The Lines Between

Yesterday we spent some time at Lister Place, a fantastic shared working space at the West End of Edinburgh 📍✨ Our office in Meadowbank is cushy and cosy, but as our team has grown, we have found ourselves in need of bigger venues for in-person planning sessions and training days. Has anyone else had a great experience with a shared working space? #TeamWork #Edinburgh 

🚙 Our research on The Scottish Government’s Accessible Vehicles and Equipment (AVE) Scheme has been published: https://lnkd.in/ds6vddK7   The AVE Scheme allows Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment recipients receiving the higher or enhanced rate mobility component to use their payments to lease an accessible vehicle or mobility equipment. This can include a car, powered wheelchair or scooter, or a wheelchair-accessible vehicle.   Delivered by Project Manager Ian Christie, Abi Sharp, Molly Rosenbaum, PhD, Carole Kelly and Lorraine Simpson, our research explored views and experiences of the AVE Scheme among disabled people, dealers and providers of vehicles and equipment and wider stakeholders.   The findings from this research will play a crucial role in ensuring that the AVE Scheme meets the needs of disabled people across Scotland. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this research will have on the scheme.   #SocialResearch

🛤️ Over the past few weeks, our team has travelled across Scotland visiting National Trust for Scotland properties. We are evaluating the Trust's Engaging Communities Project, which is widening access to sites and enhancing models of engagement through consultation with local people and new activities. Each site has a very different context, history and significance, and they span cities to remote and rural locations.   Lorraine Simpson, Katie Allan, Mike Nicholson and Abi Sharp have carried out fieldwork with staff and stakeholders at Tenement House in Glasgow, the Hill House in Helensburgh, Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire and Torridon in Wester Ross.   See below for some fantastic pictures from our travels! (Lorraine was unable to capture the splendour of Torridon on camera, but she did get a snap of a very relaxed train…. 📷 )

Alastair Graham, Carole Kelly, Molly Rosenbaum, PhD, Mike Nicholson, Lorraine Simpson and Katie Allan expertly delivered this complex consultation analysis contract. This effective teamwork enabled our presence at discussions across Scotland. Along the way, we saw some outstanding natural beauty spots. The analysis was a huge task. We reported on 159 detailed responses from community groups across Scotland. In addition, we reported on gatherings hosted by the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC), the Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) and Making Rights Real. There was so much complex, thoughtful work to explore representation; what it could look like, what makes people feel represented, the types of decisions they want a say in, and the changes to processes that are needed There is strong support for more community decision-making in Scotland. But – as expected – many issues to consider. This report sets out participants’ views on what need to be addressed to ensure a new layer of decision-making in Scotland works effectively.

We're #hiring a Research Officer. Please help us find our new colleague by sharing this post with your network.

🕑 The deadline for applications for TLB’s Research Officer post is next Friday (27th September). If you are passionate about research, an excellent communicator, enjoy working across multiple projects and want to contribute to positive social change then we’d love to hear from you!   If you are interested, read the info in the job posting below and send a CV and cover letter to hello@thelinesbetween.co.uk.

Last week, The Scottish Government published our evaluation of three local delivery trial sites funded through the National Trauma Transformation Programme. Derek Ewens, Katie Allan and Abi Sharp interviewed a range of key stakeholders and staff in Argyll & Bute, Glasgow and Midlothian exploring progress, impact, achievements and challenges experienced across the pilot sites.   Our report sets out the learning captured and recommendations to inform the future delivery of the programme. You can read it in full here: https://lnkd.in/eMeUmBUj We found that activity delivered at the trial sites has enhanced the local workforce’s awareness, knowledge, and skills in relation to trauma and trauma-informed practice. There is now a greater understanding of, and focus on, staff wellbeing and the support they need to work in a trauma-informed way safely and effectively. The Lines Between has also been evolving as a trauma-informed organisation over the past few years. We’ve dedicated time and resource to formal training courses, online learning, quarterly supervision with a clinical psychologist and participation in relevant networks. By deepening our understanding of trauma and its effects, we have become more empathetic and attuned to the needs and experiences of those we engage with. #socialresearch #traumainformedpractice #nttp

It’s Pension Awareness Week, and we’re proud to be one of the first organisations in Scotland to achieve Living Pension accreditation, launched by the Living Wage Campaign last year. Fifty employers across the UK now have the accreditation and, as last night’s Living Pension event demonstrated, many others are considering this step. We encourage every organisation in our sector to consider this for their staff. There are so many benefits, including: ·     Helping people to save more for the future. ·     Encouraging conversations about financial planning. ·     Driving new saving habits. ·     Retaining staff and attracting new colleagues. ·     Being part of a wider movement to promote Fair Work. #LivingPension #PAD2024 #pensionawareness

We're #hiring a Research Officer. Please help us find our new colleague by sharing this post with your network.

New report alert! 📊✨   We recently interviewed each of Scotland’s 30 Chief Social Work Officers for Social Work Scotland. As you can imagine, securing interviews with these busy people took a lot of communication, planning, and flexibility.    Derek Ewens, Katie Allan, Mike Nicholson and Abi Sharp undertook the interviews and online survey to gather data and insights from all 32 local authority areas. We explored Chief Social Work Officers' motivations, career histories and the role’s vast responsibilities. We also discussed professional challenges, recruitment, training, retention and the impact of changes within the sector, including the development of the National Care Service.   A huge thank you to everyone who took part.  You can read the findings report in full here: https://lnkd.in/exZyGT2C   #SocialResearch #SocialWork