Earlier in the winter, the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU) at Glasgow Caledonian University launched the Tackling Poverty Locally Directory, which aims to be the “go-to place” to learn about local actions taken to tackle poverty locally in Scotland, providing a range of case studies from across the country.

The Directory is an online resource which is free for all to access, and has been shaped by an Advisory Group (which includes poverty leads from local authorities and local NHS Boards), and the support of the Abrdn Financial Fairness Trust. Practitioners and researchers have also played a role in quality assuring Directory content.

The Directory includes case studies from local authorities (eg. Glasgow City Council’s Private Rented Sector Tenancy Benefit Cap), community organisations (eg. Fa’Side Community Kitchen), charities that cover large areas (eg. Fife Gingerbread’s Lone Parents, Poverty and Work), local NHS Boards (eg. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Staff Crisis Fund), social enterprises and community trusts (eg. The Point and Sandwick Energy Support Unit), schools (eg. Falkirk’s own Braes High School’s Maximising Income for Families) and local partnerships (eg. the Anti-Poverty Taskforce in Perth and Kinross).

The Directory aims to showcase all types of action being undertaken to tackle poverty locally. Among the 20 case studies are projects which have been set up to tackle food poverty, reduce stigma, assist people into employment, deliver financial inclusion, tackle housing costs, and address the cost of living.

Professor John McKendrick, Co-Director of SPIRU, said:

“We recognise the importance of raising awareness of emerging practice, as well as sharing information of practice that has proven to be impactful. What might start off as a good idea (“emerging practice”), might begin to show signs of positive impact (“promising practice”). As the project matures, evidence of impact may be more substantial and verified by independent evaluation (“fully validated”), which may lead to it being replicated elsewhere (“fully validated and adopted”).”

SPIRU intends to track the development of these case studies, and share this progression through the Directory.

A concise and comprehensive summary of each case study is available as a single page (which can be downloaded as a PDF). Each case study includes a summary of impact and a list of key learning points (“key take-aways”), in addition to descriptive detail needed to understand the case study (eg. cost, population groups served, or whether it was co-produced with people experiencing poverty.). SPIRU has also provided a separate How-to Guide for each case study (for example, the Think Poverty Sessions guide), which provides detailed guidance to assist others interested in adapting or adopting the initiative.

SPIRU is also keen to work in partnership with those tackling poverty locally in Scotland, to develop and maintain the Directory in the years ahead.

For further information, please visit the dedicated Directory page.