power (knowledge/experience, status, reputation, character, etc.) and who are in a position to shape wider local attitudes to the opportunity, positively or negatively.
- Corporate approach: The renewable energy business’s approach towards community benefits, including the amount of staff time allocated to it, their understanding of community development practice and the local context, and what the governance and administration arrangements are.
Simply being aware of some of these factors can help those involved in discussing, designing, and delivering community benefits, by informing the approach they take, who they involve, and what expectations are set in relation to the package of benefits.
