Community-led design initiatives: evaluation

2. Analysis of projects funded through the Programme

In conducting this evaluation, desk analysis was undertaken of all 78 projects funded between 2011 and 2018 through the Programme. This chapter provides an overview of geographical spread of projects funded, the number and value of grants awarded to date, total project costs, and Scottish Government's contribution to total costs.

2.1 Breakdown of projects by geography

As shown in Figure 2.1 below, the projects that have been funded through the Programme between 2011 and 2018 are situated in a range of locations across Scotland. Most projects are located across the central belt, with a smaller number located in the North East, South West, and the Highlands and Islands.

Figure 2.1: Project locations

2.2 Lead Partners

Of those 78 projects, 27 of these have been led by the community, and 51 have been led by local authorities or other public bodies.

2.3 Number and value of funded projects

As highlighted earlier in the report, the application process is a competitive one and not all applications are successful each year. Figure 2.2 shows that while there have been fluctuations in the number of projects funded year on year, the number of funded projects has steadily increased, from 3 in 2011/12 to 18 in 2017/18. This was a result of confidence in the Programme growing, and more funding being made available for the Programme.

Figure 2.2 Number and value of grants awarded by year and programme:

The value of grants awarded ranges from £4,005 to £55,000 (although this largest grant covered a series of charrettes rather than a single project), with an average grant size of £18,086. However, these figures do not give a complete picture. In the early years of the Programme, Scottish Government funded 100% of the project costs. As the Programme progressed, Scottish Government's contribution to total costs reduced, with participating local authorities or public bodies being required to contribute 50% of the total costs of the project and Scottish Government funding the remaining 50%. As the Programme widened to allow community-based organisations to submit applications for funding, they too were encouraged to meet 50% of the costs of the project, although some flexibility was applied where this was not feasible.

As shown in Figure 2.3 on the following page, 52 of the 78 projects funded between 2011 and 2018 received a 50% contribution from Scottish Government towards their total project costs.

Figure 2.3 Percentage of project costs funded by Scottish Government

The total cost of projects ranged from £8,010 to £74,468, with an average total project cost of £33,930. The variance in total costs is due to a wide range of factors, including the number of design events being run through each project (ranging from one to many), geography, facilitation costs, and the focus of the projects.