Jobs Strategy Group Agrees to Fund Pilot Project in Muirhouse

The Jobs Strategy Group has agreed £180,000 funding from the Pathfinder grant to implement an area focus project in Muirhouse, subject to agreement on an implementation plan and targets.

The project will test ways of working intensively in a small area – in this case two datazones in Muirhouse with a total population of around 1,750 people. It will seek to reach out to people who are disengaged from mainstream services and help them engage with the pathway to work. The principle is that people are supported to identify where they would like to make a change in their own lives and in their community.

A number of area focus projects have been run in the west of Scotland over the past few years, but this will be the first in Edinburgh. Typically, community animators are employed to make contact with people informally – in homes, shopping centres and community venues. They aim to engage with households and social networks, not just with individuals. In terms of results for the community, the aim is to raise the employment rate and to improve the culture with respect to work.

A holistic approach will be taken to the support of individuals, so that each person, together with a case worker, will develop an individual plan which encompasses health and social issues as well as skills and employment. The project will not be about developing new services. Rather it will seek to support people to access the services already provided by mainstream providers such as NHS, local authority and voluntary sector organisations.

A proposal on targets has been developed drawing on the experience of area focus interventions in areas such as Craigneuk in North Lanarkshire, Foxbar in Paisley, and parts of Glasgow such as Wellhouse and Roystonhill. As lead partner for this proposal, Capital City Partnership (CCP) has also held discussions with a local advisory group which draws representation from the Forth Neighbourhood Partnership, Muirhouse Community Council, and from local service providers.

A targets and implementation paper will be presented to the meeting of the Jobs Strategy Group in early December. Following final approval of the detailed plan, CCP will tender the contract with a delivery agent chosen through competitive tender.

Opportunity to Tender for Area Focused Pilot

Any organisation wishing to register an interest in tendering for this contract should contact Jenny Ewing at Capital City Partnership – jennyewing@capitalcitypartnership.org

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