The 'go to' organisation for Local Government improvement in Scotland

Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme

What has been the impact of our Programme on the work of our Steering Group members?

“The benefits that I’m seeing the programme bringing is bringing people together that wouldn’t perhaps originally work together so closely, and it’s helped to breakdown those silos across the town and it's really allowing us to implement the Place Principle a lot better, it’s much more effective. I think it’s given more oversight to the huge amount of work that’s ongoing in Alloa justnow and given more decision makers more insight into place and why the Place & Wellbeing Outcomes are so key to the wellbeing of the people living there.”

Emma Fyvie, Senior Development Manager, Clackmannanshire Council

“The involvement of the Shaping Places for Wellbeing project has enabled us to take a more focused look at how these Active Travel initiatives could be better designed to maximise their impact on the identified priority groups and the opportunities to involve additional partners.”

Ann Campbell, Partnership & Development Manager, Dunoon Community Development Trust

What has been the impact of our Programme and using the Place and Wellbeing Outcomes in your work?

"The Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme is a framework for collaboration and has been built into South Ayrshire Council forward plans. It's what the system change is... and the Place and Wellbeing Outcomes give a good framework and they are starting to have an influence from a strategic perspective."

Kevin Anderson, Service Lead, South Ayrshire Council

"Over the last year, our Public Health staff have been using the Place and Wellbeing Outcomes as a basis to respond to planning consultations and to work with local authority partners on place related strategy development processes. The Outcomes have provided an opportunity to systematically consider the complex problem of how the wider determinants of health impact on place, people and planet. It has enabled us to reinforce positive action as well as highlight areas to reconsider based on the potential impact on health and provide evidence-based recommendations. We have noted changes being made in line with our feedback and partners have informed us that the responses have been helpful to think differently and consider decisions from another perspective."

Fiona Smith, Health Improvement Lead, South Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership

Place and Wellbeing Assessments

How have our Place and Wellbeing Assessments helped to support the work taking place in our Project Towns?

“The Place & Wellbeing Assessment that we worked on for the Economic Strategy was a very valuable process and I would do it earlier when it comes to writing other plans or strategy documents. Going through the process helps you to look at things through fresh eyes, which is really useful as you get used to doing things in a certain way.”

Iain Ross, Economic Development Manager, South Lanarkshire Council

“Really good experience. I suppose from a public health perspective there are different models of health impact assessment and (this) as a rapid place and wellbeing assessment to start to make folk think about the wider context and how we should be delivering services, it worked really well.”

Joanne O’Suilleabhain, Principal Public Health Officer/Keep Well Programme Manager, NHS Forth Valley

“Changes have been made to the strategy as a result of this work (HSCP Strategic Plan Assessment Report). I am confident they have enhanced the strategic position and the development of the associated delivery plan.”

Margaret-Jane Cardno, Chair of the Clydebank Steering Group, Head of Strategy and Transformation, West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership

“The assessment report captured all discussions and was extremely helpful including other references and links that we can use in our review of our Local Policing Plan against the Place and Wellbeing Outcomes”

PC Laura Evans,
Partnership Officer, Argyll and Bute

“The Place & Wellbeing Assessment undertaken on the Fraserburgh Schools Merger provided an opportunity to have a detailed discussion, with all key partners, about how the plans have considered the local communities and the impact on the town of Fraserburgh. This discussion was valuable and it was clear to see how this process would be beneficial at the start of a project, as part of the consultation phase, to explore the intended and unintended, positive and negative consequences to communities. I feel undertaking this type of assessment at an early stage of a project, would help to speed up the processes and provide information that would be valuable to the completion of the Integrated Impact Assessments. The assessment provides a clear and replicable place-based structure to facilitate place-based decision-making.”

Maxine Booth, Quality Improvement Manager, Learning Estates, Education and Children’s Services, Aberdeenshire Council

“We’ve never had everyone around a table come together before to have a chat about us and our neighbourhood and about the things we are all passionate about.”

Lizzy McDonald, Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust and Burnhill Action Group

Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme Data

Data has been a central focus of the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme since the Programme began in early 2021, specifically data-led decision-making which impacts on place. How has our data helped to support the work of our Steering Group members within each of our Project Towns?

"I think one of the key things for Ayr and what we have benefitted from is really the work of the LIST analyst and the profile that’s been produced is probably one of the best data sets that I’ve seen.”

Lesley Reid, Health Improvement Lead - South Team Public Health Department, NHS Ayrshire and Arran

“The report is insightful and powerful, and I think should be read (and acted upon) by anyone involved in delivering services to people in Alloa South and East in particular...I see a strong link between the quantitative data and the testimonies from lived experience that you have reflected in the report. I hope this report can be shared as widely as possible and is taken into account in key decision-making.”

Grant Baxter, Planning and Building Standards Team Leader, Clackmannanshire Council

If you are looking at place-based approaches, or if the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme sounds like something you would like to know more about, please contact Irene Beautyman, Place and Wellbeing Partnership Lead, below or follow us on X (Twitter) @place4wellbeing to keep up to date with all of our latest news

Irene Beautyman - Place and Wellbeing Partnership Lead

Phone: 07908 930763

Email: placeandwellbeing@improvementservice.org.uk